Consequences of sin

[mary]

Hi Pastor Mike,
Thank you for including me on your Board. My question is this: I know that God forgives sin, but does God ever remove the consequences of that sin? I cannot recall an example, in the Bible or in life, where He does. For example, if I have illicit sex with someone, & I contract an STD as a result, does God ever remove that consequence? Does He even remove the guilt? Thank you for your answer.

[Mike Miller]

Mary! Great to hear from you!

God does indeed forgive sins, and He surely removes the eternal consequence (Hell). However, he does not necessarily remove the temporal consequences. If you murder someone, and then you become a Christian, God will forgive you. But you still have to go to prison. As for your example, I have known people who contracted HIV from sexually immoral behavior who later became Christians. They died from AIDS.

Now, it's certainly possible that we might not suffer some of the temporal consequences of our sinful actions. But nowhere does the Bible promise that, nor does God indicate that those consequences will be removed.

When you ask if God removes our guilt, I'm not certain what you are asking. If you are talking about our standing in the sight of God, then yes, He does remove our guilt. Those of us who trust Jesus for our salvation will not be held accountable for our sins before God, as we will be judged by the righteousness of Jesus. In other words, I will be judged "not guilty" by the grace of God. But if you are talking about the feeling/sense of guilt that we have for sinning against God, we no longer have to carry that with us. We might still, but we can live in the freedom of the grace and forgiveness that God lavishes on us.