no one enters suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
they hatch adders’ eggs;
they weave the spider’s web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.
their webs will not serve as clothing;
men will not cover themselves with what they make.
their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
[isaiah 59:4-6]
the wages of sin is death – romans 6:23
it is hard to see the full consequences of my sin because my eyes are do not have eternal vision like our Lord.
but, the full consequences of my sin is always death.
do you and i believe this?
part of the judgment in the garden for sin – for rebellion against holy God – was physical suffering and physical death …
and to adam he said, “because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘you shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” [genesis 3:17-19]
we suffer in this world and eventually we die because holy God judged our rebellion, our sin as so vile toward his heart and character – that only this punishment could bring justice to our rebellion.
but there was a second punishment – our sin would be judged with spiritual suffering and death …
the Lord God sent him out from the garden of eden to work the ground from which he was taken. he drove out the man, [genesis 3:23-24]
we would be separated because of our sin from the presence of God. first, this would bring immediate spiritual suffering. for without God’s presence that gives joy and life – men and women began looking for any place and every person to find the joy and life only God could give. but all these places cannot – so suffering in our spirit ensues. second, this would eventually bring a spiritual death. this means our sin would be punished by suffering an eternity separated from God in punishment. [2 thessalonians 1:8-9]
that is a grim picture.
but you and i need to hear the truth – our sin only brings death – now and forever. it is not a naughty moment. it is death.
read over isaiah 59:4-6. see the vivid picture of what sin does to us and others – death.
today, we ask for two things:
- Lord, help us see the deep and deadly consequences of all our sin and grieve the death it brings. and make it specific Lord! help me see specific sins and how they are bringing death to me and others. please, Lord help me see and grieve the reality of my sin.
- Lord, help me see the beauty and power of your grace that alone gives life. my sin ONLY gives death. but you Jesus ONLY give life! help me see you and your life today as my only hope for redeeming and restoring what sin kills. help me see you as the only power to kill my sin!
plead for these things today – for you heart.
plead for these things today – for the hearts of others you know are stuck in their sin.
come Lord Jesus! bring true conviction and grief, and bring the power of your grace to give life. in Jesus name – amen!
~ john ryan