Sin has affected everything we know and don’t know.  If it weren’t for sin we wouldn’t do bad things, kill people, struggle with drugs, experience disease, hunger, and famine, natural disasters, experience pain in child delivery, social inequality, war, have fatherless children, widows, divorce, and farming would actually be easy, and no one would have wrinkles from aching, aging bodies.  Everything and everyone you know would be drastically, radically different.  Can you even conceptualize that?

Because of sin our world is in utter decay. Everything is tainted.  Even the very air we breathe is tainted.  This physical world is affected by sin including pollution, disease, social injustice, weather patterns, etc.  Almost everything you know and may never experience is due to sin.  You see the effects of sin in your family, your relationships with significant others, everywhere.  Thus your present life is affected by sin.   

Our afterlife is also affected by sin.  All of mankind will go to either one or two places.  We will all go to either heaven or hell because of our sin.  If no one ever sinned, we would still be living in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) and there wouldn’t be a hell reserved for the unfaithful and those who choose to dishonor God.  In other words, those who never come to Jesus, the son of God and ask for forgiveness of their sin will never enter heaven. 

When a person dies and stands outside the gates of heaven and if God asks, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” what is this persons response going to be?  If it’s something like “I was a pretty decent person,” or “I didn’t do much wrong,” or “I lead a good life” or something else like that, this person will never enter heaven.   The weight or price of sin is death (Romans 6:23).  There is no amount of good one can do to counter balance the price of sin. 

So here’s a pop-quiz.  Let’s say "Joe Good" raises 8 good sons who serve as police officers, firemen, army officers, philanthropists, social workers, and even a clergyman.  Every week "Joe Good" volunteers his time with the American Red Cross and with a battered womens shelter.  He recycles his garbage and doesn’t do bad things but he committed one sin in his life.  Will "Joe Good" go to hell? Or heaven? 

If "Joe Good" has never been forgiven of his sin through Jesus, he will go to hell no matter what good he has done. 

The Bottom Line?
Sin affects all of our lives daily - regardless of weather we realize it or not. And the ultimate effect of sin is that we will never see eternal life in heaven unless we trust Jesus as our Savior and Lord.  Only He can save us from the cost of sin both in this life here on earth, and in the life hereafter!

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