“If you will fear Adonai, serve him, obey what he says and not rebel against Adonai’s orders — if both you and the king ruling you remain followers of Adonai your God — [then things will go well for you.] But if you refuse to obey what Adonai says and rebel against Adonai’s orders, then Adonai will oppress both you and your leaders.”-1 Samuel 12:14-15
It’s high time we put to rest a dangerous and false doctrine that Christianity has been promoting for centuries.
I’m talking about the teaching that believers should have no fear of the Lord if we rebel or sin because “Jesus already paid the price for our sins”.
Or that God loves us so much on “behalf of Christ” that He would never think to punish us…
Or the idea that God will never punish or discipline you if you are one of His.
I’ll tell you right now that from both an “Old” and New Testament perspective, every one of those notions is patent nonsense.
Over and over again in the Scriptures, we find the Lord judging His people for their rebellion and sins.
Usually, He disciplined them through gentile oppression…
Other times He punished them through exile from the land.
The idea that God doesn’t punish His own also doesn’t jive with the standard “If/then” formula we find in the Torah and what Samuel is repeating here.
Verse 14 says…
“IF you will fear Adonai, serve Him, obey what He says, and not rebel against Adonai’s orders, THEN things will go well for you.”
And verse 15 says…
“But IF you refuse to obey what Adonai says and rebel against Adonai’s orders, THEN Adonai will oppress both you and your leaders”.
What’s that you say?
“But didn’t God only punish His own because it was before Yeshua came?”
Really?
Is that your ridiculous argument?
Well, I’ve got two words to instantly refute that notion: Ananias and Sapphira
You’ve heard of these two homies, right?
These were two members of the early Messianic church who were outright killed by God for their sins.
So don’t think it’s any different today just because “Christ came and already paid for your sins”.
Ya feel me?
Yes, Yeshua paid the price for the eternal and spiritual consequences of your sins.
But unless you remain obedient, you too will suffer in this lifetime…
I’m not talking about being cut off or losing your salvation here.
I’m talking about paying the price for your baboonish behavior.
More often than not, the Lord will NOT directly punish us.
In fact, the times when God directly punished His own are few and far between.
I think the first time He did so was when He sent the flood that killed off pretty much all of mankind save for Noah and his family.
Other incidents that come to mind are when He rained fire and brimstone down upon Sodom and Gomorrah, the time when he opened up the earth to swallow up Korah and his rebels, or when He sent that plague of poisonous snakes to punish the Israelites in the wilderness.
But, as I said, God usually punishes his own by simply withdrawing His hand of blessing and protection and letting the consequences of our transgressions take their natural course.
This is usually what occurred with Israel.
Israel benefited from God’s protection and lived in a state of shalom until they rebelled.
But once they sinned, it was game over.
God withdrew His supernatural covering…
Then from that point on, it was only a matter of time before Israel was attacked by a gentile nation, or suffered some kind of “natural” disaster.
So if you’ve ever been in a situation when you felt oppressed by circumstances or people, it could’ve been the natural outcome of your sins.
Remember, “You shall reap what you sow”.
In due time, God will pay you back for your rebellion against Him.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“On that Day, many will say to me,
‘Lord, Lord! Didn’t we prophesy
in your name? Didn’t we expel
demons in your name? Didn’t
we perform many miracles in
your name?’ Then I will tell
them to their faces, ‘I never
knew you! Get away from me,
you workers of lawlessness!‘”
-Matthew 7:22-23
“So take a good look at God’s
kindness and his severity:
on the one hand, severity
toward those who fell off;
but, on the other hand,
God’s kindness toward you-
provided you maintain yourself
in that kindness! Otherwise,
you too will be cut off!“
-Romans 11:22
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