Dealing with the Consequences of Forgiven Sin

2 Samuel 14; Psalm 68; Ezekiel 21; 2 Corinthians 7

Yesterday was difficult, spent in discouragement and depression. God gave me a shock, an unexpected look at my life only seeing all the things I’ve done wrong, the failures, sins and selfishness. I know that He forgives and forgave, yet the sense of being useless to Him was overwhelming.

I went to bed with tears yet surprisingly fell asleep instantly. This morning, I didn’t want to get up. The above Bible readings didn’t say anything except to remind me of God’s forgiveness of David’s sin but the warning of consequences. All that did was point me to the consequences in my life of being selfish, full of pride and not obeying God.

Thankfully, years ago the Lord allowed me a computer program called Logos. It comes with a supply of books and allows word searches. I typed in “consequences of sin” and found a quote in a book by John Piper. The book is called “A Godward Life: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All Life” and chapter 88 is entitled “Consequences of Forgiven Sin.”

God used the following to encourage me. Piper begins with 2 Samuel 11–12, the story of David’s sin against Uriah (murder) and Bathsheba (adultery) and God’s response. I’ve shortened this excerpt slightly.

“David acknowledges that the one who has done such a thing deserves to die (2 Samuel 12:5), but in the end Nathan says, “The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.” This is amazing grace. God passes over the sin and takes away the penalty of death.

“Although the sin is forgiven and the death sentence removed, Nathan says, “Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you shall die.” In spite of forgiveness, some “penalty” for the sin remains. I put penalty in quotes because I think we must distinguish the consequences of forgiven sin from the consequences of unforgiven sin. The latter are properly called penalties; the former we should probably call “disciplinary consequences.” That is, they are related to the sin, and they reflect the displeasure of God for the sin, but their aim is not retributive justice. They are not part of condemnation. The aim of the consequences of forgiven sin is not to settle the accounts demanded by a just penalty.

“That’s what hell is for. There is a judgment whose purpose is to vindicate the right by paying back the wrong, and thus establishing equity in God’s kingdom of righteousness. This is done on the cross for those who are in Christ, and it is done in hell for those who are not. The curse that we deserve came down on Christ at the cross if we trust in him, but it comes down on our own heads in hell if we don’t. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). If he passes over sins and treats them, as he did with David, as though they are not worthy of punishment, that is only a merciful delay in the retribution. Either it will be made right in the cross, as Paul says so plainly in Romans 3:25, or it will be settled in “the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Romans 2:5).

“But the aim of God-sent consequences of forgiven sin is not to settle accounts demanded by the penalty of justice. The aims of the God-sent consequences of forgiven sin are: (1) to demonstrate the exceeding evil of sin, (2) to show that God does not take sin lightly even when he lays aside his punishment, and (3) to humble and sanctify the forgiven sinner.”

APPLY: I know the evil of sin; this drives me to prayer for sinners every day. I also know that God does not take sin lightly; I see it in my own life and much more in the crucifixion of His Son. From Piper’s explanation, I realize that the pain I feel about all the times I’ve acted selfishly and ignored God is not a penalty but a necessary stage in growth; He wants me to be more like Jesus. As Piper says, His purpose is not to penalize, but to purify.

“He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:10–11).

Finally, Piper points to a current “imbalance of emphasis on the Father’s forgiving tenderness to the exclusion of the Father’s forgiving toughness” that leaves people without a way to handle these consequences. He writes, “By the power of truth and the Spirit, we must learn to revel in the grace of God, the forgiveness of sins, the hope of glory, and the joy of the Lord at the very same time that we are suffering from the consequences of forgiven sin. We must not equate forgiveness with the absence of painful impact.”