Do you know what sin is? Sin is the transgression of God’s law and commandments. Sin originated when humanity chose to disobey God’s will.
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (1 John 3:4, KJV)
Sin entered humanity in the Garden of Eden through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Sin brought severe consequences to the human race, including: death, labor pains, physical and spiritual death, disease, murder, envy, and so on.
After the sin of disobedience by Adam and Eve, humanity began to be born with original sin.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23, KJV)
We understand that there is no such thing as a small sin or a big sin, because for God, sin is always sin. But we must also understand that there are sins that lead to death and sins that do not lead to death.
If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. (1 John 5:16, KJV)
Sins that do not lead to death are those we commit without realizing it. John is saying that the person in need of prayer must be a brother, that is, a believer who did not deliberately desire to sin and whose sin was not a deliberate rebellion against God’s will.
This believer that John mentions still has spiritual life within him, but is spiritually weak, repentant, and seeks to free himself from everything that displeases God. It is for these people that John recommends praying.
For those who were once believers and now commit a sin “unto death,” the church cannot pray with the assurance that God will give them more grace and life. We understand that sins committed unto death are deliberate sins, stemming from continuous disobedience to God’s will.
These people are spiritually dead and can only receive life if they repent of their sins and truly turn back to God. The only thing the church can do for those who commit a sin unto death is to pray that God directs the circumstances of their lives so that they may have an opportunity to accept God’s salvation in Christ again.
Sins that do not lead to death are those that occur unconsciously, or without the person intending to commit them. Sins unto death, however, lead immediately to spiritual death, for terrible sins that show rebellion against God and His Word result in spiritual death, meaning they lead a person to separation from the life of God.
The Battle Between the Flesh and the Spirit
When we do not sin and choose a life of righteousness toward God, we produce good fruits, but when we choose sin, we begin to produce bad fruits.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. (Galatians 5:17, KJV)
Every day, we fight a daily battle between obeying or disobeying the voice of God. The spirit and the flesh are always in opposition to each other. The flesh desires us to fulfill its lusts, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of the which those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Those who seek to obey God and His Word are led by the Spirit and, besides walking in the Spirit, also produce fruits, which are: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. When we walk according to God’s will, we crucify our flesh with its passions and lusts to live according to God’s good, perfect, and pleasing will.
When they were in the garden, Adam and Eve committed only one sin, but the consequences of that sin were countless. Sin is like an abyss that calls another abyss, and the Word of God says:
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. (Psalm 42:7, KJV)
When we look at the mistakes made in the past, we draw some points that help us understand the consequences that sin generated. The serpent became cursed among all domestic and wild animals. Man was now subject to physical and spiritual death.
Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden. Eve would now have labor pains. The ground became cursed, and for the rest of his life, man would have to work hard to draw sustenance from the earth.
The Works of the Flesh and Their Consequences
So that the list of consequences generated by sin is not too extensive here, let’s reflect again on:
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21, KJV)
We understand here that the works of the flesh described abovesome already had reports of occurrences long ago, where we can clearly highlight enmity, wrath, envy, which together contributed to the first murder on earth, where Cain killed his brother Abel because his sacrifice was inferior to what Abel offered to God.
The sin was only one, but the consequences of sin are countless, and just as Adam and Eve sinned and faced their consequences, people today, when they sin, are also subject to the consequences of their sin. When we disobey God and His ordinances, we are subject to consequences.
The apostle Paul says:
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things shall not have dominion over me. (1 Corinthians 6:12, KJV)
There was a false theology preached by Paul’s enemies, where they thought they had the right to do whatever they wanted. The apostle Paul warns in the verse above about slavery, for we know and understand that sin makes a person its slave, and the Lord Jesus Himself says about it:
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. (John 8:34, KJV)
Only the Lord Jesus Christ has the power to free those who seek forgiveness for their sins.
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (John 8:36, KJV)
If we allow Jesus Christ to truly free us completely from our sins, so that we no longer commit them, the Word of God says that we will truly be free, meaning we will no longer be slaves to sin, because God has freed us through His Son Jesus.
The enemy of our souls works tirelessly every day so that God’s children live a life of sin, for he knows that when we sin constantly, we are distanced from God’s presence to the point of reaching the sin unto death.
God desires that we live a life of holiness, and God knows that we will be prone to error, that is, to unconscious sin those we commit without even realizing it but every day in our prayers, let us ask God: “Lord, forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors.”
God is ready to forgive us, and what God loves most is when we acknowledge that we are faulty, sinners, and urgently need to change our lives through the forgiveness that only God can grant.
No matter what your sin is, surrender today at the feet of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and say to Him: “Father, forgive my sins, make me Your child again, purify my body, cleanse my mind, purify my thoughts, my soul, and my heart, and dwell in my life. Amen.”
