Sin – Then What?
What does happen when you sin? What happens when you repent of your sins? There are even some who quote pagan theology that claim that sin effects nothing but the flesh, which is then buried in the grave, and the untarnished soul/spirit floats off to some nether plane of some higher existence, or sends you right back to the start, to start life all over again as a baby, and round and round you go re-living this life, until you finally get good enough to somehow move up to a higher level. So what is the real truth, what does God say on this matter, Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.”
Ezekiel 18:20-32 ERV “The one who sins is the one who will be put to death. A son will not be punished for his father’s sins, and a father will not be punished for his son’s sins. A good man’s goodness belongs to him alone, and a bad man’s evil belongs to him alone. “Now, if evil people change their lives, they will live and not die. They might stop doing all the bad things they did and begin to carefully obey all my laws. They might become fair and good. God will not remember all the bad things they did. He will remember only their goodness, so they will live!” The Lord God says, “I don’t want evil people to die. I want them to change their lives so that they can live! “Now, maybe good people might stop being good. They might change their lives and begin to do all the terrible things that evil people have done in the past. (The evil people changed, so they can live.) So if those good people change and become bad, God will not remember all the good things they did. He will remember that they turned against him and began to sin. So they will die because of their sin. “You people might say, ‘The Lord isn’t fair!’ But listen, family of Israel. I am fair. You are the ones who are not fair! If good people change and become evil, they must die for the bad things they do. And if evil people change and become good and fair, they will save their lives. They will live! They saw how wicked they were and came back to me. They stopped doing the evil things they did in the past. So they will live! They will not die!” The people of Israel said, “That’s not fair! The Lord isn’t fair!” “I am fair! You are the ones who are not fair! Why? Because, family of Israel, I will judge each of you only for what you do!” This is what the Lord God said. “So come back to me! Stop committing those crimes and do away with those things that cause you to sin! Throw away all the terrible idols with which you committed your crimes! Change your heart and spirit. People of Israel, why should you do things that will cost you your life? I don’t want to kill you! Please come back and live!” This is what the Lord God said.”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” So in summary, you sin, your record of any goodness is erased, and ultimately, your sins erase you forever, now if you quickly repent, then your wickedness is erased, your Heavenly Records show only a righteous and upright life, for you only get to keep one set of records upon your death, or final judgement for those still living at the “Last Day.”
Quote; “If all could see how God regards the selfish, pettish disposition, they would thoroughly despise themselves, and would make decided efforts to cut away from them every disagreeable action. The idea that men can unite with the family of God with all their disagreeable traits of character unchanged in this life is the greatest deception and delusion.” {TDG 289} Quote; “After the fall, the principles of righteousness were unchanged. Nothing was taken from the law; not one of its holy precepts could be improved. And as it has existed from the beginning, so will it continue to exist throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. {SD 38} Quote; “If you would be a saint in heaven you must first be a saint on earth. The traits of character you cherish in life will not be changed by death or by the resurrection. You will come up from the grave with the same disposition you manifested in your home and in society. Jesus does not change the character at His coming. The work of transformation must be done now. Our daily lives are determining our destiny. Defects of character must be repented of and overcome through the grace of Christ, and a symmetrical character must be formed while in this probationary state, that we may be fitted for the mansions above. {LDE 295} Hebrews 3:15 “While it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” [Provocation is primarily refers back to the Exodus, where Israel continually sinned thus provoking God]
Let us look at a couple of examples in Scripture, Moses; Numbers 12:3 “(Now the man Moses [was] very meek, above all the men which [were] upon the face of the earth.)” Exodus 33:11a “And the LORD Spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” So Moses spoke to God face to face regularly, Moses was very meek, but lost his job of leading Israel into the Promised Land and to re-settle them there, and to most likely be translated alive directly to Heaven, all because of one sin, impatience, which let God down, and stole the glory from God of speaking water in the wilderness, and for ruining a wonderful spiritual teaching, Jesus was struck and smitten once [at Calvary,] and the water of life, that spiritual water flowed, thereafter, we only need to speak to the rock and spiritual rivers of water will flow forth abundantly. Deuteronomy 34:5-7 “So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And he [God] buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day. And Moses [was] an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” Numbers 20:12 “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.” Moses died before he finished his task, he fell short of the Glory of God.
Miriam and Aaron die at the boarders of Canaan because of pride and selfishness, they wanted more glory and position, but God allocates this and not mankind. Next – Elijah; 1 Kings 19:15-16 “And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael [to be] king over Syria: and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint [to be] king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint [to be] prophet in thy room.” Elijah failed to stand for God and fled from an irate Jezebel, he failed to continue to stand for God in a critical moment, so his life and ministry was over, he had let the whole side down, he let God down, so he had to anoint Elisha to replace him, but God still translated him alive to Heaven.So sin, and you gain a corrupted nature that unfits you for the purity of Heaven, live righteously and you reflect the Character of Jesus Christ, and are fitted for the purity of Heaven. The closer you are to being “Christ-like” the closer you are to God and the more elevated you are in the Government of God. Revelation 22:11 “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” So at death or on the very “Last Day,” your character is “Snap Frozen in Time,” and you remain that way forever, so while it is today, let us repent, and straighten out our characters, and live truly Christ-like lives to the Glory of God. If we do not, then the consequences of sin and un-godliness, means death and ceasing to exist, therefore choose God and Life. Whose Character and impress do you have? Please strengthen your Godliness, and remove all other vile character traits.
