Several years ago, the title of a book that was published asked the question, "Whatever Became Of Sin?" Well, I must confess, in a world where evil men and imposters proceed from bad to worse (2 Tim. 3:13) it does seem as if the word "sin" has disappeared from the human vocabulary. Even today, this seems to be finding its way into the church.

My responsibility as a Christian, and most certainly as an evangelist, is not to join the majority in a world of evil who would seek to circumvent the issue or attempt to whiten up the blackness of sin. My obligation and yours as a disciple of Christ is "do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them: for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light" (Eph. 5:11-13). Just what does sin do?

SIN HURTS GOD: -- Too often when people sin they begin by mourning over the consequences of their sin, such as disgrace, poverty, disease, and emotional discomfort, rather than shedding tears because they realize they've sinned against a Holy God. When David had been confronted with his sin, he confessed to God, "Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight" (Psa. 51:4) David declared later in (vs. 17), "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." David's heart was broken because he realized he had broken the very heart of God. Sin hurts God!

SIN HURTS OTHERS: -- In my estimation it's selfishness to the core when people argue that their refusal to submit themselves to God only negatively affects them. What utter foolishness. Try reasoning this way with parents who shed tears at the funeral of their fourteen your old son whose life was taken due to the drunk driver who thought his drinking wouldn't hurt anyone but himself. Try convincing a broken-hearted woman whose world is devastated by the adultery of her husband, and now she is forced to explain to her three children why daddy left her for another woman. Sin hurts others!

SIN IS EXPENSIVE: -- How much pain and heartache could be avoided if only people would recognize the high price of sin. Sin is so expensive. Sin will take you farther than you wanted
to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay. Sin is expensive!

SIN WILL BE DEALT WITH BY GOD: -- Too many ignore sin and its wages (Rom. 6:23) and think that somehow their sins will go unnoticed or be overlooked by God. Too many want to sow "wild oats," and then they pray for a crop failure. God's spiritual law of sowing and reaping doesn't work that way. "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh, will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life" (Gal. 6:7,8). God will deal with sin and the sinner who refuses to repent. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one my be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (2 Cor. 5:10). Don't kid yourself, your sins will be brought into judgment; even those things that others don't know about. "For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil" (Eccl. 12:14). Sin will be dealt with by God!

SIN CAN BE FORGIVEN: -- What good news! Not that we have sinned, but that God in His grace will abundantly pardon any and all sins if we will truly confess them and forsake them. "For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in loving kindness to all who call upon You" (Psa. 86:5). Is there any message that brings hope like the good news that God forgives?

When all is said and done, the tragedy of sin is best seen in the price God was willing to pay for its removal. If sin is trivial, Christ's death is trivial. "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ.." (1 Pet. 1:18,19). Only Jesus is the answer to our sin problem, and that's the truth about sin!

By Paul Smith, via. Gospel Power, Vol. 14, No. 32, Aug. 12, 2007.

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