God and sin are not friends. A person who stays away from sin has automatically positioned himself in the right spot to receive the blessings of God. A person who lives in sin will bear the consequence of his (or her) actions. A sinful activity brings some sort of enjoyment; however, once the excitement is over, the same sin leaves the person to face a bitter consequence that will follow suit.
Sin can come from any source to affect a person or a group of people. In fact, God has labeled nations as sinners in the past, and he punished them for their sins. The nation of Israel is an example. The people who should be God’s “apple eyes” turned their backs against the Creator; they suffered a bitter consequence for their actions.
Jeremiah, in the Bible, explained the horror that his country (Israel) faced as a result of their sins. The land of Israel that was once considered a center of attraction for their neighbors lost its value when the people sinned against God.
Israelites dropped their love for God and pursued Idolatry; therefore, God forsook them. God suspended his love for the Israelites and make them became subservient to their enemies.
The opposing nations discovered that God’s protection was missing on the Israelites and took advantage of the situation.
Realizing that God was no more in friendship with the Israelites, the enemies attacked them from every side and overpowered them. They destroyed their land and took them captive. Israelites lost their freedom and become the slaves of others.
Jeremiah who witnessed the downfall of his nation lamented,
“How deserted lies the city, once so full of people!How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave. Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. After affliction and harsh labor, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress” (Lamentations 1:1-3 NIV).
God Loves The Sinners, But He Hates Their Sins
Does God love the sinners? Yes, he does. God loves everyone – He loves both the saints and the sinners; however, God does not love sin. The Creator can simply not cope with sin.
Jehovah hates sin. He can’t operate under a sinful atmosphere. That is, God will not be able to relate with us if we entertain sin in our lives.
Anyone who is willing to receive the prime benefit of God must steer clear of sin. Stay away!
How Serious Is The Consequence of Sin?
Sin destroys any good relationship that exists between God and a person.
God’s limit of interaction with a sinner also leads to the withdrawal of his benefits. (A sinner loses both ways).
A sinner will be vulnerable to the enemy’s attack since God’s protection will be unavailable for him.
God has an established judgment for an unrepentant sinner. (God will cast an unrepentant sinner to hellfire on the last day).
God is not partial, he will not punish a sinner and spare the other, Any Christian who lives in sin will not be exempted from God’s punishment.
Every sinner must repent – Without an exception! Everyone must understand that God is not partial; he won’t punish one sinner and leave the other; therefore, both the nominal Christian (A Christian without Christ’s attributes) and the unbeliever should await God’s imminent punishments unless due repentance is exercised.
A soul that sins shall die” says the Bible; however, some consequences are bound to follow a sinner before he dies.
The consequences of a sin on earth is not predictable since no one can second-guess God. The Creator mostly take an action that beats human’s imagination. Meanwhile, instead of wasting time on making unnecessary assumptions about God’s variety of punishment in any given situation, everyone should aspire to measure up to the standard of God and serve him in holiness.
A person who has repented of his sins and professed to love God must also make a serious effort to stay away from sin and serve God in holiness.
What Are The Benefits to Receive When Repentance Is Exercised?
God’s divine blessing will pursue a repentant sinner.
An obedient child of God will prosper in whatever he or she does.
A person who repents of his or her sins will have peace of mind
The peace of God that surpasses all human understanding will take over the life of a repentant sinner – Since the Holy Spirit will effectively take control.
A person who repents of his or her sin will have an assurance of heaven
Heaven is the prime benefit that every repentant sinner will enjoy. God will accept every repentant sinner into his kingdom. He will grant him/her an opportunity to dine and wine with him forever.
Serve God well. Obey his commandments and you shall prosper in all your ways!
Crucify him; crucify him, shouted the Pharisees who wanted Jesus dead by all means. The enemies got their wish, but it became my blessing!
Jesus Christ shed his blood on the Cross of Calvary for humanity. He suffered and languished in pain from his persecutors who beat him mercilessly and squeezed the crown of thorns on his head. An already weaken Son of God was forced to carry his own cross as mob chanted “crucify him” to Roman soldiers.
“Crucify him, crucify him” the mob was shouting. They wanted Jesus dead by all means. The authority (in collaboration with the Pharisees) dragged Jesus to Golgotha where they nailed his arms and feet on the cross. Hammers pounded the nails as they were driven into his arms and feet; he cried in pain but no one was ready to help. The enemies laughed and mocked him as he groaned in pain!
Jesus’ enemies were having a field day as they hung the body of Jesus on the cross and hammered the crown of thorns to his head. They even took their time to post on Jesus’ cross to showcase the allegation they brought against him. The signage was “Hinri” meaning The self-proclaimed “King of Jews.”
Blood run all over Jesus’ body as he was groaning in excruciating pain.
Not just the enemies mocked Jesus Christ, the onlookers and passersby did the same. Even one of the two thieves nailed to the cross took a cheap shot at Jesus stating, “If you are the Son of God, save yourself, and save us also.” (Luke 23:37).
No one sympathized with Jesus Christ, except a few mothers and some men of integrity. Perhaps those few ones murmured, “This is an act of injustice; this man doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment!” However, what influence have the sympathizers gotten? They were powerless by all standards!
Jesus Shed His Blood to Save Mankind!
Jesus Christ languished in excruciating pain on the cross. Blood flowed from wounds sustained from beatings and crown of thorns hammered to his head. Meanwhile a soldier doubled his punishment as he gave him vinegar to drink when he lamented for water. Perhaps the same soldier tossed spear into his side as water and blood gushed out from his side!
However, the experience of Christ from his enemies is a prophecy in fulfillment. Long before he was born, Isaiah had prophesied about him,
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5 KJV).
O that the blood of Jesus Christ may never be in vain over my life!
The blood washes sins away! He cleanses people’s lives from their past mistakes and make them fit for God’s kingdom. Believers receive God’s forgiveness via the blood of Jesus Christ! That is, someone who confesses his sins and prays in the name of Jesus will receive God’s forgiveness.
The blood of Jesus Christ heal all kinds of diseases and sickness. The power of God transpires from the blood of Jesus Christ to perform miracles in the lives of people who believe! That is, anyone who anchors his faith in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ and also trust in his blood will experience God’s supernatural power of healing and deliverance.
The blood of Jesus Christ gives Christians upper hands over the power of darkness! Since no activity of men could prevent Jesus Christ from resurrection, whoever anchors his faith in the same Jesus will have similar experience. No power of man or of Satan will be able to prevail over him!
The Resurrection Power of Jesus and Its Benefits…Christians have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ to live above Satan’s trials and temptations. Also, no persecution of the enemy can prevail over us since the power consist in Jesus’ resurrection has earn us upper arms…
God asked his people – Israelites – to repent from their sin so that they can qualify for his blessings.
God said, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes.
Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword”; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 1:16-20).
Lesson on Repentance to Enjoy God’s Blessing
God is more interested in seeing his children repent from their sins than to make them suffer terrible punishment of hell fire.
He will forgive our sins if we confess and repent from them.
Meanwhile, the Creator would be left with no other option than to exert his tough judgment if we refuse to repent from our unrighteousness.
Therefore, no Christian should take God for granted and indulge in sin.
We must operate in openness before God so that he can continue to take pleasure over our lives.
Prayer of Repentance to Enjoy God’s Blessing
Dear God, my goal and aspiration is to satisfy you with holy living, so that I can qualify for your eternal kingdom.
Help me to genuinely repent from my sins, and empower me to improve my relationship with you.
Anoint me with the grace to spend the rest of my life in a way that satisfies you. Let me walk uprightly before you, and let your Holy Spirit richly dwell in me so that I can remain rapturable!
For in the name of Jesus Christ I make my requests. Amen.
Jesus Christ announced to all people that his salvation offer is the only determining factor for anyone to enter into the kingdom of God.
A person who rejects Jesus’ offer of salvation will not have a part in the kingdom of God. Jesus said,
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man” (John 5:24-26).
The Lord’s Day of Judgment shall surely come for all people to experience.
Both dead and the living shall face God’s judicial panel; the Creator will send unrepentant sinners to hell fire, but he will send the repentant sinners to heaven.
Unrepentant sinners are the people (whether dead or alive) who have refused to declare Jesus Christ as the Son of God and have also refused to accept him as their personal Lord and Savior.
Prayer of Salvation and Repentance
Dear Jesus Christ, I do not want to go to hell fire, but I want to go to heaven.
Therefore, I confess that you are the Son of God who has died for the sin of the whole world.
I accept you, Jesus Christ, as my personal Lord and Savior; I repent from my sins, and I will faithfully serve you from now on, and throughout the days of my life.
A Christian who has backslided from faith can be restored by God. This lesson can be illustrated with God’s behavior to the people of Judah (in the bible). People of Judah were God’s children, but they sold themselves to sinful lifestyle. They became corrupted to the extent that God turned his back against them.
However, despite the sinful behavior of people of Judah, God promised to restore them into his true love. The Creator would buy them back from their sinful entrapment.
Jehovah promised to redeem his outcast children and restore them to have mutual relationship with him to enjoy his benefits. God would favor his children as promised,
“I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; for I am the Lord their God, And I will hear them” (Zechariah 10:6 NKJV).
Hope of Restoration for A Backslider
Every Christian is a child of God. Jehovah will redeem, restore, and forgive any of his children that have fallen from faith. That is, he will forgive and restore any Christian who has backslided.
God is loving and forgiving, and he will forgive our sins and bless us if we can turn to him. The ever gracious Lord will show us his loving-kindness and redeem our lands. He will also wipe off our painful memory and replace it with senses of calmness, peace, and joy.
However despite God’s enduring love and mercy, he still warned people not to take him for granted. He expects no one to live in a sin and hope for mercy at the same time. Every sinner must repent from his/her sins and turn to God to receive his mercy and forgiveness.
Consequences Remain For Unrepentant Sinners
Jehovah will punish an unrepentant sinner to the pit of hell fire! Therefore, it is important that everyone repent from his/her sins to appease God and obtain his mercy. We must have a genuine relationship with God to receive his abundant benefits.
God expects honest repentance from us all. The Creator will be proud to endow us with his goodness if we can walk uprightly before him.
Choose to honor God with dignity and serve him well so that you can prosper everyday of your life!
Dear God please teach me how to serve you with honesty. Empower me to yield my complete life to you so that I can prosper. Let me be in your good book to receive your abundant benefits. Also, let your Holy Spirit empower me to faithfully serve you so that I can qualify for your eternal kingdom. Please bless me today, bless me tomorrow, and bless me everyday of my life! For in the name of Jesus Christ I make my requests. Amen.
God asked his people – Israelites – to repent from their sin so that they can qualify for his blessings.
Prayer of Repentance to Enjoy God’s Blessing
Unrepentant sinners are the people (whether dead or alive) who have refused to declare Jesus Christ as the Son of God and have also refused to accept him as their personal Lord and Savior.
Dear Jesus Christ, I do not want to go to hell fire, but I want to go to heaven.
A Christian who has backslided from faith can be restored by God. This lesson can be illustrated with God’s behavior to the people of Judah (in the bible). People of Judah were God’s children, but they sold themselves to sinful lifestyle. They became corrupted to the extent that God turned his back against them.
