In Genesis 8:22 we read these words, "While the earth
remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and
summer and winter, and day and night shall not
cease." From the reading of this verse of scripture
we readily see that in the creation of the world and
setting of things in order God separated the light and
darkness and called one day and the other night. He also
separated the cold and heat and called one winter and the
other summer, and in so doing he ordained the seedtime and
harvest, or the seasons of the year. -These are laws
divinely decreed and shall be in force as long as the
world remaineth. Men of all generations and climes have
worked in accordance with these laws. It is a law
completely out of the control of man; and if he expects a
harvest of wheat, rye or oats, he must work in harmony
with these laws. He must. sow his wheat, rye, or oats in
the seedtiine and cultivate them in order to reap a
harvest. He also expects to reap the same kind of harvest
as the seed that was sowed. Men never expect to reap a
good crop of corn,when they have planted wheat or reap
wheat when they have planted corn. As the seed, so shall
the harvest be.
God has not only ordained these
laws to govern the natural world but has ordained certain
laws similar to these to govern the moral world. "Be
not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his
flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that
soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting" (Gal. 6:7-8). These words and laws are
as firm and fixed as the laws governing the natural world.
Men recognize that all the tinkering they do will not
change the laws of nature; if they want corn, they must
plant corn; if tey want wheat they mus plant wheat. Man
recognizes that these laws are unalterable. Yet we have
theologians who have excelled scholastically who are
making it their lifetime work to tinker with the word of
God and bring forth their decisions to offer mankind. But
divine inspiration says, ̉Be not deceived; God is not
mocked." Regardless of all the tinkering we may do,
these words stand as the unchangeable law of God and shall
stand as long as the world remaineth. If we sow to the
flesh, we are going to reap corruption; if we sow to sin,
we are going to reap the wages of sin, which is death; if
we sow to the wind, we are going to reap the whirlwind.
To be convinced of the truth of the
words we need only to look at the life of an individual
who wastes his time in the pleasures of sin and a life of
dissipation. Sin begins to pour out its wrath upon that
individual, and life becomes almost intolerable, and the
gruesome marks of sin are to be seen. We look at the world
at large today as she rocks and reels under the stress and
strain of the times. The misery and suffering of the world
in the second great world war were a result of a quarter
century of godless living. Nations poured out their fury
upon nations, which came as a result of sinful living and
a rejection of the principles and teachings of Jesus.
Jesus speaks to his follower, and says, "Ye are, the
salt of the earth..." Salt is a preservative power,
so he expected his people to be a preservative power to
leaven society. Were it not for the elevating influences
of the righteous people of the earth the morals of the
human family would deteriorate to the low level of brute
beast. We read in the first chapter of Romans of some folk
who did not like to retain God in their knowledge,so God
gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things
which are not convenient. Paul continues to speak of the
debauchery into which they fell as the result of
worshiping the creature more than the Creator. There is no
limit to the depth of immorality and sinfulness to which
we may sink without the Creator in our lives.
Righteousness exalteth a nation, and it will also exalt
the individual; but sin is a reproach o any people. Sin
has made its inroads into human life, and we are reaping
some of the harvest now.
When we disobey the laws and commands of
God, we must assuredly reap the consequences of a broken
law. Far too many people feel they can disregard the Bible
and live a life of ease and pleasure and neglect and not
reap the harvest of such a misspent life. The life we are
now living, the deeds we are committing day by day are
being rcorded against our name, and we must stand before
God and give account of them all and reap the reward,
whether good or bad.
Perhaps there are may sins committed that
will not pour out their fury on the guilty one in this
world but will in in the world to come. On the other hand,
there are many will reap in this life full consequences of
their sins. Not long go I read an exposition on this
subject that set forth the idea that we can indulge in sin
for years and then come to God and repent of them and be
saved and escape the conseqences. Therefore we do not reap
what we sow. This kind of reasoning is contradictory to
the Bible. We cannot change the laws of God which govern
the moral world and read thus: "Whatsoever a man.
soweth, that shall he also reap," any more than we
can change the, laws that govern the natural world.The
sins committed before we find the Lord in their
pardon will also. be reaped in some form. We
may not reap in a physical way, but we will
intellectually, mentally or in some way, for man cannot
indulge in sin without it., leaving its mark on him. Many
individuals are ruining themselves physically by engaging
in a life of sin and reaping the consequences of their
sinfulness now, while others are suffering mentally as the
result of it. Memory also punishes s because of some
sinful deed committed years ago, even though those deeds
are under the blood of Jesus. They are not imputed to us
because we have repented and by faith we have received
assurance of our pardon, yet the price must be paid; we
must reap we sow. Sin does not pay. Every act of sin
committed, every injustice and wrong done by men must be
reaped. What a terrible harvest humanity must reap
sometime, somewhere. Remember, the wages of sin is death,
and sin is always prompt with its payment. As long as, the
world remaineth, the season of the year will remain;
there'll be seedtime and harvest. Likewise, the words of
Paul will remain, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap." Therefore be very careful of the
seed you sow, remembering the harvest you reap will be as
the seed.
We all want to reap a good harvest
so we may spend our lives sowing the good seed of
righteousness. "And let us not be weary in well
doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint
not." The seedtime is here and may we be as diligent
about the sowing as the farmer is about working the ground
and getting it prepared and sowing good seed that he may
reap a good harvest. He knows he must sow and cultivate if
he reaps a good harvest. So may we realize today that we
are sowing for eternity. Soon we must all lay down this
life and depart this world to experience the realities of
another. Then will we reap the harvest of this entire
life, and the harvest will be as the seed. If you sow to
the flesh, you must reap corruption, but if to the Spirit,
you wil reap life everlasting. ̉Be not deceived; God is
not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
also reap.
