I believe we are all very clear that as a result of Jesus’ actions – his selfless sacrifice- our condition has changed by grace through faith. We have been transformed. I think we might all agree with this. One way of describing our transformed condition ‘now’ before God is that we are ‘unpunnishable’. A slightly more contentious proposition.
Let me quote Danny Silk, he says …
“Jesus satisfied the wrath of God toward sin. Jesus’ death on the cross satisfied the need for God to punish sin in man. When Jesus went to the cross and gave His life as the perfect sacrifice, He ended an insatiable condition. He also introduced an entirely different reality based on an entirely different relationship between God and mankind. He removed the need for punishment. He removed fear from our relationship with Him.”
If God’s plan in and through Jesus was to establish a covenant with us that brings freedom and removes fear. If it is to not to impose punishment where there is sin or failure, and we are called to be imitators of Christ, then who are we as partners in this covenant to introduce punishment, and with it fear so that we might impose control over others.
It would seem to me that if we do introduce punishment into our relationships then we are not acting to protect the covenant Jesus established, but rather, acting in opposition to it, and by doing so we have determined to partner with the law.
Our command is to love our neighbour. Some might argue that appropriate punishment is showing love- but I ask you again where do we see Jesus using punishment to coerce people he is loving on to behave in a way that reduces his anxiety.
Should we speak the truth in love? Yes! Ought those who make a mess be responsible for the mess they made? Yes!
What I am saying is that, if there is to be honour among us, if we are to be distinguished as individuals and corporately as ‘men and women of the covenant of love’ then we need to ‘keep our love on’ no matter what, and make sure that we do not introduce punishment into our relationships and let no issue be greater than the relationship between us.