Q: How do you explain the fact that even with God’s forgiveness, sin has consequences?

In my experience, “consequences” can be a loaded term in some Christian circles. It sometimes functions as a code word for discipline and then that discipline gets conflated with punishment.

I do believe that God uses the natural consequences of sin in the lives of those whom he has received as sons as a source of discipline in our lives that is pedagogical—informative and formative.

But it’s God’s perfect providential paideia which is accomplished through and sometimes in spite of man’s misguided discipline. Punishment is about making someone pay for their mistake. Sometimes human authorities mistakenly conflate punishment and paideia.

Punishment is for unrepentant people. Paideia (i.e. nurture and chastisement) is for repentant sons.

And amazingly, God in his unfathomable wisdom and power can even take the mistaken punishments doled out by man and make paideia out of them in the lives of his children, turning an injustice into training in righteousness.