#6: We Will Reap What We Sow I

I. Introduction
A. Our present sermon series is about Bible truths we need to know to successfully engage in the sexual struggle.
B. The truth we will be talking about today is: We will all reap what we sow.
C. This theme is so important, we’re going to spend two weeks on it.
D. Imagine a person kicking himself with regret, “You’re a fool! You’re an idiot! Why did you do such stupid things?” over and over again.
1. Who is this man? This man is you, after you reap what you have sown, if you have sown evil.
II. Every person will reap what he sows.
A. “The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.” – Proverbs 14:14
B. Before telling us that we will reap what we sow, Galatians 6:7–8 tells us that God is not mocked. A person cannot mock God by sowing evil seeds and then saying, “God, forgive me” and suddenly Have everything go away! Everyone WILL (not might) reap what he has sown. EVERYONE.
C. There is a vivid scene in Proverbs 1:24–31, where God is talking about the future of those who refuse to listen to Him: “Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, 25 because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, 27 when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. 28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, 30 would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, 31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.”
D. This principle that you reap what you sow is not just a natural characteristic of the universe. It is true because the universe is run by a just God.
1. God notices what happens on the earth. He keeps track of what's going on. An earthly master might neglect you and your service might go unnoticed, or an earthly authority might not notice some great failure on your part and fail to render justice, but not the heavenly Master. He will never fail to notice or to remember (Heb.6:10-12).
2. The One who brings forth the fruit is a just God.
III. Two questions raised by the principle of sowing and reaping
A. Someone might say, "This isn't what I've observed in my life. The wicked seem to prosper and I, trying to be righteous, seem to sputter along." There are two whole psalms which follow this same line of thought – Psalm 37 & 73.
1. Well, admittedly, at times the principle of sowing and reaping looks like it's not working — just like on the farm or in the garden. Sometimes those who sow evil seem to be the ones reaping good fruit. Sometimes sowing good seed even appears to be hurting and doing damage to the sower.
2. But in the long-term it can be counted on to work. It is a sure-fire thing because God is a sure-fire God, though often we will not see the fruit until later.
3. In Psalm 37, the psalmist has been wringing his hands because he sees the wicked prospering while he – trying to be righteous – suffers. But then he remembers something that changes his perspective: “Then I remembered their end.” (Ps.73:17) They looked like they were solid and would last. But God says otherwise.
4. Think about it. Fruit is not immediate. You don’t plant an apple seed one minute and then eat its apples the next. Fruit doesn't come as soon as the seed is planted. It follows long after the planting process. The wise person is the one who recognizes that what he does today is going to affect his life in the future. He knows that if he sows good seed today he will reap a good harvest later on, but if he sows bad seed today he will reap a bad harvest later on.
B. How does the principle of sowing and reaping square with the grace of God?
1. First, notice that both of these truths are unabashedly proclaimed in the NT, and both by Paul and both in the same letter (Galatians). So, they can’t contradict, unless Paul was insane.
2. Grace is talking primarily about forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.
3. Reaping what you’ve sown, on the other hand, has two dimensions:
a. Eternal: you reap eternally what you’ve sown in this life. That is the main way the principle of sowing and reaping works for those who are outside of the grace of God, for those who are perishing. If you sow the wickedness of unbelief, you will reap the judgment of God.
b. Temporal: you experience on earth the fruit of what you do on earth.
(1) This week John Piper posted an article on “The consequences of forgiven sins.” You see, just because sins are forgiven doesn’t mean they have no consequences.
(2) When I was about 12 years old, I had never had a cavity. My parents thought I was therefore worthy of being trusted, and they stopped making sure I brushed my teeth each day. Well, I wasn’t ready for that freedom and went an entire year without brushing. At the end of the year I had nine cavities, which has led to a life of dental problems, though I have been scrupulous about my dental hygiene since. When I became a Christian and Jesus forgave my sins, he didn’t take away my cavities. He didn’t remove the consequences of my irresponsibility.
(3) And so it is that a wise parent doesn’t withhold discipline from a child just because that child is repentant.
(4) Repentance is not an easy way out of the consequences of sin.
(5) Say a criminal is converted to Christ in prison. Does it mean he’s released from prison because He’s forgiven by God? Of course not. And so, when we sow seeds of evil, we are not released from the sour fruit that those evil seeds produce.
(6) If you sin against your spouse or against your marriage, you will inevitably reap the consequences of it, even if your spouse forgives you. And you will live with the failures you make as a parent; they will never go away, though they can be forgiven.
IV. In Charles Dickens famous, A Christmas Carol, the ghost of Christmas yet-to-come is one of three spirits send to Ebenezer Scrooge in the night. (You might remember him as the Grim Reaper figure.)
A. He takes Scrooge on several visits:
1. A group of folks talking/laughing about his death & how no one will want to come to the funeral
2. Three former servants selling things they’d stolen from Scrooge’s house, also laughing at this death
3. His dead body covered with a sheet in his bed – with no one grieving at the bedside
4. At this, Scrooge asks if there is anyone feeling emotion at his death and the spirit takes him to a household rejoicing at his death because they were about to be evicted from their house because of their inability to pay their rent to him.
5. The Cratchit household where they were grieving for Tiny Tim and preparing for his funeral
6. And finally the cemetery where his gravestone stood
B. Along the same lines, we’re given many visions in the Bible that warn us about the future fruits of our present sin. E.g.:
1. Remember how we read about the seductive woman in Prov.5, and the father pleading with his son not to go her way. Well, listen to the visions the father gives his son about what will happen if he does indeed go after her: “Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, 9 lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, 10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, 11 and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, 12 and you say, ‘How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! 13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. 14 I am at the brink of utter ruin.’” – Proverbs 5:8–14
a. Right now she looks so delicious and inviting. But in the future there will be groans of misery instead of shrieks of pleasure.
2. And there’s a very powerful vision in Isaiah 3:18–24. At this time the decadence of Israel could be seen in the way the young women got decked out to go clubbing. “In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; 19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; 20 the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; 21 the signet rings and nose rings; 22 the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23 the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils. 24 Instead of perfume there will be rottenness; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty.”
a. What a contrast there is between the sowing stage and the reaping stage! Right now they are dressed to impress from head to toe. But in the future they will be taken off in ropes as shaven, branded slaves, walking amongst the dead, rotting bodies of their fellow Israelites.
C. We need to be impacted by these visions, or they will come true. We all need Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-come therapy like Scrooge had.
D. The Bible also contains many stories which include potential visions of our own futures. Once again David is the supreme example in this.
1. Everything was going along so wonderfully in David’s life. He was at the top of his game and everything in his life was being blessed.
2. And then, as a result of one night of adulterous pleasure, everything fell apart:
a. His baby died.
b. His whole family was torn apart.
c. His legacy was tarnished.
d. Two of his own sons led rebellions against his throne, chasing him into the wilderness trying to kill him.
e. One of his sons raped one of David’s daughters and was then killed by another one of David’s sons in revenge.
f. One of his sons slept with David’s concubines (slave wives) just to spite his father.
V. Application
A. So, choices have consequences. You will reap what you sow. He who sows wickedness reaps trouble.” – Prov. 22:8 “
B. Sometimes it seems like one little sin is trivial. We say to ourselves, “Just once more time and then I’ll stop.”
1. One more time seems like such a small thing. What’s the difference if you do something 383 times or 384 times?
2. Seeds are indeed small! But they have big consequenes. Oak trees grow from acorns! One more acorn of sin means one more oak tree of consequence.
3. Not only this, but individual sinful actions easily become linked together in a chain of sin: "Sow a thought and you reap an action. Sow an action and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny."
C. We need to live each day in godly fear.
1. Jesus taught us to pray: “Lead me not into temptation!” It doesn’t say, “Get me out of this temptation!” In other words, we’re not supposed to wait till we’re tempted to cry out to God. We’re supposed to anticipate the temptations which will slam against us each day and beg God for help before they come. We’re supposed to diligently build our houses on the rock while the sun is shining, in anticipation of the storms which will inevitably come.
2. I don’t know about you, but the tendency of my heart which I have to fight is assuming as I begin each day that everything is going to be fine, and that I’ll be able to figure out how to deal with whatever problems arise. And yet when I give into that, so many times when I’m in the middle of a crisis I’m kicking myself for not beginning the day in desperate prayer, anticipating the possibility that very hard things may happen, for which I will need God’s strength, help and wisdom.
3. I think of God as safe. What a sin! I think of this world as safe. What insanity!
4. I need to begin each day alert to the potential crises, disasters & temptations this day might bring.
5. This is what it means to “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” – Phil.2:12
D. Therefore, “Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.” – Psalm 32:9
1. I.e. don’t be someone God has to beat over the head with a 2x4 to get you to obey.
E. Listen to what God says to us: “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:19-20)
1. This wonderful invitation comes especially to those who are in need of repentance and restoration, those who have shut Jesus out of their lives. He is knocking and wants to come back into your life. He desires reacquaintance and reunion.
F. I would like to end by reading Isaiah 1:18–20, where God pleads with His people to think rationally about this: “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”