The High Price

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 2:34, Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them.

The one thing I believe we all, as Christians, can agree on is that sin can be costly. All of us have been affected by sin in some way, the greatest being our separation from God. Praise be to God that He gave us His only begotten Son who paid the price for our sins, so that we could be redeemed and reconciled to Him (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2). Just how much God hates sin is evident by the torture and death that Jesus experienced as payment for our iniquities. Yet, knowing this, far too many of us continue with our sinful ways. Our God is patient, merciful, gracious, and forgiving, but I must warn each of us that there will come a time when God says, “Enough!” When that time comes, many of will find out, if we have not already, that sin comes with a high price, and it is a price that we will not want to pay. Simply put…sin kills. The greatest death that any of us can experience is eternal death. Romans 8:12-13 tells us, “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Praise be to Jesus that in Him we will never die (John 11:26). However, let us be warned that as born again believers, sin can still kill. James 1:12-15 says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” We know that as born again believers we will not experience eternal death, but that is not an excuse to continue in sin. The Apostle Paul explained this in Romans 6:1-4, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Hophni’s and Phinehas’ refusal to repent and turn from their wicked ways earned them the sentence God imposed on them…death. Again, I say that even though we are eternally saved in Christ, we can cause death in our life if we refuse to repent and turn from our sins. The death that we will bring will affect our relationships. We will kill the intimacy that Christ desires to have with us. We will kill the intimacy in our marriage, our family relations, and our friendships. We will kill our reputation for Christ. We will kill our joy and our peace. The bottom line is that we cannot continue in sin and not reap the consequences in some way, shape, or form. Sadly, we take God’s grace, mercy, and patience for granted. We must not forget the warning God gave us in Galatians 6:7-8, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” As God’s children, we must heed the warnings before it is too late. God is patient, and He will gently beckon us to turn back to Him with the conviction of the Holy Spirit. He will continue to prick our hearts, but there will come a time when God will allow us to pay the high price of the consequences of our refusal to give up those sins we think no one will find out about, or the ones that we shamelessly put on display for everyone else to see, such as covetousness, gossip, and the other nasty little sins that we allow to run rampant within the local church. Sin is sin, and someday, when we least expect it, because we begin to think that God is winking at our wickedness, the hammer will fall, the pain will come, and death will take hold of our life and relationships. This need not be so when we have Jesus who is the Giver of life. I will leave you with this from John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).