Monday Morning Manna: The Aftereffects of Sin

After he confessed a sin in which he had been caught, the student seated across my desk, shrugged his shoulders, and with a sigh, exclaimed, “Oh well, God has forgiven me!” While I could not disagree with him, in regard to the possibility of God’s forgiveness, I could assure him that, even though forgiven, he must now live with the consequences of the sin. I have a Bible Reading Group on Facebook with a little over three hundred members. We read one chapter in the Bible per week and comment with our thoughts, sometimes with our questions. (BTW, if you are interested in more information about the group, send me a private message on Facebook.) In the later part of this month, we are reading Hosea. In fact, we just read Hosea 3, a very short chapter of only five verses. Yet in those five verses sin and punishment is presented. In his book entitled, “Studies in Hosea,” Dr. K. Owen White, for many years Pastor of First Baptist Church in Houston, wrote, “To enjoy sin’s pleasures, is to know its penalties also.” Do not take sin lightly. Whereas God stands ready and willing to forgive, the aftereffects are devastating, sometimes to the point of deadly.

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.