Dear BPCWAians, How could we ever believe that the loving God will send cursings to His own people? Me, His child, getting cursings from my Heavenly Father? Yet we have come to realise that God does promise not only blessings for obedience in Deut 28:2, but clearly also cursings for disobedience in Deut 28:15, “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee” (Deut 28:15). Thereafter follows a long list of cursings.

Erroneous understandings of why God sends cursings for disobedience. We will first see what are not the reasons why God sends cursings for disobedience. Some erroneously believe that if we taught that God sends cursings, then He is an angry God who is holding a rod and waiting to cane His children. Some claim that orthodox Christianity teaches a rod wielding and fault finding God since we teach that God sends cursings. They are wrong about what the orthodox teaching is. To them, since God is love, Christians should not believe God ever sends cursings or uses the rod on His children, but instead should believe that He blesses them with good things. To them, love and cursings cannot exist together. Such critics of cursings for disobedience fail to understand God’s character and how He deals with His children. It is wrong to assume that because we state God’s promise to send cursings for disobedience, then we are presenting an unloving God. We are not teaching that God is just watching closely for any mistakes we make and waiting to cane us. However, the believer cannot ignore the fact that God stated that He will send cursings for disobedience and we will sow what we reap. So why does God send cursings if He is a loving God?

Why does God send cursings for disobedience? In Deuteronomy 28, God promised that when His people disobey His commands, He will curse them with unfruitfulness despite their labours, failures in their endeavours, pestilences, sicknesses, attacks from other nations, etc. These curses are chastisements on His people because of their disobedience. Why does God do so? (1) Because it is the loving thing to do. He does so because   He is our Father and loves us, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. (7) If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? (8) But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” (Heb 12:6-8). Why is cursings for disobedience  loving? Because the meaning and purpose  of chastise   is to make chaste or make pure. God uses the rod to stop us from going on in sin. He uses it to draw us back to Himself by causing us to stop our sinful behaviours and ways. God chastises you because you are His child. So even chastisement is still God working out things for good because it drives you back to God from sin through repentance, and hence makes you pure spiritually in your ongoing walk. (2) Because it is the right thing to  do. While God is a loving God, He is also a just God. If He punishes the unbelievers, He will also chastise His children. God chastises because we need to learn that even though we are saved, sin still has consequences.

God is not a derelict father. God would not be a just Father if He closes His eyes and continues to bless us while letting us go on in sin. (3) Because we need to be reminded not to keep repeating the sin. God says we will sow what we reap. And some of the reaped consequences are not only painful, but can be permanent. Do you stop your sinful behaviours and ways and return back to God in genuine repentance? Have you sincerely changed your ways? If someone continues to refuse to stop the sinful ways despite what God does, the spiritual benefits of the chastisement God intended   is rejected by the unrepentant person. Only a fearful outcome awaits as you continue to partake of the Holy Communion (1 Cor 11:29-30). The consequences of sin will take over. Some consequences are irreversible. God sends chastisements so that these will be averted. Do not turn God’s patient chastisement into a greater curse. They are meant to be good for you spiritually, if your repentance is genuine.

We have seen the meaning of blessings and the reasons for blessings as well as cursings. I hope that these brief lessons will sufficiently cause each reader to use God’s blessings for God’s glory and respond when God chastises, so that we can return to God’s blessings.

Yours in our Lord’s service

Pastor