23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
16 The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
18 The wicked man earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. 19 The truly righteous man attains life, but he who pursues evil goes to his death. 20 The LORD detests men of perverse heart but he delights in those whose ways are blameless. 21 Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.
6 The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings them trouble.
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.
6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
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.
“We judge things by their present appearance; but the Lord sees them in their consequences. If we could do the same we would be perfectly of His mind; but since we can’t, it is an unspeakable mercy that He will manage for us, whether we are pleased with His management or not; and it is regarded as one of His heaviest judgments when He gives any person up to the way of their own hearts, and to walk according to their own wisdom.” John Newton
“We want to believe that we are autonomous, but the gospel assures us we are under the jurisdiction of God. We want to believe that we are good at heart, but the gospel says we are far worse than we could possibly imagine. We want to believe we are wise, but the gospel says we are foolish. We want to define ourselves by our desires and preferences, but the gospel says that God has already defined us in the act of creating us. We want to believe that we can do whatever we want today without fear of eternal consequences, but the gospel unapologetically declares that there will be the most fearsome and eternal consequences for our sin. That is an offensive message. That is an ultimately offensive message.... But the gospel cuts against the grain with a message that counters it all: You are disobedient, you are dead, you are doomed. (And, of course, until Christ found me I, too, was disobedient and dead and doomed.) This bad news of the gospel is so offensive (yet so demonstrably true!) that few people stick around to hear the good news—the good news that there is hope and forgiveness and freedom for those who will put their faith in Jesus Christ and receive his salvation. The bright stars are only visible against the dark sky, and the ultimate joy of the gospel only shines against the ultimate bad.” Tim Challies
“In God’s eyes, impurity is one of the most revolting sins, because it twists and distorts one of God’s most precious gifts: human love. Impurity drags this gift down to the level of the beast. Yet impurity – surrounding us as it does in the form of filthy stories, suggestive remarks, open vulgarity; in magazines, on television, in the movies, through the Internet – has a better press agent than purity. Purity is considered smug, but impurity is considered smart – and the consequences of this vicious sin are played down. Satan fails to speak of the remorse, the futility, the loneliness, and the spiritual devastation that go hand in hand with immorality...Christ can cleanse you and give you victory over your sin. Jesus said to the immoral woman, “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). He says that to you as well – and He never told anyone to do something without offering them the power to do it.” Billy Graham
“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, 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 thing with Him. He doesn’t want us to go there (to say the least) – He has far greater, pleasing and perfect plans for us than that. 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