Praying that God will punish them

[JamesG]

I have a friend who thinks it is ok to pray and ask that God punish a sinner or a group of sinners.

After reading the news paper and seeing all the coverage on the Gay Pride events last week, my friend told me that he prays that God will punish them. He said, “A city just doesn’t get away with that kind of thing. It angers God and eventually he will destroy them just as he did in the Bible”

What should I say to him?

I know there are difficult issues in the world right now, but asking God to punish all the sinners is rather odd.

 

[teachccd]

We destroy ourselves. God is love and while the Old Testament portrays Him as One who punishes, we found that in Christ we now know that the fully revealed Father can be called “Abba”. LIke the Prodigal Son we can always go back to our Father and He awaits us with open arms.

Tell your friend that rather than he/she spends his/her time praying for the punishment of others it would be far more advantageous to pray for their own sinfulness. Your friend is a sinner and needs to let God be God in how He deals with sinners. We need not judge nor wish harm to others especially thinking that we can pray for the punishment of others lest we find ourselves duly punished for our sins…teachccd

 

[prodigal-sun]

I have a friend who thinks it is ok to pray and ask that God punish a sinner or a group of sinners.

After reading the news paper and seeing all the coverage on the Gay Pride events last week, my friend told me that he prays that God will punish them. He said, “A city just doesn’t get away with that kind of thing. It angers God and eventually he will destroy them just as he did in the Bible”

What should I say to him?

I know there are difficult issues in the world right now, but asking God to punish all the sinners is rather odd.

We are the Church Militant, and our weapon of choice should always be prayer & fasting. Our prayers for sinners should be for the conversion of their souls from sin to holyness.

WE are not to set ourselves up as the judge… but to help sinners understand their sin and let them know the mercyful christ who loves us so much that he laid his life bare, to be brutalized and tortured by his children.

I for one would never ask God to punish anyone just in case some one is doing the same to me.

Peace!

 

[po18guy]

He does not sound like a Christian! God is love, and so, sent His Divine Son out of love of us. The New Covenant in Christ’s blood is made out of love, not anger or hatred. He came that we might be saved, rather than condemned. Your friend is ignoring the bible!

John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

This reveals great love, not any desire whatsoever to punish or condemn.

Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

This is not cursing or calling punishment down!

Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Cursing them is not love.

Mark 12:29-31 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Luke 6:27 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,”

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Luke 6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

John 15:17 “This is my command: Love each other.”

1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

There are at least 257 verses in the New Testament alone that refer to love. Does your friend ever say a prayer for them? If not, he is not following Christ.

Christ’s peace.

 

[peary]

I have a friend who thinks it is ok to pray and ask that God punish a sinner or a group of sinners.

After reading the news paper and seeing all the coverage on the Gay Pride events last week, my friend told me that he prays that God will punish them. He said, “A city just doesn’t get away with that kind of thing. It angers God and eventually he will destroy them just as he did in the Bible”

What should I say to him?

I know there are difficult issues in the world right now, but asking God to punish all the sinners is rather odd.

**Most of those involved in Gay Pride events - besides the fact that they may be homosexual - are basically good people who contribute much to society in other ways.

It always reminds me of the hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans a few years ago. The entire city was hit and flooded, especially the poor neighborhoods. And what about the French Quarter where all the ‘sin’ occurs? Untouched. Have your friend answer THAT one.**

 

[Newbie2]

I have a friend who thinks it is ok to pray and ask that God punish a sinner or a group of sinners.

After reading the news paper and seeing all the coverage on the Gay Pride events last week, my friend told me that he prays that God will punish them. He said, “A city just doesn’t get away with that kind of thing. It angers God and eventually he will destroy them just as he did in the Bible”

What should I say to him?

I know there are difficult issues in the world right now, but asking God to punish all the sinners is rather odd.

Sounds similar to “Rev.” Phelps and the folks at the Westboro Baptist “church” in Kansas. What this belief fails to address, as has been noted, that God wills that all be saved, but gives us the free will to reject his salvation. It also fails to acknowledge just who is is charge of the decision on whom is to be punished and who is not.

Lastly, it denies the possibility of such sinners repenting and receiving God’s mercy.

Better, methinks, to pray for their conversion and salvation than their punishment.

 

[Caesar517]

As everyone has said, it is better to pray that they may recognize their sin and repent than to pray that they are subject to God’s wrath.

Ask your friend this: What did Jesus say when he was being crucified? Was it “Father punish them for this terrible crime” or was it “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”?

 

[po18guy]

As everyone has said, it is better to pray that they may recognize their sin and repent than to pray that they are subject to God’s wrath.

Ask your friend this: What did Jesus say when he was being crucified? Was it “Father punish them for this terrible crime” or was it “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”?

Amen!

 

[StCsDavid]

The behavior is unacceptable yet we are called to tolerance. I wonder what kind of punishment does your friend believe fits the crime? Has he considered that the fact that the gay community feels driven to band together and march in the streets reflects a certain level of unhappiness they experience already? One doesn’t see “straight pride” parades. Sexual preference is not something one should be proud of or even necessarily ashamed of. It’s simply a characteristic of one’s nature. How one engages the passions is where one walks into sin.

Prayer for their conversion to a life with Christ seems more appropriate than a prayer for punishment.

 

[fbl9]

The behavior is unacceptable yet we are called to tolerance. I wonder what kind of punishment does your friend believe fits the crime? Has he considered that the fact that the gay community feels driven to band together and march in the streets reflects a certain level of unhappiness they experience already? One doesn’t see “straight pride” parades. Sexual preference is not something one should be proud of or even necessarily ashamed of. It’s simply a characteristic of one’s nature. How one engages the passions is where one walks into sin.

Prayer for their conversion to a life with Christ seems more appropriate than a prayer for punishment.

yes i agree it is how one engages the passions is where can be.and it is very easy for me to agree with the fact that we should pray for conversion rather than punishment.Jesus had something to say on this matter too. the impentient towns.

 

[LilyM]

Where would the Church be if those Christians who were persecuted by St Paul had prayed for God to punish Him?

At the least with such an unforgiving attitude they wouldn’t have accepted him after his conversion and would’ve lost one of the greatest leaders and teachers.