Who Does God Punish, and Why Does He Do It? By Jim Bublitz of Old Truth

In his latest book "Everything Must Change", (in which I feel like writing a response-book entitled "Why?"), Emergent leader Brian McLaren argued that those who believe in a Jesus who will crush His enemies by force [at the 2nd coming] may be inclined to dominate and take advantage of other people. McLaren elaborated on some of his new ideas found in his book when he recently spoke at the Shift conference at Willow Creek. You can read more about his remarks and the common perplexity that many of us have as to why an Emergent fringe leader (many would say a heretical one) would be given pulpit-time by Bill Hybels. McLaren's remarks (and book) show him to be off the biblical rails on the topics of punishment, justice, holiness, and more. But before your pendulum swings too far in the opposite direction in rejection of this new proponent of error, make sure you have an old paths understanding of punishment, why it happens, and who it is applied to.
We addressed the topic of the punishment of God's enemies in an audio post on Old Truth some time ago, so I won't rehash all of that again in this post. But I believe it is that exact aspect of the bible that McLaren is speaking out against. He doesn't like it, and many believe that it has lead him into a biblically deviant view of Hell such as Universalism (though getting him to talk about his views on Hell is like pulling teeth).
Many Christians today however, have a wrong view of the punishment from God. One of the most common misunderstandings is one that I had myself up until, not that long ago. It relates to the difference between punishment and chastisement. You've probably heard some Christians say "God is punishing me for my sins" when they go through some trial. Did you know that such thinking actually sets itself up against the Cross?
For a biblical perspective on this, as well as the difference between punishment and chastisement, I'm going to turn the rest of this post over to the late AW Pink, in this excerpt from his decades-old book entitled: "Comfort For Christians". It's one of the MANY books that comes packaged on the AW Pink CD from Ages Software:
"Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou are rebuked of him" (Hebrews 12:5). It is of first importance that we learn to draw a sharp distinction between Divine punishment and Divine chastisement: important for maintaining the honor and glory of God, and for the peace of mind of the Christian. The distinction is very simple, yet is it often lost sight of. God's people can never by any possibility be punished for their sins, for God has already punished them at the Cross. The Lord Jesus, our Blessed Substitute, suffered the full penalty of all our guilt, hence it is written "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Neither the justice nor the love of God will permit Him to again exact payment of what Christ discharged to the full.
The difference between punishment and chastisement lies not in the nature of the sufferings of the afflicted: it is most important to bear this in mind. There is a threefold distinction between the two. First, the character in which God acts. In the former God acts as Judge, in the latter as Father. The sentence of punishment is the act of a judge, a penal sentence passed on those charged with guilt. Punishment can never fall upon the child of God in this judicial sense because his guilt was all transferred to Christ:
"Who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24)
But while the believer's sins cannot be punished, while the Christian cannot be condemned (Romans 8:3), yet he may be chastised. The Christian occupies an entirely different position from the non-Christian: he is a member of the Family of God. The relationship which now exists between him and God is that of parent and child; and as a son he must be disciplined for wrongdoing. Folly is bound up in the hearts of all God's children, and the rod is necessary to rebuke, to subdue, to humble.
The second distinction between Divine punishment and Divine chastisement lies in the recipients of each. The objects of the former are His enemies. The subjects of the latter are His children. As the Judge of all the earth, God will yet take vengeance on all His foes. As the Father of His family, God maintains discipline over all His children. The one is judicial, the other parental.
A third distinction is seen in The design of each: the one is retributive, the other remedial. The one flows from His anger, the other from His love. Divine punishment is never sent for the good of sinners, but for the honoring of God's law and the vindicating of His government. But Divine chastisement on the other hand, is sent for the well-being of His children:
"We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness" (Hebrews 12:9-10).
The above distinction should at once rebuke the thoughts which are so generally entertained among Christians. When the believer is [suffering] under the rod let him not say, God is now punishing me for my sins. That can never be. That is most dishonoring to the blood of Christ. God is correcting you in love, not smiting in wrath. Nor should the Christian regard the chastening of the Lord as a sort of necessary evil to which he must bow as submissively as possible. No, it proceeds from God's goodness and faithfulness, and is one of the greatest blessings for which we have to thank Him. Chastisement evidences our Divine son-ship: the father of a family does not concern himself with those on the outside: but those within he guides and disciplines to make them conform to his will. ...
"Unfortunately there is no word in the English language which is capable of doing justice to the Greek term here. "Paideia" which is rendered "chastening" is only another form of "paidion" which signifies "young children," being the tender word that was employed by the Savior in John 21:5 and Hebrews 2:13. One can see at a glance the direct connection which exists between the words "disciple" and "discipline": equally close in the Greek is the relation between "children" and "chastening." Son-training would be better. It has reference to God's education, nurture and discipline of His children. It is the Father's wise and loving correction.
Much chastisement comes by the rod in the hand of the Father correcting His erring child. But it is a serious mistake to confine our thoughts to this one aspect of the subject. Chastisement is by no means always the scourging of His refractive sons. Some of the saintliest of God's people, some of the most obedient of His children, have been and are the greatest sufferers. Oftentimes God's chastenings instead of being retributive are corrective. They 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. Or again, chastisements are sent to strengthen our faith, to raise us to higher levels of experience, to bring us into a condition of usefulness. Still again, Divine chastisement is sent as a preventative, to keep under pride, to save us from being unduly elated over success in God's service.