Sin separates us from God

If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. – 1 John 1:6 NIV

Fellowship with God is determined by our walk not by our talk. The choices we make in line with His Word will allow us to have fellowship with him.

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). – Matthew 27:45-46 NIV

Jesus experienced the horrible abandonment of his Father as God poured out the wrath on his Son as he took the sins of the world. So we see from these verses how sin separates us from God.

Sin blocks our blessings

Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good. – Jeremiah 5:25 NIV

Here God had to strip away all the benefits that Judah and Israel had grown to cherish more than Him. Putting your possessions over your relationship with God is idolatry. That’s a sin. This verse says that God held back good things from them as a result of their sin.

Sin entangles us

No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. – 2 Timothy 2:4 NIV

Paul uses the image of a good soldier to paint a picture of the Christian battle that we must fight daily. To be victorious In battle, no soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs. But seeks to please his commanding officer. This is the view we need to have so that we do not get caught up in sin.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

The Christian life is hard work. It requires us to give up whatever endangers us and hinders our relationship with God. In order to finish the race that God has called us to run, we must let go of everything that will prevent us from doing Gods will. Being bound in sin will prevent you from finishing.

Sin grieve the Holy Spirit

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. – Ephesians 4:30 NIV

We can grieve the Holy Spirit by the way we live. To grieve means: to feel grief for or because of someone. To cause great distress to someone. In the verses prior to this, Paul warns us on some things that grieve the Holy Spirit and if we want to be pleasing to God we must avoid these sins.

Sin causes your heart to be hard

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned – Ephesians 4:17-20 NIV

Paul says here that Christians should not live as gentiles do who are ignorant of life in God due to their heart being calloused. They don’t have the understanding of what sin is and have given themselves over to all kinds of impurity that has caused their heart to be hard towards God. This is not the way of life that God wants for us.

Sin can enslave you

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. – John 8:31-34 NIV

Here Jesus says that if you continue in his words then the truth will set you free. Since this statement is true, then the opposite is also true. If you don’t continue in his word (if you live in sin) then you will be enslaved by it. And as we continue to read in verse 34 Jesus confirms that by saying everyone who sins is a slave to it. So stay away from sin because it will enslave you.

Sin steals your joy

If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. – John 15:10-11 NIV

Jesus wants us to have joy and enjoy life. Our part is to keep his commands and abide in him. Sin will cause you to live outside of this boundary and miss Gods best for you. So avoid committing sins that will steal your joy.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. – Psalms 51:12 NIV

This verse was written by David after he sinned by committing adultery. He lost his joy and he prayed and asked God to restore his joy to him.

Powerlessness in Prayer

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; – Psalms 66:18 NIV

To cherish sin means to hide it and keep it in your heart to return back to it in the future. If you commit a sin that you know is wrong but you enjoy it, you may go to God and ask for forgiveness but you haven’t truly repented and turned away from that sin. Couple days later you do it again. This verse says that if you cherish a sin like this, God won’t get your prayers.

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. – 1 John 3:21-22 NIV

Obedience to Gods word will allow us to have answered prayers. It will give us the confidence to go towards God for anything we need and He will answer. Failing to do what pleases God will make your prayers powerless.

Gods disciplines us

And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. – Hebrews 12:5-8 NIV

One way to know that your father loves and cares for you is that he corrects you. Same is true with God. It’s never pleasant to be corrected and disciplined by God but his discipline is a sign of his deep love for us. When you sin, God will discipline you and help you learn the right way to go. This is also another consequence of sin but it has a silver lining because God will teach you something through it.