First of all, it's important to note that God does indeed hate sin (Proverbs 6:16-19; Psalm 5:4-6) and will punish every act of disobedience before all is said and done (Romans 2:5-8). The uncomfortable and unpleasant truth is that hell is real and some people will experience God's wrath and judgment there. Until that time, God's judgment on unbelieving people looks like Romans 1:18-32 where the Apostle Paul says three times (v. 24, 26, 28) that God "gave them over" or "gave them up" to their sin. He does nothing to stop them, but instead lets them run headlong to their own destruction without feeling any sort of remorse for what they are doing.
However, even though we all deserve that fate, God demonstrated His love for His people in that while we were still sinners, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins (Romans 5:6-8). Instead of judgment, God gives grace to His people. He still punished their sin, but He punished it when Christ took it upon Himself and received the full penalty for it (God's wrath) as He hung on the cross (Isaiah 53; Hebrews 10:10-14). Here's why that is such good news:
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)
Christians have absolutely nothing to fear because ALL of their sin was placed on Christ (past, present, and future) and ALL of God's anger and judgment has already been poured out on Him. God no longer has any reason to be angry with His children or punish them. Jesus took all of that.
So what do we mean by God's discipline? Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “God loves you right where you are, but He loves you too much to leave you there.” Even though God loves His people enough to die for them while they were still in the midst of their sin, He has a plan to change them from sinners into saints (Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1). From the time a person becomes a Christian to the time they die, God works on them. The Biblical word is “sanctify” which means to make holy, clean, or pure (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). As C. S. Lewis puts it, God is making us into little Christs. That is the ultimate goal and God will use every means necessary to move His children toward that end (Romans 8:28-29).
What does this process look like? It starts before people become Christians when the Holy Spirit first convicts them of their sin (John 16:8) and it continues after their conversion. Even after people become Christians, God continues to point out those areas of their lives that are not yet conformed to the image of Christ. God's discipline looks like that of a Father who faithfully guides His children to where He wants them to be which is where they need to be (Hebrews 12:4-11). He corrects them out of love because it is what’s best for them even though the process is uncomfortable. Christians experience an ongoing process of conviction and remorse for the sin that is still in their lives which then leads to confession, forgiveness, maturity, and an even deeper knowledge of God's love. 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 clarifies the difference between "Godly sorrow" which leads to repentance and "worldly sorrow" which leads to death. While we should feel remorse when we sin against God, we should not get sucked into a cycle of self-hatred, depression, and despair. Godly sorrow only lasts for a little while before God helps us move past it by remembering the truth: Jesus already died for that sin and God no longer condemns us for it.
It is important to note that Satan loves to confuse Christians by blurring the lines between God's judgment and His discipline. His weapons are lies and accusations (John 8:44; Ephesians 6:16; Revelation 12:10). When the Holy Spirit convicts someone of their sin, Satan jumps at the opportunity to shoot flaming arrows at them: "You really messed up this time!" "God hates sin. You've been sinning, so that means God hates you!" "You're never going to get anything right!" "God might not forgive you this time." "You'd better do something to make up for what you did." He is relentless as he tries to twist appropriate, "Godly sorrow" into guilt-ridden, self-hating, "worldly sorrow." His accusations sting because Christians can't deny that they have sinned, but these "arrows" can only do damage if Christians let Satan keep their focus on themselves and what they have done wrong. If they only look at themselves and how bad they are, they have no source of hope. However, Christians can use the "Shield of Faith" to extinguish those flaming arrows by keeping their eyes on Jesus and what He accomplished for them on the cross. Where truth is known, lies have no power. Faith must be placed daily in the reality that Jesus has already taken the punishment for sin and there is leftover anger for God's children.
When God's children stumble, fail, and sin, He is not surprised. He does not get frustrated or impatient with them. He does not roll His eyes at them. He does not get angry with them. He does not punish them. Why? He already dealt with their sin. For Christians to believe that God is angry at them, or punishing them, or judging them because they messed up is to believe that Jesus did not get the job done, that there is still some anger or some punishment left over for them. If you are upset by the sin in your life, that is a good thing! The Holy Spirit is convicting you and leading to you toward repentance. If you never feel any remorse about sin, that could be a sign of God's judgment (Romans 1:28). The next time you feel worried that you might have let God down or that He is angry at you for some reason, look to the cross and find comfort in the words of the Savior: "It is finished."
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