Punishment or Ploy?

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 7th of June, 2020, and our return to in-house worship at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service, also streamed live, due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today is Trinity Sunday, when we celebrate the entirely Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  From a human standpoint, we can see certain aspects of each of these three Persons that kind of distinguishes them from each other.  God the Father is loving and protective.  God the Son offers us healing and salvation.  And God the Holy Spirit is the giver and sustainer of life itself.

But the Trinity as One points to the ultimate authority and sovereignty of God, the Almighty, the Creator.  And as Sovereign, God can dole out both punishments and rewards.  An earthly sovereign or king might do so on any whim, sometimes giving rewards to those who should be punished, if that proves politically expedient.  But God has specifically laid out when punishments and rewards will be given, for what reasons.  We have those in our Bible, and God has never lied to us about anything.  But just as earthly kings might hand out rewards and punishments in order to further their own goals, so too does Satan.

When we look at punishment, then, the problem arises in trying to figure out just who’s hand is dealing it out.  Are we being punished by God for some sin or disobedience, or is this a ploy of the devil, trying to inflict harm on Jesus and His followers?

Since our Bible is God’s inspired word saved for our benefit, let’s see what it says on this confusing subject.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Paul wrote in his 2nd letter to the Thessalonians in chapter 2, verses 1 through 12, and I’ll be reading this from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…

1 When our Lord Jesus returns, we will be gathered up to meet him. So I ask you, my friends, 2 not to be easily upset or disturbed by people who claim that the day of the Lord has already come. They may say that they heard this directly from the Holy Spirit, or from someone else, or even that they read it in one of our letters. 3 But don’t be fooled! People will rebel against God. Then before the Lord returns, the wicked one who is doomed to be destroyed will appear. 4 He will brag and oppose everything that is holy or sacred. He will even sit in God’s temple and claim to be God. 5 Don’t you remember that I told you this while I was still with you?

6 You already know what is holding this wicked one back until it is time for him to come. 7 His mysterious power is already at work, but someone is holding him back. And the wicked one won’t appear until that someone is out of the way. 8 Then he will appear, but the Lord Jesus will kill him simply by breathing on him. He will be completely destroyed by the Lord’s glorious return.

9 When the wicked one appears, Satan will pretend to work all kinds of miracles, wonders, and signs. 10 Lost people will be fooled by his evil deeds. They could be saved, but they will refuse to love the truth and accept it. 11 So God will make sure that they are fooled into believing a lie. 12 All of them will be punished, because they would rather do evil than believe the truth.

--2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for providing us with what we need to get through this life, saved for us in our Bible.  Your word inspires us, comforts us, gives us peace of mind as the storm rages around us.  Please give us clearer insight into the messages Your word contains.  Help us better understand how to apply our scripture to what is going on around us today.  And please keep us strong in our faith and see us safely through these challenging times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us not only this morning but throughout the dark days ahead.  Speak to us of Your love and assurances.  Help us take guidance and strength from Your Word and Your Holy Spirit so that we might better please You. This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


Once there was a man who was such a golf addict that he was neglecting his job.  Frequently he would call in sick as an excuse to play.  One morning, after making such a call to his office, an angel spotted him on the way to the golf course and decided to teach him a lesson.  "If you play golf today, you will be punished," the angel whispered in his ear.

Thinking it was only his conscience, which he had successfully ignored in the past, the fellow just smiled.  "No," he said, "I've been doing this for years.  No one will ever know.  I won't be punished."

The angel said no more and the fellow stepped up to the first tee where he promptly whacked the ball 300 yards straight down the middle of the fairway.  Since he had never driven the ball more than 200 yards, he couldn't believe it.  Yet, there it was.  And his luck continued.  Long drives on every hole, perfect putting.  By the ninth hole he was six under par and was playing near-perfect golf.  The fellow was walking on air.  He wound up with an amazing 61, about 30 strokes under his usual game.  “Wait until I get back to the office”, he thought, “and tell everyone about this!”  But, suddenly, his face fell.  He couldn't tell them, not after calling in sick.  He could never tell anyone.  The angel smiled.


That’s a cute, fanciful little story that speaks of punishment for wrong-doing, but it’s also a lesson in morality.  One could say that this man’s “sin” was minor, ducking work to play golf.  Well, his punishment was minor, too – not being able to tell anyone about his fantastic game.  The punishment he received was meted out in this life.  Since we aren’t told about his belief system, we don’t know what he’ll receive when Jesus returns.


COVID-19, senseless abuses of authority, rioting, destruction, anger, fear, helplessness…  The world seems to be falling apart all around us.  And it’s all leaving us confused, lost, unclear, unsure, and perplexed.  Is what we’re seeing punishment from God for the sins of the world, like many people are saying?

Visualize the ark for a moment, being tossed about in the Great Flood.  God became fed up with man’s evil ways and destroyed the earth and all that lived on it, all but Noah and his family and a full sampling of animals.  Only Noah was found to be righteous in God’s eyes, so he and his family were spared while everyone else perished.  That was clearly punishment from God’s own hand.  But God spoke through Isaiah, in chapter 54, verse 9, of his prophecy and made this promise…

9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you."

--Isaiah 54:9 (NKJV)

God sealed that promise to all mankind with the rainbow we see in the sky after a storm.


Now please consider the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire from heaven.  Again, God chose to destroy these cities because of the evilness of man.  And again, this is indeed God’s punishment, just handed out on a more localized level.  Only Lot and his daughters escaped the destruction.  His wife would also have made it out had she not disobeyed the Lord and looked back.

If you remember this story, recall that Abraham pleaded with the Angel of the Lord to not destroy everyone within the cities.  He asked that if any righteous people be found, that they be spared.  That would be Lot and his family – only they were righteous.  And just like Noah and his family, only they escaped the punishment.


I wanted to emphasize these two very well-known and very dramatic instances of God’s punishment of mankind because they also show that those who were righteous in God’s eyes were spared.  The righteous escaped God’s retribution reserved for the evil-doers.  And that pattern will continue.

Our scripture this morning clearly states that the evil ones will be punished when Jesus returns.  What happens to us, to those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God and who follow His commands?  Right in the very first verse Paul says, “When our Lord Jesus returns, we will be gathered up to meet him.”  We will be spared God’s punishment of the wicked.  Regarding the wicked, our scripture reading ends with Paul noting that, “All of them will be punished, because they would rather do evil than believe the truth.”

Now none of this is to say that even we believers will be spared the trials and tribulations of life.  Jesus even says that we will suffer in this life.  James, the brother of Jesus, tells us we just need to get through this life, get past the suffering.  In chapter 1 verses 12 through 18 of his letter to the early church, James writes…

12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

--James 1:12-18 (NKJV)

James says that those who endure trials are eventually rewarded.  An early Christian philosopher named Origen argued that through suffering we can better understand our own weaknesses and dependence on God.  Suffering is not punishment but something that can draw human beings closer to God and to one another, giving us cause to love one another.  And let’s not forget that Jesus also suffered, for us.  Was that punishment from God, or His love for us?

James makes a couple other interesting points there.  God cannot be tempted by evil, so therefore God Himself cannot do evil.  Instead, what comes from God is every good gift, every perfect gift.  And Paul tells us why.  Going just a few verses ahead of where our scripture reading stopped in chapter 2 of his 2nd letter to the Thessalonians, in the first part of verse 17 Paul writes…

16a God our Father loves us. He is kind and has given us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope.

--2 Thessalonians 2:16a (CEV)

Our Father God loves us.  He has given us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope.  Every good and perfect gift comes from His hand.

So where does all the not so good stuff come from?  What about all this suffering that Jesus promised?  Who’s to blame for all the madness in the world?  Who caused us to sin in the first place?  Satan.  Consider Job and everything that happened to him.  This was not caused by God, but by Satan, who wanted to make Job lose his faith in God.  Family, all this suffering we’re going through is not at the hands of God.  This is the work of Satan!

Ask yourself…  God created us to be social creatures, to draw strength and comfort and encouragement from one another.  Do you think He would want us to be forced apart, whether by disease or hatred or distrust?  Better yet, do you think God would want for those who follow His Son to be forced to stay away from His Son’s church?  Does God desire to drive a wedge between His Son’s believers because of the color of their skin or out of fear of illness?

No, no, and no!  What would God have to gain in this?  How would any of it benefit His kingdom?

Now granted, I cannot see into tomorrow, nor am I privy to all God’s great plan for our salvation.  But the one I see who benefits most from what is going on in the world is Satan!  He wants to drive a wedge between us!  He would like nothing better than to splinter the church of our Lord Christ so that we can no longer effectively carry out the assignment Jesus left us.


God has spared the righteous in the past and promises to do so again, so there’s no reason to think He’ll do otherwise in between.  Now understand that righteous doesn’t necessarily mean perfect.  The great church planter and evangelist Paul was far from perfect and admitted it.  But the One who was and is perfect died on that cross so that God could see us as righteous.  His blood washed us clean in God’s eyes.  This is the love of Jesus, the love of God.  He is not punishing the world.  This is Satan, trying to rip it apart.

Believe in Jesus and be spared the final punishment.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, our Master, our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, again, thank You for the wonderful gift that is our Bible.  It truly does contain all we need to get through each day.  Father, please help us make better use of it.  Help us read it and study it and draw instruction, comfort, and hope from it.  Help us survive all the tricks and ploys the devil uses in his attempts to destroy our Lord’s church.  Help us be more faithful, more trusting in You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You straight from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, we know that suffering is a part of this life.  Not even You could escape suffering while You walked this earth.  But Lord, we also know that our suffering is not punishment from our Father God unless we are among the wicked and evildoers.  Right now, so many people are hurting.  We are hurting in body and mind and spirit.  We are even suffering at the hands of those in a position of authority over us, much as You suffered.  Jesus, help us, please, to do as You command.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, more kind to one another.  Help us to endure and withstand all that Satan might throw against us and to be more righteous in God’s eyes.  And please, Lord, be with us and see us through these times of great trial and devastating illness.  Help us remain faithful through it all.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.