There are two consequences of sin to keep in mind when you think about how to answer this question. These are the eternal and the temporal (earthly) consequences. Within the eternal consequences there are two areas of concern: those that affect your eternal destination and those that affect your eternal rewards.

Eternal Consequences

If you are saved and have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you will never face eternal damnation in hell or the lake of fire. You can’t because you have been saved from hell and the lake of fire by the finished work of Jesus Christ on Calvary. He’s already been to hell for you so you don’t have to go (Acts 2:31).

Though a saved person cannot be eternally damned, he still has to concern himself with the eternal consequences of sin. According to 2 Cor 5:10-11, all Christians are going to give an account of everything they have done in their bodies, whether good or bad. They will be rewarded for the good things and they will suffer loss for the bad (2 Cor 3:11-15). For more information on this subject, see the question, "What is the Judgment Seat of Christ?" under Questions on Bible Doctrine in the Question Archives.

A lost person, on the other hand, will be eternally damned. The eternal consequences of his sins will be hell and an eternity in the lake of fire (Rev 21:8; Rev 20:15). Like Jesus said, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him," (John 3:36). He cannot get out from under the eternal consequences of his sins until he "believes on the Lord Jesus Christ." If he doesn’t get saved, he won’t have to worry about being rewarded for the good things he’s done because he won’t show up at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Temporal (Earthly) Consequences

Whether you are saved or lost, you will suffer earthly consequences for your sin. That’s because there is a law of sowing and reaping. Gal 6:7-8 says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."

The law of sowing and reaping is a natural law like the law of gravity. If you are holding a glass and you let it slip out of your hand, it will fall. That’s because of the law of gravity. Likewise, if you commit a sin, it corrupts your flesh. That’s because of the law of sin (Rom 7:23).

When a man drinks alcohol, it deceives him into believing that he can hold his liquor (Prov 20:1). When he drinks too much, he gets drunk and all kinds of things result. Prov 23:29-35 describes some of them as woe, sorrow, contention, babbling, wounds, red eyes, adultery, fornication, lies, diminished mental and motor skills, and a hangover.

The Bible is very specific about some of the physical consequences of sins:

Prov 14:30 — envy is the rottenness of the bones.

Prov 7:23, 26 — promiscuity destroys your liver and will destroy your life.

Ps 55:23 — a life of fighting, murder and deceit can cut your life in half.

Ecc 7:17 — wickedness and foolishness can kill you before your appointed time.

Prov 10:27 — the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

Rom 1:21-32 — failure to glorify God and thank him destroys your mind and leads to all kinds of other sins.

Ps 73:3-19 — wicked prosperity results in destruction and desolation.

Prov 20:13 — laziness ends in poverty

Prov 11:27 — a mischievous fellow will meet with mischief

Prov 13:7 — selfishness yields deficiency

And on and on the list goes. There are consequences in this earth to every sin you commit. Whether the consequences show up immediately or whether they show up years down the road, they derive from the sins you commit.

It’s not that God is waiting up in heaven for you and me to mess up so that he can lower the boom. Sin has its own consequences that God doesn’t have to intensify. He may compound the results of our sins by withholding blessings or by bringing additional chastisement to bear (Heb 12:5-11; Ps 119:71).

Likewise, he may add blessings while we’re here in the earth for refusing to give in to certain sins. For instance, God promised to prolong the lives of children that honor their mothers and fathers (Eph 6:1-3).

Conclusion

As you can see, there are numerous consequences to sin both here and hereafter. You cannot change the earthly consequences of the sins you have already committed. You will reap what you have sown. But you can change the eternal consequences. By receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior, you can cut off the possibility that you will ever spend an eternity in hell and the lake of fire.

Likewise, as a Christian, you can affect your life here and hereafter by quitting sins that you are now committing. That will keep you from reaping in the future because you refuse to sow now. And it will allow you to come out better at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

If you are not saved, get saved. If you are saved, clean up your life (2 Cor 7:1).

Hope this helps,

Pastor Welder