THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN: IT IS RECURRING

By Charles N. Spence, Jr.

"And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, 'I will destroy man from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.' But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." (Gen. 6:6-8)

The account of Noah and the flood is a tragic one. God had seen the wickedness of man upon the earth. After He was filled with grief, God decided to wipe man from the face of the earth. Only Noah and his household would be spared. Also, two of every creature would be spared (read Gen. 6:9-9:19). One would think that since God wiped wicked mankind from the face of the earth, that would take care of the sin problem. In Genesis 9:20-28, Noah got drunk and his son Ham looked upon his father's nakedness. Sin, once again, entered into the scene. Eventually, mankind would be overrun with sin, bringing upon God much grief.

If anyone were to read Judges, he would see a cycle through which the people of Israel continually went. The people would sin; the Lord would send an oppressor; the people would cry out to the Lord; the Lord would send a deliverer. This cycle continued for a period of 350 years under the Judges. The problem of sin was no better under the kings. Eventually, God would send the people into captivity because of their sins.

The point is that sin is recurring. No matter how much punishment one generation received from God the following generations still had their problems with sin. During the

period of the divided kingdom, Israel became so wicked that God had to put her away. Judah witnessed the wrath of God as it fell upon Israel. Yet, despite the punishment Judah saw Israel receive, Judah followed in the same sins. "Then I saw for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also" (Jer. 3:8).

As Paul points out in Ephesians 2:3, every individual has a tendency to sin. To argue that God created man with an uncontrollable tendency is to shift the responsibility for sin from man to God. Because of the initial fall of man, all of mankind has become vulnerable to sin. "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt. 26:45). The choice to sin is wholly man's. Paul said in Galatians 5:16-18, "I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law." This is an summary of what Paul said in Romans 7:14-24. He, in descriptive eloquence, states the perpetual problem of mankind. If man were made up of flesh and nothing else, he would always give in to sin. The flesh is responsible for most human desires and passions (sensuality). The flesh is tempered by an inward spirit or mind that houses a conscience governed by spiritual law. If man did not possess an intellect he would be nothing more than a brute beast. The person who walks according to the flesh, ignoring the faculties of his own mind, is in essence acting like a brute beast (2 Peter 2:10-12, Jude 10). In society today, when some crimes are committed, particularly those committed in the heat of passion, the defense may use an insanity plea. In using the plea they are saying that the person who committed the crime did not possess the intellect necessary to temper such passions. Therefore, the defendant would not be responsible for his or her actions.

God made mankind to be above the beasts. He gave man an intellect, enabling him to know what is good and evil. Yet, He also made man to be a passionate and feeling human being. God gave man laws which he, as an intelligent creature, can understand. This, God did to help man temper the passions and desires of the flesh. As long as there is temptation there will be the internal struggle in man between the flesh and Spirit. God has enabled man, through the death of Jesus Christ, to overcome the sins of the flesh. In this, man finds hope. There is a day coming in which the tempter will be destroyed (Rev. 20:10) and corruptible man will be changed (1 Cor. 15:51-54). No longer will he have to struggle with sin. Until that time all men must turn to Christ and receive his enabling power.