Why does God punish sin but not reward goodness?

Sultan_Of_Swing · Jun 3, 2013

Now, heaven is the ultimate reward for the good. I know this.

But let’s imagine a devout Catholic who lived his whole life devoted to God and did a lot of good.

Before he died, he fell away (which is possible) and committed a mortal sin as well.

Now, why does this one mortal sin bear infinite punishment, but all the good he has done in his life bear no reward?

Doesn’t God punish wickedness but also reward goodness? Why isn’t the good that this person has done rewarded? Why can’t good deeds have infinite consequences too?

Phil_Marinus · Jun 3, 2013

This is a great question… Have thought about it myself many times and have no answer…

april32010 · Jun 3, 2013

:compcoff:

jeffrey_tantowi · Jun 3, 2013

Well that depends. Usually humans do good deeds for a lot of reasons. If they truly did good deeds from their heart especially to glorify God, that is great

and for your question that if a human do a lot of good maybe to glorify God(let’s take the best reason for it) but in the end they throw all of he has done by doing a mortal sin such as murder of a friend or his/her parents and in that state after a mortal sin they changed to a bad person. That means he has changed from a good person to bad person and he prefer to be a bad person.

another example that is Adolf Hitler. He is baptized in Catholic Church. But instead glorifying God through what he has(power, money or etc). He chose to kill a lot of people. His whole life changed. The opportunity he has to glorify God and bring goodness lost because he chose to do a terrible thing. But that person who commit a mortal sin can be saved again if he truly repent.

God can reward us in different ways. That is a mystery for everyone of us. For example, when you are in hardship, He will send someone to help or comfort you. But He prefer to give our full reward when we finally go home(which is in Heaven).

So what do you think? Did I answer your question?

bzkoss236 · Jun 3, 2013

That depends on a number of factors.

What is this man’s culpability for this mortal sin? If he has lived a long life of keeping pretty much sin free, that begs the question of what were the factors involved in this sin?
Is he repentant for the sin? If he is truly repentant, I’m sure God’s mercy would not give him over to the fires of hell.

If he is unrepentant, though, and he meets all the criteria for it to be a mortal sin (ie. knows it’s gravely sinful and did it with full consent of the will), then he is deciding to reject God, even in his last moments, and that puts serious doubt as to his salvation.

Polycarp1 · Jun 3, 2013

Everyone is expected to do good. We are created in the image of God. We should expect no reward for it. On the other hand we are expected to avoid doing evil, but if we do we will be held accountable for our actions. God is both merciful and Just!

PietroPaolo · Jun 3, 2013

We have to start out by asking “What is/isn’t Heaven?” Heaven isn’t a paradise of self-enjoyment. No 100 virgins are waiting to serve the saved’s every whim. We aren’t playing poker with Abe Lincoln and Marylin Monroe. Heaven ultimately is nothing other than eternal union with God - anything (everything) else that Heaven is flows from this essential property. E.g. God is the source of all life, therefore eternal union with God is eternal life, God is the source of all love, therefore eternal union with God is eternal love, etc. Hell works in reverse. Ultimately, Hell is eternal disunion with God and as God is the source of all life being disunited with Him is eternal death, etc.

Second, what is mortal sin? What does it mean to “fall away” before you die? Mortal sin is sin which kills our soul by separating us from God. When we commit a mortal sin we are rejecting God and our relationship with Him. When we die our souls exit time - we, therefore have no more time to repent and return to a state of union with God (i.e. a state of grace) and thus we are fixed in a permanent state of disunion with God.

But heaven is nothing other than being in a state of eternal union with God. Thus we cannot be in heaven (i.e. in a state of union with God) when we are in a state of mortal sin (i.e. in a state of disunion with God). It’s logically impossible.

Heaven and Hell are not positive rewards and punishments (like breaking the speed limit resulting in a fine) but are natural consequences of our actions (like breaking the speed limit resulting in a traffic accident). We freely choose Heaven or Hell by rejecting or accepting God not just mentally but with our entire hearts, minds, and souls (and actions).

Therefore, what ultimately determines the fate of a soul isn’t comparing its good and evil deeds, but whether or not that soul is united to God at the moment it enters eternity.

Hope that helps a little.

openmind77 · Jun 3, 2013

The answer is probably too obvious for most Catholics to accept - it just is not true that God sends a unrepentant person to eternal hell for some minor mortal sin. (actually I don’t believe God sends you to eternal Hell for major sins either, but that may not be so obvious).

anruari · Jun 3, 2013

Why does a spouse divorce their partner for one drunken night of unfaithfullness even though they had had years of faithfull love and mutual service?

Now, in the Case of our Judgment by Our Lord, the stakes are far higher, but the judgement is also quite different.

I cannot make myself worthy of Eternal Life. Only that which is Pure, and sinless can enter Heaven, can enter the Presence of Love Himself (God is Love).

God gave us Free Will. Try thinking about the situation in a different way:

God has created us to Love Him of our own Free Will. It is our choice to Love Him or Reject Him.
He gave us an Immortal Soul. His intention is that we make our choice to Love Him, and choose to spend Eternity in His Presence.
Sin Entered the World. Rebellion from God. That Free Will was poluted by the seduction of Evil and Hate.
When we exercise our Free Will, we choose to draw closer to God, or to Wald away from god and damage our relatioship to Him.
We are incapable of not sinning. We will allways do things that break our relationship with God.
He wants us to Love Him and Be Loved by Him. He sent his Own Son to pay the price for our sin and buy our Redemption: thereby to offer us our Salvation.
The Redemption is a Doon Deed. Once and for all time. Our Salvation is a Gift waiting there on a Plate for us to accept. There is no Sin so great that you cannot choose to repent and accept the Forgivness that The Lord is offering you with His Arms open wide on the Cross. The Price foryour Redemption has already been Paid.
Our response to that is a Free Choice of our own Free Will.
There’s a HUGE difference between a sin that consists of Grave Matter (A serious Sin) and a Mortal Sin. however a Mortal sin must include a sin of Grave Matter.
Lets take the example of Adultry. the bible uses this metaphor throught the books of the Old and New Testaments.
In the example of the Unfaithfull Spouse: We are the Bride, we are the Unfaithfull Spouse, but Our Bridegroom is God Himself. He is offering us Forgivness. BUt if an unfaithfull spouse does not want to be forgiven, how can the Bridegroom force her to come into His Chamber?
In committing a sin of GraveMatter we are being unfaithfull in a serious way to God. But he wants to forgive us anyway. He desperately wants us back. But even if we spent most of our lives being faithfull, we are still free to run away with someone new even after 40 years of marriage. A drunken night of unfaithfullness is something the Lord will forgive us for, but if we run away and shack up with a new Groom, he cannot force us to come home against our will. This is Mortal Sin. A sin that is deliberately committed with the full knowledge and clear intention to sever our friendship with God.

However even if we do run away, and spend time away from Him, we can still repent and come back. You can repent and come back any time in this life. He will welcome you Home with Open Arms.

In your example, if the sin is Truly Mortal, it is not so much that God is punishing some trivial transgression with eternal punishment ignoring a lifetime of otherwise faithful devotion. It is that the sinner has decided, despite a lifetime of devotion to God, to flip their groom the finger, and go off on a dirty weekend with the “Pool Boy”.
If they die in that state without repenting and accepting Gods Forgivness how can they expect to suddnley transport themselves from the Hotel Bedroom with the Pool Boy and be transported star-trek style into the mrital bed with their true spouse and want that to happen?
They wouldn’t. That’s the point of Mortal Sin. its the decision to divorce yourself from your true Groom. it is serving God with divorce Papers, and your death signs the Decree Absoloute. If your divorce Papers are there and signed at that time, and not withdrawn then youhave made your choice and are no longer able to change your mind.

It’s not so much that God is casting you into eternal punishment it is more like you choosing to walk away from God. Perminantly. Unfortunately being out of the Presence of God is so intensley painfull for our Soul that is is described as a perminant burning fire… But it’s self inflicted.

God’s punishment is different from that. God’s punishment is purifying. It is Hotter, More Painfull, and burns away all that is not Of Him, but it must be accepted willingly. It is called Purgatory. Some of us start that process here on Earth. We do it Willingly. but any punishment. anything impure that is not Gone when we pass into the next life must still be burned away when we die. This is called Purgatory.
No sin will go unpunished. You will be faced with the true Human and spiritual consequences of every sin you have ever committed and even though you have been forgiven, you still have to put right anything that’s not yet put right. - As you are transformed from your Human Flesh to a being that has nothing that is not of God. not of Love, you will be convicted by the Hurt you have caused to every other person you Love.

How much does a mother or father feel hurt when they realize they have injured or hurt their child? Now magnify that by every hurt you have caused to any other human on the planet. But every good deed will also be rewarded. when you have completed your purification you will be enthroned in Heaven. you will be Like Him. and your position in Heaven your authority as a Judge, and King will be defined by th Good Works you have done here on Earth, the Humility with which they were done, and the sacrifices you made.

Goya · Jun 3, 2013

I must take exception to the premise–God does not ‘punish sin’, nor does he ‘reward goodness’–not necessarily, anyway.

Our natural state of being, post original sin, is fallen. Hence we are damned by default–has nothing to do with us committing sin (now, post baptism, when we sin, then yes, we alienate ourselves from God–but that is not God ‘punishing’ us for our sins–that us US, rejecting God, and therefore returning to our natural/default state of being damned).

We are saved, by God’s infinite mercy and grace. It’s not really a matter of our ‘goodness’, or reward therefore, as much as the merits of our Lord.

God has offered salvation to all, through His Son (who in turn, has given us a Church thorugh which we may come to Him). Availing ourselves of such, entails ‘goodness’ on our part, and avoiding evil/sin–but, frankly, if we all got what we deserved, based on our ‘goodness’ vs. ‘sin’, we’d all be %#*&'d.

…just say’n…

TheDoctor · Jun 3, 2013

The confusion comes because we look at it through “human” eyes instead of “God” eyes.

There is nothing that we as finite mortals can do to redeem ourselves or make up for even the smallest sin against an infinite God who created us from nothing for the sole purpose of loving Him. There are no scales with God, no checks and balances. For any sin that we do we condemn ourselves to being without His love (which is essentially what Hell is).

Our infinite God loves us so much, that He redeemed us the only way possible - by sending His son to become a lowly human and to die for our sins.

In your hypothetical case, the sinner, like all of us, deserves Hell for turning their back on God. God however in justice looks upon why we sinned and what we have done with the gifts He has given us and in His mercy chooses not to give us what we have earned through our disobedience but what His son has bought for us by His sacrifice on the cross. Does the sinner in your case go to Hell? Does he repent and turn back to God? Not for us to know, but to hope.

PietroPaolo · Jun 3, 2013

In a certain sense you’re right that God doesn’t send anyone to Hell, as we freely choose to sin and thus send ourselves to Hell. Of course, the conclusion “no one is in Hell” would be false - and dangerously so.
There is, by definition, no such thing as a minor mortal sin. It’s a contradiction in terms.

LaSainte · Jun 3, 2013

I think good deeds DO have infinite consequences. For example, if you live a faithful life and you love God, pray the rosary, attend mass, etc. then you build up spiritual graces. It will be very hard for you to turn away from God. If you live this amazing spiritual life and then one Sunday, you are feeling tired and decide to sleep in rather than to to mass and then you get hit by a bus, well the , I firmly believe that God and Jesus and Mary and the angels will give you the graces you need at the moment of death for perfect contrition so that you can go to Heaven.

Being good makes it harder to fall away definitively, which is why we need to cultivate our faith. It is a slippery slope.

Now, if all of a sudden, for no reason, you decide you hate God and don’t want anything to do with Him ever again and THEN you get hit by a bus, then you might be in trouble. But honestly, who, after living a virtuous life, really decides to do anything like this with no mitigating circumstances whatsoever? If there are mitigating circumstances and you have loved God your whole life, I believe that God will come to rescue you from yourself at the end.

Even today, I pray for the perfect contrition of my loved ones who have died years ago.

God is not dependent on or bound by the sacraments. We are.

R_C · Jun 3, 2013

Christ, who is Truth and in whom there is no deception, has spoken as follows:

We can therefore be assured with a timeless, divine assurance that even the smallest act of love bears an infinite, eternal reward.

In fact, since you are considering Catholicism, I will mention one out of many private revelations, this one concerning the love and mercy of Christ towards sinners:

The question then remains: “why does this one mortal sin bear infinite punishment”. But that question is a bit limited. A better question is: why does an All-Mighty, All-Loving God allow any number of mortal sins to bear infinite punishment? Why does He not simply use His omnipotence to clean the slate and allow everyone to the Beatific Vision? To put this in a very concrete way, why did the Father not take away from Christ the chalice of sorrows? Why did Christ embrace the Cross?

As you can see, there is no easy answer. In fact, we could say that Christ is the Answer to this question that has always kept mankind thinking.

The answer is given obviously by Christ Himself: “all judgment was given to me by the Father…but I do not judge anyone.”.

How can Christ the Divine Judge affirm that He does not judge anyone? Has Christianity not held as a tenet of faith since the apostolic and patristic age that He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead?

The issue seems to be a contradiction, but the Spirit of Truth suggests the very simple answer: “* the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge*”. It is not God that wields an eternal, infinite punishment because of one mortal sin: it is the sinner that wields it on himself!

Because the apostle (not Catholicism) teaches that “All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death”, but “there is a sin that leads to death”. That sin is mortal because it is done with full knowledge and deliberate consent. A *mortal * sin is one we commit when we know that we are going to offend God and turn our back on Christ, and we deliberately do it. We turn our back on Christ. How could we benefit of the infinite merits that all our actions have brought us, if we turn our back on He who is the Giver of all graces? How can we enter heaven, which He keeps wide open for us, if we turn and run away into darkness?

It is a basic tenet of the Christian faith that nobody enters the state of Hell without knowing so and choosing so. And if someone knows and chooses to reject Christ and His love, then either God forces him into the state of heaven by takes away free will and rendering him like an animal, or God respects his freedom to chose whether to accept His Word and His life-giving Spirit or to reject it. And God does not force anyone to love and be loved. He simply loves. He is love. If someone rejects Him, how could he then be loved?

How would souls in the self-inflicted state of hell benefit of the merits they attained in life is a mystery. All good done would become a source of torment, for they then rejected it all. It would feel like having spent your entire life to build a majestic castle, and then blowing it up. But we cannot forget that the Mighty to Save may as well give special graces in consideration of the good actions done, and it is fully conceivable that someone who dies in an apparent state of mortal sin would have at the last moment, by his initiative moved by God’s ordinary or special grace, repented and attained salvation. His sin, then, which did not lead unto death, would lead unto a temporary time of self-inflicted punishment, for only the pure can behold the face of God.

ChurchSoldier · Jun 3, 2013

Interesting question. At the foundation is the premise that a person can live a sinless life and therefore make his way to heaven by their own doing. This was discussed in the 5th Century by a man named Pelagius. The teaching is a great heresy called Pelagianism.

Other than that, yes, one bad decision and unrepentance for the actions could produce bad results. But with that, it is not God not allowing him to enter, it is the man choosing to walk apart from God and experiencing the natural consequences of his decision

Here’s a page that lists heresies in case you were interested.

kaizen · Jun 3, 2013

I think the answer to your question is written in the book of Ezekiel 18:21-32. Hope that helps.

bsroufek · Jun 3, 2013

As explained in Ezekiel Ch 18, it’s how we end up that matters to God. We end up either good or bad, not both. If good, why remember the bad. If bad, why remember the good.

Jesus also said that a good tree can’t bear bad fruit any more than a bad tree can bear good fruit. He also said that even a gift of a cup of water to one of the least of his children surely has its reward. Even if you go to Hell, this gift’s reward will be given to you, I suppose, and any relief in Hell is very good.

So, don’t worry, for God is just and righteous. If you choose the good, which you should, you’ll end up a good tree.

HolyRosaryChild · Jun 3, 2013

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
God has rewarded me time and time again for all the ‘good’ I have done for others, through Him and through Our Lady Mary Mother of Jesus after committing mortal sins through my Soul journey.

Some examples I wish to share with my sisters and brothers in Christ through Jesus and Our Mother Mary.

Jesus expects us to pray hard fully opening up our Hearts to Him being contrite and remorseful when confessing our sins.

Jesus does reward ‘goodness’ that we do for others if we are free from mortal sins (those confessed and forgiven) or ceased (while doing great goodness for others).

An example of this are when His Children commit a mortal sin that they may be totally unaware of at the time (ie unaware that the sin was mortal) and in certain circumstances beyond their mental capabilities; Jesus, in certain situations with some people, does reward goodness if the mortal sin has ceased and people have been undertaking great goodness.

It is entirely up to God Our Heavenly Father if He gives His Divine Love and Mercy forgiving the mortal sins or not during our lives here or after death and whether or not our goodnesses are rewarded here on Earth and/or after Death.

For instance, I have been punished by certain sins (that I had no idea at the time being Mortal sins). The few years following these mortal sins I carried out many of God’s kind deeds and works wherever possible through Mother Mary (Our Lady Mary Mother of Jesus). During The Holy Rosaries and Healing over the past few years, I have been reminded of certain sins to seek forgiveness and realise/acknowledge that some of these sins were Mortal sins which had wounded Jesus’ Heart dreadfully. I am not over my healing on certain things as yet (am working through the list) during Confessional hearings guided by Jesus and Mother Mary.

In between I have received a great deal of Love, great Mercy, beautiful Gifts and Rewards and Blessings from Jesus and our Mother Mary after opening up my Heart to Jesus through Our Lady Mary’s Divine Most Holy Loving Intercession to God our Heavenly Father with the following;

. Jesus Healed me from an illness which was costing me my life (completely within a week of praying and talking to Jesus and our Mother Mary after having had the illness for almost a year. It never returned two years later (to date).

. Jesus paid off my home and removed all of my bills (that were someone else’s) that I had for almost two years (within two weeks of praying to Jesus and our Lady Mary Mother of Jesus, He had removed every bit of financial stress, anxiety and worries, never to return (two years later to date) and has rewarded me with some additional major incredible things over the past 12 months!

. Jesus has provided me with accommodation during crises situations throughout my life (after opening up my Heart, praying and trusting in Him) “Ask and Ye shall receive”!

So many other Gifts and Blessings (Goodnesses rewarded) Jesus has given me after sins committed!

. Jesus continually healed my Family members from illnesses when Specialists had only given them days to live on various occasions (after I had opened up my Heart to Him, fully trusting in Him)!

. Jesus has rewarded me over the past 12 months with new positive Christian Friends (highly spiritual) outside of the Church and from unexpected ways after only days before, praying and asking for the most loving Christian positive people to come into my Life.

. Jesus replaced my income source (two years ago I would never have dreamt about Jesus’ ingenuity He flowed through to me and of course Our Mother Mary (Praise be to Thee Dear Jesus Christ our Saviour and Dear our Lady Mary Mother of Jesus) in order for me to carry out my Callings to Him through Our Lady Mary Mother of Jesus and to be there more for my Family and others around the world.

Believe, Trust, have full Confidence in Jesus Christ our Saviour through Praying, Fasting, Attending Mass and Reconciliation and doing kindnesses for others.

May you pray The Holy Rosaries twice or three times a day to receive Jesus and Mother Mary’s Blessings and Gifts as I have.

fisherman_carl · Jun 3, 2013

How many mortal sins would it take?

“But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.”

Ezek 18:24

Keep in mind what mortal sin is. It is a complete turn from God. There are no accidental mortal sins. Also it is unrepentant mortal sin. But if one is sorry God will forgive.

If a tree goes bad can it be salvaged? Give it one more year?
If a person loves God he will not want to commit sin.

openmind77 · Jun 3, 2013

God may not send some one to eternal hell, but if he sets up laws that send people then it is the same thing. It is not free choice, if you are forced to do something (repent) to avoid it.
Using contraceptives seems pretty minor to me, or maybe I am mistaken - isn’t that a mortal sin?

Why does God punish sin but not reward goodness?

Sultan_Of_Swing

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