7 Consequences of Sin

~ Lessons from Genesis 3 & 4 ~

Man’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden upset his relationship with God, and today a Christian’s disobedience interferes with the joy of his fellowship with the Lord. Sin also disrupts peace in society by breaking human relationships. A common example in our society is sin in the life of a husband or wife, destroying the atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence that is so essential in making a truly happy home.

You and I were born with a propensity to sin because of the original sin of Adam and Eve. Sin always has devastating results in one form or another—sometimes the results are not evident immediately. Below are seven consequences of sin found in Genesis chapters three and four.

Shame (Genesis 3:7) ~ “And as Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, suddenly they became aware of their nakedness, and were embarrassed and ashamed of what they had done. So they strung fig leaves together to cover themselves around the hips.” Prior to sin there was no shame.

Fear (3:10) ~ “Adam answered God by saying, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’” Suddenly, a great relationship had deteriorated and a barrier existed. Today our fellowship with God is broken by unconfessed sin (see 1 John 1:9).

Buck Passing (3:12) ~ “Then Adam said, ‘The woman You put here with me—she is the one who gave me some fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.’” Adam is not only blaming Eve but indirectly blaming God for giving him a partner! Sin has a very real way of distorting our thinking.

Pain and Sorrow (3:16) ~ “To Eve God replied: ‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.’” Sin has consequences! One day the results of Calvary will be complete and sin and its effects will be forever gone.

Pride (4:3) ~ “After the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the LORD.” Cain’s pride is seen in offering his gift to God. One of the distinctions between the offerings of Cain and Abel is that Cain did not come by faith but rather in his own strength. Cain came to God on the basis of his own works—he came on the basis of his accomplishments. (Abel’s offering was a sacrifice which looked forward to the coming sacrifice of the Lamb of God.) Pride is one of the roots of all sin and pride is what keeps man from confessing sin.

Anger and Depression (4:5) ~ “But God had no respect for Cain’s offering. So Cain was exceedingly angry and indignant, and became sad and depressed.” Cain throws a pity party and becomes distraught. His shenanigans were not successful. Instead of learning at this point and making corrections, his sin continued to carry him into even greater sin.

Murder (4:8) ~ “Now Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let's go out to the field.’ And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and murdered him there.” Unconfessed sin leads to greater sin.

Do you understand why bad things happen to good people? Do you know why our society has so much crime, unjust suffering, and pain? God’s Word has a one-word answer: sin!