This morning, I want to bring a message which can be difficult to preach, entitled, The Consequences of Sin. The story is told of a zealous young pastor or preacher who just came out of Bible college and was ordained. And he came to his first church. It was a little country church in the South. And he thought he ought to begin by confronting the folks with sin. And so he began his sermon the first Sunday, preaching against the evils of horse racing. Well, after the message, the deacon pulled him aside and he said, you know, you ought to perhaps avoid that subject because a lot of our people have horses and they make their money. They earn money from those horses. The next week, the pastor came down hard on the evils of smoking. Well, the deacon pulled him aside and he said, you know, a lot of our folks raise tobacco and you need to be a little bit careful about that. So the third Sunday, the preacher condemned whiskey drinking, only to discover that there was a big distillery in town and some of the members visited there. The perplexed preacher called a board meeting and cried out, what can I preach about? Well, a little lady in the back said, preach against them evil cannibals. There ain't one of them within 2,000 miles of us. Maybe we need to try to avoid being too confrontive, but at the same time, we want to be true to the word of God and to recognize that sin is a very real problem in our lives. This morning I want to talk to you from the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 2. Again, if you open your Bibles, they're with me. 1 Samuel, chapter 2. Someone said that an illusion, according to the dictionary, is an erroneous perception of reality. Sleight of hand artists use it to do the impossible, quote unquote. Most illusions are harmless, but some can be fatal. In a desert, chasing a mirage that looks like water can lead to death. But the most dangerous illusions are spiritual in nature. moral ones that people are so prone to believe. In Malachi chapter 2, the Israelites were breaking their marriage vows. They knew that God hates divorce, yet they were saying, everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord. Doesn't that sound a little bit like today's culture? where we call evil good and good evil. People believe that things like abortion, extramarital sex, divorce, for other than biblical reasons, are morally right. And even some Christians believe these things. It's crucial that we allow the Bible to be the standard by which we distinguish between good and evil. Our postmodern world excuses or dismisses sin as inconsequential. Inconsequential. I can't speak this morning. Christians can be influenced by this twisted and unbiblical way of thinking. sin is serious and it has serious consequences and so this morning we're going to focus a little bit on this and i hope along the way i can give you some words of encouragement and hope as well we must understand for ourselves and teach our children that sin has great consequences it's important for us first samuel chapter two contains the description of two very different families Last week we looked at Elkanah, Hannah, and Samuel's family, and we drew some lessons from that, that living for Christ, living for God, will provide great blessings for us. Today, this morning, we're going to look at another family, Eli's family. We will learn that there are grave consequences to living in sin as we look at his family. Eli and his sons provide a negative example and illustrate these consequences. So I'm going to begin reading at verse 12, if you have your Bible or you want to watch, follow along on the screen. 1 Samuel 2, verse 12. Now the sons of Eli were corrupt, and they did not know the Lord. And the priest's custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged flesh hook in his hand while the meat was boiling. Then he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot, and the priest would take for himself all that the flesh hook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Also before they burned the fat, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw. And if the man said to him, they should really burn the fat first, then you may take as much as your heart desires, he would then answer him, no, but you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force. Therefore, the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord. We're told here that they were corrupt. The word that's translated corrupt from the Hebrew here is the word Belial. which literally means a worthless one or a wicked one. And it is a reference to Satan himself. I wanna take you to the New Testament to a couple passages. And if you would mark your spot here in 1 Samuel, we'll be back in just a moment. But I wanna take you first of all to the book of 2 Corinthians 6. 2 Corinthians 6. 2 Corinthians 6, and begin reading at verse 14. The Apostle Paul, talking to the Corinthians, warns them about the importance of not being unequally yoked together with unbelievers. He says in verse 14, do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness, and what communion has light with darkness, and what accord has Christ with Belial, or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? Again, the Belial here is a reference to Satan. In verse 16, in what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. God calls us to a life of holiness as believers, to be committed to honoring Him and not to be involved in sinful activities, to be careful about who we spend our time with, our fellowship with people who are not Christians that will drag us down spiritually. Now, we are in the world and we are to be those who are witnesses in this world. We're to share Christ with the lost. And I'm not suggesting that you isolate yourself from unbelievers, but we need to be careful about who our friends are and who we spend meaningful time with. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter two. Paul also is the author of this book, and in the first verse he says, Ephesians chapter two and verse one, and you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which he once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we're by nature children of wrath, just as others. We see in this passage of scripture that there are two great things that influence us when it comes to the area of sin in our life. One is the fact that we have a sin nature. And that sin nature is not eradicated when we become a believer. We have to deal with it throughout our life. The other is that we are in a spiritual warfare and Satan is seeking to deceive us to lead us astray, lead us into temptation and sin. We have been made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. Praise God for that. If you're a Christian here today, a born-again believer, know that God has delivered you from a life of sin and habits that were destructive in your life. We're told in 1 Samuel 2 that the sons of Eli were corrupt and they did not know the Lord. They had no personal relationship with the Lord. I want to have you stop with me at Romans 1. Look at a couple of verses there as we go back to 1 Samuel. The apostle Paul again is the author of this book, and in verse 18 he writes this, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. They had no relationship. with God. They did not know him. Notice verse 21. Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. We can know about God by looking at the world around us, the creation that we see. And so we can know him in a sense that we know who he is, we know his power, we can see his wisdom. but who can know those things without actually knowing him personally, having no personal relationship. And this was the case with Eli's sons. They were corrupt, but they did not know the Lord. The priest's custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest servant would come with a flesh hook in his hand. While the meat was boiling, he would take the meat out of that sacrifice. They profaned the offering made to the Lord. These were peace offerings that the Israelites were bringing, thank offerings. And these were times of rejoicing and ceremony for the believer. He would come wanting to praise God for what God had done for him and providing for him. And these corrupt priests would profane that sacrifice, stealing not only from the individual who is bringing the sacrifice, but from God himself. They robbed both the people, verses 13 and 14, and God himself. Notice verse 15. Also before he burned the fat, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw. And the man said to him, they should really burn the fat first, then you may take as much as your heart desires. This was part of the sacrifice that was made to the Lord, and that should have been protected and cared for, but yet these corrupt priests corrupted it and profaned the sacrifice, stealing from God's sacrifice. The sin of these young men was great. Men abhorred the offering of the Lord. their practices discouraged worship by the Jews, by the Israelites. Now last week we looked at verses 18 through 21, talking about Eli, I mean Elkanah, Hannah, and Samuel, and how God blessed them because of their obedience and their commitment to living for the Lord. I want to drop down now to verse 22. If we can do that. 1 Samuel chapter 2 and verse 22. Now Eli was very old and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle meeting. So he said to them, why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons, for it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord's people transgress. If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him? Nevertheless, they did not heed the voice of their father because the Lord desired to kill them. Eli was very old when he finally confronts his sons. This was too little, too late. He says, if one man sins against another, God mediates and judges between them. But if a man sins against God himself, who will intercede for him? There's no mediator. I'm grateful today that we do have a mediator as Christians. We are told in 1 Timothy 2, where there's one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. When Satan points his bony finger in our face and accuses us, we have a mediator, one who intercedes for us before the Father because of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. Well, it was true in Eli's day that there was no mediator, but thankfully we do have one today. Eli failed as a parent. We're going to talk a little bit more about that in a moment. To understand that there's great responsibility for us as parents to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. To be faithful in that perhaps one of the most greatest ministries that we can have as an individual. minister to our children, to love them, and to lead them to Christ, to be a role model for them in all that we do, to put aside the sinful habits that we might carry with us, and to be committed to righteousness and living for the Lord. We see here the wickedness of Eli's sons and Eli's failure as a parent, but we also see in this passage God's judgment upon Eli's family. If you drop down to verse 27, Now let me read verse 26, which I skipped. In the child Samuel grew in stature in favor both with the Lord and men. We mentioned that last week, how Samuel grew and became a prophet of the Lord and was greatly used by him. Then in verse 27, we see God's judgment upon Eli's family. Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, thus says the Lord, did I not clearly reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? Now he's speaking here, first of all, there is a man of God. He's not named, but apparently a prophet, someone that God chose to bring this message to Eli. And then the one that he is speaking of regarding his father is Aaron. Aaron who was chosen by God to be the priest, the high priest for Israel and his family who followed him. Verse 28, did I not choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon my altar, to burn in incense, to wear an ephod before me? And did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? He provided for the priests through the offerings, but there were legitimate rules that they were to follow in being provided for, the food, the meat that was offered in sacrifice. Verse 29, why do you kick at my sacrifice in my offering which I have commanded in my dwelling place? And honor your sons more than me to make yourself fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel my people. Therefore, the Lord God of Israel says, I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before me forever. But now the Lord says, far be it from me. For those who honor me, I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. The arm there is a reference to physical strength that God grants to people. Verse 32, and you will see an enemy in my dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. But any of your men whom I do not cut off from my altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age. Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas, and one day they shall die, both of them. We'll read that account some time later. But God judged Eli and his family. A man of God, a prophet, delivers a message of judgment. God asked Eli a question, did I not clearly reveal myself? Did I not choose Aaron to be my priest and his family after him? Did I not give to the house of your father great privilege and great responsibility? The priesthood held great responsibilities before the Lord, and they were to be obedient and to fulfill God's will in the area of sacrifice for the people. A priest represents the people before the Lord, and they were supposed to be faithful in bringing the sacrifices that people could be forgiven of their sins. He said, God asked Eli, why do you kick at my sacrifice? That is, why do you despise them? Eli is held responsible by the Lord. Those who honor me, I will honor. The Lord says, Eli and his sons had dishonored God. Therefore, God brings judgment against Eli and his house. There are five lessons that we can draw from this passage of scripture. I'd like to spend the rest of our time together thinking about these. Many people know about God without knowing God. They have no personal relationship. As Eli's sons, the scripture tells us that they were corrupt and they did not know the Lord. They were priests who served in the tabernacle, but they did not know God. You know, service is not a substitute for faith. We can get involved in serving in the local church or in other areas, but have no relationship to God. I want to take you to Matthew chapter 7, where Jesus addresses this issue. Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7, this is part of the Sermon on the Mount. In verses 21 and following, Jesus is speaking and he says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonderful, many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Service is not a substitute for faith and for salvation. There are a lot of people who get involved in good things. Some people here in our own church may not be born again and yet they offer service, they come alongside to help. And we appreciate the help, we appreciate the service, but it's more important that a person has a personal faith in Christ, have trusted Him as their personal Savior, has been born again, Eli, though a poor parent, apparently knew the Lord, but he failed to pass on his faith to his sons. Saving grace is not passed on through physical birth. Salvation is not in the genes. Each of us, parent, child, spouse, must personally put our faith in Christ. And so one of the lessons we learn from this story is that many people know about God without knowing Him. Secondly, those who profane sacred things will answer to God himself. God holds us accountable. Hophne and Phinehas robbed God by taking his offerings. In context, the Lord is speaking here to Eli. I want to take you to Malachi chapter three. That's that slippery little prophet right at the end of the Old Testament. You can find Matthew and then go back a page or two. We find Malachi chapter three. Notice what the Lord says here. Malachi chapter three, starting at verse eight. Malachi chapter three and verse eight. Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me. But you say, in what way have we robbed you? In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole nation. God rebuked Israel because they failed to give their tithes and offerings as they were commanded to do. No, as Christians, we can be guilty of this sin too, failing to give as God has commanded us. We are stewards of what God has given. Some men are guilty of profaning God's name. They take his name in vain. As Christians, it should never be on our lips. Nothing is more sacred than the sacrifice of his son and his shed blood. We are here in Malachi. I want to take you to Hebrews chapter 10. Stay with me now and we'll be done shortly. Hebrews chapter 10. Notice what the author of Hebrews writes here. Hebrews chapter 10 starting at verse 28. Hebrews 10, verse 28, anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment do you suppose will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot? Counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing and insulted the spirit of grace For we know him who said vengeance is mine I will repay says the lord and again the lord will judge his people It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god We need to take sin seriously in our lives, and especially when it comes to sacred things like the blood of Christ and the person of Christ. We insult the spirit of grace when we dishonor him. And so those who profane sacred things will answer to God himself. A third lesson that I see in our story in 1 Samuel, our behavior has great influence on others, the potential of leading them into sin. Because of Eli's sons, people stopped making sacrifices. And our disobedience can cause others to turn away from God and the church. The poet John Donne wrote, no man is an island. Our lives are all interconnected. And we recognize that what we do has influence on others, especially those that are close to us. our spouse, our family, our immediate family, and sometimes our extended family, on our friends and acquaintances. Good behavior is a positive influence, and bad behavior is a negative influence. Are we choosing to live in a right way, in a godly way, so that God can use us? to be a testimony and an influence for good. Parents, the fourth lesson that I draw from this story, parents have great responsibility to pass on their faith to their children. Someone has said the world's toughest job is parenting. God gave it to amateurs. When we begin as a parent, we are an amateur, aren't we? It has been suggested that the best parents are grandparents. However, to get there, you have to be a parent first. And so it's a challenge, and we recognize that. But God has called us to be good parents and good grandparents and great grandparents. As long as we live, we can have an influence on our kids. We can teach them the scriptures. We can teach them truth in the word of God. Young people need to be confronted with sin in their lives immediately. Do not ignore it. As we continue in sin, our hearts become hardened and more and more difficult to reach for the Lord. Reach your children and your grandchildren while they are young. I'm really looking at this crowd that most of you are grandparents or great-grandparents, but we still have an opportunity to be an influence, not only in our children, but also our grandchildren. Let's be faithful in that. Let's take those opportunities to instruct them, to teach them. and to confront them if things are not as they should be. It is our responsibility to bring them up in the nurture, admonition of the Lord. Parents must not withhold discipline or correction from their kids. And the fifth lesson that I would share with you this morning is this. There are grave consequences to continuing in sin. It's true that as believers we fail, we sometimes commit a sin, and the challenge is not to repeat it, to learn from it, and to make changes in our life, to grow. Both in life, in this life, and the next, there are consequences to sin. If a man, a woman, lives in sin in this life, there are consequences physically, emotionally, spiritually. We probably all know someone maybe someone close to us who's living in sin, and we can see the consequences that they're experiencing. A man reaps what he sows. This is what Paul writes in Galatians chapter six. Those who die in their sin will suffer the horrors of hell forever. This is serious business, folks. To realize that a person's eternal destiny depends on what they do with their sin. Do they turn from it and turn to Christ and trust Him as Savior and find salvation and forgiveness in Him? Or do they continue in their sin until the end? It may be that you have some regrets in your life, as I do. Most all of us who were saved a little later in life probably have some things in our past that we would rather forget, rather eliminate, but we can't do that, can we? As believers, we understand that there are consequences to what we have done in the past. It is our desire to honor the Lord in all that we do. A missionary pilot, Bernie May, writes, one of the most difficult lessons to teach new pilots about landing on short, hazardous airstrips is to keep their eyes on the good part of the strip rather than on the hazard. The natural tendency is to concentrate on the obstacle, the danger, the thing he is trying to avoid. But experience teaches us that a pilot who keeps his eye on the hazard will sooner or later hit it dead center. This makes me think of a spiritual principle in the Bible. Instead of concentrating on the sins of our life, we want to avoid, we need to focus rather on the positive action Christ desires for us. To live a positive life, focusing on service, on using our spiritual gifts for the Lord. Paul told the Christians at Colossae, set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. We are to discard the old ways of thinking and acting, and to put on the new ways of living. Bernie May sums it up by saying that experienced pilots focus their attention solidly on the track they want the plane to follow, keeping the hazards in the peripheral vision in their provisional vision only. When Christ and his interests are the focus of our lives, the lure of the old life remains in the corner of our eye while we aim to land squarely in the center of God's will. Let's make that our purpose. That's our desire, to honor God and to be in the center of his will, doing the things that God has called us to do, to honor him, As I mentioned, we may have some regrets. I clipped this article and I want to close with it. How many years have you lost to the locust? Have self-indulgence, sensuality, sinful motives, and personal ambition robbed you of joy, peace, and fruitfulness? Perhaps you feel discouraged when you think of all the time that seems to have been wasted, never to be reclaimed. This is probably especially true for those of us who have been saved later in life. If so, consider the words of the Lord through the prophet Joel. God told the people of Israel that even though they had been disobedient to him, had been disciplined through the plague of locusts, there was still hope. The Lord said that he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. Then he promised, I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten. When we confess our sin to the Lord, he's quick to forgive our past and to fill our future with hope. He can bring good out of our failures and by helping us to understand our weaknesses that we have in common with others. Although our previous years may have been blighted by sin, God is eager to restore us and to give us much fruit from our labor. God desires to bless us and to use us in these years. What we have learned from the past can now result in productive service for him and heartfelt praise to him. The year ahead is filled with hope. No matter how dark your past, with Christ your future is bright. Let's be committed to living for the Lord today in the days that we have left. We have a great God, and a God who takes us where he finds us. And as the proverb says, tomorrow is the first day of your life. Let's choose to live for the Lord. Let's choose to please him, to turn away from sin in our lives, and to be a blessing to those around us. This morning, I trust that if not all of you, most of you here are born again Christians, you know the Lord is your Savior. But I also want for you to know that Jesus Christ is the Savior. He died in your place, taking your sin upon Himself. And if you happen to be here and have never put your faith in Christ, I urge you to do it today. Service is no substitute for faith. Have you trusted Him personally as your Savior? And if not, do it today. Put your faith in Him. Let us know if we can help you in your spiritual walk, in your spiritual journey. We're here to help you if we can. And so we just trust that God will speak to your heart, draw you to Himself, and meet your needs. Father, we thank you today for the lessons that we learned from even the negative things in the Bible, the sins that we read about. Help us, Lord, to recognize our own needs, our own sinful behavior, and to turn from it, to repent, and to find in you the peace and the strength that we need. We thank you for your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you, Lord, for going to the cross for us, dying in our place. And we're grateful, Lord, that the gospel is simple, that you have died for us and rose again, and we will put our faith in you and your sacrifice that we will experience the new birth and eternal life, forgiveness of sins, and the promise of eternal life with you forever and ever. We thank you, Father. Speak to us, meet our needs, as only you know, and you can. We thank you in Christ's name. Amen.