Difficult Questions for Christians Series - Part 3

Two weeks ago I started a series on "Difficult Questions for Christians." Here is where you can view the last two posts, "Why doesn't prayer work, when the Bible promises that it will?" and "Why does the Bible record scientifically impossible events as factual?" Over the next 3 weeks I'll attempt to answer 3 more of the thousands of difficult questions posed by skeptics and Christians alike. Remember a few things though as you read. 1. This is a short answer to a difficult question that has probably plagued the human heart for thousands of years. 2. God's Word is the ultimate authority with answers, not a fallible pastor. 3. The Bible doesn't give us the answers to every question we have. It tells us what we need to know, not necessarily what we want to know. With that being said, let's jump into our next question in the series.

Where is the justice in punishing us for Adam's sin?

When I was a kid my parents punished me for carving my name into the window sill of our main living room window. Problem is, I didn't do it. First off, my name wasn't spelled correctly. Secondly, I knew I hadn't done it but my parents didn't believe me. Years later my younger sister confessed to the crime. It was not "just" for me to be punished for my sister's sin. This is the viewpoint from which this week's question is being asked. Another argument made by this person would be that Deuteronomy 24:16 says a child cannot be punished for their parents' sins. At the heart of the matter is the justice of the punishment, and how can such a harsh punishment (death) for Adam & all his children be considered just? As with most difficult questions about faith there are a few answers that help point us in the right direction. Here are some for today's question.

We are not punished for Adam's sins. We are punished for our sins.
You can read about how sin entered the world in Genesis 3. We read about Adam & Eve's willful decision to disobey God. We call disobedience to God sin. Adam and Eve exercised their freewill and went against God's commands. With sin introduced into the world, all of creation was affected by it, including their children. You can read about Paul's explanation of sin coming from Adam in Romans 5. But the reality of it is that we all sin because sin has been passed down from Adam to you and me. Think about it this way, do we have to teach babies and small kids to be selfish, greedy, or discontent? Do we have to teach them to lie to avoid getting in trouble? No we don't. Why? Because sin is passed along like a genetic trait from Adam all the way to us. Paul tells us in Romans 3:23 that we've all sinned. That leaves no one out, he means everyone has sinned. We're also told in Romans 6:23 that the punishment for sin is death. So if we've all sinned, then we all deserve the penalty for sin, which is death. That death is both a physical and spiritual death and you can learn more about the way to avoid that spiritual death here. Just so we're all clear, when we are punished for sins, it's not Adam's sins we are being punished for but it's our own sins.

"Justice" depends on your perspective.
There are Muslim countries around the world where someone practicing homosexuality could be executed. In the United States, regardless of your religious views, the great majority of us see that penalty as excessive. Many of us, from our perspective, couldn't imagine such a punishment for that action. From the perspective of those in the aforementioned Muslim countries, it is not excessive. Justice depends on your perspective. From the human perspective death, both physical and spiritual, does seem a bit excessive. We look at it as God could surely come up with something different to punish us with, rather than allowing us to die for our sins. But that is the view of justice from earth looking towards heaven. The view from heaven is vastly different. God is the holy One who created everything and sustains everything. The fact that He is holy means he is perfect and free from evil. Holiness is a basic character trait of God. What that means is that God's holiness is part of His DNA. He is holiness. He is holy. Why does that matter? Since God is holy and perfect and free from evil (sin), He cannot be in the presence of sin. This means that He must do away with those who sin and not allow them to enter His presence in heaven. From God's perspective of maintaining His holiness, physical and spiritual death are a just punishment for sin. If you want to read more about how God offers you a way to get rid of your sin and enjoy heaven with Him, then check out this link. What we have to understand is that from God's holy perspective His punishment for sin is just.

Disobedience must be punished.
What do you get when children (and adults) are not punished for their mistakes and disobedience? The answer: "The world we live in today." We live in a society and culture where many have been raised with an entitlement viewpoint that does not punish the wrongdoer. Instead of being punished for disobedience they've been given "things" to appease them and make them feel "loved." The problem is we have people who are now adults that were raised without punishments and they feel they're entitled to say, do, and have anything they want. The problem is they weren't punished as children and taught to respect the authority of those who seek to discipline them. And now society is worse off for it. Why the rant? Because what we see in our society is a microcosm of what the world at large would look like if God didn't punish us for our sins. The only difference is by now, thousands of years after Adam & Eve's sin, the entire world would look MUCH worse than our society is today. Justice isn't about doing what is fair, justice is about doing what is right. We tell our kids "Life's not fair!" because it isn't. What matters though is that things are done right. For things to be done right, according to God's standards, disobedience must be punished. Our disobedience towards God is met with God's right or just punishment which is physical and spiritual death. But God has given us a way to avoid the spiritual death. By doing so, God has done the right thing by us. He's shown us love, grace, and mercy by giving us a way out of the punishment of spiritual death. You can find out more about God's grace by going to this page. Your disobedience towards God must be punished according to God's standards. Thankfully, He loves us enough to punish us and He loves us enough to show us some grace as well.

I hope this brief look at "Where is the justice in punishing us for Adam's sin?" will help deepen your understanding of why God has to punish us for our sins. As always, I'm open to comments and questions, either here on the blog or via Social Media. If this question brings to mind another difficult question about faith, then by all means ask it.


If you enjoyed today's post be sure to Share it on Facebook and Twitter so others can be encouraged too!