Consequences Of Sin

We noted in our previous post that sin is always “an inside job.” Having examined the cause of temptation, we look now at the consequence of temptation (should we give in). Next week we’ll explore the correction of temptation.

Once we allow ourselves to be drawn away by our desires and enticed, James warns: “then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

Remember: this all takes place within each person. Again, sin is an inside job. See how it works in one of the most familiar accounts in the Old Testament: King David, a godly man once described as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22).

We read in 2 Samuel 11 that King David stays home during a season when kings are generally found on the battlefield. The Bible says that David walks out on his rooftop to look around one evening. And from this vantage point, he happens to see a young woman bathing herself. Now, had David just turned away and gone back inside, that would have been the end of it. But he didn’t. He kept looking, watching this young woman; Bathsheba, watching her as she bathed herself.

His perpetual looking was not Bathsheba’s fault. The text suggests she is entirely unaware of his watching her. It was David’s fault to continue looking.   And the more he looks, the more he thinks and the more he feels. Desire is forming within. And the longer he looks at this unsuspecting woman—a married woman, as he will soon learn—the more greatly David allows himself to be “drawn away by his own desire and enticed.” Remember what James writes next? “When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.”

David calls for Bathsheba and she is brought to the king’s palace. Given his royal position and the expected compliance of all persons under his authority, we shouldn’t be too surprised by Bathsheba’s willingness to follow the king’s directives. The writer’s economy of words is understandable: “Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her…and she returned to her house (2 Samuel 11:4).” 

Many today would consider David’s actions to be nothing more than a “fling,” an affair, or a one-night stand. The Bible calls it a sin, namely the sin of adultery. And, as is often the case with such egregious sins, the duration of the sin was remarkably short compared to the years of consequences that followed. 

James asserts: “When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” James is writing metaphorically, and yet, in David’s case, this literally happened. The child conceived by Bathsheba dies as a consequence of David’s sin, discipline by God. And the child’s death was certainly a painful consequence for both David and Bathsheba. And yet a fate far worse than physical death was the death of David’s vigor and spirit for the rest of his days. He is clearly a broken man after his adultery. He is not the man he once was. He is broken, broken by sin and temptation. 

Little wonder James cautions, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.” Never think you can give in to a particular temptation “just once,” and all will be well. We must never toy with temptation. Learn from David! Do not flirt with others. Don’t click on questionable web links. Don’t look at the picture. Don’t watch the video. Don’t even joke about sin. Listen again to James’ warning: “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”

Here is a reminder that we are all capable of being deceived. Just as trials are inevitable, so temptation is unavoidable. Remember that James writes, “Let no one say when (not if) he is tempted…” Every Christian is subject to temptation. As Paul warns elsewhere, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall (1 Corinthians 10:12).” 

Thankfully, God provides the means of escape from every temptation. Paul goes on to say in the very next verse, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).”

This happy consideration takes us to the next fact Christians should know about temptation–but we’ll save that for next time!

**Excerpt from You’re Either Walking The Walk Or Just Running Your Mouth (Preaching Truth: 2020), pages 32-34, available on Amazon.