The Consequences of Sin

The Consequences of Sin

Harvest Baptist Church, Cincinnati, OH.

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Text: Hebrews 10:18-31; Job 34:18-30

(Heb 10:30-31 KJV) "I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. {31} It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Introduction: "Be sure your sin will find you out!"

1] Joe sat at his dying wife's bedside. Her voice was little more than a whisper. "Joe, darling," she breathed, "I've got a confession to make before I go. I'm the one who took the ten thousand dollars from your safe and spent it on a fling with your best friend, Charles. And it was I who forced your mistress to leave the city. And I am the one who reported your income tax evasion to the government."

"That's all right, don't give it a second thought," answered Joe, "I'm the one who poisoned you."

2] Our nation is becoming more and more decadent. And we seem- ingly don’t care! Sociologists tell us that we have an increasing problems w/addiction: Nine Personality Traits of the Addict

Whether it is alcohol, drugs, sexual addiction, compulsive gambling or whatever, the addict has essentially the same traits. Alan Lang, in his Substance Abuse and Habitual Behavior report to the National Academy of Science, identifies nine such characteristics:

1. Impulsive behavior 2. Difficulty in delaying gratification 3. Sensation seeking

4. Antisocial personality

5. Nonconformist values

6. Sense of alienation

7. Deviant behavior

8. Heightened feelings of stress

9. Little regard for goals generally valued by society.

3] Our nation has been embarrassed by the improprieties of the White House.

Relationship w/Miss Monica Lewinsky
Lies re: same while under oath and also in his speech to the American people
Anger and lack of remorse in the statement of 4 minutes, seven seconds given this past Monday.
Editor of the NY Post said: "It was a pack of lies from beginning to end." These same sentiments were printed in an editorial by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
What really hurts is the apparent lack of respect, concern by some foreign governments when they commented re: our retaliation of the terrorist attacks as being a diversion of our own morality problems.

4] The President said at the conclusion of his speech:

"Now, this matter is between me, the two people I love most — my wife and our daughter — and our God. I must put it right, and I am prepared to do whatever it takes to do so.

Nothing is more important to me personally. But it is private, and I intend to reclaim my family life for my family. It’s nobody’s business but ours.

Even presidents have private lives. It is time to stop the pursuit of personal destruction and the prying into private lives and get on w/our national life."

5] Question: "Does the private life of our leaders have any impact positive or negative on the lives and well being of our nation?"

Question: "Are the standards of moral conduct different for the members of the armed services than for the Commander in Chief?"

Question: If immorality demoralizes the military and demands a discharge of such military personnel, what is very possibly happening in the hearts and homes of American citizens?

6] This message is not about Pres. Bill Clinton, but it is about what happens when I sin, you sin, when we wink at sin as a nation!

7] There is a price to pay!

8] Note 3 simple facts:

WHAT "SIN" IS!

Defined as, "Actions by which people rebel against God, miss His purpose for their life, and surrender to the power of evil rather than to God." Billy E. Simmons
In the OT sin is:

Transgression of God’s Law — (Deu 6:24-25 KJV) "And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. {25} And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us."
Braking of a Covenant w/God — God made a covenant w/Israel. Every yr. on the Day of Atonement they renewed that covenant w/God. Any breach of that covenant was a sin. (Deu 29:19-21 KJV) "And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: {20} The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven. {21} And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:"
A violation of the righteous nature of God. God set the standard for His people (Lev 11:45 KJV) "For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." Therefore, any deviation from God’s standard of righteousness is sin.

In the NT there are concepts much the same, but in addition there is introduced the Son of God, Jesus Christ. His perfection is the standard against which we judge and measure sin!

Sin has its roots in the inner man — (Mat 15:18-20 KJV) "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. {19} For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: {20} These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man." Cf. An impure look is the same as adultery — (Mat 5:27-28 KJV) "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: {28} But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
Sin is "unbelief." Unbelief rejects, denies, substitutes for God’s Truth! (John 3:18-19 KJV) "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. {19} And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." Note: It is that critical that one is condemned or not condemned by what he/she has done w/the Truth re: salvation in/through JC.
Two interesting facts:

Sinful nature is inherited — (Eph 2:3 KJV) "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."
Sin is the result of a human choice — (Rom 1:18-20 KJV) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; {19} Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. {20} For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"

The Barna Report — 1992-93, "Six percent of all American families claim they completely follow each of the Ten Commandment." (1 John 2:3-4 KJV) "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. {4} He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
A young man once said to a preacher, "I do not think I am a sinner."

Then the preacher asked him if he would be willing for his mother or sister to know all he had done or said or thought, all his motives and all his desires.

After a moment the young man said, "No, indeed, I certainly would not like to have them know; not for the world."

WHAT SIN "DOES"

It is important to note that God doesn’t turn His back on sin! Sin in an individual, in a family, in a nation!

(Eccl 2:26 KJV) "For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit."
Rom 6:23 ref to the "wages" of sin
2 Pet 2:13, "and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as those who count it a pleasure to revel in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves w/their own decept-ions while they feast w/you."
Heb 2:2, "For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward...."

Consequences are:

Barrier between God and man — (Isa 59:2 KJV) "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
Man becomes a slave to sin — (Rom 6:16 KJV) "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"

(Rom 7:15 KJV) "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I."

Society, our cities, our nation becomes depraved; dishonoring to God — (Prov 5:21-22 KJV) "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. {22} His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins."

Iniquity is a "stumbling block" — Ezk 7:19
When hypocrites are ruling it becomes a "snare" to the people — Job 34:30. I.e. the private life does matter.

Ruins relationships — (James 4:1-2 KJV) "From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? {2} Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not."
Guilt — (Rom 3:19 KJV) "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God."
Death — Rom 6:23; (Ezek 18:20 KJV) "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. " Statistics prove that Wine, Drugs, Cigarettes, have shortened the lives of millions and cost the state, families millions!
Eternal Separation from God/loved ones in Hell — Rev 20:15

Illustration:

Columnist Bob Green of the Chicago Tribune has a theory about what's wrong with the world. He blames it on what he calls the "Death of The Permanent Record." He recalls that grade-school children once lived in fear of having their bad behavior noted on The Permanent Record. Because of this, people learned in their youth to stop before they did something deceitful or unethical. They didn't stop because they were so good but for fear of having their actions written down.
Today, according to Bob Green, people have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a permanent record. In fact, they believe no one has a right to keep track. Green says that with today's emphasis on our rights to privacy, if a school child were ever threatened with something going on his permanent record, he would probably file suit under the Freedom of Information Act and gain possession of his files before recess.

WHAT SIN COSTS

To the Sinner it will cost him, PEACE, HAPPINESS, JOY, HEAVEN IN A PLACE CALLED "HELL".
To the Savior it cost Him His life at Calvary.

No offering we bring is acceptable — i.e. Cain’s wasn’t either.
"He is the propitiation for our sins .... whole world" 1 Joh 2:2

Are you willing to "turn from your sin to the Savior?" John 6:37; Rom 10:13
Forgiven

They laugh and smile and talk and embrace and I do too.

But sometimes my smile covers a tear.

And no one knows.

Right now my tear is from an it.

I'm sorry, so very sorry I did it.

I feel like a broken record and the skip

is the it that never completely goes away.

What would they think if they knew my it?

Would the laughs vanish? The smiles disappear?

Would the talk be hurled at me? The embrace taken back?

Do they have an it?

What do they do with it?

Why do we act for each other when there is no play?

There is only life.

And that life includes a lot of it.

The point is not to celebrate it

but only to admit to it.

I am told Jesus knows everything

which means he know about it.

And yet he whispers

in words too good to be true

I died for you -- don't worry about it.

-- Chip Heim

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