The Destructive Nature of Sin

By Bob Myhan

The third most important characteristic of sin is its destructive nature. It is destructive because it is degenerative. That is, destruction is the logical and inevitable end of degeneration. Sin, continued in long enough, will destroy your good name.

“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches” (Prov. 22:1).

Solomon was not just speaking of the name by which one happens to be called, but the reputation that people associate with that name. What parents for example would name their son Lucifer, Judas, or Adolph? What parents would name their daughter Jezebel? These names have long been ruined because of the sinful reputations so closely associated with them. One cannot scripturally be an elder without a good reputation (1 Tim. 3:7). We who are not elders cannot hope to influence the lost for good if we do not strive to maintain a good reputation. Peter writes,

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God” (1 Peter 2:11-16).

Sin, given enough time, will destroy your character. This, again, is because it transmits its own character to those who practice sin. It has been said that your reputation is what people think about you, but your character is what God knows about you. Jesus, in the beatitudes, describes the character that saints are to maintain, even in the face of adversity. We are to be “poor in spirit,” mournful, “meek,” hungry and thirsty “for righteousness,” “merciful,” “pure in heart,” “peacemakers” and “persecuted for righteousness’ sake” (Matt. 5:1-16).

Certain sins will destroy your body. Sexual promiscuity and drug abuse can result in AIDS or STDs (of course, health care workers and recipients of blood transfusions are also at risk). Alcohol consumption can lead to liver and brain diseases. Tobacco use can cause lung disease and various forms of cancer; even smokeless tobacco can lead to mouth and throat cancer.

While we certainly cannot prevent all ailments, we can minimize the risk of some diseases by avoiding risky behavior. The apostle Paul wrote, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1,2; see also 2 Cor. 7:1). Paul tells us that some risky behavior is also sinful and will keep us out of heaven (1 Cor. 6:9-10, 18-21).

Sin, if continued in, will destroy the effectiveness of your prayers. As the Messianic Prophet wrote to the people of Judah, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But…your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isa. 59:1-2; see also 1 Peter 3:7).

Sin will destroy your emotional stability. David prayed, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit” (Psalm 51:7-12; see also Psalm 32:1-4).

Habitual sin will destroy your financial stability. The sin of wasteful living so completely devoured the prodigal son’s possessions that he took a job feeding pigs, indicating a total loss of dignity as well (Luke 15:13,14). The sin of gambling, in particular, has drained many bank accounts and shattered many families. (1 Timothy 6:10)

The ultimate destruction, of course, is “the everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thess. 1:9). &

The Consequence Of Sin Can Outlive Us

By Kent Heaton

The apostle Paul declared in Galatians 6:7 – “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” There has always been consequence to sin from the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden (Genesis 2, 3). Man should not think that he can escape the eye of God.

King David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) and became the greatest king to sit upon the throne of Israel. Whenever David’s name is mentioned there is always a sidebar of remembering the incident with Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite. In 2 Samuel 11 we read of David walking on the roof of his house one evening when he “saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold” (2 Samuel 11:2). David brought Bathsheba into his palace and lay with her. Later she told the King that she was with child. Wanting to cover the incident up, her husband was recalled from the besieging of the city of Rabbah.

Uriah the Hittite was one of the mighty men of David (2 Samuel 23:39; 1 Chronicles 11:41).  He was a man of honor and nobility in service to his king. When called home from the war, he refused to enter his house as long as his men and the ark were engaged in battle. Failing at other attempts to coerce Uriah into bed with his wife, David sent an order (by the hand of Uriah) to his general, Joab, to place Uriah in the heat of battle and then withdraw. Uriah carried his death notice and died in the battle.

It was later God sent Nathan the prophet to David to declare unto him the judgment of the Lord upon David & Bathsheba, the child and the descendants of David. The immediate consequence of David’s sin was the condemnation of God. The grace of God allowed David to live (2 Samuel 12:13) but the child would die. Further consequence that David would suffer is the sword would never leave his house and adversaries would rise up against him – even from his own household (see Absalom and Adonijah). The house of David suffered many years of hardship because of David’s sin.

The punishment outlined by Nathan (2 Samuel 12:7-15) was immediate at least in the lifetime of David. The sad part of David’s sin was that he would forever be marked as the man who took Uriah’s wife. When the account of Abijam’s reign in Judah is given in the book of 1 Kings it says: “Because David did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite” (1 Kings 15:5). The consequence of sin remained.

Remarkably when the genealogy of Jesus Christ is given in Matthew’s account, David is again marked with his sin. “Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah” (Matthew 1:6). Generations removed David is still remembered for what he did to Uriah and his sin with Bathsheba.

Sin will take you farther than you want to go and keep you longer than you want to stay. The lust of the flesh will mark a person for lifetime as the one who is known for what they have done. This does not dismiss forgiveness as God forgave David but the reality of the reaping of sin sowed in a moment’s reckless folly will blacken the pages of life – and sometimes long after the person has died. Many have walked that road today and bear a heavy burden. David cries from the grave long passed: “O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness” (1 Timothy 6:11). &