THE HIGH PRICE OF SIN
by Pastor James May
All around the world, congregations are gathering this day to celebrate the Lords’ Day. In every pew, and in every chair, there will sit a man, woman or child who comes with only one intent in mind and that is to, somehow, make Heaven their home. In this church we have come together to worship God and to pray that we are found worthy, through the Blood of Christ, to escape the wrath of God, praying that our sins are washed away and awaiting that day when Jesus comes to take his church away.
Yet, there exists a paradox in every life here this morning, and in every man, woman and child in every church. (A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true) That paradox is that while we are born again, cleansed from sin, and dead to sin, there is still an ongoing and never ending battle with sin in this life. We never outgrow the ability to fall into sin. We never reach a point in this life where we have arrived and the possibility of sin entering our lives is no longer a problem. We must be ever on guard against the sneak attacks of our adversary as he does all he can to undermine what God is doing in us and through us. We must never forget that he is like a roaring lion, going about and searching for those whom he can destroy.
We can’t let our guard down, not even for a moment, for that moment is all that the devil needs to get his foot in the door of our heart and then, little by little, begins to open that crack until he moves in for good.
In one small, rural community of Texas there are lots of cattle and, every once in a while, a cow wanders off and gets lost . A rancher was asked, how does a cow get lost? ’Well, the cow starts nibbling on a tuft of green grass, and when it finishes, it looks ahead to the next tuft of green grass and starts nibbling on that one, and then it nibbles on a tuft of grass right next to a hole in the fence. It then sees another tuft of green grass on the other side of the fence, so it nibbles on that one and then goes on to the next tuft. The next thing you know, the cow has nibbled itself into being lost."
Christians everywhere are in the process of nibbling their way to being lost. . . We keep moving from one tuft of activity to another, one spot of “green grass” in the pasture of sin after another, never noticing how far we have gone from home or how far away from the truth we have managed to end up until we are lost in the world of sin.
How many Christians have I seen fall back into sin because they began to nibble at the things of the world. Often those things don’t seem so bad. Maybe it’s just one time of missing church to watch a seldom played sports event like a Superbowl Game or a World Series Final. Maybe that little nibble is the smoking of just one cigarette or just one little adult beverage.
It all starts out so “innocently” at first. (Let me say that in the eyes of God sin is never innocently done. It’s all rebellion and even the simplest of sin carries with it a heavy price.) Surely this one time won’t hurt – but you see, that’s the problem, it’s never just this once.
There was a commercial that once aired on TV that advertised a certain brand of potato chip. The commercial put forth a challenge that said, “You can’t eat just one.” Why was that so true for most of us? It’s true because of our own appetite, our own desire for more of the same. We say that we can only eat just one, but how long does that bag of chips really last? Even if we only eat one today to show how “disciplined” we are, I’ll guarantee you that none of us ever throws away a full bag of potato chips. The commercial didn’t say, “You can’t eat just one today and then throw away the rest.” The challenge of that commercial left us with an open-ended time frame and I venture to say that there has never been a time when the challenge was met and all the chips were not eaten.
Like the cow eating the grass one bite at a time and the bag of chips that disappeared one chip at a time, we tend to nibble and bite at sin until it overcomes us. The subtlety of sin is it’s greatest danger and that’s why we must ever be on guard lest Satan destroys us through his wiles.
Let us never think that there isn’t a heavy price to pay for sin. Let us never think that any sin is innocent or that the things we do will not have eternal consequences. Let us ever be aware of the danger that surrounds us in this world of sin and let us watch over our souls with great caution and ask God to stop us from straying from the place where he wants us to be.
I like what one rancher posted on his gates and fences to stop trespassers on his property.
STOP. I know you’re thinking about crossing this gate. What you should know is that if the Coyotes, Cactus, Mesquite, Heat, Dust or Rattlers don’t get you, my Winchester will.
That’s the kind of sign that we have in the Word of God and that’s the kind of warning that we receive in our conscience and in our heart every time we come close to the line at the threshold of sin.
I don’t believe that there has ever been a time when we “accidentally” sin. Sin is no accident. It is a willful disobedient act and is done only after we throw caution to the wind and yield to the temptation because of our own desire.
James 1:14-15, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
The good news that I can give to you this morning is that, while every one of us must face sin, and we often fail because of our own selfishness and desires to have what Satan places before us, there is still a great and wonderful hope because Jesus made a way of escape from the clutches of sin for each of us.
1 John 2:1, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:"
Thank God, we have an advocate, a legal counsel if you will, in the courtroom of Heaven who will plead our case for us if we have a heart of true repentance and accept his payment in blood for our sin. How often do we find ourselves repenting again and again of sin and still his blood is sufficient. His blood with never lose it’s power to cleanse us, wash us and make us righteous before God.
I thank God that Jesus will accept that heart that falls before him in bitter tears and truly repents of sin. I thank God that he can take an old, dead, dirty, filthy, black heart and make it new. I thank God that Jesus can take a dead man, bound for hell and turn his life around so that now he is on a journey to Heaven.
But this morning I want to bring you another message that I believe God wants you to hear. The message that God wants you to hear is that even though the power of sin in your life is broken, and you are forgiven and washed clean, and you are bound for Heaven, dressed in robes of righteousness, you are still living in a sinful world, and there will be an ongoing price to pay for the sin that you committed in the past.
You see, the problem is that mankind cannot forgive and forget like God can. I only wish that we could, but it’s impossible for mortal man to forget the things of his past.
I know so many people whose lives will be, and have been, forever changed, and forever impacted, and forever influenced by the results of the sin that was committed even though there is no doubt that God has forgiven them and counted them as his own dear sons and daughters.
That’s when we really begin to understand the very, very high price of sin. The debt of our sin in terms of eternal life and salvation have been paid for by Christ, but even the blood of Jesus does not wash away memories and consequences of sin in this body of flesh. As long as we live, and in many instances, even after death has claimed the body and the spirit and soul of man has gone on into Heaven, the consequences of the sin that was committed long ago live on for years to come.
I thank God that one day all tears will be wiped away and everything will begin anew. Old things will pass away and we will remember sin no more, but that day has not come and we must know that the high price of sin is ongoing and unceasing.
It is a sad thing to think about, but I want you to note that even though we will be in Heaven and every tear will be wiped away from our eyes and we will remember the sins of the past no more, I wonder how many people will be eternally in hell because of our influence on them to sin with us, or our lack of influence to help them come to Christ. You see, even though we won’t remember it, the high price of our sin could well last for eternity in the souls that we have condemned through our actions. Their blood will be required at our hands and we may be judged for our failures at the Judgment Seat of Christ and still enter Heaven’s gates, but where does that leave those who will face eternity without God. Yes, the high price of sin is eternal and terrible. It is eternal death without Christ!
That is a terrible thing to think about, but that’s not all that we must know about the terrible price of sin that is ongoing, even in the life of a born again and Spirit filled child of God.
In this life we will constantly face the consequences of sins of the past. There is no escaping it. Let me give you a few examples from the Bible that will show what I mean.
David was called by God and described as “a man after God’s own heart”. David loved God and tried his best to be an obedient servant of God. Yet David found himself constantly failing God and then falling on his face in repentance. God would always forgive him and I believe that today David is in Heaven with his God.
I want you to know that even though David repented and he was forgiven by God, the consequences of his sin haunted him for the rest of his life.
David had failed miserably by committing adultery, then conspiracy to commit murder, then brought a son into the world through his adulterous affair when he married the wife of the man he had conspired to murder.
David had repented of his sin, and had been forgiven by God, but there was still the terrible high price of sin to be paid for what he had done. The son that was born to him of this union was to be taken from him because of his sin.
2 Samuel 12:16-23, "David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."
Look again at David’s life, at another time when he sinned. David had failed God and disobeyed God by numbering the people of Israel against God’s direct commandment. He had done so out of a sense of pride in his army and this showed that his heart was far from God and had begun to depend upon the power of the flesh to bring victory over his enemies.
2 Samuel 24:10-13, "And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me."
Though David had repented of his sin and I believe that God had forgiven him, yet there was the high price of sin to be paid in his life. The consequences of his actions would not go away just because his heart was now right with God and there was a hard choice to make.
I’m certain that David wanted God to forget what he had done, but it just would not go away. I know that he probably prayed long and hard with bitter tears because he just didn’t want to face the consequences of his sin, but there was no escaping them. The high price of his sin had to be paid and so the die was cast and he made his choice.
No matter which choice he made, it would not be what he really wanted. No matter which price he chose, it would not be what God had originally wanted for David to have in his life. God had wanted David’s obedience and he had wanted to pour out even greater blessings upon David and a higher calling than he had already given to him, but the high price of David’s past sin demanded payment and David’s life was forever changed.
David’s sin not only exacted a price from him but there were many more people in Israel whose lives were impacted by David’s sin. None of them blamed David. None of them grew angry with him to the point of forsaking him. The whole nation of Israel stood with him and suffered with him and loved him through it all, but they too had to suffer along with him because of the high price of sin. The pestilence, if he chose that would affect everyone, not just David. The famine affected the whole nation, not just David. Fleeing from his enemies didn’t just affect David either because his whole army was with him while he would be on the run from his enemies.
No man is an island and every consequence of our sin is not a price that we pay alone because everyone around us, our families, friends, business associates, co-workers, brothers and sisters in Christ and perhaps even generations to come, will be paying part of the price with us. Such is the high price of sin.
There is an old saying that goes like this, “Sin will take you farther than you ever wanted to go and keep you longer than you ever wanted to stay.”
Let me give you one more example of the high price of sin in the Bible.
Can you recall the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis? Esau came in from hunting in the fields and was famished. How many of you know that the most vulnerable time for sin to enter your heart is when you are at your weakest point spiritually? The more you focus on the desires and needs of the flesh and the farther you are from God spiritually, the more vulnerable you become to falling into sin. That’s why we must strive to stay as close to Jesus as we possibly can. We are weak at best and in grave danger as we get farther away.
Esau sold his birthright for a moment of satisfying the needs of the flesh.
Hebrews 12:15-17, "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."
Can’t you see that Esau cried out for God to forgive him? He searched for God’s forgiveness. He did everything he could to get back his position in the family, but there was no coming back. Sometimes, when we fall into sin, there is never a place to be found where we can find God’s forgiveness again. What a terrible though that is! To have been in the family of God and then fall into sin, and never, ever, be able to come home again. WHAT A TERRIBLY HIGH PRICE FOR SIN ESAU HAD TO PAY!
As I come to the close of this message this morning, I want to give you a warning and an exhortation, or should I say, a word of encouragement for some of you.
First, the warning is to stay close to Jesus so that there is less opportunity for sin to enter your heart and cost you dearly in the future. Don’t allow the things of the world to become so important that you lose sight of Jesus and his will for your life. And whatever you do, please don’t forget the sad plight of Esau who could never repent! The reason is that unless the Holy Spirit draws you, you can’t repent, and scripture bears out the fact that there is a place where the Holy Spirit will cease to call you because God knows that you have determined in your heart to never live for him like you should and he just gives you up for all eternity. GOD HELP US TO NEVER FIND THAT PLACE!
Lastly, I want to give a word of encouragement to all of you who are facing and suffering the high price of past sins in your life right now.
I know that you have wept bitter tears over those things of the past and there is no doubt that God has forgiven you and that he has called you to be his child. Yet the sins of the past are always behind you like a dark shadow that threatens to engulf you in darkness and destroy your life in Christ.
Remember that David suffered the same way, yet somehow God brought him through it all and his life is a shining example to all of us that there is always hope if we just don’t give up and quit.
I don’t know what things are ahead for you. I don’t know the high price for past sin that is yet to be paid in your life, but I do know this. If you will hold on to God and stay faithful and true in your service to him, that somehow, God will work it all out and your life can still be a thing of beauty for God.
Man cannot but judge and exact payment according his ability and knowledge. He can only act according to what is on the outside and what deeds have been done, but God knows the heart and His judgments and his justice is holy and righteous.
Yes, there is a very high price of sin to be paid, even after we have been forgiven, washed and cleansed, but God is greater than our sin. He is greater than our disappointments. He is greater than our sorrows. He is greater than our broken dreams. He is greater than our lost opportunities. God can turn all of those high prices of sin into a life that is full and blessed and He will turn every defeat into victory if we will just continue to trust in him through it all and remain faithful to the end.
The price of sin is very high indeed, but the Lord Jesus Christ has paid for it all, and He will not let you down. Jesus is still your answer so hold on to him.
If you have not received Him as your Lord and Savior, I pray that right now the Holy Spirit is talking to you and asking you to give your heart to Jesus. Hasn’t there been enough sin that you will have to continually live with and pay a high price for? Why not stop that downward spiral into sin right now and turn your life around by giving your heart and life to Jesus? He will turn your sorrow into joy and your mourning into laughter. God can take you shattered life and make it a thing of beauty. Won’t you come to Jesus and give it to him right now? Let us pray.
