Punishment vs. Chastisement

There is a difference between God's punishment and His chastisement. I feel like I've known this, but never really recognized it is there and what it is. I listened to a short podcast by A.W. Pink - "Correcting in Love - Not Smiting in Wrath!" the other day, and it explained this so well. Basically all of this comes from him, not me. Any quote is from Pink, and basically I'm summarizing what he said. Just so credit is given where it is due. 


First of all, Christians will never be punished by God.

God's people can never, by any possibility, be punished for their sins, for God has already punished them [sins] at the cross. The Lord Jesus, our blessed substitute, suffered the full penalty of our guilt. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Neither the justice nor the love of God will permit Him to again exact payment of what Christ discharged to the full.

Since Christ took the punishment for our sins once and for all, those who've placed their trust in Him will not be punished for them. 


Pink gave three differences between divine punishment and divine chastisement.
A. The character in which God acts

1. Punishment - God acts as Judge.
2. Chastisement- God acts as Father. Christians are considered sons of God, so there is a Parent-child relationship between the two. As God's children, we must be disciplined for wrongdoing. As I learned through a couple of my major (teacher ed) classes, discipline is not punishment. Discipline is training - rules are given and consequences come when a person is not compliant. The purpose of discipline is the correction/bettering of the person being disciplined. God's chastisement of His sons and daughters is disciplinary, not penal.

B. The receipts of each.

1. The objects of the former (punishment) are His enemies. Again, God is acting as Judge.
2. The subjects of the latter (chastisement) are His children. Again, God is acting as Father.

C. The design of each.

1. Retributive. Flows from His anger. "Divine punishment is never sent for the good of unrepentant sinners, but for the honoring of God’s law and the vindicating of His government."
2. Remedial. Flows from His love. "Divine chastisement is sent for the well-being of His children."

Then Pink proceeded to talk about God's chastisement. He said it flows from His goodness and faithfulness. It evidences our sonship and shows that He is working for our good. Often, His chastisements 

are sent to empty us of self-sufficiency and self-righteousness.They are given to discover to us hidden transgressions and to teach us the plague of our own hearts. [They] are sent to strengthen our faith, to raise us to higher levels of experience, to bring us into a condition of usefulness.

He summarized by saying that we can be thankful for His chastisement. He said that we need to learn to see it as "proof of God's love - purging, pruning, and purifying you." Anyway, this is something I learned and thought might be good to share. Hopefully you understand it better, just as I did.