Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
The Consequences of Sin
The very worst thing anyone can possibly do in their life, is to reject Jesus as their Lord and Savior. For the consequence of that rejection is an eternity of suffering in the Lake of Fire. There is no greater consequence than that. By no means is committing any sin (other than blasphemy of the Holy Spirit) a transgression on the same level as rejecting Jesus as our Lord.
There are multitudes of sins we can commit in our lives. Those sins hold some dire consequences, but contrary to common teaching, those consequences do not include burning in hell. If you do not agree with this, please read my article...
The Truth of Salvation
Too often the doctrines taught in churches confuse the two subjects of salvation and relationship with God. They assume that if your relationship with the Lord is not right, then you must not be saved and so you are going to hell. That's simply not the truth of God's Word.
If your own child doesn't mind you, are you supposed to disown him? Are you supposed to kill him or cast him to the wolves? If man considers this a terrible thing to do, why would you assume that God, who is love incarnate, would do such a thing?
God is not going to throw you in hell just because you break one of his rules. He will not cast you into eternal punishment because you do something that makes Him unhappy with you. If you think God is that harsh, you don't know the truly loving and forgiving God of the Bible.
The truth is the sins we commit have two consequences. This of course does not include the natural consequences of our actions. If someone cheats on his wife and sleeps with his neighbor, his actions will have multiple consequences in this world. His wife will be hurt. His marriage will suffer. If the neighbor is married there will be bad blood between him and her husband. There will be a loss of trust between him and his wife, his children if they have any and to some degree even some of those who learn about what he did. But those are the natural consequences of his actions. Not the consequences of sin.
Consequence #1
The first real consequence of sin is that it separates you from the Lord in your relationship with Him.
Isaiah 59:2 (NASB)
2 But your wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Notice that the second half of this verse says our sins have hidden His face from us so that He does not hear. This doesn't speak about being cast into hell, but it speaks from the standpoint of a relationship. If you live in sin against God, He stops listening to you. He will stop responding to your prayers. But He does not hate you or throw you into eternal punishment over it.
When we first believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the first thing God has done is to give us a new spirit...
Ezekiel 36:26 (NASB)
26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
When God gives us a new spirit, He gives to us a spirit that desires to be close to Him. From that point on, it is impossible for us to be happy living in sin. The more we sin, the further from God we fall. The further from God we fall, the more miserable we become. The closer to God we grow, the more at peace we become in spirit.
Often people like to equate the teaching that sin does not send us to hell with getting the best of both worlds. They say it means we can live in sin and still be saved. The problem is no true believer will see living in sin as the best of this world. It makes them miserable, not happier.
I was once a true believer who had fallen into a life of sin. For nearly 30 years I walked the edge of being suicidal. I hated my life. I was truly miserable. But I was also deceived by the devil. I actually believed that God had turned His back on me. I was angry with God for forsaking me. It was not until God drew me back to him at the end of 2017 that I found how happy it made me inside to be right with God. It was not until I started really studying His Word that I learned that was what it meant for sin to separate us from God. It separates our spirit from Him in our relationship with Him. And in this life, for a true believer, that is the worst thing in the world.
Consequence #2
There is a second consequence of sin. A consequence that is not of this lifetime but a consequence that will last forever. The sins we commit in this life will eat away our rewards in the afterlife.
1 Corinthians 3:8 (NASB)
8 Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Now some might think "Big deal!" Many seem to believe the rewards in heaven will just be a a bigger crown or more crowns, or whatever, but those who think that have no understanding of what the rewards will consist of. What many Christians do not realize is that we will not spend all eternity in heaven. After the day of Judgment when all unbelievers are cast into the lake of Fire, this earth will pass away and God will give to us a new earth. The new earth will be many times larger. On the new earth God will place a new Jerusalem and we will spread out and build new nations. There will be kings and servants. There will be laborers, wood workers, artists, entertainers and many other positions. What our job is on the new earth will be according to our rewards. Those who receive few rewards will be servants and laborers. Those who receive great rewards will be leaders and have servants waiting on them.
If you turn to Christ and live in sin, you will still be saved, but you will receive few rewards. You will be a servant or laborer. This position is not something you will be able to move up from. There will be no more coming to take your place. If you are a servant, you will be a servant forever. If you don't believe me, all you need to do is read Revelation chapter 21. It is all about the New Earth and the new Jerusalem. And it says this...
Revelation 21:22-24 (NASB)
22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
This is absolute proof there will be nations and kings. Jesus tells us that if one wants to be first, he will be servant to all. So we know there will be servants. It is clear then that we will have different levels of hierarchy and we will all have different jobs.
So now we know that living in sin will not only make one miserable in this life, it will eat away their rewards for the new life we will receive. One who lives in sin will receive few rewards and have lower positions. So basically living in sin will be the worst of this life and set you up to have the worst of the afterlife as well. It is not the best of both worlds. It is literally the worst of both worlds.
Does the sin we commit in this life send us to hell? No! There is not a single scripture that says it clearly. Only scriptures that are misinterpreted are used to say sin will send you to hell. But the sins we commit will still have some dire consequences. Both in this life and the afterlife.
It is so important to realize there is more reason to have a good relationship with the Lord than just what God wants. Believe me, it is something your spirit desires as well. The closer you are to Christ in your relationship with Him, the stronger your faith will be. The more you will do His works. The greater your reward will be.
There are multitudes of sins we can commit in our lives. Those sins hold some dire consequences, but contrary to common teaching, those consequences do not include burning in hell. If you do not agree with this, please read my article...
The Truth of Salvation
Too often the doctrines taught in churches confuse the two subjects of salvation and relationship with God. They assume that if your relationship with the Lord is not right, then you must not be saved and so you are going to hell. That's simply not the truth of God's Word.
If your own child doesn't mind you, are you supposed to disown him? Are you supposed to kill him or cast him to the wolves? If man considers this a terrible thing to do, why would you assume that God, who is love incarnate, would do such a thing?
God is not going to throw you in hell just because you break one of his rules. He will not cast you into eternal punishment because you do something that makes Him unhappy with you. If you think God is that harsh, you don't know the truly loving and forgiving God of the Bible.
The truth is the sins we commit have two consequences. This of course does not include the natural consequences of our actions. If someone cheats on his wife and sleeps with his neighbor, his actions will have multiple consequences in this world. His wife will be hurt. His marriage will suffer. If the neighbor is married there will be bad blood between him and her husband. There will be a loss of trust between him and his wife, his children if they have any and to some degree even some of those who learn about what he did. But those are the natural consequences of his actions. Not the consequences of sin.
Consequence #1
The first real consequence of sin is that it separates you from the Lord in your relationship with Him.
Isaiah 59:2 (NASB)
2 But your wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Notice that the second half of this verse says our sins have hidden His face from us so that He does not hear. This doesn't speak about being cast into hell, but it speaks from the standpoint of a relationship. If you live in sin against God, He stops listening to you. He will stop responding to your prayers. But He does not hate you or throw you into eternal punishment over it.
When we first believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the first thing God has done is to give us a new spirit...
Ezekiel 36:26 (NASB)
26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
When God gives us a new spirit, He gives to us a spirit that desires to be close to Him. From that point on, it is impossible for us to be happy living in sin. The more we sin, the further from God we fall. The further from God we fall, the more miserable we become. The closer to God we grow, the more at peace we become in spirit.
Often people like to equate the teaching that sin does not send us to hell with getting the best of both worlds. They say it means we can live in sin and still be saved. The problem is no true believer will see living in sin as the best of this world. It makes them miserable, not happier.
I was once a true believer who had fallen into a life of sin. For nearly 30 years I walked the edge of being suicidal. I hated my life. I was truly miserable. But I was also deceived by the devil. I actually believed that God had turned His back on me. I was angry with God for forsaking me. It was not until God drew me back to him at the end of 2017 that I found how happy it made me inside to be right with God. It was not until I started really studying His Word that I learned that was what it meant for sin to separate us from God. It separates our spirit from Him in our relationship with Him. And in this life, for a true believer, that is the worst thing in the world.
Consequence #2
There is a second consequence of sin. A consequence that is not of this lifetime but a consequence that will last forever. The sins we commit in this life will eat away our rewards in the afterlife.
1 Corinthians 3:8 (NASB)
8 Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Now some might think "Big deal!" Many seem to believe the rewards in heaven will just be a a bigger crown or more crowns, or whatever, but those who think that have no understanding of what the rewards will consist of. What many Christians do not realize is that we will not spend all eternity in heaven. After the day of Judgment when all unbelievers are cast into the lake of Fire, this earth will pass away and God will give to us a new earth. The new earth will be many times larger. On the new earth God will place a new Jerusalem and we will spread out and build new nations. There will be kings and servants. There will be laborers, wood workers, artists, entertainers and many other positions. What our job is on the new earth will be according to our rewards. Those who receive few rewards will be servants and laborers. Those who receive great rewards will be leaders and have servants waiting on them.
If you turn to Christ and live in sin, you will still be saved, but you will receive few rewards. You will be a servant or laborer. This position is not something you will be able to move up from. There will be no more coming to take your place. If you are a servant, you will be a servant forever. If you don't believe me, all you need to do is read Revelation chapter 21. It is all about the New Earth and the new Jerusalem. And it says this...
Revelation 21:22-24 (NASB)
22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
This is absolute proof there will be nations and kings. Jesus tells us that if one wants to be first, he will be servant to all. So we know there will be servants. It is clear then that we will have different levels of hierarchy and we will all have different jobs.
So now we know that living in sin will not only make one miserable in this life, it will eat away their rewards for the new life we will receive. One who lives in sin will receive few rewards and have lower positions. So basically living in sin will be the worst of this life and set you up to have the worst of the afterlife as well. It is not the best of both worlds. It is literally the worst of both worlds.
Does the sin we commit in this life send us to hell? No! There is not a single scripture that says it clearly. Only scriptures that are misinterpreted are used to say sin will send you to hell. But the sins we commit will still have some dire consequences. Both in this life and the afterlife.
It is so important to realize there is more reason to have a good relationship with the Lord than just what God wants. Believe me, it is something your spirit desires as well. The closer you are to Christ in your relationship with Him, the stronger your faith will be. The more you will do His works. The greater your reward will be.
