CONSEQUENCES – YOU DON’T AVOID THEM
[A]. INTRODUCING THE SUBJECT –
All of us know that if we trip on a set of stairs, we will tumble down. If we drive too fast around a sharp road bend, we are likely to skid off the road. If a branch separates from a very tall tree, it falls down and hits the ground. If we spend year after year lying in the topical sun with no shirt on, getting red like a beetroot a lot of the time, we know we are good candidates for skin cancer in later life.
On the other hand if we take a lovely present to a sick child in hospital, we are likely to receive a smile. If you do a good deed to for a very needy person, you receive their gratitude, unless the person in an ingrate.
What we are looking at here are consequences. A law of physics says that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. A ball bouncing from a certain height that lands on concrete will rebound to another assured height. If dropped from a higher height, it bounces higher.
Some of the examples cited in the opening paragraph work according to set laws. These laws do not change. There is the law of gravity, the law of motion, the law of velocity to put it in layman’s terms.
From where did these laws originate? For those who claim some big bang formed everything, and that evolution explains all life on the planet (in other words, God is cut out of the equation), I would like you to enlighten me how all these laws of nature, and of science, and of Mathematics, came into being, for mindless randomness is incapable of logical design and intelligent thought. The result would be utter chaos with no connection.
The whole universe is held together by really complex laws and Mathematical formulae, but within that we could state another law – THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE.
Everything has to answer to consequence.
Walk on jagged cut glass = a bleeding, cut foot.
A cut foot = it will bleed.
Spray a blowfly = it will die (if sprayed correctly).
Continue not to water a pot plant = it dies in time.
Leave the oven on too long when cooking = burnt food.
Steal something from your business and you get punished (fined, dismissed, demoted, etc.). Even though you may get away with that crime, it does not mean you avoided consequences. You just delayed them.
Man has set up Law Courts to deal with crimes and disputes. Judges and juries are supposed to hand down just decisions in cases before them. Maybe we can call those places “Courts of Consequences”. That idea must have been in the mind of Gilbert who wrote the songs for the Operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan. These words are from The Mikado (1885):-
[[“My object all sublime
I shall achieve in time—
To let the punishment fit the crime,
The punishment fit the crime;
And make each prisoner pent
Unwillingly represent
A source of innocent merriment,
Of innocent merriment!”]]
“Let the punishment fit the crime”.
Everything in nature (such as the water cycle) and in all human behaviour, has consequences. There are no exceptions. What we may perceive as something lacking consequences may be because we are focussed on a certain outcome and miss the proper consequence. Closely associated with Consequence is Cause and Effect.
In our world all actions are so closely connected with the outcomes, that it is impossible for us not to think of consequences in every situation. That is what causes us to drive safely on the road. It causes us to think about Avoidance in so many situations so we keep safe and healthy.
I have lost friends to pancreatic cancer and to strokes related to excessive alcohol. I lost my father at 64 through lung cancer because of heavy smoking.
The Hubble and James Webb telescopes have shown incredible wonders of God’s creation. In some of the released images, I was impressed with the collision of two galaxies. Galaxies are huge. Our own Milky Way is about an average galaxy and is 100,000 light years across and 10,000 light years deep. Considering light travels at 299,792 kilometres a second, it makes a galaxy absolutely enormous.
BUT even galaxies, and indeed, the whole universe, are governed by the laws God implemented, so that when two galaxies get too close, the gravitational attraction pulls them together so they collide. It is simply CONSEQUENCE!
[B]. A BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE
In the bible we can trace where Rules were implemented and consequences for those broken laws/rules were spelled out. Adam and Eve operated under the very minimum of rules, but still failed, and they bore the consequences of that. The best example of this is the Law of Moses, and here is just one sample of laws and consequences:-
{{Leviticus 6:2-5 “When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the LORD, and deceives his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his companion, or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do, then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery, or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him, or the lost thing which he found, or anything about which he swore falsely, he shall make restitution for it in full, and add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering.”}}
[C]. SINNING WITH IMPUNITY BUT THERE IS ALWAYS A CONSEQUENCE:-
What makes people think that operational laws apply to the greatest of objects (galaxies) but not to human behaviour? People think they can sin with impunity, and if we get away with it, all well and good; that there is no accounting for actions done. We remind ourselves again of the law of action and reaction. Sin is the action, and judgement is the reaction from the justice of God.
With every single aspect of our existence controlled by these universal scientific and mathematical and moral laws, it amazes me that people think they are immune from any fallout of THEIR actions. It has to be the greatest delusion of Satan that sin has no consequences.
Let us just consider the original command the LORD God gave to Adam, and that he was expected to pass on to Eve:- {{Genesis 2:16-17 and the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, FOR IN THE DAY THAT YOU EAT FROM IT YOU SHALL SURELY DIE.”}}
God made that very clear. The law and the result; the sin and the consequence. What did Satan do though? Let us remind ourselves yet again – {{Genesis 3:4-5 The serpent said to the woman, “YOU SURELY SHALL NOT DIE! for God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will BE LIKE GOD, KNOWING GOOD AND EVIL.”}}
He turned God’s consequence on its head. The devil will oppose, alter, invert, negate, every principle God has established. He withdrew God’s principle of consequence from the command given to Adam, and substituted his own. According to Satan, the act (sin) of Adam and Eve would not merit God’s consequence, but, his own consequence, that promised to be good. Satan, and the whole demonic world are corrupt and bent on destroying the consequences of sin.
However God operates on the utmost level – {{Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap,”}}. Sowing and reaping (harvesting) is a set principle of Consequence. Sowing will always have an outcome, either good (the farmer hopes for that), or bad, and that is exactly what God delivers – {{Galatians 6:8 “for the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh REAP corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit REAP eternal life.”}}
People sin with impunity. They do the most sinful things and think they are immune from any fallout as long as they don’t get caught. Impunity is NOT immunity.
One Old Testament character is a sad case – {{Joshua 7:1 “but the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for ACHAN, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, TOOK SOME OF THE THINGS UNDER THE BAN. Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.”}}
When he was caught he confessed, but is this type of confession genuine before God? {{Joshua 7:20 Achan answered Joshua and said, “Truly, I HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I did:”}}
Politicians and famous people when caught out in immoral or criminal behaviour often come out with, “I’d like to apologise for what I did,” or, “I want to say sorry for what happened.” What rubbish. They neither apologise genuinely, not are they sorry. They are just sorry for themselves because they got caught.
[D]. SIN IS SUCH A DELUSION
Deluding sin causes the following to happen:-
1. Sin is not really sin at all.
2. It is only a small matter so does not matter.
3. It is alright because I am not hurting others.
4. I don’t believe in this God stuff.
5. I am fine; I’ve not murdered anyone.
6. God is not upset because I go good to people.
The human heart can keep going on with reasons to excuse sin and sinful behaviour but it is nothing more than satanic delusion; nothing more than self-deception.
[E]. WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN?
(a). What God declared is certain, just as is the Law of Gravity. Here is a verse of certainty – {{Ezekiel 18:4 “Behold, all souls are Mine, the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. THE SOUL WHO SINS WILL DIE.”}}. This is the first consequence and the oldest for the human race. It is immutable.
(b). Here we have the ultimate consequence of sin and righteousness. {{Psalm 1:6 “for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but THE WAY OF THE WICKED WILL PERISH.”}} It can be no other way for God is holy and nothing impure can exist without the inevitability of being cleared out of the way. The consequence is that what is sinful (wickedness) will reside forever in the eternal flames. That was spelled out to Adam. “IN the day you eat of it . . . you will die,” and in that day he died spiritually to God, and became a sinner with a sinful nature. Unlike an animal, men and women have an eternal spirit that lives forever even though the sinner is dead to God.
(c). A story Jesus told was about a poor beggar and a rich man known as Dives. Both died and the beggar went to Paradise (that is now heaven) and the rich man ended up in hell. That was not because of being rich or poor, but of relationship with God. That is another example of the eternal nature of the human soul, that must one day meet all the consequences that sin earned in this life.
[F]. THE BIGGER SCHEME OF THINGS
(A). THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
Atheists deny any God or afterlife. They have no explanation for the material universe, or the complexity of life forms. They have to resort to evolution to try to answer that for themselves, even though they can not explain life, or where materialism originated, or how it is that mankind has a conscience.
What they fail to see is that all scientific laws and principles exist, as does all chemical reactions, so how did they just happen to be? They may be arrogant intellectuals and humanists, but there is a consequence that they must face one day and this is it – {{Philippians 2:10-11 “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that EVERY TONGUE SHOULD CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father.”}}
The very fact that God has established laws in the physical world (drive a car into a tree and it comes to an abrupt stop) then the existence of God requires accountability. It can not be ignored. Everyone is accountable for the sins done in the body.
(B). THE PHYSICAL WORLD IS GOVERNED BY LAWS LEADING TO CONSEQUENCES
BECAUSE The physical world is governed by laws leading to consequences, why would man be exempt from that very thing? Well, he is not exempt! Those who fail to make that connection between sin and consequence are ignorant of simple logic operating in creation, or Satan has blinded their eyes as he did to Eve.
(C). A BEE STING HAS ITS CONSEQUENCE
Being stung by a bee or a wasp is rightly unpleasant, and so too is the result of falling branches if you are underneath; something heavy falling on your toe; sprained ankles in sporting competitions; being apprehended in a bank robbery . . .
AND the most serious of all. I want you to think about these verses –
{{Romans 2:6-8 “who will RENDER TO EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in DOING GOOD seek for glory and honour and IMMORTALITY, ETERNAL LIFE, but to those who are selfishly ambitious and DO NOT OBEY THE TRUTH, but obey unrighteousness, WRATH AND INDIGNATION.”}}
That is like a set of scales, but on which balance are you? Generally, people do not like accountability and would prefer to run away from it, and we can do that often in life, BUT not in death. It is appointed for man to die once and the he faces judgement.
(D). THE GREATEST CONSEQUENCE OF ALL
Maybe this one is the greatest and worse because it is permanent:-
{{Revelation 20:12 “and I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, ACCORDING TO THEIR DEEDS.”
Revelation 20:13 “The sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them and they were judged, every one of them ACCORDING TO THEIR DEEDS”}}
Deeds have consequences and it will be so sad (horrendous) for those who stand before a God of holiness and wrath and the deeds of sin become manifest. Each one of those will condemn the once who is before that great white throne.
HOWEVER!
(E). THERE IS ANOTHER SET OF CONSEQUENCES THAT IS BOTH MAGNIFICENT AND PERMANENT ALSO
The basis of that is faith and forgiveness. Sinners can be elevated to a place where all the consequences of sin have been destroyed (and we speak about the associated penalty) so that what remains is righteousness, hope, assurance, a glorious connection with God, and eternal life always with the living God. Because of Christ's death, there are eternal consequences for all believers and here are a few – there are so many!
(a). THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN ARE GONE! {{Romans 8:1-2 “There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death”}}
(b). SAVED, WITH CHRIST; SURROUNDED BY HIS GRACE. {{Ephesians 2:5-7 “even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show THE SURPASSING RICHES OF HIS GRACE in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”}}
(c). SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS; FROM RENEGADES TO SONS. {{Ephesians 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to ADOPTION AS SONS through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.”}}
[F]. TWO CLOSING THOUGHTS
The unsaved and atheists think there will be no consequences but they will be very disappointed for the verse quoted before will be the rude awaking – {{Hebrews 9:27 “Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and AFTER THIS COMES judgment,”}}
The Christian believers know what lies ahead – {{2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed for I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED, and I am convinced that HE IS ABLE to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”}}
{{2 Corinthians 5:6-7 “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that WHILE WE ARE AT HOME IN THE BODY WE ARE ABSENT FROM THE LORD - for we walk by faith, not by sight – “}}
To be absent from the body,
To be present with the Lord;
To be robed in linen garments
With eternal life unflawed.
I will then be in His presence,
Where the saints of God will shine,
And that blessed sinless pleasure -
O, that joy will then be mine.
The SECOND thought is this, and it is for Christians. What you do (or don’t do!) for Christ after being saved will have consequences. Out time is gone but take these scriptures to heart – 1 Corinthians 3:10-17.
May the Lord add His blessing to everyone.
