RETRIBUTION THEOLOGY - Retribution theology says if you get cancer, it’s a sign that God is punishing you for something bad you’ve done. If your business prospers, it’s a sign that God is pleased with you. The Bible certainly teaches the concept of sowing and reaping. God will take vengeance on evildoers someday - and He promises a final judgment. So, there will be retribution - but the final judgment is yet future. Retribution theology is concerned with rewards and punishments here and now. Retribution theology is countered in Scripture. Not all good people are rewarded with good things in this life - and not all wicked people receive punishment immediately. One day, God will judge the world in righteousness and perfect justice - retribution is coming. Until that day, we are careful not to assume God’s blessing or judgment on individuals based on their external circumstances - we trust the Judge of all the earth to always do what’s right - “How long, LORD, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant?” - Retribution theology is basically the idea that you get what you deserve. God sees to it that the good people get good things in life, and the bad people get bad things. God punishes people in this world in direct response to their actions. Retribution theology says, for example, if you get cancer, it’s a sign that God is punishing you for something bad you’ve done. If your business prospers, it’s a sign that God is pleased with you.

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Retribution Theology

What is retribution theology?

.

Retribution theology says if you get cancer, it’s a sign that God is punishing you for something bad you’ve done. If your business prospers, it’s a sign that God is pleased with you. The Bible certainly teaches the concept of sowing and reaping. God will take vengeance on evildoers someday - and He promises a final judgment. So, there will be retribution - but the final judgment is yet future. Retribution theology is concerned with rewards and punishments here and now. Retribution theology is countered in Scripture. Not all good people are rewarded with good things in this life - and not all wicked people receive punishment immediately. One day, God will judge the world in righteousness and perfect justice - retribution is coming. Until that day, we are careful not to assume God’s blessing or judgment on individuals based on their external circumstances - we trust the Judge of all the earth to always do what’s right

Got Questions Ministries

 

“How long, LORD, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant?” - Psalm 94:3

Retribution theology is basically the idea that you get what you deserve.

God sees to it that the good people get good things in life, and the bad people get bad things.

God punishes people in this world in direct response to their actions.

Retribution theology says, for example, if you get cancer, it’s a sign that God is punishing you for something bad you’ve done.

If your business prospers, it’s a sign that God is pleased with you.

Retribution theology is thus an overly simplistic interpretation of life events that makes assumptions about God’s intentions.

The Bible certainly teaches the concept of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7).

God will take vengeance on evildoers someday (Micah 5:15; Matthew 3:7).

And He promises a final judgment (Isaiah 1:24; Revelation 20:11–15).

So, there will be retribution.

But the final judgment is yet future.

Retribution theology is concerned with rewards and punishments here and now.

Retribution theology is countered in Scripture.

The fact is that not all good people are rewarded with good things in this life (Job and Paul are notable examples).

And not all wicked people receive punishment immediately; otherwise, we wouldn’t have questions like “How long, LORD, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant?” in Psalm 94:3 (cf. Psalm 73:2–16). 

King Ahab was one of the wickedest kings ever to defame a throne, yet he reigned twenty-two years in Samaria (1 Kings 16:29).

Twenty-two years of luxury for the evil king, while the righteous in Israel were being persecuted; there weren’t many believers in retribution theology in Ahab’s day.

When Job’s friends came to speak to Job in his misery, they brought with them their retribution theology.

Eliphaz sets the stage early on: “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it. At the breath of God they perish; at the blast of his anger they are no more” (Job 4:7–9).

In other words, Eliphaz simplistically concluded that the innocent are protected in this world and the wicked perish.

Bildad and Zophar echo the same sentiments, accusing Job of wrongdoing, as evidenced by his plight (Job 8:6; 20:27–29).

But all three of Job’s friends were wrong about Job and wrong about God (Job 42:7).

When Jesus’ disciples saw a man born blind, they asked, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2).

Such a question shows an underlying belief in retribution theology — either the man or his parents were being punished for some wrongdoing.

Jesus’ answer quashes that notion: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned” (verse 3).

God had purposes in the man’s blindness other than punishing sin.

Jesus once referenced a local tragedy to make a point about repentance: “Those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them — do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:4–5).

In calling all men to repent, Jesus also countered retribution theology — those who died in Siloam were not killed because of any special sin they had committed; the tower’s fall was not God’s retribution.

Some people see retribution theology taught in the book of Proverbs.

Many proverbs seem to promise good things for the righteous and bad things for the wicked.

For example, “The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous” (Proverbs 3:33).

Also, “Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor” (Proverbs 18:12).

And “The righteous eat to their hearts’ content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry” (Proverbs 13:25).

We must remember something about the nature of proverbs: namely, proverbs are not promises rather, they are general truths about life.

Generally speaking, making wise choices in life brings better results than making foolish choices.

Living godly usually has practical, temporal benefits in addition to the eternal benefits.

There may be exceptions to the rule, such as when a godly man is thrown into a den of lions (Daniel 6:16) or lowered into a mud pit (Jeremiah 38:6).

Others look to the blessings and cursings attached to the Mosaic Law for proof of retribution theology: “I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess” (Deuteronomy 30:16–18).

It’s true that, under Israel’s theocracy, God promised retribution upon the disobedient.

Sometimes that retribution fell quickly (Numbers 11:33), and sometimes not so quickly (Psalm 35:17).

But God’s treatment of Israel under the dispensation of the Law cannot be the basis of our theology in the dispensation of grace.

When the ship carrying Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta, the apostle gathered sticks to help build a fire on the shore.

As he threw some sticks into the flames, a viper came out and bit his hand.

Immediately, the islanders assumed they knew why: “They said to each other, ‘This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live’” (Acts 28:4).

The islanders believed in retribution theology, but they were wrong about Paul.

When Jesus was hanging on the cross between two criminals, the passersby assumed Jesus was getting what He deserved: “We considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4).

That’s the kind of assumption common in retribution theology, but, in Jesus’ case, it was wrong again.

One day, God will judge the world in righteousness and perfect justice.

Retribution is coming (Revelation 22:12).

Until that day, we are careful not to assume God’s blessing or judgment on individuals based on their external circumstances.

We trust the Judge of all the earth to always do what’s right (Genesis 18:25).

Got Questions Ministries seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by providing biblical, applicable, and timely answers to spiritually related questions through an internet presence.
GotQuestions.org is a ministry of dedicated and trained servants who have a desire to assist others in their understanding of God, Scripture, salvation, and other spiritual topics. We are Christian, Protestant, evangelical, theologically conservative, and non-denominational. We view ourselves as a para-church ministry, coming alongside the church to help people find answers to their spiritually related questions.

https://www.gotquestions.org/retribution-theology.html

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CAST YOUR BREAD UPON THE WATERS - Sow seeds of goodness every day, even when it doesn’t make sense to do so. In due season you will reap a reward. Be diligent about sowing goodness, and accept no excuses! Then goodness will become a part of who you are, not just a thing that you do, and the world will be a better place because of it - The instruction to “cast your bread upon the waters” is a metaphor for being generous, even if a return seems unlikely. A couple translations emphasize this meaning: “Be generous, and someday you will be rewarded” (CEV). “Do good wherever you go. After a while, the good you do will come back to you” (ERV). Casting bread or sowing seed on water seems to be an exercise in futility. But you don’t know what the actual results will be, says Solomon; in faith be generous, and in faith expect a return somewhere down the road. This accords with Proverbs 11:18, “The one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward”; and Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” The passage as a whole communicates the principle of doing as much good as you can, knowing two things: the results are in God’s hands, and you don’t know when you yourself will be in need of someone else’s generosity. The book of Ecclesiastes is unique in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is the only book that overtly philosophizes.

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Cast your bread upon the waters

What is the meaning of ‘Cast your bread upon the waters’ in Ecclesiastes 11:1?

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Sow seeds of goodness every day, even when it doesn’t make sense to do so. In due season you will reap a reward. Be diligent about sowing goodness, and accept no excuses! Then goodness will become a part of who you are, not just a thing that you do, and the world will be a better place because of it

Got Questions Ministries

Ecclesiastes 11:1 says, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days” (ESV).

This maxim has led to a variety of interpretations, some better than others. We will take a look at a couple of them in this article.

One view is that the instruction to “cast your bread upon the waters” has to do with international commerce.

The principle is that, if you invest your “bread” or “grain” wisely, in a broad enough market, you will garner a return.

A couple of Bible translations bring out this meaning:

“Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return” (NIV).

“Invest your money in foreign trade, and one of these days you will make a profit” (GNT).

The problem with seeing this verse as advice on international trade is that the context doesn’t much support it.

One of the themes of Ecclesiastes is that financial gain is “vanity” (see Ecclesiastes 5:10–17), so why would the author, Solomon, near the end of the book, be giving advice on how to turn a profit?

Another view is that the instruction to “cast your bread upon the waters” is a metaphor for being generous, even if a return seems unlikely.

A couple translations emphasize this meaning:
“Be generous, and someday you will be rewarded” (CEV).

“Do good wherever you go. After a while, the good you do will come back to you” (ERV).

This second, metaphorical view is probably more in line with the intent of the verse.

Casting bread or sowing seed on water seems to be an exercise in futility.

But you don’t know what the actual results will be, says Solomon; in faith be generous, and in faith expect a return somewhere down the road.

This accords with Proverbs 11:18, “The one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.”

And Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Carrying that interpretation forward, we look at Ecclesiastes 11:1–2 together:

“Ship your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.
Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.”

The passage as a whole communicates the principle of doing as much good as you can, knowing two things: the results are in God’s hands, and you don’t know when you yourself will be in need of someone else’s generosity.

The book of Ecclesiastes is unique in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is the only book that overtly philosophizes.

Specifically, Ecclesiastes is a book of practical philosophy — it is based on observation and experience, not on strained, esoteric ideas.

The topic in Ecclesiastes 11:1–6 is not how water affects bread.

It is about how our goodness affects the world.

The bread and water are used as imagery.

The “bread,” which by metonymy is best understood to be the seed of the bread (its grain), represents our goodness, and the rest of the passage encourages us to be undeterred in our “sowing.”

We must “cast our bread” — we must liberally extend our goodness, even when it doesn’t seem to be doing any good (cf. Matthew 5:44 and Luke 14:13–14).

We should note that Ecclesiastes 11:1 is not a holy algorithm that says if you do X in the Y way then Z will happen.

Rather, Solomon gives us a precept and a prescription.

It is not a formula like those used in laboratories that necessarily yield the same results time after time.

Sowing goodness comes under the realm of social science.

Solomon is offering good advice based on his observations.

But since people are involved — and since people are volitional creatures — the maxim cannot guarantee a positive result in every case.

This “no guarantees” aspect of benevolence is shown by the phrase “upon the waters.”

We cast our bread out into the world, and we simply cannot know if every seed will find a place to grow.

What we do know is that a significant number of seeds will grow.

We should not get hung up on the fact that some of the seeds will not thrive (cf. Mark 4:3–20).

Casting bread upon the waters evokes the law of sowing and reaping. The seed in this case is one’s acts of goodness.

There will be a harvest in heaven, if not in this world.

But the point Solomon makes is more than that we should sow goodness in order to reap a future harvest; the idea is for us to become people who will do good for goodness’ sake, irrespective of the harvest.

Ecclesiastes 11:1–6 can reasonably mean, “Sow seeds of goodness every day, even when it doesn’t make sense to do so. In due season you will reap a reward. Be diligent about sowing goodness, and accept no excuses! Then goodness will become a part of who you are, not just a thing that you do, and the world will be a better place because of it.”

Got Questions Ministries seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by providing biblical, applicable, and timely answers to spiritually related questions through an internet presence.
GotQuestions.org is a ministry of dedicated and trained servants who have a desire to assist others in their understanding of God, Scripture, salvation, and other spiritual topics. We are Christian, Protestant, evangelical, theologically conservative, and non-denominational. We view ourselves as a para-church ministry, coming alongside the church to help people find answers to their spiritually related questions.
We will do our best to prayerfully and thoroughly research your question and answer it in a biblically based manner. It is not our purpose to make you agree with us, but rather to point you to what the Bible says concerning your question. You can be assured that your question will be answered by a trained and dedicated Christian who loves the Lord and desires to assist you in your walk with Him. Our writing staff includes pastors, youth pastors, missionaries, biblical counselors, Bible/Christian college students, seminary students, and lay students of God’s Word.

https://www.gotquestions.org/cast-your-bread-upon-the-waters.html