I have been thinking about the consequences that characters in Estus Pirkle films and Chick Tracts experience because of their sins. In Estus Pirkle the result of sin comes to its head with a communist take over. Christians are murdered, raped, tortured and made into slaves as a result of their rebellion.
Often in Chick Tracts the sinful characters end up making literal pacts with the devil or become vampires or something extreme.
Do you think that it would be more practical to discuss the immediate results of a persons sin? For example, Estus Pirkle links the use of drugs and alcohol as a factor leading up to military invasion. Wouldn't it be more piercing to the soul and practical to discuss how addiction and alcoholism causes you to become someone you are not, and harm those around you?
Also, sexual sins of all sorts are shown in these stories lead to God pouring out his wrath in very materialistic ways. The new government will take your land and all your possessions. Why not address how sexual sins destroy the body, conscience, and fellowship with God? Wouldn't that seem more constructive.
People can see how sin destroys their lives, because it has happened to them. They have experienced the pain first hand. On the other hand American's have not experienced a Communist take over, and most would view this as an unlikely outcome of their sins. Loosing your spouse because of adultery is much more tangible outcome, so why not focus on those possible outcomes.
There are much more important consequences people should fear above material loss. Christians shouldn't fear a communist regime taking over. There is a much more severe fate for our sins than any hellbent country could threaten us with. That fate is spiritual death, which is everlasting.
2 comments:
That is a really good point, Matthew. Nobody really cares about the communists taking over or turning into a vampire because it's outside of the realm of our experience. There are very few among us who don't know people who regret their sexual actions or else are faced with the task of being a single mother or any number of things as more immediate consequences for their sins. I totally agree.
The biggest problem with only speaking on the worldly consequences of sin is the lack of an alternative. We should be very aware of the fact that we all deserve Hell, and without Christ we are going to suffer an eternity apart from God.
Where is the call for true repentance in their work? A prayer repeated without a changed heart "made of flesh" will guarantee nothing. They are so caught up with the wordly consequences because that is what they understand best.
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