Sin and Consequences

Dec 7, 2010 Freedom

The power and scope of what Jesus, through the Cross, did for us in regard to sin is absolutely staggering… The issue of sin (past, present or future) separating us from God has been settled, once and for all through the Cross.

A Superior Covenant

The writer of Hebrews takes great pains to deeply underscore the sufficiency and fullness of the New Covenant in contrast with the Old. The superiority of the New Covenant rests on the superiority of Jesus:

He is superior to angels, who attended the giving of the Law at Sinai, since he shares in God’s rule, not just serving under him (Heb 1:6,8,13).
He is greater mediator than Moses who was called a “servant”, never a Son (Heb 3:5-6).
He was appointed to a greater priesthood, based on ancient Melchizedek rather than Levi (Heb 7:11,15-17,28).
He entered into an eternal temple -- heaven itself, not just an earthly building (Heb 8:1-2).
He brought a greater offering -- Messiah’s blood instead of an animal’s (Heb 9:11-13)
He is now seated at God’s right hand, unlike the High Priest who every year stood before God, since his mission was never truly complete (Heb 10:11-14).

Therefore, the writer of Hebrews argues, Jesus’ sacrifice has dealt with sin to it’s utter depths, being the greatest and complete solution to humanity’s sin and guilt before God.

Deep Cleansing

Our sin has been annulled by the Cross – it’s as though it never happened (Heb 9:26). When we repent and trust in Christ, our criminal record is expunged in its entirety.

But it’s not just an external, objective, “legal” cleansing that the Cross offers – there is also an internal, subjective, “soul” cleansing in the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ has power to deeply cleanse and totally silence our guilty, shame-filled conscience too (Heb 9:14).

Do you get it? There is no loss of favor or intimacy when we sin and repent. Our sin is not remembered like a criminal record against us –- it is totally wiped clean. The sacrifice of Christ even deals with the emotional and mental residue of sin -- the guilt, shame and grief we carry when we fail. That’s an amazing, astounding truth to embrace.

Overwhelming Grace

It does beg a question, though… Why should I struggle to overcome sin if it’s completely annulled every time I repent? Won’t this just encourage us to continue sinning and repenting without really dealing with the junk in our lives?

Before addressing these questions – let me backup and clarify how the New Covenant of grace works… “We cannot lose through sin what we gained by faith, through grace”. We received the gift of salvation freely through the merit of Christ. We did not earn it by our goodness, so we cannot lose it by our “badness”! Do we forget that Christ died for us while we were still sinners? (Rom 5:6-10). We don’t even sustain our own salvation by our works –- that’s by grace too (Jude 24-25). It’s all grace, from conception to fulfillment! This is part of what makes the New Covenant superior to it’s weak, incomplete predecessor – grace overwhelms our sin and human weakness (Romans 5:17,20-21).

So why care about sin at all? Why should we fight sin? If sin cannot derail my relationship with God and disrupt my standing before him… why struggle against sin?

10 Reasons Why Sin Sucks!

Here are some thoughts of how we ought to view our struggle against sin:

Sin hurts God (Jer 2:5; Psalm 51:4): Pretty simple… sin is personal with God, in that we sin against him . Goodness pleases him because it reflects who he is. Would you rather make him smile or make him sad? He is not unaffected by our attitudes and actions. I don’t want to disappoint him; I would rather make him smile, wouldn’t you?
Sin hurts us (1 Pet 2:11): Sin affects our soul, our inner person. When we repent, God lifts shame and guilt off us, but in its repetition sin has a weakening affect – it “wars against our soul” (1 Peter 2:11). Sin is a slippery slope – it always takes us further than we intend to go. The more we sin, the more junk we have to deal with, and the harder it is to repent. Sin weakens our will, twists our thinking and perverts our passions. It’s never worth it!
Sin makes us miserable (Psalm 16:11, Psalm 51:12): If this seems self-centered to you, you’ve got to re-read your Bible. The Bible commands us to find joy and satisfaction in God (Phil 4:4). Sin sucks godly joy from your life. Sin offers temporary, fake pleasure – and when you’re done, will sucker-punch you with shame, guilt and a host of other stinky junk. You’ll pay for Sin-Pleasure – but God-Pleasure doesn’t leave you with a bitter aftertaste (Psalm 36:8-9). You can’t enjoy God and sin at the same time! Don’t underestimate the power of joy to keep you from sin!
Sin hurts people around us (James 3:14-16): Sin hurts your friends, your spouse (or your future spouse), your kids (or your future kids). It hurts most those closest to you. Anger, envy, lust, stubbornness… no one close to you can escape the hurt when we indulge in these things. Do you love those who care for you? Friends stay clean from sin for their friends’ sake.
Sin gives Satan a foothold (Eph 4:25-27,30, James 3:15): When we don’t deal with sin, the enemy of our souls has an open door to work in us and through us. James talks about how Satan hijacks our sinful nature to spread his agenda in those around us. At worst, sin can open us to demonic oppression. Can it be dealt with? Sure…but it’s never fun. No reason to let the robber into your house, just ‘cause you can chase him out whenever you want to! Don’t dally with sin and invite “a little friend” into your home. That’s DUMB! "And NO... I don't want to say 'hello' to your little friend"!
Sin inhibits our race (Heb 12:1-2):We have a purpose and calling to live for. Sin entangles us, slows us down, starts to eat at our energy -- so we are not free to run our race with endurance. When we sin, we’ve gotta stop and deal with it. The more we savor and enjoy our calling – the pleasure of doing the things we were created to do -- the less we’ll want to sin. There’s so much excitement and reward in being used of God – why should I let sin hinder me in this? Sin will limit the power we can handle without damaging others. Seek God’s anointing, and flee from sin!
Sin has temporal consequences (Prov 1:29-31): God’s wrath is not over us when we sin – that was dealt with at the Cross. That does not mean that every earthly consequence of sin is also averted. If I rack up a huge credit card bill, I’ve got to face it and pay it back. After we repent, can we ask God for help in facing (and mitigating) the consequence? Absolutely. God loves to restore blessing to us even in the midst of the consequences of our sin! “He does not deal with us according to our sin” (Psalm 103:8-10). The moment we repent, he shifts to “restoration mode”. But why not simply avoid this detour and walk in the path of blessing?
Sin invokes God’s discipline (Psalm 39:10-11; Heb 12:7-11):God wants to root out the deep-seated flaws and brokenness from our hearts. He wants us to change, on the inside. Grace comes to sinners, but does not leave us sinners. When we continue in sin, he will discipline us to get our attention. He wants to make us like Jesus, so he will not leave us as we are. He will do whatever it takes to lovingly coerce us into dealing with sin. His discipline hurts; it is never pleasant but necessary to our healing and wholeness. If we keep hiding our sin, hoping to live out life in secrecy, he will expose our sin – because he cares for us. Take it from one who’s well experienced: It is far better to expose your sin to God than to have God do the exposing! Been there.. done that... and the t-shirt sucks!
Sin dilutes our witness (Matt 5:14-16; Eze 36:22-23): We are to make God’s name revered and loved among the nations – this is our calling and our great destiny. Sin, when left unchecked, dilutes our witness to God’s goodness and God’s character. We defame him when we continue in sin – our witness is devalued, and we place a stumbling block before a watching world. Flee from sin and stay a bright witness, and he will fill your hands with fruit!
Sin can harden your heart (Heb 3:12-13; James 1:13-16): This is a massive “iceberg” issue. Our behavior (what we can see) is just the 10% of the iceberg above the surface. The real danger (below the surface) is how our heart subtly hardens. This is much, much harder to take account of – in fact, you need loving, faithful, truthful friends to expose this in your life. When we continue in sin, resisting the Holy Spirit’s gentle voice, refusing to turn from the junk we’re enjoying and avoiding the pain of true inner transformation --- we’re in grave danger! Our hearts, little by little, can change -- a deceptive, incremental layer of crusty crud forms on our heart, hardening it. If left unchecked, sin will steal your soul from God – and you may fall away from him. Satan cannot tear you away from Christ (John 10:28-29), but sin can deceive you into walking away from him. Sin causes spiritual arteriosclerosis – so you just gotta quit eatin’ that junk!

& Consequences

Sin sucks. I meant it literally sucks life from you. The wages of sin is death – and misery and regret follow closely behind. Want to enjoy the abundant life? Stay clean and free from sin, quickly repenting and exposing sin when you step in it. Sin’s not worth the grief it brings!