Retribution Theology is a term that few people know, but it's a principle that everyone recognizes and understands. In simple terms, RT is the belief that people ultimately get what they deserve. Good things come to good people and bad things come to bad people. I like to refer to RT as the "just desserts syndrome". If someone gets cancer or some other horrible disease, they must have done something to deserve it. If a person goes through a horrible tragedy such as losing a child or their house burning to the ground, they just got what was coming to them. Sadly, even many professing Christians believe such ideologies.
This subject is deeply personal for my wife and I, due to the fact that almost three years ago my wife developed a migrainous headache, accompanied with extreme back and body aches. She has suffered with this pain in varying degrees every second of every day since then. This condition has taken us all over the country seeking medical help, spending thousands, and moving 2,000 miles away to a drier climate that for a while helped her with her migraine triggers (although since August, even this relief has disappeared).
Over the past three years, we've had a lot of varying advice from well meaning people. We've been told that if we just had enough faith that my wife would be healed, or that anointing her with oil and having the elders of the church pray over her is a guaranteed fix. Someone even told us that the Lord's Supper is a "meal that heals". However, without a doubt, the most common thing that people have said to my wife actually comes in the form of a question, "Do you have any secret sin in your life that you haven't repented of?" There are actually a handful of people that bring up this subject almost every time they see or talk to my wife. Why? It's because their theology will not allow for suffering that isn't a direct result of a person's sin. Hence, RT.
Both the Old and New Testaments are full of examples of people who believed in RT. In fact, the Jews were (and are) notorious for believing in this error ridden theology. My mind goes immediately to John chapter nine when Jesus and the disciples came upon a man that had been blind from his birth. The ever inquisitive disciples asked Jesus, "who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" In other words, what did he do to deserve this? This is textbook Retribution Theology.
We find another example of this mindset in Mark chapter two, with the healing of the paralytic. Jesus was preaching inside a house that was packed with listeners. The paralytic man had four faithful friends (who obviously didn't believe in RT, praise God) that had hauled him up to the roof, tore open a hole and lowered him down to where Jesus was. When Jesus healed this man, He chose His words very purposefully. He said to the man, "Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee." Why did Jesus say this? Well, for one reason the Jews and Pharisees would have automatically associated this man's condition with his sin. He must have done something to deserve this, but Jesus can forgive sin. The Pharisees responded to this by giving their most intelligent quote in the NT (they didn't say it, but only thought it), "Only God can forgive sins". Jesus essentially smiled at them and said, right you are. This was the second reason for choosing His words so carefully, to prove that He is God in the flesh.
Who can forget the story of Job in the OT. Within a very short space of time, Job lost his children, his wealth and his health. His three friends traveled from afar to come and comfort him. To their credit they sat with Job and kept their mouth shut for seven days before they spoke to Job. But it all went South when the conversation started. All three of them told Job that his trials were a direct result of his sin. Eliphaz broke the ice on this subject by saying to Job, "Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same." In other words, I don't know exactly why, but I know that you deserve this Job.
Some might be reading this and think, well it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, especially since there seems to be at least some element of truth involved. Retribution Theology is a really big deal. For the rest of this blog I will attempt to prove that RT is unscriptural and damaging for the following reasons. RT confuses the categories of consequences for sin, and trials from God. Retribution Theology has absolutely no room for grace. People who believe in RT will find absolutely no peace or anchor in their own storms because they will constantly be heaping self blame and guilt upon themselves. Lastly, RT will greatly effect how we view others in their suffering and how we minister to them.
Retribution Theology Confuses the Categories of Consequence vs. Trial
It is an undeniable fact that ultimately, all suffering goes back to Adam's sin in the garden. Because of his disobedience, sin and death entered the world, resulting in the fall of the entire human race (Romans 5:12). Every time that we drive down the road in our car, we are constantly reminded of this truth every time that we pass a hospital, prison, nursing home or cemetery. The consequences of sin are all around us. It's also true that our personal sins have consequences. It is clear that drinking alcohol can lead to liver damage (and a host of other problems). Adultery can lead to divorce and a broken home. A loose sexual lifestyle can lead to STD's and/or unwanted pregnancy. All sin equals death. In many cases we can find clear links between sin and corresponding consequences, and this truth should not be avoided. However, even in these cases, grace must be extended. We too are sinners, and Christ extended grace to us with the command and the invitation to repent and believe the gospel.
Think about how Christ dealt with Matthew the hated tax collector, the woman taken in adultery, the woman at the well, Zacchaeus, Mary Magdalene, the thief on the cross, etc. In fact, you won't find a single time in Scripture where Christ dealt harshly with sinners, not once. He was honest. He never made light of sin or offered up excuses for immoral behavior. He told them to repent, but He was always loving and gracious. The only time that Christ got harsh with anyone was when He went off on the religious Pharisees who thought that they were above any kind of reproach. As we have seen, the Pharisees reeked of Retribution Theology.
Clearly, we understand the correlation between sin and consequence. However, is everything that we suffer as Christians a direct result of our sin? The answer is a resounding "NO". In the case of the blind man in John chapter nine, Jesus gave a clear answer as to why he was born blind. He told His disciples, "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." Christ wasn't advocating sinless perfection among this man or his parents. He was saying that they hadn't done anything specifically to deserve him being blind. This is an astounding statement from Christ. He essentially said that, I made Him that way so that when I passed by this way, he would bring me glory when I heal Him.
There may be some that cringe at the thought that God would create people less than "normal" for His glory, but the Scriptures are clear. When God told Moses to command Pharaoh to let His people go, Moses made the excuse that he wasn't a good speaker. The Lord responded with a rhetorical question "Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord?" (Exodus 4:11). Ask the blind man if he got a raw deal. The Lord healed him and used him greatly. His story was forever etched in Holy Writ, and now He is seeing Christ and the splendors of Heaven for all eternity! His blindness had nothing to do with his personal sin and everything to do with the sovereign plan of God. This is the difference between a consequence for sin, and a trial from God. Retribution Theology fails horribly in recognizing this distinction.
There is Absolutely No Place For Grace in Retribution Theology
Let's be honest, if we start talking about life in terms of what we deserve, we all deserve eternity in hell due to our sin against a Holy God. Anything North of hell is sheer grace and mercy. As Christians, it is the epitome of hypocrisy to judge our life in light of God's grace, and judge others based on what they deserve. The word "grace" literally means the undeserved favor of God. There term "deserved grace" is a misnomer, for there is no such thing.
For starters, we can't possibly even know all of the facts about a person's life to even be able to make the proper judgment about what exactly they deserve. Only God can do that. In the case of Job, the book opens by clearly defending Job's character, God Himself said that He was "perfect and upright, that he feared God and eschewed evil." Also, several times throughout the book it is stated that "in all this, Job sinned not." We also get a glimpse into the inner workings of Heaven. It was God that brought Job up to Satan, not the other way around. However, Job's friends simply could not imagine that God would allow these things to happen in Job's life unless there was some kind of secret sin involved. They were incapable of extending any grace to Job because they didn't think that he deserved any grace. This is why there is absolutely no room for grace in RT, because the moment that grace is deserved, it ceases to be grace.
Think about the horrible implications of RT when carried to its logical conclusion. If grace is something that must be earned, what does this do to our relationships? What a strain for children having to earn grace from their parents, or wives having to earn grace from their husbands, or fathers having to earn grace from their children. But the ultimate tragedy is that RT teaches us that we must earn grace from God. Sadly, Retribution Theology has much more in common with the Hindu concept of Karma than it does the gospel of grace.
Unfortunately, there are pulpits all over the country who preach this kind of thing. Someone sent me a recent clip of a Baptist pastor making the statement that Job "made many mistakes" and that "God didn't want Job to worship in that moment, He wanted him to repent..... Job didn't repent until the end of the book, and God didn't restore him until he repented..... Job was always just one step away from the favor and blessings of God." Not only does this butcher the context, as well as the meaning of grace (earning God's favor), but it implies that Job got what he deserved, and only when he changed his behavior, did his situation change. Certainly, if one is truly living in sin, they need to repent. But if your go to theology when it comes to suffering is "if you would just do better, things would get better", it adds an incredible weight to someone who is already suffering greatly. This leads us into out third point.
Retribution Theology Offers No Peace or Anchor During Times of Great Suffering
Retribution Theology sounds great until you are the one in need of grace, a comforting word or a helping hand. Imagine the problem that Job's friends would have created for themselves if later on they had found themselves in a horrible trial. There is absolutely nothing that serves up a freshly baked humble pie like deep personal suffering. First of all, everyone who knew what they had said, and how they had acted towards Job would have immediately suspected sin in their lives. And after they inserted their foot into their mouth, there would have been no way to defend themselves. This is what Job nailed them with when he said, "He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked." In other words, any fool can see that no one is exempt from trials and tribulations. Years ago I had a very wise preacher give me advice on preaching with grace from the pulpit. He said, "If you spend years filling your church people with gun powder, don't be surprised if they blow up on you down the road." Suffice it to say, don't be like Job's friends.
The second thing that needs to be considered here is, what are the natural implications for someone who really buys into RT, and find themselves in a trial. By their theology, they must have done something wrong. If they would just do better, than things would get better, right? Instead of taking comfort in the fact that God is working all things for the good, they can't help but feel as if they are being punished for doing something wrong. For those who are suffering, RT yields a never ending supply of self guilt and condemnation. This again shows how badly RT butchers grace. The flip side of being able gain God's favor by doing well, means that it is possible to lose God's favor when doing badly (even if the bad is only perceived).
The truth is that many times our suffering is a gift from God (Phil. 1:29), it is the will of God (I Pet. 3:17), and is working for our good and His glory (Rom. 8:28). God doesn't despise those with a broken heart (Psalm 51:17). In fact, He is drawn to them (Psalm 34:18). However, for the adherents of RT, there is no room for such graces, neither for themselves or others. They have absolutely no comfort or solutions to offer.
Why is Retribution Theology So Popular?
I believe that RT is popular for one simple reason, the illusion of control. People want to feel like they are in control of their own destiny, their own suffering. If people think that as long as they try to do their best, that nothing bad will ever happen to them, it makes them feel good. It's all an illusion that will come back to hit them in the mouth, but it feels good in the moment. This is exactly what Job said to Eliphaz, "For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down and are afraid." It's intimidating to watch good Christian people suffer. It wakes us up to the reality that if it can happen to them, it can happen to us. People don't want God to be in control of their suffering. As Charles Spurgeon once said, "Men are comfortable with God being everywhere but on His throne."
Another reason that RT is so popular is that it's just easier to write someone off than it is to get in the fire with them. But we are commanded to "bear on another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Gal. 6:2) To those guilty of RT (probably all of us at some time and to some extent) we need to repent. To those who are concerned about whether their suffering is due to their sin or if they are in a trial, I would simply say, if you aren't directly violating Scripture, and God hasn't revealed the sin through prayer, I would take a deep breath and thank God for the trial. God doesn't play games with things like that. Our Heavenly Father knows how to chasten His children. He is a God who is full of grace and truth.
In closing, we have seen that Retribution Theology finds no place in scripture. The weakness of RT is that it falls completely short of grace. We must be aware of it and cast it aside, both for our sake and the sake of others. While you're at it, could you please pray for my wife Leah in her suffering?
