In looking at the doctrine of man, his nature and his fall, we come now to consider the consequences of man's sin. The Bible takes sin very seriously. Every sin, even the smallest, is of great significance, and thus has serious consequences. First, sin brings guilt. By guilt, we do not mean that sin merely causes a man to feel bad. Sin does affect a person's conscience, and, unless hardened, brings feelings of shame and fear. However, guilt is not the same as "guilt feelings." Guilt is the consequence of sin which makes the sinner worthy of punishment for his sin. Sin makes the sinner guilty whether he feels guilty or not (Rom. 3:19). In other words, humanity is answerable and accountable to God for their sin because sin is a deliberate and responsible act (cf. Rom 1:18, 21, 28, 32).
The second consequence of sin is punishment. The word in the Bible that sums up punishment is "death." God told Adam that he would die if he disobeyed (Gen 2:17). The prophet Ezekiel wrote that "the soul that sinneth shall die"(Ez. 18:4, 20). The same truth is found in the New Testament (Rom 5: 12-14; 1 Cor 15: 21-22; Rom 6:23; Ja 1: 15). The death penalty for sin is physical, spiritual, and eternal death (Gen 3:19, Eph. 2:1, 5, Rev 20: 14).
In physical death, the soul is separated from the body. In spiritual death the human spirit is separated from God the Holy Spirit, that is it separates man’s spirit from the life of God (Eph 4:18). Eternal death may be looked upon as an extension of spiritual death without any end. The Bible calls this the "second death"(Rev 20:6, 14; 21:8), which is the forfeiture of eternal life (John 3:36; 1 John 5:12). This eternal spiritual death is the most serious consequence of sin (2 Thess 1:9).
The Bible's serious view of sin stands in stark contrast to the light views of sin held by many in this day. The Bible says that "fools make a mock at sin"(Prov 14:9). No other subject has received more scorn, sarcasm, and derision than sin. Sin is quite frequently dismissed, ignored, joked about, denied, and even glorified. The devil knows that what he can get people to joke about they no longer take too seriously.
The tendency today is to take the blame for sin from man and place it upon his economic conditions, his home life, his environment, or his biological makeup. The sinner is thus not to be blamed and punished; he is only to be pitied. The Bible, on the other hand, will not permit us to be so deceived. The sinner is a responsible individual who will one day have to face God’s righteous judgment.
The good news is that we may settle our case out of court. God sent his only Son, Jesus Christ to receive our punishment for sin. His suffered and bled and died for you. By repenting of your sin and trusting in Christ’s death as full and final payment for your sin you can be saved, redeemed, adopted into the forever family of God. He loves you and so does First Baptist Church.