Sins Punishment

Although God's punishment of sin does serve as a deterrent against further sinning and acts as a warning to those who observe it, this is not the primary reason why God punishes sin.

The primary reason is that God's righteousness demands it, so that he might be glorified in the universe that he created. He is the Lord who practices 'steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight says the Lord' (Jer. 9:24).                   

If Christ had not come to pay the penalty for sins, God could not be shown to be righteous. Because he passed over sins and not punished them in the past, people could rightly accuse God of unrighteousness, the assumption being that a God who does not punish sins is not a a righteous God. Instead, He stored up the punishment due to previous sins and then, in perfect righteousness, he gave the penalty to Jesus on the cross.

The propitiation (that is, a sacrifice that bears the wrath of God against sin and therefore turns God's wrath in to favour) of Calvary thereby demonstrated clearly that God is perfectly righteous: "It was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and He justifies him who has faith in Jesus" (Rom 3:26)

The final judgement for all sin and for all unrepentant sinners, is eternal conscious punishment in a place called Hell, they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Jesus refers to Hell as 'the unquenchable fire...where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched' (Mark 9: 43 & 48).