The soul that sins shall bear his iniquity. How does a man bear his iniquity? The answer is quite simple: by suffering the consequences of those sins.
Sin affects men in various ways, but it attacks them in every facet of life. It hinders their walk with God and hurts their ability to reach others for Christ.
Sin is not to be considered a light matter. In other words, it is not to be mocked. Only a fool would demonstrate this kind of behaviour toward sin.
When man shuns God’s word, he passes up his only hope for knowing what sin is and how it affects him both now and for all eternity.
As we have previously studied, God is the believer’s source of joy. Specifically, God’s indwelling presence makes this an accessible virtue. The Lord indwells those who are saved and does so through the person of the Holy Ghost. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that the disciples who were filled with the Holy Ghost were also filled with joy. God identifies the nature of the kingdom of God as “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17). This is why the Bible includes joy and peace when it defines the ninefold fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). This is why the believers in Thessalonica received the word “with joy of the Holy Ghost” (1 Thessalonians 1:6). The more the Holy Ghost has control, the more joy from the Lord a man will experience.
