Biblical Answer

The Problem of Punishment

The Question of Unfair Punishment

The question of why we are punished for something we didn't do is a complex one. It often reflects the mistaken idea that God sends each event as a direct response to our actions. However, the Bible teaches that God's sovereignty over all creation means that He is not bound by our actions or decisions. Instead, He governs all things according to His own purposes and plans.

Understanding Guilt and Punishment

To understand why we are punished, we need to clarify what we mean by guilt and punishment. Guilt refers to the state of having violated God's intention for one and thus being liable to punishment. Punishment, on the other hand, is retribution and is not intended to do the work of either calamity or chastisement, but a work of its own. And this work is to vindicate law, to satisfy justice. Punishment is not simply a matter of doing wrong, but also of failing to do right (cf. Jas 4:17). We are apt to be disturbed by the thought that we are punished not simply for doing wrong, but for failing to do right.

The Sovereignty of God

The Bible teaches that God is sovereign over all creation, and that He governs all things according to His own purposes and plans. This means that God's sovereignty is not limited by our actions or decisions. Instead, He is free to act in ways that may seem unfair or unjust to us, but are actually part of His greater plan. For example, in Revelation 11:18, it is written, "The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth." In this passage, God's wrath is not a direct response to the actions of the nations, but rather a part of His sovereign plan to judge and reward His servants. Similarly, in Romans 3:25, it is written, "God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. This was to show that the righteousness of God is appropriate, bearing witness to it—and resulting in justification that results in life through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Here, the guilt for our sins was thought of by God as belonging to Christ rather than to us, and this is seen as a demonstration of God's sovereignty and righteousness.