You’ve probably seen it before —the comedian who stands on stage blaspheming God, challenging him to “strike me right now!” For some reason, we hold views of sin and its consequences that ultimately contradict one another.
The first is that if sin doesn’t have an immediate impact we can see, touch, hear, or feel, sin has no impact at all. The second is that all of sin’s impact comes in the afterlife, and not now. Both of these views are wrong. To really understand the results of sin, we need to return to the first time man sins, and the consequences of that sin —as God laid them out.
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” -Genesis 3:9-10
The first consequence of sin is the desire to hide from God. “But wait —aren’t those people who beg God to strike them down standing tall out in the open? They aren’t afraid of God, and yet they’re sinning.” But they aren’t standing in the presence of God, either. They’re standing here in Satan’s domain cursing God, and laughing because they no longer care about sin. It’s much easier to believe you’re not in God’s power when you’re not in God’s immediate presence.
They believe they’re covered up well enough not to worry overmuch about God. What happens when God actually appears on the Earth?
Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” -Revelation 6:15-17
This attempt to hide isn’t necessarily a bad thing, of course; it simply shows that we understand our inability to stand before God. In fact, God provides coverings throughout the Scriptures to hide our sin from his wrath.
And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. -Genesis 3:21
Ultimately, our sins are covered by the blood of Christ.
But while Adam and Eve hid from God in fear, and the kings hide in fear in the last days, we hide in Christ, in faith.
And that makes all the difference in the world.
