The Consequences Of Sin

The Real Danger

As we move on this week, we are going to stay consistent with the topic of sin and how it has affected mankind. Earlier this week with our last post, we discussed how all of the human race is guilty of sin and how we are all born into a sinful nature. This concept will be continued today as we discuss what the consequences of sin really are. Knowing the consequences of sin is not just important to understand for knowledge’s sake, but rather, it shows us how these consequences have separated us from our God and how we need to go about this. Way too often we either underestimate or overestimate the power of sin in our lives and this leads us down many false paths. The goal for today, therefore, is to see just how much sin has affected our lives and our relationship with our Lord.

John MacArthur lists out 3 ways in which sin affects our lives today and they are personal consequences, impact on relationships, and total depravity. These 3 aspects are what will dive into and dissect in this post. Before I say anything about these 3 points though, I want to be clear on what sin doesn’t do to the believer. Sin clearly has separated us from God but if we have repented and believed the gospel, we are saved from the ultimate consequence of sin, which is separation from God for eternity. Whenever a believer sins, they don’t lose their salvation. One must not seek to be saved every single time they sin as if their salvation has been lost. Wayne Grudem puts it this way, “Our legal standing before God is unchanged but our fellowship with God is disrupted and our Christian life is damaged.” While sin definitely damages our lives and fellowship with God, the Bible is clear in Romans 8:1 “1 Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Sin may still affect us, however, the condemnation that sin brings by separating us from our God for eternity has been lost when we have been saved by the power of the gospel. With that in mind, let’s dive in.

It’s Personal

To start, we see one of the first aspects of our lives that is affected is personal consequences. You don’t have to go far from the beginning of the fall to see the personal consequences that sin has on an individual. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God directly told them not to, we see that their eyes were opened, but not in the way that the serpent had said. Genesis 3:7 tells us “7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.” Shame was an immediate impact of sin even though the devil promised that this fruit would make Adam and Eve ‘like God’. The further you read into this story, the more effects of sin you find. Adam and Eve were ashamed, they hid from God, they blamed each other, and even permanent death to our physical bodies was introduced the moment sin came into the world. As Dr. MacArthur puts it, “These personal consequences for sin are severe. Sin promises enlightenment and peace, but instead, it brings shame, fear, and blame, as well as death.” The impact that sin has on our personal lives today cannot be undermined as we see just how much of an impact it had on the first beings to ever walk this earth.

It’s Relational

Furthermore, the impact that sin has on our relationships as well cannot go unaddressed. Sin has not just damaged our relationship with God but with other people and even the creation of this world as well. As stated before, the wrath of God is probably the most evident consequence of the fall in our lives if our sin is not atoned for by the gospel. Ephesians 5:6 says, “6 See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” Even for those that are saved, Ephesians 4:30-31 states, “30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.” Those of us who have been saved by the gospel can still ‘grieve the Holy Spirit’. Even in Hebrews 12, we are reminded in verse 6 that “6 For whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He punishes every son whom He accepts.” When we sin, even as believers, we are grieving the Spirit of God and inviting discipline into our lives to be corrected by the Father. What about other people?

Again, the best place we can see this in full display is in the very beginning. When the first sin was ever committed, we see God telling Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, what the consequences would be. These consequences included pain during childbirth (v.16), tension in marriage(v.16), and even jealousy and hatred for general people in society. This is best seen in the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:8 “8 Cain talked to his brother Abel; and it happened that when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.” As Richard Mayhue puts it, “The history of mankind manifests continual hatred, strife, murders, and war.” In creation, sin has affected one of the first-ever commands that was given to Adam. Whereas God told Adam to rule and subdue the earth, the effects of sin have made this much more difficult. Genesis 3:17 says, “17… Cursed is the ground because of you; With hard labor, you shall eat from it All the days of your life.” Man’s original mandate to rule the earth has been affected by the curse of the fall making this task much more difficult.

It’s Spiritual

Finally, we see total depravity. What does this mean? Dr. MacArthur describes it as “The abysmal state of unredeemed humanity, all of whom are both unable and unwilling to glorify God.” Quite literally, we cannot please God or glorify Him in our sinful state. If we wish to be saved, it must be God who delivers us from sin by the power of His Spirit. Romans 8:7-8 best explains this, “7… the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” In our physical state, we cannot please God. Even the power of the gospel made available to us by Jesus Christ is impossible to respond to without our Lord leading us to repentance Himself. This is what makes Ephesians 2:1-5 so beautiful. “1 And you were dead in your offenses and sins, 2 in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ.” It is undeniable that sin has had an effect on our lives and continues to have one to this day. Sin’s consequences on ourselves, our relationships, and even our own ability to be saved have made it very difficult to live for God on this side of heaven. However, we must be full of gratitude that no matter how much we sin and regardless of how many consequences we face because of it, our Lord has made a way for sin to not have the final say in our lives.

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Sources

[1] “Access Your Bible from Anywhere.” BibleGateway.Com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50 Languages., www.biblegateway.com/. Accessed 2023.

[2] Grudem, W. (1994). Systematic Theology : An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA79455700

[3] MacArthur, John & Mayhue, Richard. A Systemic Summary of Bible Truth: Biblical Doctrine. Wheaton, Crossway, 2017