Have you ever sinned, hoping to gain something in your life but you regretted it later? I think most of us have done so. Although there are many times people hope to gain something by sin, whether small or great, sin can cause the loss of property and money, but more importantly, it can cause a loss of happiness, peace, health, and even cause one’s death. The greatest loss is the loss of eternal life. Millions of Christians continue committing sin, hoping to get ahead in this life, or to bring them a few brief moments of happiness, but in the end it can result in the loss of their salvation if they do not repent.
In the Bible, we read many times of people sinned, hoping to gain something, but they lost much.
Adam and Eve sinned when they disobeyed God’s commandment by eating of the forbidden tree. We all still suffer from this original sin. For this, what may appear to have been a small sin, they lost much. They had to move out of paradise, they had to die, and Jesus chose to then die for them. How many times perhaps did Adam and Eve say, “why did we eat of this tree? It would have been better that we had never even gone near this tree.”
Cain committed a terrible sin by killing his brother Abel. God said to Cain, “And He said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground, And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.” Genesis 4:10–12
Jacob listened to his mother and sinned by lying to his father, and as a result he had to leave his home and spend 20 years in a far country. Although the Lord forgave him for this sin when he repented shortly after fleeing home, he had to bear the consequences for many years afterwards. He was deceived by his father-in-law and also, his children lied to him about their brother, Joseph.
Moses sinned by hitting the rock to provide water for the people when God had asked him to speak to the rock. For this sin Moses could not bring the people into the Promised Land.
“Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believe Me not, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.” Numbers 20:8, 11–12
David sinned by taking the wife of Uriah to himself. To cover his sin, he ended up killing her husband who was one of his most faithful soldiers. It was not his original intention to kill him; however, due to his first sin, it led to the second more grievous sin. “And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.” 2 Samuel 11:2–5
For this sin David suffered much; he lost four children prematurely.
Judas’ sin resulted in the loss of his temporal life and also his eternal life. Ananias and his wife, Saphira sinned by lying to the church. They also lost their lives and their eternal lives.
All these sins were very harmful and had terrible results. Some may have appeared small to human eyes, but to God they were grievous. Many of these people thought that they gained by these sins, that the sins would benefit them in the end.
Adam and Eve thought that they would gain new knowledge and would be like God. Jacob thought that he needed to help God so he could receive the firstborn blessing that had been promised him. What about Moses? What did he seek to gain? He was frustrated at the murmuring of the people and sought to bring honour back to the name of God and respect back to himself as the leader. He sought to vindicate his name and character as often the people were blaming him for all their troubles.
David thought of the pleasure he would receive when he took another man’s wife in secret. Even when the Prophet Nathan spoke to him, he did not recognise his sin. Judas was very intelligent, yet initially saw no sin in betraying Jesus; he saw only a great gain, until it was too late. Ananias and Saphira saw nothing wrong in deceiving the church; they only saw a financial gain. Where did all these people go wrong? They all thought that they gained by their sins.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6
Our own way may seem best for us, according to our knowledge and our wisdom, even it if includes a very small sin or “white” lie. People can reason that these small sins are ok because they are for the greater good and God will understand. However, opposite to our own way is the way of God, which goes against our natural tendencies, and our normal desires. God’s way is a way of self denial, the way of the cross and suffering. It is a narrow way. It is not a way of earthly honour, wealth and glory. God’s way we do not know naturally; we learn it from the Bible. Then comes the battle, do we choose God’s way or our own way? Only few of the people who profess to be Christians choose God’s way; their own way seems better for them. They see greater gain in their own way.
It is a great sin to go against the Bible’s teaching. God established His laws for us, but sometimes man does not trust God’s wisdom. God says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8. Man says, “No, keep Sunday as a day of rest.” God says, “the dead know not anything.” Ecclesiastes 9:5. Man says, “the dead know everything.” God says, “for the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. Man says, “the wages of sin is eternal life in a hellfire.” Millions of professing Christians sin by disobeying God and following their own ways.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8–9
“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! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” Isaiah 5:20–21
Let us compare the way of God to the way of man. The way of God is: “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned except he strive lawfully.” 2 Timothy 2:3–5
The way of man (including unconverted Christians) is to seek an easy life, a comfortable life, with much fun and pleasure. Which one of these two ways appeals to you? Which one would you choose for yourself?
“Many are ruined by their decision for a life of ease and pleasure. Self denial is disagreeable to them. They are constantly seeking to escape trials that are inseparable from a course of fidelity to God. They set their hearts upon having the good things of this life. This is human success, but is it not one at the expense of future eternal interests? The great business of life is to show ourselves to be true servants of God, loving righteousness and hating iniquity.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 70
The greatest loss to us is the loss of earnestness and persevering zeal to do right; also the loss of strength to resist the temptations of Satan and the loss of faith in the principles of truth. Satan deceives people into thinking they can have the pleasures of this life and heaven also. But this is a lie. The ways of this world may seem to provide happiness, but it is gain that is lost.
“Let no man flatter himself that he is a successful man until he preserves the integrity of his conscience, giving himself wholly to the truth and to God. We should move steadily forward, never losing heart or hope in the good work, whatever trials beset our path, whatever moral darkness may encompass us. Patience, faith, and love for duty are the lessons we much learn. Subduing self and looking to Jesus is an everyday work. The Lord will never forsake the soul that trusts in Him and seeks His aid.” –Ibid., vol. 5, p. 70
To seek an easy, comfortable life is to seek death and separation from God. Man rejoices when he has a feast, much food, drinks, being with friends, joking, and laughing. God’s way to rejoice is: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified.” 1 Peter 4:12–14
“Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Matthew 5:11–12
Jesus said, “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.” Matthew 10:21
All this we must endure, and then we will be overcomers, and ready for heaven. This happened already in 1914 when the Seventh-day Adventist leaders disfellowshipped members who refused to join the army. They also wrote letters to the police and to the government, giving the names and addresses of the members whom they disfellowshipped, so that they would be punished by the government. What happened to the love towards our neighbours and towards erring brethren?
A satanic spirit has overtaken our world, and many Christians. When love dies towards brother or sister, then the love to God dies also. Unless we are connected to Christ we can easily sin and step into our own way and be lost. Self confidence is very dangerous. Pride and selfishness are poisons that kill us spiritually. Let us learn humility from Paul, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given.” Ephesians 3:8
No sin, however small, will be of any gain to us. We may receive a little temporal advantage, as Satan may deceive us and bless us, but in the end we lose eternal life. That loss is worse than any gain we may get in this world from sin.
When we realize that we are less than the least of all the other church members, then we are better able to tolerate others who also are faulty; we do not put ourselves above them. Then we learn to appreciate the way of God, and our own way becomes foolishness and sinful to us. We also learn to love our enemies. Then there will be unity in the church. This is true gain that is not lost. Amen.
Timo Martin