“SIN, the VENOM” 8/24/25 a.m. Genesis 3:1-6
In September 1957, Karl P. Schmidt, one of America’s most respected herpetologists, was handed a 30-inch snake for identification at Chicago’s Field Museum. The reptile came from the Lincoln Park Zoo, and Schmidt quickly recognized it as a young boomslang snake, native to Africa, and Very Venomous.
As he looked at it, the snake struck, sinking its fangs into Schmidt’s thumb. Two small puncture wounds. He dismissed it as minor. Instead of rushing to the hospital, Schmidt did what a scientist does best: he observed, measured, and recorded.
From 4:30 p.m. on September 25 until noon the following day, he kept a meticulous log: chills, nausea, bleeding gums, blood in his urine, then blood from his nose and mouth. He ate toast, drank coffee, and noted each symptom, even as his body broke down. His final written word was “excessive”—a chilling description of his unstoppable bleeding.
That afternoon, Schmidt vomited, called his wife, and collapsed. Doctors could not save him. At 3:00 p.m. on September 26, he was gone. His autopsy revealed hemorrhaging in his lungs, kidneys, heart, eyes, and brain—the venom had destroyed him from within.
So why didn’t he seek treatment? Why didn’t he go to the hospital and get some help?
Well, nobody really knows why but here are some thoughts from different people that knew him.
1. Some say he underestimated the danger.
It was a young snake. He may have thought that it didn’t have enough venom to cause him any harm.
2. Secondly, the BOOMSLANG is a rear-fanged snake, meaning their fangs are located further back in their mouths than some other venomous snakes. But they can open their mouths up to 180 degrees to be able to BITE DOWN on large animals and inject them with their VENOM. He may have thought that the snake wasn’t able to inject him with venom.
3. Thirdly, the venom of a Boomslang is NOT fast acting. It was later that evening before he even began to feel SICK. He died the next day but it can take up to three days to die from the BITE of a BOOMSLANG SNAKE.
4. And finally, others believe that Karl Schmidt had lost ALL HOPE. You see, he knew the only anti-venom was thousands of miles away in Africa and so he chose to dedicate his last hours alive to the Science of Herpetology.
That’s a pretty amazing story isn’t it? Sad but amazing.
This morning I want to talk about a VENOM, a POISON that has affected every single one of us. We’ve ALL been bitten. And because of it, we’re all gonna die. So what is that POISON? What VENOM am I talking about this morning? IT’S SIN.
I guess most of us know the story of Adam and Eve and how they were living there in the Garden of Eden. They really had no rules, no commandments, no laws except for one thing.
This morning I want to read out of Genesis. We’ll start with Chapter 2, Verses 16 and 17,
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
And then in Chapter 3 of Genesis, we see the OLD DEVIL came to Eve and he was in the form of a SERPENT. A SNAKE. And so let’s see what SATAN had to say to Eve. Look at Chapter 3 and we’ll read Verses 1-6.
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
And so here in these Verses, the OLD DEVIL basically DEFIES GOD by telling Eve that she could go ahead and eat of the FRUIT of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And if she did, she would become as a GOD herself. And so her and Adam ate of the TREE and SIN ENTERED the WORLD. And then DEATH BY SIN. Romans 5:12
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
We’ve all been BIT. We’re ALL DYING. So what do we do?
Well, let’s talk about that this morning. Let’s look at what different people do when they’re faced with the fact that they are DYING and there’s NO HOPE of getting out of this world alive. Let’s pray and ask God to bless His Word today.
Brother ____, would you lead us?
I. Well, let’s look at what Karl did. First of all, he underestimated the Danger that he was in. A young snake. Not much Venom. It’s a rear fanged snake. Some Herpetologists actually believed, at the time, that they couldn’t bite humans. So, he stayed at work, the Lab, and continue on like nothing had happened. He almost seemed to IGNORE that he had been bit.
And that’s exactly what a lot of people are doing today.
It will be alright. I’m alive and well today. I’ve got money in the bank, a car to drive, a roof over my head and food to eat. I look at people, their attitudes, the way they live their lives and it reminds me SO MUCH of the story that Jesus gave us in Luke 12.
ILLUS: A rich farmer was BLESSED. The GROUND was fruitful. He had a GREAT CROP. He had everything that he needed. And instead of realizing where those blessings were coming from, he just went on living his life, hoarding up goods. And he said to himself I’m just gonna take it easy. Eat, drink and be HAPPY. But he forgot one thing. He FORGOT that he was gonna die. And that’s EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.
Verse 20 “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”
You see, he had been bitten by SIN. He was blessed and didn’t share those blessings with others who weren’t. He forgot the two most important commandments. Matthew 22:36-39
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Please listen to me today. Don’t underestimate the Danger that you are in today. That may be what Karl Schmidt did.
Paul said in Hebrews Chapter 2, Verse 3,
“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation”
And the answer is … YOU WON’T. You have been BIT and you WILL NOT escape. Romans 6:23,
“For the wages of sin is death”
YOU MUST REALIZE that you ARE IN GRAVE DANGER.
II. Secondly, what did Karl Schmidt do? Well, I think he may have PUT OFF THE DECISION.
Like I said, Karl stayed at the LAB. He continued to work. At anytime he could have called for help. So why? Why would he do that. Well, he may have not taken the BITE SERIOUSLY OR … he may have just PUT OFF the DECISION on what to do.
Like I said, I researched this and this was something that caught my attention. This is what the internet said,
“A dangerous aspect of boomslang venom is that symptoms can be delayed, sometimes for several hours or even days, potentially leading individuals to underestimate the severity of the bite and delay seeking medical attention.”
Listen, I don’t know this for sure but I can just imagine his reasoning. “Hmm, what should I do? I’m not sick. I don’t feel bad. It doesn’t really hurt. I think I’ll just wait until later to decide what to do. I’ll put off the decision.”
Now is that NOT CRAZY? But yet it’s what so many people do everyday when it comes to SALVATION.
“I’ve got LIFE to live. Things I want to do. Places I want to go. Things I want to EXPERIENCE. I want to REALLY LIVE without having some old fashioned religion holding me down.”
ILLUS: I worked with a guy for years. Good guy. Pretty easy to work with. Likable. And he was someone who claimed to be a Christian but really had NO FRUITS to show for it. Vulgar, foul mouthed. And we were talking one day and I remember him telling me that he was GLAD that he had taken DRUGS when he was younger. And I mean he took some really HARD DRUGS. He said that he was GLAD that he got to EXPERIENCE THAT. I was kind of DUMBFOUNDED? I mean it’s kind of like he was glad that he had been BITTEN BY A SNAKE!!! He was younger than me and not too many years later he came down with REALLY BAD CANCER.
Listen, don’t put off the decision to put your TRUST in JESUS. We’re not GUARANTEED one more second. In a crowd this size I can almost guarantee you that ONE OF US won’t be here next year. Who will it be? I don’t know.
In Acts Chapter 26, Paul gave his personal testimony to King Agrippa. He told him how that Jesus had came into his life and what a change He had made. But Verse 28 tells us,
“Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
Young people, middle aged people, old people. Don’t put off salvation. Don’t think you’ll decide tomorrow because there may be NO TOMORROW.
III. And so what’s another thought on Karl Schmidt? Well, some people think he lost ALL HOPE. The closest anti-venom was in Africa and it would have taken too long to get there. And maybe he was right. If he would have sought medical help as soon as it happened, he still might not have been saved. I guess we’ll never know.
But what we do know today is NO ONE who has been BITTEN BY SIN is without hope. Jesus offers HOPE to anyone and everyone who comes to Him.
To the HOMELESS ALCOHOLIC living on the streets, there is HOPE.
To the DRUG ADDICT that just can’t get off of the STUFF, there is HOPE.
To the person who has BURNED ALL of their BRIDGES, there is HOPE. Why, because Jesus FORGIVES and FORGETS.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
There’s ALWAYS HOPE in Jesus.
IV. And lastly, I want to take some time and USE THIS STORY for a WARNING TO YOU AND I TODAY. SIN IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE MESSED WITH. The Book of James was not written to unbelievers. It was written to JEWISH PEOPLE who had accepted Jesus as the Messiah. It was written to fellow believers. It is written to you and I today. And Chapter 1 Verses 13-15 are a WARNING to you and I.
“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
Maybe you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior but you STRUGGLE with SIN. I was doing some more reading on Mr. Karl Schmidt. He wasn’t careful enough. He didn’t really take this BOOMSLANG snake seriously. It was just a YOUNG SMALL SNAKE. It was only 30 inches. They can get up to 6.5 feet long. This one wasn’t even half grown. So when he was handed the snake, and he grabbed ahold of it ... he grabbed it too far back on the neck.
And that “SMALL” BOOMSLANG was able to swing around and CLAMP DOWN on his thumb and the VENOM was injected.
Listen folks, we have to be CAREFUL.
ILLUS: Now listen, I could have went out and found me a Copperhead and brought him to church to have an OBJECT LESSON but I didn’t think it would go over very well.
Plus, I just don’t think we want to be known around Skiatook as a Snake Handling Church. Out in West Virginia it might go over really well but not here.
And can I say something to you today. BE CAREFUL. People might tell you it will be alright, it’s nothing major. It’s just a LITTLE SIN. It’s just a LITTLE INDISCRETION. It’s just a LITTLE SLIP of the TONGUE. It’s a LITTLE WHITE LIE.
If there is ANYTHING we as Christians need to be careful about today, IT IS SIN!!! I don’t care if it’s BIG or LITTLE. Why? Because it will KILL YOU. It will KILL YOU from the INSIDE OUT.
When you start DABBLING with SIN it will SWING AROUND and BITE YOU. Sin will take you FARTHER than you want to go, keep you LONGER than you want to stay and COST YOU far more than you want to pay.
I know I’ve sung this song to you before but it’s a song you need to hear every once in a while. It’s a song I need to SING to myself in the SHOWER. I learned it when I was three years old.
“Oh be careful little eyes what you see.”
“Oh be careful little hands what you do.”
“Oh be careful little ears what you hear.”
“Oh be careful little feet where you go.”
“There’s a Father up above, looking down intender love, Oh be careful little __, __, __, __, what you do.”
Listen TEENAGERS and YOUNG PEOPLE. Be CAREFUL … how far you go. There’s a DEVIL that wants to TAKE AWAY your PURITY. If he can get you started out on the WRONG PATH, he has a FOOT HOLD in your life.
Listen, YOUNG PEOPLE, there’s a DEVIL and he WANTS YOU TO THINK your mama and daddy are STUPID. Do you realize that? Do you really want to be INFLUENCED by him?
Listen folks, BE CAREFUL what you let into your home with the BOOB TUBE. You wouldn’t let some LOSER come into your home and scream a BUNCH of NASTY WORDS, you wouldn’t let a fellow come into your home and USE THE LORD’S NAME IN VAIN. But yet you’ll turn on the BOOB TUBE and that’s what you hear. BE CAREFUL. Don’t let it SEER YOUR CONSCIENCE.
Listen MOM’S and DAD’S. Be careful of that person in the OFFICE or on the JOB that seems so nice.
Be careful what comes up on your COMPUTER SCREEN.
Be careful, be watchful, because the DEVIL wants to DESTROY YOU. He wants to DETROY YOUR LIFE.
We teach our kids to be AWARE of their surroundings. Let’s be AWARE of the PLOYS of the DEVIL. Let’s not get BIT. We MUST BE CAREFUL for ourselves. We MUST BE CAREFUL for our children and grandchildren. And we MUST BE CAREFUL for our own TESTIMONY. So that people can see JESUS IN US.
And there’s one more thing before I close. Maybe the most important thing I’ve said all day. I did quite a bit of reading on Mr. Karl Schmidt. And there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that could have saved his life EXCEPT for the ANTI-VENOM.
Even if he would have realized how serious the situation was and went straight to the hospital, it wouldn’t have mattered. Some say a blood transfusion may have given him a few more hours but it wouldn’t have cured him.
NOTHING would have saved Karl P. Schmidt EXCEPT for ANTI-VENOM. The VENOM of the BOOMSLANG SNAKE is that LETHAL. And there was NO ANTI-VENOM AVAILABLE.
No CURE and NO HOPE. That’s really sad.
And we’ve all been BITTEN BY SIN. And it’s just as LETHAL. But here’s the good news. There is an ANTI-VENOM available. It’s the BLOOD of JESUS.
1 John 1:7 tells us, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Maybe you’re here today and you’re UNDERESTIMATING the DANGER that you’re in. Please STOP and really look at where you stand with God this morning. NO ONE is guaranteed tomorrow. Have you put your trust in Jesus?
And listen, DON’T PUT OFF the DECISION. A DECISION to WAIT is a DECISION TO SAY “NO.”
Maybe you think there’s NO HOPE. Listen, if you feel the Holy Spirit working in your heart, there’s HOPE. Jesus is drawing you to Himself. I don’t care HOW LOW you are, there’s always HOPE.
And if you’ve fallen into temptation or you’ve turned your back on God. The BLOOD of JESUS is our SALVATION.
On September 26th, at 3:00 p.m., Karl Schmidt was on the way to the hospital in the back of an ambulance. His wife had made the call but he never made it. HE DIED. Now it’s too late for him but it’s not too late for you. Why don’t you put your PRIDE ASIDE and come.
Let’s Pray
