There are still consequences of sin after salvation. I was speaking with a man that had come to the Lord some time back, and I could tell that something was weighing upon him. I wanted to ask him about it, but in a way that gave him the options to address it or not. So, I asked him what was going on in his life. I watched a range of emotions run over his face that went from frustration to regret. He took a deep breath and said, I’m paying for past sins. I didn’t say anything as I wanted him to continue on his own accord.
2 Samuel 11-12: “David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”
I could tell he was searching for the right words, but finally explained he had some things in his past that while God had forgiven him, there are still consequences to the sin itself. I won’t go into those details, but we spent the next 30 minutes talking about that topic.
Consequences of Sin After Salvation
As you can see in our scripture focus, David had committed a sin, and while God has forgiven that sin, there was still a consequence of his actions. The baby David conceived with Bathsheba was going to die.
As John Piper puts it, “But the aim of God-sent consequences of forgiven sin is not to settle accounts demanded by retributive justice. The aim of the God-sent consequences of forgiven sin is (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, (3) to humble and sanctify the forgiven sinner.”
Hebrews 12:6 tells us… “the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
While we are not picking on David, there are many examples in the Bible consequences of forgiven sin.
- Adam and Eve banned from Eden instead of being killed once they disobeyed God
- Moses was forced to leave Egypt after killing that man
- Moses was not allowed into the promised land after striking the rock twice
- The great fish swallowed Jonah
- The tiny city of AI defeated the Israelites due to someone stealing in the camp
I believe the lesson my friend and I came to was that while we ALL have a sinful past, we have to learn from that past. There may still have consequences from that past as God forgives, but people may not forget.
You see my friend’s past surfaced while applying for a job opportunity and this was not the first time it has happened. I’m sure it’s frustrating to feel like you cannot escape your past no matter how much time has past or how much you have changed.
Take heart that we can enjoy the Grace of God and the forgiveness of our sins while we may be paying for the consequences of sin after salvation.
About the author: Tj Todd is the CEO of Studio490 Creative Services and the executive director of UNCOMMEN.
For more materials on sin and the Christian Life, we recommend reading these two articles
What a lesson to share with our kids or with some of the younger people we know. If I had only considered the consequences of my actions before I did them, life would be very different today??
Great explanation!
This revelation takes my faith and my trust in God to a deeper depth and a higher level. It requires a closer relationship with God. Recognizing and realizing when there are consequences to previous actions (sins). God is God and he’s just fair and loving! My God, my God, my god! Please pray for me.
Praying for you brother! I have also sinned against God and pay for forgiven sins. As we grow closer to God , our hearts are changing and desire to be more like his son. What a wonderful life we have in Jesus! He has washed us clean and made us white as snow. Thank you,Jesus!
Everything has consequences. We tell our children that all the time, we as children were told that as well. YET when caught up in the heat of the moment cause we are having fun and enjoying ourselves we always think “awwww it is what it is I will deal with it later” . Consequences do come LATER and comes with INTEREST.
Hopefully we all learn before its too late and too costly.
Guys,
I do plead that you pray for me… please. I am very discouraged as God has been dealing with me on this subject of forgiven sin: I am constantly, every single day, led by the Spirit to forgive people of all sorts of things, from petty mistakes to gross trespasses; but when it comes to sins of my past, they haunt me and it seems that the price for them will linger till the day I die, in small yet ever-lasting installments… I feel subject to a double standard judgment from my loving God, and it gets me confused… and discouraged. I can´t get rid of my past and of its consequences but yet I am required (thru conviction) to let go of any “standards” towards others. It seems right, of course, but I am honestly drowning, losing heart… Tks.
I’ve spent many years mourning over my sin and still do. I know that I am forgiven but, I have been repeating the same sin for many years. I feel where you are at brother and I will pray for you Dennis. It is hard to forgive others but, I hope that you will soon find, that as we learn to forgive others for things minor and massive, it will be easier to forgive ourselves. His judgement is just and His love is pure. We may not understand His reasonings behind what we do but, He is God, not us. Just know that what you’re going through does not last forever— Psalm 46:10– He says, “Be still and know that I am God…”. Take heart brother.
Solid post. I will be sharing this with my kids. Powerful reminder that sin still has consequences and that God doesn’t always mitigate natural consequences or punishment for our sanctification!
I have sinned watching pornography,masturbation and sexually after baptism I tried to control my thoughts just one month it was normal but I did that sin again , am in really worth to be forgiven by Jesus
Can God finish the purpose gave to me or my purposes are lost due to my sins
Should I die because I sinned against Jesus and become unfit to live having nothing and lost everything.
I am wallowing in your shoes and I need help. I am tired of been unfaithful to my awesome and loving lord who has been blessing me and watching over e and my household despite all my dispecable life and act. I NEED HELP TO QUIT FOREVER AND BE STEADFAST WITH MY LORD.