The Punishment For Sin

• Why does sin matter so much?

• Who do we hurt when we sin?

“Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
Exodus 32:34

In Exodus 32, while Moses was away talking to God, the Israelites built a golden calf—an idol—to worship. This was a horrific sin against God, who had just rescued them from slavery in Egypt, and Moses was irate when he found out. So was God.

Moses went to plead with God for mercy, offering his own life if God would spare the lives of his people. And God answered: I will punish them for their sin.

The Bible tells us many times that the punishment for sin is death. Sin is never something to be taken lightly. Still, as Christians, it can be easy for us to take for granted that our sins have been forgiven. It can be tempting to just give in to sin because “we’re already forgiven, right?” We need to remember that God does punish sin. It’s just that in our case, Jesus has already been punished. It’s not that we’re getting away with something; Jesus died for us.

When we are tempted to sin, we need to remember that the suffering that Jesus endured is nothing to take for granted.

PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for the cross. Thank you for forgiving our sins. Please help us to remember the seriousness of sin. Amen.