Sin’s Eternal Consequences (Part 1)
Sin is deceptive. It guarantees pleasure, popularity, and myriads of other benefits and blessings, but it fails to deliver what it has promised. Man has always struggled, and will continue to struggle, with the false advertising of iniquity. It would likely be deterrent enough if man could see the immediate consequences of his giving in to temptation. Sin in many instances initially costs man his health, his wealth, his family, his friends, his reputation, his livelihood, and so many more devastating effects that have not been listed. If man would wake up and see what sin may cost him right now, he would be less likely to engage in it. But alas, many escape these initial consequences of sin, and think that no penalty remains for their transgressions. Having been spared the aftermath of sin, myriads believe that they will “not have to pay the piper.” As tragic as the immediate cost of sin can be, and often times is, the eternal consequences of sin are far, far worse. If only the world would realize that unforgiven sin carries with it everlasting penalties, men would be less apt to succumb to temptation. Oh, the bitter fate that awaits all who refuse to turn from their sins! The Bible paints a very bleak picture of the future of those who repudiate God’s will. Those who carry their sins to the judgment will learn the horrible, but all too real, cost of the refusal to repent and obey God. What are the eternal consequences for those whose sins are not covered by the blood of Christ?
UNSPEAKABLE MISERY
Hell is described as a place of unfathomable horrors. It is called a place of unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12). Hell is a place of “outer darkness, [where] there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). To those who do not obey shall be spoken the words, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Mark describes hell as the place “where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44). It is a place of torment (Luke 16:24-25). The eternal abode of the wicked, the rebellious, the sinful will be a lake which burns with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8). All of these terrible depictions of eternal torment are given that man might turn away from his sins so that he will not be made to suffer all of these things. While these vivid horrors are given in terms that finite, physical man can understand, it must be realized that hell will be the abode of those souls that have been banished from God’s presence. Will there be literal fire in hell to burn literal bodies? Man will not have a physical body in eternity, but the rich man was still tormented in the flame. God can and will punish for all eternity those who refuse to obey His will, and however that punishment is doled out or made to come to pass rests in the hands of the Judge of all the earth. The agonizing punishment alone should cause us to avoid eternity in hell at all costs. But consider further miseries that man will be made to suffer in eternal damnation. Those in hell will find themselves surrounded by the vilest, most wicked people the world has ever known. Hell will be populated by the Hitlers, the Stalins, the Husseins, and such like. It is often said that misery loves company, and such is certainly true as some of the most wicked people our world has ever encountered spend eternity in the fires of hell. Satan and his evil minions want all of mankind to join them in hell. However, let us not think that the populous of hell will be made up entirely of the wicked and vile. There will also be many morally upright, religious people who will be eternally lost. Multitudes will be shocked in that day when they realize that they have not fully complied with God’s word (Matthew 7:21-23). What unspeakable misery to be made to join these wicked souls in eternal punishment. Perhaps one of the worst punishments man will be made to endure in hell is the ability to recall lost opportunities. Just think, you will have all eternity to think about and to regret not turning from your sins! The rich man remembered his five brothers who were soon to suffer the same fate if their lives did not change (Luke 16:27). How miserable to live day after day knowing that you have wasted chance upon chance to obey God, and to realize that those opportunities are no more! Hell will certainly be a place of unspeakable misery.
-Patrick Morrison
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