Righteousness is a virtue of God. Psalms 11: 7 says the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face. Therefore, God wants us to be like him in word, thought and deed. Jesus said in Matthew 5: 48, be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Two things happen at the same time when we fail to be righteous; we punish righteousness and reward sin.
When we fail in righteousness, we reject God and thereby punish righteousness. We reject God in spite of all his unfailing goodness and his unlimited grace upon our lives. Most often we may not be aware of all his favours. When we reject righteousness, we automatically embrace sin because it is the opposite. When we embrace sin, we effectively reward sin. We then face eternal separation from God in eternity which is the reward for sin. It is called eternal death in hell with Satan and his demons.
What is the cost of sin?
Paul wrote in Romans 6: 23, for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. While sin is not free because we are bound to pay for it in hell, righteousness is free because Christ has already paid for it with his blood for our redemption. 1Corinthians 6: 20 says for you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 7: 23 says you were bought with a price; do not become slaves to human masters.
We punish righteousness and reward sin anytime we act contrary to the Holy Spirit. Every deed whether commission or omission has consequences. Jesus said in Matthew 16: 26; Mark 8: 36; Luke 9: 25 for what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? We often forget that life has no substitute and eternity after death is irreversible. Petitions or repentance or God’s pardon or favours do not apply after death. So, it is cautioned in Isaiah 55: 6, seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
When to seek righteousness
We can seek righteousness only in this life. Jesus came to expound righteousness and sin. He said in John 10: 10 the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. Sin is a product of Satan who Jesus describes as a thief. Its purpose is to rob God’s children of any good thing we have; to put to death the life we have in Christ Jesus; and to destroy the hope and faith of our resurrection in Christ Jesus. On the contrary Christ Jesus came to preserve our eternity with God through righteousness against Satan’s aims to deny us.
Like a dangling carrot, sin baits us away from God’s eternal peace. Proverbs 14: 12; 16: 25 say, there is a way that seems right to a person, but the end is the way of death. Unless we perceive through the lens of the Holy Spirit, our perceptions will be wrong and thereby punish righteousness and reward sin. A nation is exalted by the collective righteousness of the people who do not reward sin or punish righteousness. Proverbs 14: 34 says righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. We must rather reward righteousness and punish sin if we desire eternity with Christ Jesus.
How we reward sin
Any moment we engage contrary to the Holy Spirit, we reward sin because we applaud Satan for achieving his aims while we afflict pain in God’s heart and subject him to unmerited torture for what he has already suffered for us through Christ Jesus on the cross. 1 Peter 2: 24 says he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
Any sin or unrighteousness will revert to us in eternity as punishment. Isaiah 53: 5 says he (Christ) was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we were healed. Why do we punish God or reward Satan when Jesus had died for us on the cross? Isaiah 53: 12 says… he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Jesus weeps for our rewarding sin
In spite of Jesus’ closeness with the people, they did not appreciate his message about his power of resurrection and thereby said that Lazarus, brother of Martha had died, John 11: 35 says Jesus began to weep. When we do not understand Jesus after all he has done for us, we punish righteousness and reward sin, and therefore we equally cause Jesus to weep. However when we are alert in faith, we reward righteousness and punish sin, and then Jesus can smile.
Will we punish righteousness and reward sin? Or will we punish sin and reward righteousness? Let us put on the breastplate of righteousness and the oil of hope in Christ Jesus as our guiding principle in whatever we do. As we strive to reward righteousness and punish sin, we pray that the Lord will be our helper, our strength and shield in battle, Psalms 28: 7.
Prayer
Our dear Lord Jesus, we repent and regret for grieving you by rewarding sin and punishing righteousness. We pray for your forgiveness and ask for your grace to do right. With broken hearts, we ask for your guidance by the Holy Spirit. From this moment, help us to reward righteousness in obedience and punish sin in disobedience to its offers. Let your blood be our covering in your name, Amen!!
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