The Bible is very clear, God is merciful and loving (see ‘But God’ devotion posted on this site on December 13, 2014 for more details). Yet along with mercy and love, and His many other attributes, God is also holy and righteous! And because of His holiness and righteousness, He cannot and will not tolerate sin.
Before proceeding further, we must address the Biblical definition of sin. So, without attempting to deal with every single aspect of sin, or trying to answer every possible question related to it, here is a very brief explanation of what sin is.
- Sin means not satisfying the righteous requirements and standards of our holy God.
- All people are born with a sin nature. Therefore, it is a fundamental characteristic of our human nature to sin against God. Every person sins! We are not capable of living a sinless life.
- Human sin is revealed in three basic ways:
- Rebellion – making a decision to disobey God's requirements and standards
- Inability – trying to comply with God's requirements and standards but failing
- Ignorance – not knowing God's requirements and standards
- Here are a few reference verses: Genesis 3:6, Ezekiel 20:8, James 4:17, Romans 3:23, Romans 10:3, Titus 1:16
Christians adore, worship and thank God for how He reveals Himself through His Word and His actions.
- Psalm 119:7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart, When I learn Your righteous judgments.
Over and over again the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah warned the Southern Kingdom Judah about the coming judgment for their sins. The Jews, God’s chosen people, ignored these warnings and were severely punished. The following verses demonstrate how seriously God views sin.
The Catastrophic Consequences of Sin
- Jeremiah 16:3-4 For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: 4 “They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”
- Sin is Serious. The penalty for sin is tragic.
The Indisputable Identification of Sin
- Jeremiah 16:10-12 “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ 11 then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the Lord; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. 12 And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.
- The Bible clearly defines sin. God knows about every sin!
The Righteous Responsibility for Punishing Sin
- Jeremiah 33:4-5 “For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been pulled down to fortify against the siege mounds and the sword: 5 ‘They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to fill their places with the dead bodies of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city.
- God alone is judge. He determines and administers the punishment for sin.
Jeremiah 17:5-8
Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord. 6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
The ultimate consequence of sin is eternal punishment in Hell.
- Romans 2:8-9 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;
- Revelation 20:14-15 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
But God made a way through Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
- Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
- Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
If you don’t know the good news about redemption through Jesus Christ, visit a Bible believing church, seek out a mature Christian, or see the ‘Easter is Good News’ devotion posted on this site on April 19, 2014 to learn more.
Prayer
Dear Lord, You have made it so abundantly clear how serious the consequences of sin are. You came to earth as a man and died for our sins. I beg You Lord to use Your Word and Your Church to share the truth about eternal salvation in Christ alone. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
