Sowing and Reaping: Sin's Inescapable Harvest (Galatians 6:7)
This sermon unpacks the profound biblical principle of sowing and reaping, revealing the inevitable consequences of sin on individuals and the world. It soberly examines God's wrath while powerfully affirming the unique salvation found in Jesus Christ.
This sermon explains that the spiritual law of sowing and reaping means sin inevitably leads to corruption and God's wrath. Only Jesus Christ offers rescue from the coming judgment, a message the church is called to proclaim.
Overview
The sermon opens with Galatians 6:7, establishing the universal principle of sowing and reaping. It immediately applies this to spiritual life, asserting that sowing to the flesh inevitably reaps corruption—decay, ruin, death, and destruction. These consequences manifest personally, physically, relationally, nationally, and globally, ultimately leading to eternal judgment.
The preacher emphasizes that these consequences are not merely a neutral cosmic law but a direct expression of God's wrath, as seen in Romans 1. God "gives people over" to their lusts, degrading passions, and a depraved mind as a result of suppressing the truth and exchanging His glory for idols. This leads to a massive accumulation of corruption that offends a holy God.
Human efforts to fix the world's myriad problems—social, environmental, moral, or political—are presented as futile, akin to trying to reap a different crop than what has been sown. The sermon cites Old Testament examples, such as the Flood in Genesis and prophetic judgments in Isaiah, to demonstrate the consistent biblical declaration of sin's inescapable harvest and divine judgment.
Looking to the future, the sermon describes the final judgment before the Great White Throne in Revelation 20, where all will be judged by their deeds and face eternal punishment if not found in the Book of Life. However, it also touches on the millennial kingdom and the new heavens and new earth, painting a picture of paradise regained. The church's essential calling, therefore, is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, as He alone rescues humanity from the wrath to come.
Key points
- The spiritual law of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7-8) dictates that sowing to the flesh leads to corruption, while sowing to the Spirit leads to eternal life.
- The consequences of sin, including corruption, decay, and death, are a direct expression of God's wrath, not a neutral cosmic outcome (Romans 1).
- God's wrath involves 'giving people over' to their desires for impurity, degrading passions, and a depraved mind, leading to escalating unrighteousness and perversion.
- Attempts to fix global issues like environmental, social, or moral problems are futile if they do not address the foundational sin being sown, as God will not overrule the law of sowing and reaping.
- Scripture consistently declares the inevitability of divine judgment on sin, from Old Testament proverbs and historical accounts (Genesis, Isaiah) to New Testament warnings (1 Corinthians, Revelation).
- The ultimate judgment is described in Revelation 20, where the dead are judged according to their deeds before the Great White Throne, with eternal punishment in the lake of fire for those not in the Book of Life.
- The church's primary responsibility is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, as He alone offers salvation and rescue from the wrath that is to come.
In John MacArthur's words
“What you sow, you reap. That's simple and absolutely true.”
“Those consequences are the direct expression of the wrath of God.”
“Our responsibility is to tell people that only Jesus can save them from the wrath to come.”
Outline
- I. The Axiomatic Truth: Sowing and Reaping (Galatians 6:7-8)
- A. Sowing to the Flesh Reaps Corruption
- 1. The inevitability of decay, ruin, death, and destruction
- 2. Sin's multi-faceted consequences: personal, physical, relational, national, global, eternal
- 3. The world's current state: massive accumulation of sin leading to an inescapable harvest of corruption
- 4. Futility of human efforts to "fix" the world without addressing sin
- B. Sowing to the Spirit Reaps Eternal Life
- II. The Divine Source of Consequences: God's Wrath (Romans 1)
- A. Wrath revealed from heaven against ungodliness and unrighteousness (Romans 1:18)
- B. Suppression of truth, futile speculations, and darkened hearts (Romans 1:19-22)
- C. Exchanging God's glory for idols (Romans 1:23)
- D. God "gives them over" to degrading passions and a depraved mind (Romans 1:24-32)
- E. The cumulative effect of sin and God's offense
- III. Scriptural Affirmation of Inescapable Judgment
- A. Old Testament Examples
- 1. Job 4:8 (sowing iniquity, reaping trouble)
- 2. Proverbs (maxims on sin's self-inflicted harm)
- 3. Genesis 6:5 (wickedness before the Flood)
- 4. Isaiah 34:1-10 (judgment on nations)
- B. New Testament Warning: 1 Corinthians 16:22 (the curse for not loving the Lord)
- IV. The Finality of Judgment and the Hope to Come
- A. The Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15)
- 1. Books opened, judgment by deeds
- 2. Eternal punishment in the lake of fire
- B. The Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:1-6)
- 1. Satan bound, Christ reigns for a thousand years
- 2. Prophetic descriptions: universal justice, peace, lifted curse, restored earth (Isaiah, Zechariah, Micah)
- C. The New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21-22)
- 1. The final eternal state after the current universe is uncreated (2 Peter)
- V. The Church's Calling: Preaching Rescue from Wrath
- A. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation (Hebrews 2:3)?
- B. Paul's motivation: knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men
- C. Jesus rescues us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
- D. Our responsibility is not to fix the world, but to offer salvation in Christ
Scripture references
- Galatians 6:7
- Job 4:8
- Proverbs
- Romans 1:18
- Romans 1:19-22
- Romans 1:23
- Romans 1:24-32
- Genesis 6:5
- Isaiah 34:1-10
- 1 Corinthians 16:22
- Revelation 20:11-15
- Revelation 20:1-6
- Revelation 21
- Revelation 22
- Hebrews 2:3
- 1 Thessalonians 1:10
- Second Peter
- Zechariah 14
- Isaiah 2
- Micah 4
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
1 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.
2 For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
3 Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
+ 1 more verse — Read Revelation of John 20 in full context →
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
+ 2 more verses — Read Revelation of John 20 in full context →
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
+ 25 more verses — Read Revelation of John 21 in full context →
1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
+ 19 more verses — Read Revelation of John 22 in full context →
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
1 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Insights
The harvest of corruption is an inescapable reality for a world of sin.
Human efforts cannot change a crop different from what is sown.
God's wrath is revealed through the consequences of unrighteousness.
Questions & answers
What is the central law discussed in this sermon?
The sermon centers on the law of sowing and reaping, as stated in Galatians 6:7, explaining that what a person sows, they will also reap, especially in the spiritual realm.
How does the sermon describe the consequences of sin?
Sin's consequences are described as corruption, decay, ruin, death, and destruction. These are not neutral outcomes but are a direct expression of God's revealed wrath, affecting all aspects of life.
What does the sermon say about God's wrath?
God's wrath is revealed from heaven against ungodliness and unrighteousness. It is expressed through God giving people over to their lusts, degrading passions, and depraved minds as they suppress the truth and dishonor Him.
Can human efforts fix the world's problems, according to the sermon?
No, the sermon argues that human efforts to fix the world environmentally, socially, or morally are futile. These attempts are likened to trying to reap a different crop than what has been sown, as God will not overrule the law of sowing and reaping.
What is the church's primary role given these truths?
The church's primary role is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is because only Jesus can rescue people from the wrath to come, and our responsibility is to persuade others of this salvation.
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