In the last devotion, we continued to discuss the fact evil – or sin – is the overarching cause and effect of ungodliness. This daily devotional finishes up our look into how causes and effects of sin promote ungodliness.
Nuggets
- We need to remember what God is telling us, so we can focus on what we need to in order to ensure we do not backslide.
- We shouldn’t just focus on staving the drift of our hearts, souls, and minds — we need to focus on our bodies, also.
Devotions in In the Days of Noah series
In the last devotion, we continued to look at the causes and effects of evil. We are going to finish up that discussion in this devotion.
Let's Put It into Context #1
There are two parts to the definition of ungodliness, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. The second part is that it is “contrary to moral law.” This was qualified by the words sinful and wicked.
The first definition listed, though, is “denying or disobeying God.” It qualifies this by the words impious or irreligious.
Resource
Ungodliness is denial of God and refusal of following His laws and commandments, instead living a life engaged in sinfulness.
Evil is equated with sin because it is that which goes against God and His purposes. Sins are actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
Let's Put It into Context #2
- Because Adam and Eve chose to sin, mankind has a sinful nature.
- Our sinfulness opens us up to God’s wrath.
- We may think we understand how God did many things and why, but we really don’t.
- The foundation of the Christian virtues is faith.
- Our moral corruption is both a cause and effect of evil, though it is mainly an effect.
- God gives us free will, but He wants us to use that free will to choose Him.
- Sin has caused mankind’s affections to become corrupt.
- Our conscience is to help guide us to do what is right, but our sinful nature helps to muddy that picture.
Mankind’s Memory Is Corrupt
“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (Heb. 2: 1 NIV)
The writer of Hebrews warned us that we need to remember what God is telling us. That way we can focus on what we need to in order to ensure we do not backslide.
There was a time we talked a lot about remembering. That is because God stresses it in His Word.
Glossary
We have to remember what it was like before we became disciples — what it was like without Him. Then, He always wants us to remember how far we’ve come on the Sanctification Road and how He has blessed us, protected us, and grown us.
Why is it important we remember? We see that we can trust His promises. We see that God does provide for us.
Most importantly, we see how we are becoming more like God.
Oh, what? We want to cover up who we used to be? It won’t be a good witness if we show others how bad of a sinner we were?
Wrong. We will show how loving and forgiving God really is. We will show that, if God can forgive us, He can and will forgive them.
But we don’t want to pay attention. There is too much happening in our everyday lives that we don’t have time for a self-examination fest.
It wouldn’t be pretty anyway.
We want to bury and ignore. We are ashamed of what we did, so we want to forget about it.
Owen reminded us that only diligent attention to the Scriptures leads to perseverance in carrying out the laws and commandments. We need to study and watch so we can do what God calls us to do.
Resource
If we just sit here and listen to the preacher or read the words on the page/screen, they may not have the impact we need them to have. Besides, it isn’t what we are called to do.
“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation” (Rom. 10: 9-10 CSB).
Just believing isn’t enough. We have to confess — we have to talk about it.
Our sinful nature tries to get us to forget what God has done for us. It trie to minimize its importance.
Rogers called the drifting a “… decay of faith …” I see that as an effect of evil in our lives.
Resource
It would have to be a cause of the original sin. Adam and Eve probably were very committed to God right after they were created. We don’t know if Satan had tried to convince Eve — or even Adam — before the Genesis 3 incident.
I would say Satan probably had been planting ideas to facilitate the drift in Adam and Eve’s minds. He does that in ours, too.
Mankind’s Body Is Corrupt
“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Rom. 7: 18 ESV)
We shouldn’t just focus on staving the drift of our hearts, souls, and minds — we need to focus on our bodies, also.
Paul also gave the Romans some other advice. He wrote, “Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (Rom. 6: 13 NLT).
The results of the original sin had devastating effects on our physical bodies. The results of sin are poverty, crime, disease, death just to name a few.
I see you scratching your head as to why I included poverty and crime in the list. Poverty can lead to malnutrition, which leads to disease. Incidents of crime can include cause bodily harm and death to its victims.
It all boils down to this effect of evil — this physical body is going to die. This was not a cause, however.
Making the Connections
Let’s look at it this way. The categories we looked at were
- Mankind has a sinful nature.
- Mankind’s understanding is corrupt.
- Mankind’s depravity is great.
- Mankind’s will is corrupt.
- Mankind’s conscience is corrupt.
- Mankind’s memory is corrupt.
- Mankind’s body is corrupt.
All of the categories we looked at were the effect of evil. All of the categories – except our bodies – we also the cause of evil. Our bodies did not start decaying until after the original sin.
Yeah, I did put “yes” on sinful nature. No, we technically did not have a sinful nature until after the original sin.
But Adam and Eve sinned. If they didn’t have the capacity to sin, they wouldn’t have.
Something in Adam and Eve’s free will had to dispose them to consider what Satan was telling them. I guess we could make the argument that, if Adam and Eve had perfect understanding, they wouldn’t have sinned.
Or wouldn’t they have? Isn’t that what free will is all about? They made an informed decision to sin, understanding exactly what God wanted from them.
How Do We Apply This?
“For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (I Cor. 15: 22 CSB)
Yep, all mankind was condemned to have a sinful nature because Adam and Eve were disobedient to God. That is just the way it is.
No, our decisions don’t just affect us. Sometimes, they do have far-reaching implications.
Luckily, Someone else made a far-reaching decision. Jesus chose to be the Sacrifice to fix our sinful nature.
Because Jesus shed His blood, we can go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive. Spiritual death is the separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
We see someone and think, “Oh, s/he is such a good person.” That determination isn’t based on what we see.
Unless they have ABCDed, they are still spiritually dead. Our corrupt nature will only be changed by the blood, not what we do or don’t do.
We address our corrupt nature by ABCDing.
Yeah, making the decision is the easy part. Then we have to work on changing our nature and obtaining the character of God.
No, we can’t do that on our own. God has to regenerate us.
Father God. We admit that, because of Adam and Eve’s decision to disobey You, mankind was separated from You and given a sinful nature. That means we need to ABCD. Lord, we do admit that we are sinners, believe Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer, and confess You as Sovereign God. Help us grow in Your grace and knowledge so that we can change our nature to be more like You. Amen.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
If you have not admitted that your relationship is not right with God,
have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,
and have not confessed your sins,
please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
Related Links
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
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The Disciple’s Job Description
Complete Job Description
Individual Description
The Disciple’s Job Description
Complete Job Description
Individual Description
Job Duty #4
Proclaim the Gospel (Mark 16: 15)
Job Duty #6
Make Disciples (Matthew 28: 19-20)
Job Duty #1
Be a Living Sacrifice (Romans 12: 1-2)
Job Duty #2
Work Out Our Salvation (Philippians 2: 12)
Job Duty #3
Bring Him Glory (Matthew 5: 16)
Job Duty #4
Proclaim the Gospel (Mark 16: 15)
Job Duty #5
Love People (John 15: 12)
Job Duty #6
Make Disciples (Matthew 28: 19-20)
Job Duty #7
Other Duties as Assigned
(Ecclesiastes 3: 1)
It Was Enough
Vocalist: Elaine Guthals
Keyboard: Chris Vieth
What do you think?
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