"It's His Fault!"
She was a kind nurse who was giving me an exam so that I can purchase some new Life Insurance. She had come to my office to administer the exam and she asked, “So what do you do here at the church?”
Of course I thought about giving her the answer that many of the Lewisville members might give and say, “Nothing.” I settled on telling her that I did the preaching.
She responded by saying, “He must be trying to tell me something.” I said, “Who?” She said, “God, you are my second preacher to examine in the past week.” I thought, “Maybe He is trying to tell us something!”
I asked her if she had a church and she said not presently but that she had grown up in a Pentecostal church. She said, “You know the fun church.” I invited her to come visit with us and she assured me that she would.
She said, “I’ll have to sneak out because my husband doesn’t want me to go to church.” She told me about the fact that he has a terminal illness. I told her I was sorry and that I would pray for them both. She said, “Well it’s his fault!” Then she explained that to me and she was right.
He had been involved in terrible sin and the consequence of his sin is a life-ending illness. I was reminded of the fact that all death, disease, problems, and heartaches are in this world because of sin. The sad reality is that we live in a fallen world.
Now I do not believe that every problem that every individual endures is because of personal sin. We sometimes do people a great injustice by stating that problems occur because of sin when we fail to explain exactly what we mean.
Job’s friends tried to convince him that all of his problems were a result of his personal sin. Satan is still trying to convince God’s people of this today. Remember he walks on the earth like a roaring lion trying to devour the people of God. (1 Peter 5:8)
SOME PROBLEMS ARE THE RESULT OF PERSONAL SIN. Suppose an individual gets drunk then drives their car off into a ditch. Their sin (getting drunk) could result in having to be in a hospital, the loss of their car, financial concerns, etc.
The Biblical teaching on this is found in Galatians 6:7-8 where the Apostle Paul said, “for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
SOME PROBLEMS ARE THE RESULT OF THE SINS OF OTHERS. It has been my sad experience to see some wonderful families devastated because of some selfish individual who is a part of the family. A man who can’t keep his temper under control beats his wife and children. The children had nothing at all to do with their father’s anger, but they receive lifelong physical and emotional scarring.
A grown child brings pain (financial, emotional, etc.) on parents because of lifestyle, financial, or spiritual decisions made just they want too or they think they know better than the parents.
A family suffers financial loss because someone has a gambling problem that they refuse to get under control.
Just today our local Dallas news reported that a child had been shot to death in his home. The boy had done nothing wrong. He suffered because of the sin of someone else.
A drunk driver loses control of the car and someone else is killed because of the accident. These are just a few of many examples that explain how sometimes others suffer because of the sin of someone else.
SOME PROBLEMS ARE A RESULT OF THE FACT THAT SIN EXISTS IN OUR WORLD. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden sin entered the world. It will remain in the world as long as the world exists. Because sin exists, problems result.
That is why we don’t want to stay in the world forever. That is why we want to spend eternity in heaven. There will be no sin in heaven; therefore there will be no pain, no heartache, no problems, and no tears. (Revelation 21:2-3)
I have spoken to numerous Christians during my years of preaching who are carrying guilt that they do not have to carry. Too many Christians have been convinced that if they are suffering they must have done something wrong.
My prayer is that this article will help us to see that this is not always the case. As a matter of fact, it is my conviction that God does not punish people directly today. There are certain consequences that occur because of certain sins but I don’t personally believe they are God-inflicted.
As long as we have life God allows us opportunity to repent of our sin. Once this life is over God will judge us and if we are found to be guilty we will receive eternal punishment. (Matthew 25:46)
Dear Father in Heaven, we are thankful that You allowed Your Son to die for us so that we might be forgiven of sin. We pray that we will not be guilty of bringing pain to others because of our sin. We pray dear God that those who have received forgiveness will understand that there is no need for guilt. Help us to always walk in the light of Your love and help us to grow in our faith every day. In Jesus Name, Amen.