Temporal Punishment for Sin in the New Testament

Question:

Do you know of any New Testament passage that shows that temporal punishment may remain after a sin has been forgiven?

Answer:

Yes, although indirectly. We can say, for example, that Paul's quote of Psalm 51 in Romans 4:7 of David's chastisement even though David was forgiven, is a case in point. If Paul is saying that David's justification is the same justification we have, then it follows that David's chastisement, even though forgiven, also applies to us.

We could also cite 1 Cor 10:1-11 in this regard, since Paul specifically says that we are going to suffer the same things the Jews suffered if we sin. In fact, he says in verses 6 and 11 that those stories were written down precisely to warn us that the same chastisements and final judgments will happen to us.

In fact, we can safely say that any time the NT refers to something that God did to an OT person for his sin, whether it was chastisement after forgiveness or eternal damnation for unrepentance, the same applies to the NT, otherwise, the NT could not use the OT as the example of how God is going to treat us.

There are also general references to ongoing chastisement in Heb 12:6-8; 2 Pet 2:20; Rev 3:19, et al.

Robert Sungenis
Catholic Apologetics International
July 3, 2002

Vicarious Punishmment

Question:

Hello Mr. Sungenis, I have a question regarding your discussions of the Atonement in Not by {Faith/Bread}Alone -- the first of which I've read and enjoyed, the second of which I haven't gotten my hands on yet. 

You write (I'm quoting this secondhand, so forgive me if it's not perfect): "Christ's atonement provides the means by which God can fulfill His desire to save mankind, while still remaining a just and honorable God who condemns sin." A few paragraphs later: "Did [Christ] take upon Himself all the guilt of mankind and suffer the specific legal punishment for their sins? The answer is no. The temporal punishment for sin is physical death, but the ultimate punishment is eternal damnation." 

Clearly you deny any Protestant ideas that the Son was forsaken by the Father, or that the Son suffered an eternity of hell in a finite amount of time; but the first quotation suggests that you do still think of Christ's death as a vicarious punishment in some sense. Do you regard it as a temporal punishment but not an eternal one? 

Thanks for your time!

Answer:

Vicarious would mean that the punishment is sustained in place of someone else, but that can't be the case with Christ, since He did not suffer Hell in place of the sinner's punishment. Christ suffered the necessary agony in order to appease the wrath of God and to preserve God's honor. The extent of that agony was for Christ to suffer and die at the hands of men. With that satisfied, the Father would be satisfied. Only Christ could perform this task, since He was sinless and favored by the Father. No mere man laden with sin could do this, and thus, again, Christ's sacrifice is not vicarious. It is simply a voluntary (John 10:18) offer by Christ to the Father, which the Father accepts based on His love for the Son. Neither the Father nor the Son are legally bound, rather, both do their "offering" and "accepting of the offering" by the mutual love they have for each other.

I hope this helps.

Robert Sungenis
Catholic Apologetics International
July 19, 2001