15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
16 The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.
22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. 1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
“Just as there are always blessings to obedience, conversely there will always be consequences to sin. Every sin carries with it a death sentence – death to trust, death to relationship, death to freedom, etc. etc. We do not sin merely as unto ourselves either, sin’s tentacles are far reaching and devastating – like a ripple in the water when you cast in a stone. We get to choose to sin or not but God chooses the consequence. Just read about what happened to King David after his encounter with Bathsheba and how it affected the rest of his life. God is severe in His judgments because He knows what sin does to a life and the lives of others. This is not a winking, joking matter with Him. It cost Him the life of His Son. He doesn’t want us to go there (to say the least) – He has far greater, pleasing and perfect plans for us than that. Also, it is all too important to note, that while a believer in Jesus is forgiven for sin that does not mean there will not be consequences. Just saying....” BHY
“Every sin strikes at the honour of God, the being of God, the glory of God, the heart of Christ, the joy of the Spirit, and the peace of a man’s conscience. A truly penitent soul strikes at all sin, hates all, and will labour to crucify all. Repentance is also a turning to all good. Repentance sees sin’s sinfulness, and how contrary it is to the blessed God. God is light, sin is darkness; God is life, sin is death; God is heaven, and sin is hell; God is beauty, and sin is deformity. True repentance understands the mischievousness of sin. It cast angels out of heaven, and Adam out of paradise. It laid the first cornerstone in hell, and brought in all the curses, crosses, and miseries that are in the world. It makes men godless, Christless, hopeless, and heavenless.” Thomas Brooks
“The devil knows that a fit opportunity is half the conquest. He knows that our flesh is fertile soil when close to some sinful opportunity. A bird aloft is safe, but is in danger by drawing near to the snare.” Thomas Brooks
“It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to crucify sin in our lives. Flesh so often fails. Go in His power and strength. And take hold of life that is truly life.” BHY
“How shall we get a good conscience? Take heed of every sin, and do not count any small. Renew repentance every day, being serious and frequent in heart examinations. Live as under God’s eye. All things are bare before Him. Be much in secret prayer. Consider every action as a part of your life purpose. Enjoy Christ more and entertain good thoughts of God. Whatever you do, do it out of love for God.” Samuel Annesley
“Each day we are to approach God in humble repentance in prayer, asking Him to cleanse us from all unrighteousness – washing us with the precious blood of His Son. We are to search our hearts and ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts as well, pointing out to us things that do not please our Savior. The heart is deceitful above all things and only God searches and knows each heart fully – we can delude ourselves but never Him. Confess what He brings to light and seek to turn from it. Oftentimes, this is done throughout the day because we can get awfully dirty. Be broken over sin – especially repetitive - and seek to stay out of the pigpen and the muck and mire – for our own good and always for His glory.” BHY
“Scripture commands us to shun the occasions of sin as we would a serpent in the way. He that would not get burned must dread the fire. To venture upon the occasion of sin, and then to pray, ‘Lead us not into temptation’, is like one who thrusts his finger in the fire and then prays that it might not get burnt. There ordinarily is no victory over sin without also avoiding the occasion of sin. To play sport with sin is to be conquered by it.” Thomas Brooks
“Our moods may shift, but God's doesn't. Our minds may change, but God's doesn't. Our devotion may falter, but God's never does. Even if we are faithless, he is faithful, for he cannot betray himself (2 Timothy 2:13). He is a sure God. And because he is a sure God, we can state confidently, ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.’ And what follows the word surely? ‘Goodness and mercy.’ If the Lord is the shepherd who leads the flock, goodness and mercy are the two sheepdogs that guard the rear of the flock. Goodness and mercy. Not goodness alone, for we are sinners in need of mercy. Not mercy alone, for we are fragile, in need of goodness. We need them both. As one man wrote, ‘Goodness to supply every want. Mercy to forgive every sin. Goodness to provide. Mercy to pardon.’ Goodness and mercy -- the celestial escort of God's flock. If that duo doesn't reinforce your faith, try this phrase: ‘all the days of my life.’” Max Lucado