There is an element of sin that is a lot like a grab bag at times: you never know what consequences you are going to pull back into your life as a result of a poor choice. As Christians, when we choose to sin, we are reaching into a world that is enemy to our purpose. We might have fun digging around in the bag while satan conceals the consequences, but what we pull out can be devastating.
1 John 3:4 describes sin as "lawlessness." If sin does not abide by any law or any set of rules, neither do its consequences. If you are prone to rebellion like me, then you know that the best thing about sin is we can do anything we want! No limits! But the worst thing about sin is that its consequences have no limits either.
Like the grab bag, we can reach our hands into satan's sack and pull out all kinds of horrific consequences that we did not expect. I am going to assert three basic categories of sin's consequences:
>Temporary
>Lifetime
>Eternal
Temporary consequences are probably everyone's first choice next to no consequences at all. This category can refer to many different time frames but no permanent bearing. It can mean uncomfortable aftermath that lasts for a few moments, hours, days, weeks, months, and possibly a few years. At worst these consequences are a lifestyle disruption, at best an inconvenience.
Now a lifetime consequence is a different story. It is a little more severe than our favorite temporary blunder. It is a result of our sin that stays with us the rest of our days on this earth. It may be tempting for some of us to blur the lines between temporary and lifetime in some situations. For example, if a one night stand results in unexpected pregnancy, that would see to fall into the category of lifetime consequence, yes? Some might choose to challenge that however by applying a temporary fix. Abortion might come to mind as an option. One might be tempted to think, "Hey I didn't sign up for this part! I can't handle a kid right now so I just won't have it, problem solved." Whether or not one chose to terminate the pregnancy, wouldn't she still have to live with the decision? Lifetime consequences. I am by no means attempting to argue the topic of abortion, but in continuing with this example, terminating a pregnancy doesn't mean you were never pregnant. In the same way, we might be able to alter the situation sin has left us in, but we cannot send the consequences back altogether. Sin leaves its mark. Period.
Eternal consequences are of course the ones we should be most concerned about. Sometimes it is easy to believe we might have actually gotten away with a little rebellious spell or two. We don't get struck by lightning so we think God must have been in a generous mood when we screwed up and chose to overlook that little white lie, or that little affair, or that little shoplifting spree, or that little bit too much Vodka, etc.
Before I was saved, I was of the "lightning" mentality. I thought that punishment was supposed to come directly after the offense and when it didn't I became even more daring. It wasn't until I truly met Jesus that I saw how dangerous that thinking is, I was constantly on thin ice and didn't even know it! Eternal consequences are often overlooked by some of us. We get so wrapped up in the here and now that we refuse to submit our will in preparation for a future we cannot yet see. But the Lord never goes without giving us a heads up. In Matthew, Jesus spoke of the wickeds' fate by comparing sheep to goats. He said, "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life" (25:46). Those who refuse Jesus now may be in for a titanic shock when the Lord is separating the sheep from the goats. I have to say that I would be in shock right beside them if Jesus hadn't saved me when He did.
Haven't we all found ourselves in heaps of unanticipated trouble? We get a little too close to satan and a little too far away from Dad and we become a pile of ashes in no time. And aren't we typically shocked when this happens? We find ourselves screaming at an innocent Dr. "An STD?!?! You have GOT to be kidding! How did THAT happen?!" As if the physician had just told Mother Teresa she needed to be treated for herpes. We of course seem to forget in that moment about our weekend rendezvous with Larry, Curly, and Moe at the frat party. Then we begin to tattle on satan for making us sin. Excuse me? No. WE are the ones that stuck our curious little hands into the realm of destruction- why are we so surprised when we pull out some hideous end? Job 4:8 tells us, "As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it."
No matter how cute, how slick, or how invincible we think we are, sin has no favorites and no mercy. The truth is, as Christians, if we know Jesus and still stick our hand in hell's grab bag, we deserve the trouble we pull out. We have been amply warned by our Father that sin's consequences are as real as His love for us.
Now for the good news of man's dilemma: no matter how unbearable sin's outcome, we always have a just and merciful God that never stops loving us. There is no consequence that is greater than His love for us. There is no pickle we can sin our way into that His faithfulness will not penetrate. Yes, we may have to deal with whatever awful thing we have reaped, BUT we do not have to deal alone! We serve a God who can turn the most terrible consequence into His sweetest discipline if we ask His forgiveness and choose to stand behind Christ's sacrifice. Let's thank Him today that we do not have to fear eternal consequences and that we can never out-sin His love!
L. Bailey
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