The BIBLE VIEW #912 — The Cost of Sin

In This Issue:
Payday Will be Someday
The Leopard Is Out of Control
Serve Not Sin
There Is Danger Close at Hand
Others Go Down with the Sinking Sin Ship

Volume: 912     June 26, 2023
Theme: The Cost of Sin

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Payday Will be Someday
Bill Brinkworth

Psalm 94 and many other Scriptures ask the same question.  How long are the wicked going to get away with their sin?  We see and hear so many in blatant disregard to God’s moral laws and His desired behaviors, and we wonder how some seemingly get away with the terrible things they are doing.
“LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?” Psalm 94:3

The answer is they will not get away with sin.  The payday for iniquity will come someday.  It may be today; it may be ten years from now.  They may appear unscathed from their wrongdoing in this life, but there is God’s promise that in the next, they will stand before a judge that will issue a verdict they will fear and regret.

As I told many Sunday school classes, no one gets away with sinning against God.  True to that biblical promise, I have seen sinners pay a price for their wrongdoing that they never thought they would pay.  The wage for their offense against God came after the transgression, bringing grief and regret that lasted much of their lives.

When raising my daughter, I remember her observation of one in our church that regularly committed sins.  One day she commented, “See, so-and-so is doing this and that, but nothing is happening to them.”

My reply was, “Be patient.  They won’t get away with it.” Sure enough, a time did come, several years later, that they received the wage for the transgression they had sown, and it was devastating. 

God is the judge, and nothing escapes His scrutiny.  Vengeance is His, and He will receive it (Psalm 94:1-2).  All wrongdoing will be dealt with (Psalm 94:4-6).

A sinner may think their iniquity escaped the eye of the Lord, but it did not (Psalm 94:7-10).  He even knows our thoughts (Psalm 94:11), so there is no escaping sin’s consequences.  With this in mind, it is prudent and wise to flee sin and get as far away from it as possible.
“And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.” Psalm 94:23
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7

… there are only two places for your sins: either they are on Christ or you.  If they are on Christ, the judgment is passed; if they are not, you have only judgment to look forward to in the future.”   — J. Vernon McGee


The Leopard Is Out of Control
C. H. Spurgeon

I have heard of one who kept a tame leopard in his house.  He had nursed it when it was a cub, and it wandered and played about the house like a cat.  One day, while the master was asleep, it licked his hand.  The man’s blood flowed as the cat licked a place where the skin was thin and broken.

All the wild instincts of the beast of the forest flashed in its fierce eyes.  The man suddenly awoke and saw the situation.  His end was near unless he should be quick and skillful enough to destroy the animal.

Do you think he paused or hesitated?  No.  A loaded pistol was within reach, so he stretched out his hand quietly, grasped it firmly, aimed it steadily, fired it instantly, and the creature lay dead at his feet.  It had come to the time that either he must kill it, or it would kill him.

It may be so with you.  Your sins began to draw blood from you already.  Those stings of conscience, that empty purse, or those alcohol-induced red eyes, are telling what sin can do.  Not yet do you know all its horror.  Before the leopard springs upon you and speedily tears you into pieces, God can help you give it up!

“Lusts of the flesh are much like enemy soldiers encamped within us, foraging amongst us, and ready to enforce their military control against us.”
— Author Unknown

Serve Not Sin
Edited from Morning and Evening, C. H. Spurgeon

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Romans 6:6

Christian, what hast thou to do with sin?  Hath it not cost thee enough already?

Burnt child, wilt thou play with the fire?  When thou hast already been between the jaws of the lion, wilt thou step a second time into his den?

Hast thou not had enough of the old serpent?  Did he not poison all thy veins once, and wilt thou play upon the hole of the asp and put thy hand upon the cockatrice’s den a second time?  Oh, be not so mad nor so foolish!

Did sin ever yield thee real pleasure?  Didst thou find substantial satisfaction in it?  If so, return to thine old drudgery and wear the chain of bondage again if it delights thee.  Inasmuch as sin did never give thee what it promised to bestow, but deluded thee with lies, be not a second time snared by the old fowler; be free.

Let the remembrance of thy ancient bondage forbid thee to enter the net again!  It is contrary to the designs of eternal love, which all have an eye to thy purity and holiness.  Run not counter to the purposes of thy Lord.

Another thought should restrain thee from sin.  Christians can never sin cheaply.  They pay a heavy price for iniquity.  Transgression destroys the peace of mind, obscures fellowship with Jesus, hinders prayer, and brings darkness over the soul.  Therefore, be not the serf and bondman of sin.

There is yet a higher argument.  Each time you “serve sin,” you have “Crucified the Lord afresh and put Him to an open shame.” Can you bear that thought?  Oh!  If you have fallen into any sin during this day, it may be my Master has sent this admonition today to bring you back before you have backslidden very far.

Turn thee to Jesus anew.  He has not forgotten His love for thee.  His grace is still the same.  With weeping and repentance, come to His footstool, and thou shalt be once more received into His heart.

“True repentance hates the sin, and not merely the penalty…”  — Taylor


There Is Danger Close at Hand
Bill Brinkworth

When working with young people, I often tried to get them to deal with the sin in their lives. Sin was usually the culprit behind most problems they had. After discussing the wrongdoing they were involved in, and what the Bible said about it, I sometimes heard the remark, “Oh, God just doesn’t want me to have any fun.”

The reason God wants all to keep away from sin has nothing to do with prohibiting us from any “fun.”  He knows that sin always hurts someone, and that is why God hates sin so much. Getting involved in iniquity ruins marriages, robs people of joy, shortens lives, destroys and wastes futures, causes physical problems, shortcircuits proper thinking, and has thousands of other terrible side effects.  No wonder God detests sin!

There is also another very important reason God abhors sin.  God knows that there is a terrible price tag on all sin. Unless one’s sin is paid for by trusting only on the shed sacrifice of Jesus’ blood, there is an eternal price for our iniquities.

Just as one works all week and expects a wage for their labor, so will it be at the end of our lives. For the unsaved, the wage for their sins will be an eternity in the Lake of Fire.  That is unfortunate news, but there can be good news. The good news is that there is a gift from God that will save all sinners that believe and request it.  It is the gift of eternal life in Heaven by receiving Christ as Saviour.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23.

“You can make choices freely, but you cannot determine the consequences of those choices.” — Barbara Brinkworth

Others Go Down with the Sinking Sin Ship
C. H. Spurgeon

A vessel sailing from Joppa carried a passenger, who, beneath his berth, cut a hole through the ship’s side.  The men on the watch reprimanded the unthinking man.

“What doest thou, O miserable man?” they cried.

The offender calmly replied, “What matters it to you?  The hole I have made lies under my berth.”

The passenger finally saw his folly as the whole ship began to sink.  Sailor’s lives were endangered.  Merchants lost their livelihoods as their onboard cargo was lost at sea.  One man’s foolishness cost so many very much.

No man perishes alone in his iniquity.  No man can guess the full consequences of his transgression, but usually others suffer from another’s sin.


The Burglar in the Heart
C. H. Spurgeon

I do not believe that a man becomes a villain all at once.  He puts his soul to school.  His thoughts are his teachers, or rather, they are the schoolbooks in which his soul reads.  At last, he becomes capable of transacting the deeds of a scoundrel.

If you think long upon any sin, the chances are that as soon as the temptation to that sin comes, you will commit it.  Beware then of all thoughts of sin.

If you show a thief all the locks and bolts and bars in your house and tell him how the cellar window could be opened or the back door be made to give way, do not be surprised if one night you should find all your goods stolen.  If you introduce these evil thoughts into your habitation, you should not wonder about the consequences.

The BIBLE VIEW #897 — Judgment

In This Issue:
Whoa!  Woe Could be Headed Your Way!
When God Struck
What Motivated Booth
God’s Pay 
Others’ Sins

Volume: 897     February 20, 2023
Theme: Judgment

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Whoa!  Woe Could be Headed Your Way!
Bill Brinkworth

Stop now if you are involved in sin because you could be headed to great sorrow, grief, and misery.  Payday for iniquity is someday, either immediately or in your eternal future.

Over 98 times, the King James Bible warns of the woe sinners will face.  Twenty-six of those times, the warning was given to nations given over to sin.  The rest of the references were to sinning individuals.

“woe” —  misery, grief, experiencing great mournfulness

There will be woe to nations when:

  • they are not bothered by their committing of sin.  Some nations even flaunt or boast of their wickedness.  There will be woe to them, as some biblical nations were warned.
    “The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not.  Woe unto their soul!  For they have rewarded evil unto themselves.” Isaiah 3:9
    “I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields.  Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem!  Wilt thou not be made clean …” Jeremiah 13:27
  • they legalize sin.
    “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;” Isaiah 10:1

There will also be woe to many individuals.  Some of God’s warnings are to:

  • the unsaved.
    “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15
  • those that sin.
    “Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us?  and who knoweth us?” Isaiah 29:15
    “Woe unto the wicked!  it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.” Isaiah 3:11
    “Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;” Jeremiah 22:13
  • Christians that want to be like the world and seek the world’s approval.
    “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” Luke 6:26
  • drunkards.
    “Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!” Isaiah 5:11
  • those that help others drink!
    “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!” Habakkuk 2:15
  • those that approve of sin.
    “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20
  • those who think they are so smart and have all the answers and excuses for their ungodly behavior.
    “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” Isaiah 5:21
  • to pastors that preach philosophies and ideas contrary to God’s Word.
    “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!  saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 23:1
  • those with filthy, ungodly speech.
    “… Woe is me!  for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” Isaiah 6:5
  • trouble-makers.
    “Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds!  when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.” Micah 2:1
  • a man that turned against Christ: Judas.
    “The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed!  it had been good for that man if he had not been born.” Matthew 26:24.  I wonder if the principle taught here applies to the many who oppose and attempt to discredit Christ today.
  • those that will go through the great, future tribulation warned about in Revelation.
    “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.” Revelation 9:12 

Since God is the same today as when he had men of God record these warnings, it would be correct to assume that many of the “woes” apply today.  God left these warnings to remind the readers that unless they halt their sins, afflictions, unhappiness, or disaster will be upon them for their transgressions.  Stop!  Heed God’s warning, and turn from iniquity in your life!

“Foolish men imagine that because judgment for an evil thing is delayed, there is no justice, only coincidence here below.  Judgment for an evil thing is often delayed some a day or two, some a century or two, but it is sure as life.  It is sure as death!”   Thomas Carlyle

 When God Struck
Sunday School Times

A Christian physician once took refuge from an approaching storm in a grocery store that also contained a bar.  Two drunken men were present, and as the lightning flashed, they poured forth such a volley of fearful oaths that finally the storekeeper said, “Gentlemen, I am no Christian, but I want to say that your awful cursing is too much for me.  God will strike you dead right here with a stroke of lightning if you do not hush your blasphemous oaths.”

The leader of the two rolled up his sleeves, went to the door, cursed God, and defied Him.  At that moment, a blinding flash of lightning descended with a flame of fire.  Quickly, the light was gone, and only smoke remained.  In a moment that, too, had disappeared, and there lay God’s defier in a heap, just as an empty garment.  The physician helped to lay the man out, and he said he did not believe there was a bone two inches long left unbroken in his body.

“We evaluate our friends with a God-like justice, but we want them to evaluate us with a God-like compassion.” — Sydney Harris


What Motivated Booth
Walter Knight

Many Christians say that they believe in the day of accountability but are as silent as the sphinx when it comes to warning others to flee from the wrath to come.  The thing that made William Booth a “fiery” salvationist was the indicting, taunting statement of an infidel lecturer, who said, “If I believed what you Christians say you believe about the coming judgment and the day of reckoning, with the resultant eternal lostness of the impenitent Christ-rejectors, then I would crawl on my bare knees on crushed glass all over London, night and day telling men and women to flee from the wrath to come!”


God’s Pay
Dennis McCarthy

Who does God’s work will get God’s pay,
However long may seem the day,
However weary be the way,
Though powers and princes thunder, “Nay!”
No human hand God’s hand can stay;
Who does His work will get His pay.

He does not pay as others pay,
In gold or land or raiment gay,
In goods that perish and decay,
But God’s high wisdom knows a way;
And that is sure, let come what may,
Who does God’s work will get God’s pay!

Others’ Sins
The Dawn

During a revival, a young man said he did not wish to be a Christian.  When asked for his reason, he replied, “Several years ago, I was in a man’s kitchen.  He found me there, swore at me, and kicked me out.  He was a professing Christian, and from that time, I decided never to have anything to do with religion.  And I never have to this day.”

The young man was asked to write down his reason in full and sign it.  Then it was handed back to him with the words, “Take this, and when you are asked for your excuse on the Day of Judgment, hand this up.”  The young man saw his folly and came to Christ that night.

Are you letting the sins of others keep you from giving your heart to Jesus?  Don’t be so foolish, for it will not stand the test on Judgment Day.