I have been looking up and reading about the consequences to sin that we find in the Scriptures. I know this is a very long post, but I have been going though this in my quiet time for the past week. Things that are on my heart and mind, I like to blog about. I need to guide my heart every minute of every day least I be tempted and fall into sin. I am not a want to be journalist Nor do I have a Bible major. Half the time I am sure I don't dot all of my i's and cross all of my t's.
We sin in many ways; The more we pursue sin, the more our conscience becomes dulled
(1 Timothy 4:2, Titus 1:15). A dull conscience causes us to be susceptible to enemy's lies which will draw us progressively further from God
(James 1:14). Eventually we may not even think our actions are sinful and our ability to repent can be hindered (
Hebrews 6:1-8).
We may well be tempted to think that because none of us is perfect, and we are all to some extent suffering from this moral disease the Bible calls 'sin', and because God is a loving God, then it doesn't matter too much. He will surely overlook our little faults. Unfortunately, the situation is somewhat more serious than that. Though God loves us passionately, his holiness and justice are such that he cannot live with evil. As the prophets Habakkuk and Isaiah put it,
"Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong" (Habakkuk 1:13), "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you" (Isaiah 59:2).In highlighting the seriousness of our position the Bible describes us as "darkened in [our] understanding" and therefore blind to spiritual truths (
Ephesians 4:18, 1 Corinthians 2:14); "dead in [our] transgressions and sins" and therefore without the life of God in our souls (Ephesians 2:1, 5); and "enslaved" to our sinful nature (Titus 3:3; John 8:34), with hearts that are so twisted with self-centredness that out of them come "evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride and foolishness. All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God" (Mark 7:21, 22). We are also described as being "without hope" (Ephesians 2:12) and "without excuse" (Romans 1:20).Finally, we are powerless to do anything about it unless God should take the initiative (
Ephesians 2:8; Acts 11:18). In short, we have a past that needs forgiving, a separation that needs bridging, a mind that needs illuminating, a void that needs filling, and a nature that needs transforming. Amazingly enough, these are all things that are amply provided for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
We can have restoration from our sin.
You can see from these
Sex sin can cause emotional confusion. Sex creates emotional bonds ("soul ties") with our sex partner. These bonds will vary in strength depending on the relationship. God intended this emotional bond for marriage partners. When we bond with people other than our spouse through sex, emotional confusion results. This confusion can manifest in many ways. Here are some examples:
* Recurring dreams and/or thoughts about your lover
* Inability to achieve emotional intimacy with spouse
* Regret or bitterness toward people who hurt us in past relationships
* Comparing our spouse with former lover in sexual performance
* Distorted understanding of true love (corrupted by lust or other selfishness)
* Increased promiscuity, in attempt to find true intimacy and love
This sin feels so much like love when it is committed. The more it is done the more our conscience is dulled to this sin.
The danger of emotional confusion is that it can hold us back from experiencing true intimacy with our spouse and God.
Adultery often destroys marriages and families. The husband and the wife will suffer emotional, spiritual and even physical damage when the bond of fidelity is broken. Major healing will be needed to repair the breach. Memories created during a marriage breakup can last the lifetime of the family and the effects can be felt up to four generations. Viewing pornography is a form of adultery (Matthew 5:28), and its potential to damage a marriage cannot be underestimated. Too often it is justified as a harmless necessity by the addicted, suggesting that it is not as damaging as physical adultery. This is a lie!
Sin causes shame, fear and guilt
in people's lives
Even when people laugh and mock the sins they commit outwardly...the feelings of guilt, fear and shame haunt them inwardly. The only person who does not experience these feelings any longer are those who been turned over to a "reprobate mind" where they no longer have feelings toward others, themselves or God. The Bible says,
"
O my God, I am ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you, for our sins are piled higher than our heads and our guilt is as boundless as the heavens." Ezra 9:6
"Otherwise I perish, for problems far too big for me to solve are piled higher than my head. Meanwhile my sins too many to count have all caught up with me and I am ashamed to look up. My heart quails within me. Please, Lord, rescue me! Quick! Come and help me!" Psalms 40:12-13
Sin causes pain and misery
God never intended our life to be unhappy and miserable but sin's power makes people do things that harm others and themselves. Every bad thing that has ever happened on earth is caused by someone's sin. Every hurt, every wound and every disease is the result of sin. The Bible says
"Listen, O heaven and earth, to what the Lord is saying: "The children I raised and cared for so long and tenderly have turned against me. Even the animals--the donkey and the ox--know their owner and appreciate his care for them, but not my people Israel. No matter what I do for them, they still don't care. Oh, what a sinful nation they are! They walk bent-backed beneath their load of guilt. Their fathers before them were evil too. Born to be bad, they have turned their backs upon the Lord and have despised the Holy One of Israel. They have cut themselves off from his help. Oh, my people, haven't you had enough of punishment? Why will you force me to whip you again and again? Must you forever rebel? From head to foot you are sick and weak and faint, covered with bruises and welts and infected wounds, unanointed and unbound...You stand there helpless and abandoned...If the Lord Almighty had not stepped in to save a few of us, we would have been wiped out as Sodom and Gomorrah were".
Isaiah 1:2-9Sin enslaves the sinner
One of the lies that the devil tells sinners is that they are free to do what they want to...that they are control of their own life...that man does not need God.
What satan does not reveal is this startling reality...if God does not guide us then the devil will. If God is not in control, the devil is. Every person is either guided by God's goodness or the devil's evils.
Sinners are actually slaves to sin. They do not control their own lives. Sin is controlling them so that they cannot help but do things that are bad for them. Sin will ultimately destroy the person who keeps doing it. The Bible says,
"Jesus replied, "You are slaves of sin, every one of you. And slaves don't have rights, but the Son has every right there is! So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free--"
John 8:34-36
"Don't you realize that you can choose your own master? You can choose sin (with death) or else obedience (with acquittal). The one to whom you offer yourself--he will take you and be your master, and you will be his slave. Thank God that though you once chose to be slaves of sin, now you have obeyed with all your heart the teaching to which God has committed you. And now you are free from your old master, sin; and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness. I speak this way, using the illustration of slaves and masters, because it is easy to understand: just as you used to be slaves to all kinds of sin, so now you must let yourselves be slaves to all that is right and holy. In those days when you were slaves of sin you didn't bother much with goodness. And what was the result? Evidently not good, since you are ashamed now even to think about those things you used to do, for all of them end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and are slaves of God, and his benefits to you include holiness and everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 6:16-23
"Be humble when you are trying to teach those who are mixed up concerning the truth. For if you talk meekly and courteously to them, they are more likely, with God's help, to turn away from their wrong ideas and believe what is true. Then they will come to their senses and escape from Satan's trap of slavery to sin, which he uses to catch them whenever he likes, and then they can begin doing the will of God." 2 Timothy 2:25-26
Sin separates us from God and spiritual life
The most serious thing about sin is that it separates us from God.
God is all good. He cannot sin nor can He be a part of sin. God hates sin but not the sinner. But even though God loves sinners, He will not be a friend to people who keep sinning. Sin is like a big wall that separates us from God. God is on one side of the wall while we are on the other side trying to live a happy life without Him. The big wall of sin keeps God from being our friend and partner.
The wall of sin is our problem. It is the wall that we need to get rid of but we can't tear the wall down by ourselves. The wall of sin is too big and powerful for any person to remove by ourselves. We need God's help...and fortunately He will if we are sincere to ask. The Bible says,
"Listen now! The Lord isn't too weak to save you. And he isn't getting deaf! He can hear you when you call! But the trouble is that your sins have cut you off from God. Because of sin he has turned his face away from you and will not listen anymore. For your hands are those of murderers and your fingers are filthy with sin. You lie and grumble and oppose the good." Isaiah 59:1-3
"You have never been mine. Go away, for your deeds are evil. All who listen to my instructions and follow them are wise, like a man who builds his house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents, and the floods rise and the storm winds beat against his house, it won't collapse, for it is built on rock. But those who hear my instructions and ignore them are foolish, like a man who builds his house on sand. For when the rains and floods come, and storm winds beat against his house, it will fall with a mighty crash." Matthew 7:23-27"Try to stay out of all quarrels, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for one who is not holy will not see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14
Another big one I struggle with is blaming others for my sin.
As long as you are making excuses for your sinfulness, you will never grow spiritually. That will only occur when you humbly acknowledge your sin and do something about it. Since spiritual growth is a process in which there is a decreasing frequency of sin, then it must include an acknowledgement of responsibility for sin. Don't blame your circumstances, your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your boss, your employees, or your pastor; blame yourself. Don't even blame the devil. Certainly anything in the world's system contributes to the problem, but sin ultimately occurs as an act of the will-- and you are responsible for it.
Nehemiah 9:33 -- Nehemiah said this about God: "...Thou art just in all that is brought upon us...."
Luke 15:21 -- When the prodigal son returned home to his loving father, he said, "...I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight...." He realized that his father would be gracious in treating him simply as a day laborer. He didn't expect anything because he knew he didn't deserve anything. That is the mentality of a person who realizes he is a sinner and deserves nothing.
Psalm 51:4 -- David said, "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight...." David didn't blame anybody but himself. He was saying, "God, You are just in all that You have brought to bear on my life."
Confession is acknowledging that sin is your fault.
In conclusion I have seen the following this past week.
The consequences of sin are many. They are seen throughout our world as evil men and women continue to rebel against their Creator. Sin is an evil power that is very deceptive. Even while going through the motions of lustful pleasures that last for a moment or two the sinner lives within the privacy of his or her mind and emotions where shame, fear and guilt are daily companions. The wounds of sin are many for the sinner. Pain, suffering, family breakdowns, failures in life, loneliness, depression, despair are only of the few examples of sin's consequences.
Sin is misery and bondage that will eventually destroy the mind, heart, body and soul. Its ultimate consequence is separation from God...who alone is the source of life, love and peace forever. Sin keeps man from enjoying the abundance of life that God so earnestly desires for each and every one of us.
There is nothing good that can be said of sin. It is our enemy, our nemesis, our most tragic problem.
I need to look to God every day, through reading The Bible, and prayer so I can walk away from sin when it is knocking at my door.
Happy Birthday sweet Jenna! Nana loves you lots. 
This picture is a little dark but this is Bret entering the party.
The Birthday boy with daughter Jenna.
Bret & his lovely wife Jessica.
Bret & his Mama (ME)
This is a picture of Jessica's family.
I can't believe my baby is all grown up! Seems like just yesterday.....
This is a picture of my very handsome son B.C. A blink of the eyes and he is now 30.
This picture was taken a few weeks ago at Boaz's Birthday party. This is Bret and my beautiful and only granddaughter Jenna. I love my sons smile!
