A defiling, debasing, damning
evil, more to be dreaded than death itself. By Charles Simeon. Fools mock at sin. Proverbs chapter
14 verse 9. However much the ungodly mock
at sin, they can never alter the nature of sin. Sin is that
abominable thing which God hates. Jeremiah chapter 44 verse 4.
God cannot look upon sin, or on those who commit sin, without
the utmost abhorrence. Habakkuk 1.13 Sin is, whether
we will believe it or not, exceedingly sinful. Romans 7.13 Whatever harmless construction
the wicked may put upon sin, and however they may attempt
to mitigate its horribleness, sin will ever remain immutably
the same, a defiling, debasing, damning evil, more to be dreaded
than death itself. The ungodly imagine that sin
is harmless, but in the end it bites like a serpent and poisons
like a viper. Proverbs 23, verse 32. They may roll sin as a sweet
morsel under their tongues, but it will become a deadly venom
in their hearts. However much the ungodly mock
at sin, they can never avert the consequences of sin. God
has said, The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the
nations that forget God. Psalm chapter 9 verse 17. Now they may imagine that God
regards sin as inconsequential, but He will never separate their
sin from its consequence, hell. They may represent their sins
as trivial and may talk about the goodness of God and the impossibility
of His punishing such minor offenses with such a tremendous punishment,
but they shall never prevail on Him to rescind His decree
or to reverse His sentence. He has said, The soul that sins,
it shall surely die. Ezekiel 18.20 And die it shall,
even the second death in the lake that burns with fire and
brimstone. Even if the whole universe should
combine their efforts to avert the consequences of sin, they
can never prevail in any single instance. Proverbs 11.21 The wrath of God is revealed
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Romans 1.18 Sooner shall
heaven and earth pass away than one impenitent transgressor escape
God's prison. How great then must be the folly
of mocking at sin! If the ungodly convince themselves
that their sins shall go unpunished, they only deceive themselves
and rivet the chains with which sin and Satan have already bound
them. Solomon's view of such conduct
is correct. All who mock at sin are utter
fools. Never make light of sin. Your
souls, your immortal souls, are at stake. Were the consequences
of your error only temporary, we might leave you to enjoy your
own delusions, but they are eternal. There is no repentance in the
grave, as the tree falls, so it will lie. If you die under
the guilt of unforgiven sin, then your doom is irreversible
and your misery is everlasting. How do millions that are now
in the eternal world curse their folly for making light of sin,
in direct opposition to all that God had spoken in His Word, respecting
it? I beg you then to be wise in
time and seek without delay to obtain the forgiveness of your
sins through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Colossians
1.14