The Consequences At Times For Committing Just One Sin

 

 

Gen. 2:16, 17; 3:6, 16-19, 23, 24     What sin did Adam and Eve commit (2:17; 3:6)?

 

What were the consequences for Adam and Eve because they disobeyed God’s command (2:17; 3:16-19, 23)?

 

Have you ever been disciplined by God for disobeying a command of His?            If so, what happened?

 

[If you either can’t remember or don’t think that God has ever disciplined you when you sinned, then maybe you haven’t seen the connection between some disciplinary action of God’s and your sin. Maybe you thought that some hardship/problem was merely coincidental rather than a disci­plinary consequence for your sin.].

 

Gen. 19:15-26      What sin did Lot’s wife commit (vss. 17, 26)?                                What was the consequence (vs. 26)?

 

Num. 12:1-10       What sin did Miriam and Aaron commit?

 

What consequence did Miriam suffer because she enviously spoke against a spiritual leader of God’s?

 

Have you ever been envious of a/your spiritual leader and as a result spoke against him (talked bad/destructively critical about him or challenged his authority)?   If so, did you suffer any discipline from God (e.g., physical illness or other hardship)?

 

Or, if you did, maybe you failed to see the illness/hardship as a discipline from God for your sin of envious speech against your spiritual leader. Or, maybe God in His mercy, pa­tience, and forgiveness spared you that time.

 

Num. 13:2, 25-33; 14:36, 37             What sin did the 10 spies commit (13:2, 31-33)?

 

What consequences did these 10 spies suffer (14:36, 37)?

 

Do you know of anyone who died in an untimely manner or prematurely due to some sin they committed?

If so, what happened?

 

Num. 14:30, 32, 39-45                       What sin did the Israelites commit?

 

What punishment did they suffer?

 

[Failure to do immediately what God tells you to do now may at a later time be a sin to do.].

 

Have you ever been disciplined by God for doing at a later date something which God wanted you to do immediately but to which you didn’t, and then later when you finally were willing to obey God, it was no longer His will?

If so, what?

 

Num. 16:1-35       What sin did Korah (a Levite, who was a priest’s helper), Dathan, Abiram, and 250 leaders of the congregation of Israel (men of renown) commit (vs. 3)?

 

What was Korah jealous of (want for himself, as well) – verses 8-10?

 

To be rebellious against God’s spiritual leaders is to really be against Whom (vs. 11)?

 

What was the consequence of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram’s sin (vss. 30-33)?

 

How did their sin affect even their families (vss. 32, 33)?

 

What happened to the 250 men who conspired in the rebellion?

 

How serious does God see the sin of rebellion against your spiritual leaders?

 

Do you know of anyone whom God disciplined/punished because they rebelled against their spiritual leader?

If so, what happened?

 

If not, could it be that you were unaware of the connection between some tragedy they had and the rebellion they committed?

 

Num. 16:41-49                     What sin did the congregation of Israelites commit (vs. 41)?

 

What was the consequence for these Israelites having grumbled and assembled against their spiritual leaders, vs. 49 (because Moses had disciplined some rebellious friends and relatives of the congregation)?

 

Have you ever grumbled against your spiritual leaders because they disciplined a sinning friend or relative of yours?

Or, do you know of anyone else who has so grumbled?              If so, what happened?

 

If nothing happened, could it be because someone intervened on your behalf or the other person’s behalf, who had grumbled (like Aaron intervened for the Israelites in vss. 46-48)?

 

How serious does God see the sin of grumbling against your spiritual leader, especially when he is carrying out his responsibilities (e.g., confronting sinning believers, 2 Tim. 4:2)?

 

How serious do you see it, and why?

 

Num. 20:7-12       What sin did Moses commit (vss. 8, 11; 1 Cor. 10:4)?

 

What consequence did Moses suffer as a result of his disobedience, vs. 12 (in striking the rock instead of speaking to it)?

 

Does such discipline seem too severe for such a humble, faithful man of God for committing just one sin (and for something which seems so minor or even silly)?

 

Have you ever disobeyed God by doing something that He wanted you to do but for which you did it in your own way rather than in the way God specifically told you to do it? If so, did you experience God’s discipline?

 

Or, were you even aware of His discipline, thinking that some crisis or misfor­tune was simply coincidental and unrelated to your sin?

 

[Maybe you want to obey God in serving Him, but you want to do it in your own way rather than in the way God’s told you. For example, maybe you want to serve God, but instead of evangelizing (Matt. 28:19, 20) and building believers up spiritually (1 Thes. 5:11; Rom. 14:19), you simply settle for being on a church’s sports team, singing in the choir, or being a youth group leader. You serve God, but in your own way.].

 

Josh. 6:17-19; 7:1-5, 10, 11, 18-21, 25, 26; 22:20       What sin did Achan (and apparently with his family’s know­ledge and consent) commit, 6:17-19; 7:1, 11?

 

What consequence did Achan suffer for being unfaithful in taking things from conquered en­emies that were under a ban (forbidden) by God (7:25)?

Have you ever been unfaithful by stealing anything from someone else?                                If so, did God discipline you?

How?

 

[Today, many people, including many Christians, don’t think/feel that taking certain things that are not theirs is wrong. For example, many Christians don’t feel the following is wrong: taking office supplies from where they work; sampling fruit at the grocery store; taking things that people forgot or accidentally dropped but whose owner they know.].

Who else suffered as a result of Achan’s sin (7:5, 11; 22:20)?

 

How serious do you see stealing even little things being?                          Why?

 

2 Ki. 5:15-27        What sin did Gehazi commit (vss. 21-25)?

 

What consequence did he suffer for lying to the prophet Elisha (vs. 27)?

 

Has God ever disciplined you for lying?          If so, how?

 

Did you notice that Gehazi’s sin not only affected him, but would even affect his descen­dants?

How does knowing this affect your attitude toward sinning in the future, and why?

 

1 Chron. 21:2-17                 What consequence did king David suffer (though it was actually David’s people that suffered) for sinning by failing to trust God and His power and instead relied upon his military capabilities by taking a census of his people?

 

Has God ever disciplined you by having tragedy come upon your friends or family because of a sin you committed, and yet you personally were spared the tragedy yourself?

[Again, notice how punishment for our sins can be taken out on other people (e.g., friends) instead of directly out upon us who commit the sin.].

 

Does this seem fair?                            Why?

 

2 Chron. 26:16-21              What sin did king Uzziah commit (vs. 16)?

 

What consequence did Uzziah suffer for his pride in burning incense in the temple of the Lord that only God’s priests, sons of Aaron, were allowed to do (vs. 21)?

 

Has being in a leadership position (e.g., spiritual teacher-trainer, Bible study group leader, S.S. teacher, youth group leader, etc.) ever motivated you to get proud to the point where you felt that it was OK to do something that God had said was wrong, because you felt you were above any restrictions or that they didn’t apply to you?             If so, did God discipline you, and how?

 

Did you notice how pride can lead a person to do things he’d never consider doing otherwise?

What steps can you take to avoid getting prideful?

 

1 Sam. 9:27; 10:8; 13:8-14               What sin did king Saul commit?

 

What consequence did Saul pay for his assuming a priestly office by offering a burnt offering (13:14)?

 

Have you ever gotten impatient with God and one of His commands, and so took matters into your own hands, but in the process you sinned by doing so?                    If so, what?

 

[Many Christians have gotten impatient with God and His ability to provide a suitable spirit­ual Christian mate for them, and so took matters into their own hands by marrying a non-Christian, which is contrary to God’s command in 2 Cor. 6:14. In many cases, these Christians have suffered the consequences of a ruined spiritual life, forfeiture of God’s blessings and being fulfilled, having a miserable marriage, and even being divorced.].

 

1 Sam. 15:1-28    What sin did king Saul commit (vss. 3, 9)?

 

What consequence did Saul suffer for his disobedience to God’s command to destroy the Amalekites and all they had (vs. 28)?

 

How did God view Saul’s partial obedience (vs. 23)?

 

Has God ever disciplined you for only partially obeying His word, the Bible?                         If so, how?

 

[Maybe you’re obeying God by doing good/nice things for people, but you are disobeying Him when it comes to evangelizing/witnessing to non-Christians. Or, maybe you share your faith once in a while or even regularly, but you’re not going be­yond that by seeking to build up qualified Christians spiritually.].

 

Are either of these true of you?

[If you are knowingly/willfully refusing to evangelize as a way of life or to build up believers spiritually as your life’s purpose, then beware of being disciplined by God.].

 

2 Sam. 6:2-7; Num. 4:5, 15               What sin did Uzzah commit (6:6, 7; Num. 4:15)?

 

What consequence did Uzzah suffer for touching the ark of God, an act of irreverence (vs. 7)?

 

[Sacred tasks are to be done in a sacred manner according to God’s prescription.].

[Even though Uzzah’s intentions were good, he still violated God’s command to not touch the ark.].

 

Have you ever done a good thing but in a wrong way?                               If so, did you incur God’s discipline?

 

[If not, maybe you didn’t even recognize God’s discipline as His discipline but only as some unfortunate circumstances unrelated to your disobedience.].

 

Some examples of doing a good thing in a wrong manner are:

¨        Feeding poor people but stealing from someone else to do so.

¨        Helping a friend out but lying to do so.

¨        Driving someone who’s late to an appointment but breaking the speed limit to do so.

¨        Helping someone with their school work but cheating in order to do so.

¨        Confronting a sinning Christian but in a prideful, unloving way.

 

1 Ki. 13:1, 8-26                    What sin did the man of God commit (vs. 21)?

 

What consequence did the man of God suffer for disobeying God’s command to not eat bread or drink water in Bethel (vs. 24)?

 

[Even though another religious person (a prophet) lied to the man of God about what God sup­posedly told him to tell the man of God, the man of God was still responsible for his actions. The man of God should have inquired of the Lord whether the prophet’s story was true, especially since it contradicted what God had previously told the man of God.].

 

Has God ever disciplined you because you disobeyed God’s word, the Bible, because some re­ligious/church leader deceptively told you that God told him to tell you to do something contrary to what the Bible states?                            If so, what, or how?

 

Acts 12:19-23      What sin did king Herod commit?

 

What consequence did Herod suffer for (in his pride) failing to give God the glory for his speech/address, and instead he accepted the crowds praise of him as a god?

 

Have you ever (in your pride) failed to give God the glory/praise/credit for some great accomplishment you’ve done and instead accepted people’s exaltation of you for what God had actually accomplished through you?

 

If so, did God discipline you?                            Or, in His mercy did He spare you?

Or, did you fail to see His discipline and think that some crisis you had was merely coincidental and unrelated to your sin?

 

Acts 4:32 – 5:10                  What sin did Ananias and Sapphira commit?

 

What consequence did their lying result in?

 

Have you ever lied to anyone?                          Did you realize that when you lie to someone, you’re actually lying to God?

How serious does our society take lying?                       Why?

 

How serious do you take the sin of lying?                      Why?

 

How serious does God take the sin of lying?                  Why?

 

Has God ever disciplined you for lying?                          If so, what happened?

 

Lk. 9:61, 62          What sin did this would-be follower/disciple of Christ’s commit?

 

What consequence would this person (or anyone else like him) suffer for putting family ties and affections above immediate and continued obedience to Christ in being His disciple/follower?

 

Are you going to be fit to reign with Christ in His kingdom when He rules here on earth for 1,000 years (Rev. 20:4-6; 5:9, 10; 2 Tim. 2:11, 12)?

Or, will you be unfit for ruling with Christ because you had wrong priorities here in this life now (such as: putting family, job, school, material comforts, sports, girlfriend/boyfriend, etc. ahead of being a disciple of Christ’s)?

 

[Being a disciple of Christ’s means following Christ (Jn. 12:26), making His purpose, priorities, and character yours (Lk. 6:40). And like Jesus, we should, therefore, be evangelizing the lost/unsaved (Lk. 19:10), training others to do likewise (Mk. 1:17; 3:14; Matt. 28:19, 20), and being obedient to do God’s will (Jn. 4:34; 6:38) in general.].

 

Is this what you are doing?                Why?

 

If it’s not, what will it take for you to begin doing so (if the loss of ruling with Christ in His kingdom is not motivation enough)?

 

Has God been disciplining you because you’ve been refusing to be a disciple of Christ’s?

Or, have you been failing to see the crisis/misfortunes in your life as related to the sin of disobedience in being Christ’s disciple?

 

Are your priorities like Christ’s, that of seeking and saving the lost, training others to do likewise, and being God-like in character, and why?

 

[Don’t tempt the Lord any longer by sinning in not being a follower of Christ.].