THE CONSEQUENCES
OF SIN
Part I
Sin is rebellion towards God. It comes in several forms:
disobedience, accusation, ignoring God. Sin has many
consequences. So often when people sin, they do not realize
how that sin impacts on them and on God. This paper is an
attempt to show, in detail, all of the effects of our sins.
Firstly, sin has a most undesirable and even catastrophic
effect upon the sinner. Sometimes the person who is sinning can
feel the impact of his/her sin; sometimes this impact is not felt.
Understand this, however, whether this impact is felt or not, IT
STILL IS A REALITY.
MENTAL CONSEQUENCES
When we sin, we affect our conscience. This is what is
commonly known as guilt. We create feelings of guilt. This
can range anywhere from mild to overwhelming. People have
actually killed themselves because they could not stand the guilt
that they felt for the wrongs that they have done.
2.
This is not why God placed a conscience in each one of us.
He placed it there so that we could and would recognize our
problem and be driven to do something constructive in dealing
with that problem. Without the remedy for Sin that God has
given us, however, this guilt can, and does, pile up and overwhelm us.
This guilt can produce all kinds of side effects such as worry,
fear, sadness, a sense of loss, a sense of not being in control of
our own lives, despair, rejection, and much more. One of the consequences
of sin, is GUILT!
PHYSICAL CONSEQUENCES
Sin will produce consequences. We are dealing with
physical consequences, here. Sin produces all manner of
diseases. Sexual sins produce sexually transmitted diseases such
as herpes, aids, hepatitis, genital warts, and a long extended list.
Other sins cause the perpetrator to spend time in prison and/or jail.
Some sins can cause brain damage (alcohol abuse). Sins can bring
about some immediate physical punishment....NOW! Smoking
causes cancer. Smokeless tobacco causes cancer of the mouth,
tongue, and throat. Some crimes can get you killed or put in the
hospital.
ALL SIN WILL PRODUCE BAD
PHYSICAL CONSEQUENCES
3.
SPIRITUAL CONSEQUENCES
Certainly sin has spiritual consequences which affect the person
who is committing the sin(s). Sin will separate us from our God. It deprives
us from the eternal reward that God has purchased for us.
sin will bring spiritual death to any and all who refuse to change,
repent, and submit themselves in obedience to God and seek out the
remedy that God has given us.
SOME PASSAGES DEALING WITH
THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN
Sexual sins and immorality will produce diseases and guilt. God’s word
says that we are actually sinning against our own bodies.
I Cor. 6:18 - 18Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man
does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual
immorality sins against his own body.
James 4:8 - 8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts,
you double-minded.
Rev. 21:8 - 8“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable,
murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all
liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire
and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Not one single being will escape the judgment of God, for their sins. God did
not spare the angels of heaven that rebelled....God did not spare His own Son
from dieing on the cross...God will not spare us.
4.
II Peter 2:4-9 - 4For if God did not spare the angels who
sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into
chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5and did
not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight
people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood
on the world of the ungodly; 6and turning the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to
destruction, making them an example to those who
afterward would live ungodly; 7and delivered righteous
Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
8(for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented
his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing
their lawless deeds)—
9then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of
temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for
the day of judgment.
5.
Heb. 2:2-3 - 2For if the word spoken through angels proved
steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience
received a just reward, 3how shall we escape if we neglect
so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken
by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard
Him.
Rev. 20:15 - 15And anyone not found written in the Book of
Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Through one man sin was brought about...through the blood of one man
(Christ, Jesus), we have been justified and set free from the bondage of sin.
Rom. 5:12 - 12Therefore, just as through one man sin
entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death
spread to all men, because all sinned.
Rom. 6:23 - 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our consciences will either condemn us, or clear us...before God. There
is but one thing which can clear the conscience. We will spend some time
later discussing the solution to a guilty conscience.
John 8:9 - 9Then those who heard it, being convicted by
their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the
oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the
woman standing in the midst.
6.
Rom. 2:15 - 15who show the work of the law written in their
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between
themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)
II Cor. 1:12 - 12For our boasting is this: the testimony of our
conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in
simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but
by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.
I Tim. 1:5 - 5Now the purpose of the commandment is love
from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from
sincere faith.
I Tim. 1:19 - 19having faith and a good conscience, which
some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered
shipwreck.
Titus 1:15 - 15To the pure all things are pure, but to those
who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even
their mind and conscience are defiled.
Heb. 9:14 - 14how much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to
God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God?
Heb. 10:22 - 22let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
7.
I Peter 3:21 - 21There is also an antitype which now saves
us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but
the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Suffice it to say, YOUR SINS WILL AFFECT YOU IN TERRIBLE
WAYS! You will be affected physically...and more importantly...you will be
eternally condemned to a tormenting place...a place that is designed for the
devil and the fallen angels who followed him. God takes no pleasure in
seeing His people punished in hell.
Ezek. 33:11 - 11“Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God,
‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the
wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your
evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
No...God takes no pleasure in seeing the wicked punished, but understand
this: ALL SINNERS WILL BE PUNISHED! God’s word tells us quite
plainly that, “The wages of sin is death...” (Rom. 6:23).
_____________________________
I want to digress from the subject, for a time. The information which I
share with you has a direct bearing on what we shall see in part III.
I wish to discuss the being whom we know as Jesus Christ. Many
things have been taught about Him and some of what has been taught is not
correct. I wish to use the scriptures and the scriptures only. We want to look
at these scriptures in their proper context (as we should consider ALL
scripture).
We will try to determine, from the Bible...exactly who Jesus Christ
really was (and is).
8.
John 1:1-3 - 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the
beginning with God. 3All things were made through Him,
and WITHOUT HIM...NOTHING WAS MADE THAT
WAS MADE.
Col. 1:16-17 - 16For by Him all things were created that are
in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
ALL THINGS WERE CREATED THROUGH HIM AND
FOR HIM. 17And He is before all things, and in Him all
things consist.
Heb. 1:1-2 - 1God, who at various times and in various ways
spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2has in
these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has
appointed heir of all things, through whom also HE MADE
THE WORLDS.
Eph. 3:9 - 9and to make all see what is the fellowship of the
mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been
hidden in GOD, WHO CREATED ALL THINGS
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.
Gen. 1:26 - 26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our
image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over
the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth.”
9.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is God. John 1:1 and John 1:14
prove beyond any reasonable shadow of doubt that what I have just pointed
out is fact. Some would have Jesus Christ less than God, but their arguments
break down in the light of, in depth, biblical study. Greek scholars agree that
John 1:1 makes Jesus Christ God...in all ways...to every degree...GOD.
Some may be willing to accept Jesus Christ as God, but they are a little
confused when it comes to placing Jesus Christ in an equal position with
God, the Father.
Perhaps some common, earthly things would help to understand the
concept a little better:
1.) We could think of the concept of God with the idea of “species”.
We are homo-sapiens...they are GOD.....God...Son, God...Father,
God...Holy Spirit.
2.) Another way to help us understand the concept is to regard the
word, “God”, as their last name: Father God, Son God, Holy
Ghost God.
3.) Lastly...If I were to hold up a whole clove of garlic and ask what
I had in my hand, you would say, “garlic”. If I were to hold up
a piece or wedge of garlic and ask what I held in my hand, you
would probably still say, “garlic”. Whether a part or the whole...
it is still garlic.
10.
There are three distinctly different parts to the Godhead.
These three distinctly different members of the Godhead have
three distinctly different roles to perform. We do not know
everything that there is to know about their roles, but we do
know this: The Father has, to the best of our understanding,
NEVER COME OUT OF HEAVEN. It seems to be He that
directs the heavenly host. The son seems to be the only member
of the Godhead that has ever BECOME A MAN. Both the Son
and the Holy Spirit have come to the earth. The Son has come to
preach, teach, and to be the sacrifice for all humankind. The
holy Spirit has come at the request of the Son. HE HAS COME TO
COMFORT US; TO EMPOWER US; AND TO BRING RIGHTEOUS
THINGS TO OUR MEMORY.
Furthermore, we have already noted several passages which prove,
beyond the shadow of any honest doubt, that JESUS CHRIST
CREATED EVERYTHING!
The passages which were cited earlier show that even though the
Father and the Holy Spirit had input and agreement in all that was created, it
was the Son who actually implemented the plan. It was the voice of the Son,
therefore, that said, “Let there be light”. It was the Son who actually did the
act of “Creation”.
If this is the case, and it certainly is, Jesus Christ made the men
who were going to crucify Him. He made the tree that was to be
His cross. He made the ground in which the hole was dug to
receive the base of the cross. He made the iron ore which would be
turned into nails which were run through His wrists and ankles.
When the wicked people who stood beneath the cross and
tormented Christ said, "If you are the Son of God, come down
from the cross" (Matt. 27:40), they were actually challenging the
creator of the universe to come down from the cross. I PRAISE
THE GOD ABOVE THAT JESUS WAS MEEK ENOUGH TO
STAY ON THE CROSS!!
11.
PART II
Now we will deal with another consequence of sin. Sins have cost
God, dearly. Our sins have demanded the death of Jesus Christ on the
cross. Christ did not do this because He was forced to...but because He
loved us so very much and only wanted good for us.
You see, it was this same Christ who placed us in the Garden of Eden,
originally. It was He who supplied every need and all the wants (except one)
of Adam and Eve. With all of this going for mankind, the first man and
woman introduced sin into this paradise and defied God. That is...they
defied Jesus Christ. God still loved us and was willing to pay the full cost for
getting us back. Know clearly...there was a cost...a consequence, if you will.
He (Jesus Christ...the Creator...God) redeemed (bought us back) with His
own blood. This was in consequence of our sins.
Jesus Christ emptied Himself of His God nature and came to
earth through the womb of a woman, named Mary.
Phil. 2:5-8 - 5Let this mind be in you which was also in
Christ Jesus, 6who, being in the form of God, did not
consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7but made
Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant,
and coming in the likeness of men. 8And being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
John 1:1,14 - 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. 14And the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth.
12.
John 3:16 - 16“For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life.
Luke 1:30-33 - 30Then the angel said to her, “Do not be
afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31“And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a
Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32“He will be great,
and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God
will give Him the throne of His father David. 33“And He
will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His
kingdom there will be no end.”
Our sins caused God to sacrifice greatly. The Father sacrificed
His son. This is something that God didn’t even require of man.
Gen. 22:10-13 - 10And Abraham stretched out his hand and
took the knife to slay his son. 11But the Angel of the Lord
called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.” 12And He said, “Do not lay your
hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that
you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your
only son, from Me.” 13Then Abraham lifted his eyes and
looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket
by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and
offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
Our sins caused God, the Son to give up His throne in heaven (for
a season) and take on the form of His very creation. Not only that,
but our sins caused His death on a cruel cross.
13.
It was our sins that caused Christ to be beaten, by the Temple Guard.
They beat Him with rods which were about two inches in diameter and about
six feet long. The men wielding these rods hated Christ and really wanted to
hurt him badly. Our sins were responsible for this unmerciful beating of
Jesus Christ.
The soldiers spit on Christ. They did not simply spit in His direction,
as some form of disdain. They spit, repeatedly...full in His face! Again, it
was your sins and my sins that were responsible for this disgusting and
humiliating punishment.
The cat-o-nine-tails was the name of the wicked whip devised to
punish and torture Roman prisoners. The man who wielded this device was a
member of the Roman army (he was called a, “lictor”). He did nothing but
whip prisoners. This man had a cruel heart and a crueler aim. The only
restriction on him was that he must not kill the prisoner. He could bring him
to the brink of death and back (and did, on a regular basis), but he could not
kill the prisoner.
A little description of the cat-o-nine-tails: This whip
has nine leather strips that are about six feet long each. Each
strip has sharp things imbedded in it. Bits of glass, bone, metal,
and whatever else is at hand. Jesus is striped naked and tied in a
spread eagle fashion in a doorway. His hands are tied to two
rings at the top of the door and his feet are tied to two rings at
the bottom of the doorway. A depression has been carved in the
stone threshold of the door (somewhat similar to a bowl). In
this container has been placed salt water. The whip is dipped in
this saltwater. When it cuts open the flesh, it will cause more
excruciating pain as the salt works into the muscles.
As a string would wrap around your finger, so the whip
wraps itself around the body of Jesus Christ. When the whip is
pulled upon, it will unwrap from that body, but in the process,
the bits of glass, metal, and bone will rip and tear large pieces of
flesh and muscle from the body of Christ each time the whip
is laid across His body. This torture will happen times nine (for
there are nine strips of leather). You and I have caused this to
happen with our sins. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER
REASON FOR THIS TO HAPPEN TO CHRIST...BUT FOR THE
FACT THAT WE SINNED AND THIS WAS A CONSEQUENCE OF
THOSE SINS!
14.
Now the soldiers place a scarlet robe on the back of Christ and mock
Him. They curse and laugh and torment the Creator of the universe. They
continue to spit on Him and punch Him in the face...over and over again.
Someone brings in some thorns. These thorns are approximately two inches
long and are as hard as any nail. They plait (weave) these thorns into a
“crown” of mockery and place this on His head. Another soldier takes a
stick and beats it down on the head of the one who loves us so. After some
time has gone by...and the blood has dried on to the cloak they rip it off of
Him! This has to have opened every wound, afresh.
When His clothes were put back on, He stood before
Pontius Pilate again. In His time before Pilate, the crowd chose
a murderer over Jesus. Our sins did that, you know. In a way, it is a
reflection of our acts of willful wickedness. Did we not choose the things of
the devil over the Creator of the universe?
He was made to carry His cross to His execution. The blood
flowed down His face and down his body. The cross probably was
covered with His blood. It was our sins which required all of this to
happen. Nothing was done haphazardly...God had required and planned out
all of this punishment.
15.
Christ was so weak that the Romans had to force another man to finish
carrying the cross the rest of the way. This would certainly indicate just how
much blood loss and exhaustion there was in the body of Jesus Christ, at this
time.
Finally the Christ, the cross, and the crowd...made it to the top of the
hill called, “Golgatha” (which means the place of the skull). Here Christ is
stripped stark naked...HE WAS STRIPPED NAKED AND PLACED IN
PUBLIC SHAME AS A DIRECT RESULT OF OUR SINS. He was
placed on his back on the cross and while soldiers held Him down, massive
spikes were driven through His wrists and His feet. When He was finally
fastened on the cross...the soldiers raised it up and DROPPED IT INTO
THE HOLE THAT WAS PREPARED FOR IT.
All of Christ’s weight was placed on those nails and the agony must
have been excruciating. But, you see...it had to be thus. Our sins demanded
this kind of agony and torture.
16.
The cross was an especially diabolical form of torture. It
worked in a cruel, but efficient way. A little step was placed
where the feet were. This was so that the person on the cross
could push himself up. The reason that he would want to push
himself up was because he would suffocate if he didn’t push
himself up. You see, when a person is on the configuration of
the cross, he might want to sag down from pain and exhaustion.
If and when he did this, he would only be able to breath in, but
NOT be able to breath out. If he stayed in this position for
long, he would die. When the Romans had their fun with the
crucifixion, they would break the condemned’s legs. This
would insure their immediate death. Sometimes they would just
let the condemned linger on the cross for days until total exhaustion would
insure that he would not be able to push himself back up and would
suffocate. This was the form of torture that God deemed necessary to deal
with the consequences of our sins.
They did not break Christ’s legs, however, because He died
before it was necessary to. He died of a broken heart, for you and
me. He died because of our sins. His side was pierced and His
blood was shed for you and me.
You see, sin has consequences other than just disease, guilt,
and physical death. Our sins have cost the life of our dearest
friend. They have caused God to take on the form of a human
being and to be put to a cruel death. He took upon Himself our
guilt and shame. By his stripes (beatings) we are healed. He
was despised and rejected of men. He tasted the hell that we
justly deserve; because of our sins.
17.
Isaiah 53:3-7 - 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man
of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it
were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not
esteem Him.4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried
our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by
God, and afflicted.5 But He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The
chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His
stripes we are healed.6 All we like sheep have gone
astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the
Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.7 He was
oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His
mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a
sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His
mouth.
Matt. 26:36-27:54 - (Read from Bible....to large to copy here)
Phil. 2:5-8 - 5Let this mind be in you which was also in
Christ Jesus, 6who, being in the form of God, did not
consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7but made
Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant,
and coming in the likeness of men. 8And being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Rom. 5:19 - 19For as by one man’s disobedience many were
made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be
made righteous.
18.
Heb. 5:8 - 8though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience
by the things which He suffered.
Heb. 2:16-18 - 16For indeed He does not give aid to angels,
but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17Therefore,
in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He
might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things
pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the
people. 18For in that He Himself has suffered, being
tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
Heb. 9:27-28 - 27And as it is appointed for men to die once,
but after this the judgment, 28so Christ was offered once to
bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him
He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
Sin may have physical consequences that may follow you to
the grave, but you can be free from the guilt of sin and of the
eternal and spiritual consequences of sin. God has provided a
remedy for sin. This remedy is the blood of Jesus Christ (see
the booklet entitled, "THE BLOOD"). Contacting this blood is
necessary for the forgiveness of your sins. ALL OF YOUR
SINS ARE WASHED AWAY WHEN YOU CONTACT THE
BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST.
There are many things that one must do before he/she
contacts that blood, but your sins are all washed away at the
actual point in which you do contact the blood of Jesus Christ.
(some relevant passages - Rom. 6:16; Acts 22:16; Psalm 103:12;
Isaiah 1:18; John 3:5-6; Rom. 6:3-8)
19.
There are many more things to say and to learn. Just
remember, in all this, your sins are not without consequences.
Can you afford to ignore these consequences, or would you
rather be affected by God’s solution for sin. The person who
has taken the time to discuss this with you would be more than
happy to further explain God’s wonderful plan that He has put in
place to insure your salvation from the eternal consequences of
sin. Take the time to study out this plan and make the most
important decision that you will ever make...your decision to
live the life of a Christian.
THE CONSEQUENCE
OF SIN
By Gerry Pratt
THE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN
(Second Edition)
Copyright c 1999
By Gerry Pratt
"The Consequence Of Sin", Published by:
PEPCO PUBLISHING CO.
615 N. TYLER ST.
ENID, OK. 73703
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored
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in any form or by any means - electronic,
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otherwise - except for brief quotations
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PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Gerry Pratt
615 N. Tyler St.
Enid, Ok. 73703
(580) 237-3306
