The consequence of sinfulnesss–being cut off from the life and goodness of God–is so perpetually annihilating in and of itself that no additional “penalty” needs to be imagined in order to increase the disaster of sinfulness. If God does nothing in regard to sinfulness, the consequence to the sinner is just as terrible as if God somehow actively brings about the same end.

Why, then, do we conceive of the consequences of sin within the framework of penalty? It’s simple: because at the core we are sinful, vindictive creatures that desire a vision of God wherein God reacts along the lines that we, as sinful creatures, would act. We want God to respond with violence and hatred because these are what fundamentally characterize the neurosis of sin. If our God behaves in similar ways, we have–in a very small and neurotic way–legitimized the categories of our behavior, and God is simply the biggest and most violent one in the end.

Fortunately, the truth is that God does not pile “penalty” upon our heads, but quite to the contrary invades our sinfulness in the person of Christ to rescue us from the fear of death and dissolution (Hebrews 2:14-15) so that we might More >