Consequences

“Condemned”—it’s a solemn word with heavy consequences. Often, it precedes the words “to die.” Condemned to die. Condemnation conveys hopelessness. In Scripture, the word describes physical death accompanied by spiritual and eternal death as well.

The room was tense as we sat around folding tables in a small room at our church. One person had said something to hurt another person. We were there to make things right—to seek and grant forgiveness. Those are hard meetings, and on this day, forgiveness never came. The exchange was sharp; the emotions were high. After much discussion, prayer, and reading Scripture, one person got up and stormed out of the room. He never set foot in our church again.

Temptation appeals to our senses—our spiritual, emotional, and physical senses. That was the lure for Eve in the garden, and we have followed the pattern ever since.

When there is an opening in our battle gear, the enemy aims for that vulnerable spot. After Eve’s weak response to Satan’s question, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1), he went from a seemingly innocent question to an attack on God’s integrity.

Let’s take a few days to consider Psalm 51, David’s prayer for forgiveness after his sin with Bathsheba. In this prayer, we find seven important steps to true repentance. Today we’ll cover the first three.

Let’s face it…you shouldn’t say everything that comes to your mind. We should always pursue peace. For instance, “That is the ugliest baby I have ever seen!” is a thought that needs to be kept caged even if you have never been more convinced of anything in your life! “Absolutely!” is always the answer to the question, “Honey, does this dress make me look thinner?” Don’t hesitate. One aspect of a successful marriage is the understanding that every sentence ending with a question mark is not always a question!

God graciously desires to bring restoration.

The hard truth is that sin, even forgiven sin, has consequences.

Each part of temptation is dangerous enough. Don’t let them add up to sin.