The Sinfulness of Sin
Sin is very, very destructive and it will damage our heart. Sin works quietly, by simply ignoring God. The sinful heart feels no need. Sin destroys everything it touches, it's very nature is to destroy. The natural man does not understand or perceive the long term effects of saying no to God.
Sin will take you farther than you ever wanted to go, keep you longer that you ever wanted to stay and cost you more than you ever wanted to pay
Sin destroys lives and personalities.
I have worked with many people over the years that were unable to reverse the effects of sin on their minds and hearts. It is truly a sad state. Sin binds, it chokes, it steals, it distorts, it confuses. Sin effectively renders a person unable live in obedience to God.
Sin makes one unresponsive to God.
One of the most destructive effect of sin is it's ability to deaden the heart to the Spirit of God. Sin causes one to be unresponsive to the Spirit and Word of God. Sin, if allowed to have final say, will remove all desire to serve the Lord.
Sin destroys one's sensitivity to God; He is no longer able to respond to God.
God is willing to forgive and restore, but the heart deadened by habitual sin has lost all interest in serving God. This is the real danger of sin-it removes our desire to serve God and makes one unresponsive to the Holy Spirit.
Sin Lies
The person that lives in sin usually has the idea that they can repent and change their behavior any time they choose. This is the deceitful nature of sin. Sin does not tell the truth, it distorts the truth.
The truth is that the day will come when that person will no longer be able to repent because sin has had it's full effect and left the heart in a hardened state.
God has called many times but each time the person said no, and now the hardened heart and conscience no longer hears or cares what God says!
We cannot repent whenever we choose-there is a time of repentance for us, a time when our heart is soft and the Spirit of God whispers to us-that is the time to turn, when we sense our need of God and His willingness to help us. We cannot say no to God indefinitely without inward hardening.
Hebrews 3:13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called Today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Prov 29:1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
Prov 14:9 (KJV) Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.
Prov 5:22 (NLT) An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.
James 1:15 (KJV)Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death..
It sounds like I believe a man can get so far down that God cannot help him or that one can sin so grievously that the Lord will turn from him. That is not what I am saying. It is not a question of how evil one has become or how far one has fallen, but rather, the consequences of habitually saying no to God. There is no sin so sinful that Christ cannot make an atonement. However, we cannot say no to the grace and mercy of God forever without an effect on our heart. For this reason we are told to protect ourselves with the breastplate of righteousness.