Self

(Mark 5:1-20 - “1Then they came to the other side of the

sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. 2And when He had

come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the

tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3who had his dwelling

among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even

with chains, 4because he had often been bound with

shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart

by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could

anyone tame him. 5And always, night and day, he was in

the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting

himself with stones. 6When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran

and worshipped Him. 7And he cried out with a loud voice

and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the

Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not

torment me.” 8For He said to him, “Come out of the man,

unclean spirit!” 9Then He asked him, “What is your

name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for

we are many.” 10Also he begged Him earnestly that He

would not send them out of the country. 11Now a large

herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12So

all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine,

that we may enter them.” 13And at once Jesus gave them

permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered

the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd

ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and

drowned in the sea. 14So those who fed the swine fled, and

they told it in the city and in the country. And they went

out to see what it was that had happened. 15Then they

came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been

demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed

and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 16And those

who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been

demon-possessed, and about the swine. 17Then they began

to plead with Him to depart from their region. 18And when

He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed

begged Him that he might be with Him. 19However, Jesus

did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your

friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done

for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20And

he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that

Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.”)

Sin can have some truly terrible effects upon the sinner.

A. Though seldom, if ever, does anyone today

experience the effects of sin in such a terrible way

as this account shows...sin still does produce as

terrifying end results...if we could only see them.

1. We of fleshly eyes cannot see the horrible and

ugly results of the sins that we commit.

a. But whether we see those results, or not...

we need to understand that they are just

as terrible as this scenario.

In the time allotted, today, I wish to go over the effects of

sin on our soul.

A. Perhaps you are astute and fully know thesethings.

1. Then I present them, again to you, as a

review and a warning.

B. There are some, however, who may not

realize the horrors of sin.

1. Only when a person sees the repugnance of

sin will he be prone to shunning sin.

a. Sin is always wrapped up in a desirable

package...it is meant to look appealing...

pleasure is it’s appeal.

1.) Only if we peel away the wrappings

can we see sin in all of its wicked

ugliness.

Let us take a look at sin and its effects so that we might

recognize the ugliness, hurtfulness, and destructiveness of

that which is present to hurt and destroy us.

I. Sin poisons our environment.

(II Peter 2:21-22 - “21For it would have been better for

them not to have known the way of righteousness, than

having known it, to turn from the holy commandment

delivered to them. 22But it has happened to them according

to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and,

“a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”)

A. Each time that we give in to sin, we become

more comfortable with the things that destroy.

1. It’s like snuggling up with a monster who

has dressed up like a white, fuzzy, bunny

rabbit.

(II Cor. 11:13-15 - “13For such are false apostles,

deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of

Christ. 14And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms

himself into an angel of light. 15Therefore it is no great

thing if his ministers also transform themselves into