The High Price of Sin

 August 21, 2024

Wednesday

There are truths that appear to contradict each other. For example:

God allows people to sin.

God allows the consequences for their sin.

Yet, God cause all things to work for the good of those who love Him. 

How can that be? The ones who love Him still sin. He has allowed it and He has allowed for the terrible consequences that follow the sin. How can those consequences be good for the person who has sinned?

Someone might say, "Go ahead and sin. God will work it out anyway." I would be cautious about this attitude. It will lead to greater consequences. It sounds like, "Go ahead and spend beyond your ability to pay. You can declare bankruptcy later." Bankruptcy is a lot more painful than you think. It carries consequences that last for years. It may not condemn you for life but it certainly takes a chunk out of your life. You really don't go scot free. 

The consequences of sin are much like that. Sin damages your relationship with God. You become estranged from Him. Only a confession that breaks your heart will return you back to your former relationship. Brokenness is not a pleasant experience. Ultimately, it is good.

I have been broken over sin. It is not just sorry that I did them. I grieved over them. I knew I was forgiven but I hurt my Lord. He suffered greatly for my sin. I knew I couldn't undo anything that I had done. I knew that I was at His mercy. I knew He gave me grace that I will forever be thankful for, but I still grieved over the sin. Confession was far from painless.

There is the consequence that sin causes in others. Sin will destroy anyone's testimony for the Lord. Anyone who has looked up to you must not use you as an example of what they should be. They, too must forgive but the damage is still done.

I knew a man who taught a young adult married class at a church who had an affair. His sin made him leave his wife. His grown daughter wouldn't have anything to do with him. The group of young adults he had taught thought he was all talk and no walk. Yes, he can repent but the damage is done. He must take a long time before he will ever be able to restore trust.

Sin will keep people from believing in Christ. Non-believers don't think what we say is real until they see that it is real. You simply can't live like the world and expect the world to pay attention. They can see sin right where they are. Why should they become believers? Some may never become believers because of your sin. They will spend an eternity in hell. 

I think a lot of people think that the woman caught in adultery got away with it but Jesus told her to not sin anymore. In her culture a woman could only commit adultery if she was married. It didn't matter what the status of the man was. Her sin was made public. Her husband would have known she had committed adultery. The most common response of a husband was to divorce her and kick her out. There was no long legal proceedings for this. A divorced woman who had committed adultery would have a hard time making her way. There was really only one profession that would ensure her future. Of course, she couldn't take that one because Jesus told her to go and not sin anymore. Her life would have been far from easy.

None of what I have said here will keep us from being sinners. It hope it makes us much more conscious of what sin does. I hope that we don't consciously sin because we know we can be forgiven.

On the other hand, I want people to know that they are forgiven. I want them to know the price that Jesus paid for them. I want them to know that they can walk with God even though they have been sinners and continue to sin. I just want to say that sin is expensive too. Praise God that Jesus paid that price.

1 John 1:5–10 (NASB 2020) ⁵ This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; ⁷ but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.