One Leak Will Sink a Ship.

 •  3 min. read  •  grade level: 6
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ONE leak will sink a ship, and one sin will destroy a sinner." So said Bunyan; and he said right, for he drew his conclusions from the Word of God.
Man judges of sin by the way it touches or affects his fellow-man. God judges of it by His holiness, and by the way it dishonors Him; hence He has said, “The thought of foolishness is sin" (Prov. 24:99The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men. (Proverbs 24:9)). PRO 24:99The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men. (Proverbs 24:9)
Suppose a man takes away the life of his fellow-man: if he is caught, and found guilty, he is hanged. But suppose another man is found guilty of having taken away the lives of several of his fellow-creatures, the law of the land can do no more and no less than hang him, the same as it did the one who only took one human life.
And ONE SIN will expose a man to the ETERNAL JUDGMENT of God as much as one million of sins! How many sins did Adam and Eve commit before God drove them out of the garden of Eden? One, and only one; and for that one act of disobedience they were, by the holiness of God, righteously excluded forever from the earthly paradise.
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4-204Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 5But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, 6And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbor's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, 7And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; 8He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, 9Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God. 10If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, 11And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbor's wife, 12Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, 13Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. 14Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, 15That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbor's wife, 16Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, 17That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. 18As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity. 19Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. 20The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. (Ezekiel 18:4‑20)). EZE 18:4-204Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 5But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, 6And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbor's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, 7And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; 8He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, 9Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God. 10If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, 11And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbor's wife, 12Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, 13Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. 14Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, 15That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbor's wife, 16Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, 17That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. 18As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity. 19Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. 20The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. (Ezekiel 18:4‑20)Mark, God does not say, the soul that sinneth a hundred or a million sins shall, die; but, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
The holiness of God has weighed the world in the equal balances of the cross of Christ, and the verdict is, " Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting " (Dan. 5:2727TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. (Daniel 5:27)). DAN 5:2727TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. (Daniel 5:27)
Why has God thus weighed and measured man? In order “that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become GUILTY before God" (Rom. 3:1919Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. (Romans 3:19)). ROM 3:1616Destruction and misery are in their ways: (Romans 3:16)SIN, DEATH, and JUDGMENT are the lot of men; because, as we have seen, "all have sinned," and “all the world " is guilty.
But is there no open door of escape?
Blessed be God, there is; for Christ has died, and shed His precious blood. He has borne sin, death, and judgment on the cross; and now all who trust Him get forgiveness, eternal life, divine righteousness, the Holy Ghost, and everlasting glory.
Sin must be measured by the holiness of God, and by the cross of Christ. At the cross, of Christ I learn that the holiness of God required the death and blood-shedding of Christ for one sin, just as much as for one million sins. Nothing less than the death and blood-shedding of Christ would do to put away one sin, and nothing more was necessary to put away one million sins. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)); 1JO 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)and whether you have sinned few or many sins, forgiveness and justification are to be had only " through faith in His blood" (Rom. 3:24, 2524Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (Romans 3:24‑25)). ROM 3:24-2524Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (Romans 3:24‑25)