Article 4

What sin is, and how sin becomes sin; and what the wages of sin are and will be, before God, or God's punishment of sinners hereafter

The holy Scriptures show clearly what sin is. The prophet Samuel said to Saul, when Saul had transgressed the commandment of the Lord: "Disobedience is like the sin [mark, sin] of witchcraft." First Samuel 15, verse 23. John says: "All unrighteousness is sin." First John 5, verse 17. James says

"To him who knows to do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4, verse 17. (Mark what sin is). Paul says: "Whatever is not of faith is sin." Romans 14, verse 23.

From this and things like it, my children, learn to know sin; as Paul says: "By the law is the knowledge of sin. I would not have known sin except by the law."

The law causes sin to become exceedingly sinful; for when it says: "You shall not covet," sin takes its opportunity, and works in us every kind of evil desire. Romans 3, verse 20; Romans 7, verses 7 and 13. From this we also see how sin became sin, namely, by the command and prohibition of God.

Everyone who transgresses the things which God has commanded commits sin, and it is also called sin, and punished as sin, fully and abundantly, in both Testaments. The tree of knowledge was not unclean for Adam, except through the commandment; his transgression was also called sin. As regards the punishment for this sin, read Genesis 3, verse 14. The heathen daughters and wives were not unclean for the Jews, except through the commandment of God, who would not have it. Concerning the punishment, read Judges 3; Numbers 25. The sanctuary, or ark of God, which was certainly clean, was not unclean for any tribe, to touch or to carry it, except through the commandment. Numbers 4, verse 17. The gods of the heathen were not unclean for Israel, except through the prohibition and proscription of God, and also the commandment and the punishment. First Kings 15.

Behold, so you can see how sin becomes sin, namely, through the commandment, and the transgressing of the commandment; for where there is no commandment, there is no sin, for without the law sin was dead. Romans 4, verse 15; Romans 7, verse 8. For sin, or sinful action, was in the world; but sin is not counted when there is no law. Romans 5, verse 13.

Now, dear children, as soon as you know sin, learn to shun it as you shun fire; for if you come near sin, it will embrace you; but its stings and wounds cannot be healed. Sirach 21, verses 2 and 3.

Therefore learn now to understand further what comes from sin, and what the wages of sin are, for these are damnation and death. Romans 6, verse 23. It is enmity against God, because it is not subject to the law of God. Romans 8, verse 7. So hear further the terrible, relentless and awful punishment of God upon sin and sinners, which has always taken place and will yet take place. Take heed, my dear children, I counsel you, as much as you value your souls, to this special, eternal punishment of sin and sinners. So says the Lord: "I have held my peace a long time; I have been still, and restrained myself: now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will destroy and devour at once. Who among you, he says, will listen to this? Who will pay attention and hear for the time to come? The day of the Lord comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land waste; and he will destroy its sinners out of it. It is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompense for the controversy of Zion. And its streams will be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone, and its land will become burning pitch. It will not be quenched night or day." Isaiah 42, verses 14 and 23; Isaiah 13, verse 9; Isaiah 34, verse 8, and so on.

This impending calamity, the punishment and righteous judgment of God, was announced and promised for a very long time; for when Enoch, the seventh from Adam, was on the earth, he said: "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Jude, verses 14 and 15.

Mark that God threatens and gives sufficient warning beforehand, as He did to Assur. "Woe to you, Assur, you who hide the unrighteous in you! O you wicked people, remember what I did to Sodom and Gomorrah, whose land lies in clods of pitch and heaps of ashes; so also will I do to those who do not hear me, says the Almighty Lord." Second Esdras 2, verses 8 and 9.

The Son of man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into a furnace of fire. Matthew 13, verses 41 and 42. Then the Lord will say to those on His left hand

"Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and you gave me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink." Matthew 25, verses 41 and 42. Behold, my dear children, so will it then go with those who do not take heed of this now, while it is time, being rich, filled and merry. For Christ says: "Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full! For you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now! For you will mourn and weep. Woe to you, when all men speak well of you!" Luke 6, verses 24 to 26. When they lived, says Esdras, and received God's benefits, they paid no attention to it; they despised his counsel while they still had liberty, and scorned repentance; therefore they must learn it after death by torment. Second Esdras 9, verses 10 to 12. While we lived and committed iniquity, we did not consider that we would have to suffer for it after death. Second Esdras 7, verse 56. For the wages of sin is death. Romans 6, verse 23. But by your hardness and unrepentant heart you store up wrath for yourself against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds; to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man who does evil. Romans 2, verses 5 to 9.

Understand again, my dear children, into what great danger our evil flesh plunges us here, slaying the soul. The lust and works of the flesh cause eternal sorrow and the loss of heaven. As Paul says

"Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another; so that you cannot do the things that you would. Now the works of the flesh are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, evil lusts" (read to the end of the seventeen points mentioned). And he says that those who do such things will not inherit or possess the kingdom of God. Galatians 5, verse 16; First Corinthians 6, verse 9. Then it will not be possible for anyone to be spared from the vengeance of God, whether he knows God, or whether he does not know Him; if he has been disobedient to the Gospel, he must bear the severity of God. For Paul says: "When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; [mark] who will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he comes to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all those who believe." Second Thessalonians 1, verses 7 to 10.

To disobey the Gospel deserves no small punishment; for he who, in the sight of two or three witnesses, transgressed the law of Moses (which is inferior to the Gospel in its saving power and working, Romans 8, verse 3), had to die without mercy, says Paul; of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, and has counted the blood of the covenant, by which he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10, verse 29. These must expect a terrible judgment, and the fury of the fire, which will devour the adversaries. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God; for God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 10, verse 31; Hebrews 12, verse 9. We know Him who has said, "Vengeance belongs to me, I will repay." Hebrews 10, verse 30. See, since the Gospel is great in value and rich in saving power, therefore, on the other hand, the refusing, abusing, despising and transgressing of it is that much the greater crime and ingratitude, and deserves the worse punishment, as Paul says concerning Christ

"See that you do not refuse him who speaks; for if they did not escape who refused him who spoke on earth, much less will we escape if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth." Hebrews 12, verses 25 and 26.

O my children, this time of the Gospel, then, in which we now are, is a very precious, valuable and acceptable time, as the Lord Himself also frequently declares in the Gospel, as: "Had such mighty works been done in Tyre and Sidon. Why do you not discern this acceptable time for you? Blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see." Luke 10, verse 23. Jesus says: "Jerusalem will be destroyed [on account of her sins]; because they did not know the time of their visitation." Luke 19, verse 44.

O my dear children, learn to tell good from evil; learn to know the wicked world, who think that they are holy men, Christians and believers in God, but are the synagogue of Satan (Revelation 2, verse 9); which is plain from their whole spirit, their life, and their wickedness; who because of their wickedness cannot bear, or tolerate among them, the luster of the pious. But the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the evil and unjust for the day of judgment to be punished; but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness. What God intends to do with such people, He has pictured and shown to us in the sinners of former times [as we read]: "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be kept for judgment, and did not spare the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example to those who should afterward live ungodly." Second Peter 2, verses 4 to 6.

Understand here that God spares neither the angels nor the whole world because they were great in number, or highly esteemed and chosen; and so it has often gone with great numbers, for the ungodly are no better for being many. As Sirach also says well: "Do not rely on this, that the crowd of those with whom you do evil is great, but remember that punishment is not far from you. Therefore humble yourself from the heart, for the vengeance of the ungodly is fire and worms." Sirach 7, verses 17 and 18. For as one who comes near wild beasts is torn by them, so it also goes with him who attaches himself to the ungodly, and mingles in their sins. Sirach 12, verses 13 and 14. One child who fears the Lord is more acceptable to Him than a thousand who are ungodly. So let no one depend on this, that his companions in wickedness are many, nor on boasting of the mercy of God before your repentance; for when the fire of the punishment of God is kindled, it consumes all the wicked, great and small. Behold, the fire burned up the whole congregation of the ungodly; and wrath was kindled against the unbelieving. He did not spare the old giants, who perished with their strength. Neither did He spare those among whom Lot lived, but condemned them because of their pride, and destroyed the whole land without mercy, who had transgressed all bounds in sinning. So He took away six hundred thousand, because they were disobedient. How then should a single one who is disobedient escape unpunished? For though He is merciful, wrath is also with Him. He can be appeased, but He also punishes fearfully. As His mercy is great, so is His correction also; He judges a man according to his works. The ungodly will not escape with his spoils, and the patience of the godly will not be frustrated. Behold, before God a great multitude is of little avail. He who sins must die. For everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though hand join in hand, he will not go unpunished. Proverbs 16, verse 5. The strength of the ungodly is like a heap of tow which is consumed by fire. The way of sinners is made plain with stones (it is true), but at the end of it is the pit of hell. Sirach 21, verses 9 and 10.

Hell also has opened her mouth wide, to receive great and small, prince and multitude. Isaiah 5, verse 14. Many are called, but few chosen. Wide is the gate, and broad the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who walk in it. I say further: "The great majority will be damned and lost. This is too clear to be denied." Second Esdras 8, verse 3.

Dear children, he who does not fear or believe God pays no attention to these awful assurances and sure threats, as the Scripture also says: "Such threatening is too far off, and when a wicked man hears it, he still clings to his folly and error." How truly Solomon says: "Because sentence against an evil work is not carried out speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet surely I know that it will be well with those who fear God. Ecclesiastes 8, verses 11 and 12. I have held my peace a long time, says the Lord; I have been still, and restrained myself: now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will destroy and devour at once. Isaiah 42, verse 14. When a child is about to be born, the pains of labor do not slacken for a moment; so also the plagues will not be slow to come upon the earth; the world will mourn, and sorrow will come upon it. Second Esdras 16, verses 38 and 39.

Oh, happy is he who always fears; but he whose heart is hardened will fall into misfortune, as has been sufficiently heard. Mark here the longsuffering of God toward sinners; but He nevertheless punished them in the end. How truly Paul says: "God is not mocked." Do you think that I will always hold my peace, says the Lord, that you do not fear me at all? But I will declare your righteousness, and your works, that they are unprofitable. Then when you cry out, let your companies deliver you; but the wind will carry them away, and vanity will take them. Isaiah 57, verse 13. The holy Scriptures rightly call our God a consuming fire. As to what fire this is, read Isaiah 10, verse 16; Joel 2, verse 3; Nahum 3, verse 15; Zechariah 11, verse 1. Manasses truly says

"O God, Your angry threatening toward sinners is unbearable." [n947-1] The Prayer of Manasses, verse 5. Nahum speaks this way of the fierceness of the wrath of God: [n947-2] "The mountains quake before him, and the hills fear. The earth shakes before him, indeed, the whole circuit of the earth, and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation? And who can endure before his anger? His fury burns like fire, and the rocks burst in pieces before him." Nahum 1, verses 5 and 6. Micah says: "The Lord comes forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will be split open, like wax before the fire, and like waters that are poured down a steep place. For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel." Micah 1, verses 3 to 5.

Oh, who could write enough of such admonitions from Scripture! Truly, my dear children, behold, he who recognizes the holy Scriptures, the Bible, as the sure word, testimony, word and sentence of God, and holds well worthy of belief what is written in it concerning God, and especially His faithful warning against all sin, the promised recompense for transgression, shown in His punishment of sin as displayed in many, together with all His strict and solemn oaths in which He has denied His kingdom to the unrepentant, as has already been mentioned here in part, and will yet briefly be pointed out; such a man, I say, may well tremble before God, and with David the skin and the hair of his head may shudder. And if there is but one spark of the fear of God, and of faith in His Word, in his inmost heart, his laughter may and must turn into weeping, until he obtains peace instead of enmity with God. In the first place I will speak of God's warning against sin.

But, my dear lambs, I am robbed of the time to carry out my purpose and intention any further. This, however, was almost finished, but I meant to improve it and to copy it in a far more legible and better form. However, it is now done, and I must and will now free myself from it, and prepare to die, as I think, in four days. And behold, my dear children, I rejoice in this, and am of good cheer in the Lord, and trust that I will not spare my body for the truth, but present it in worship as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. And I trust, by the grace of God, that I have been to you, my dear children, a father who has set you a good example, in my life and in my death. When you come to the years of understanding, think it through thoroughly, and so follow Christ with me, as He has gone before us, in all suffering and holiness; and we will meet again, and that in eternal joy and in the kingdom of heaven, forever.

My dear children, though you do not live together, love one another all the more warmly, and show your love in whatever way you can, as by greetings and instructive letters to one another. Make copies of this little book, so that each of you three children may have one.

I send it first to you, my dear son Alewijn Hendricks, because you are the oldest. Remember what I have written for your instruction; pass it on also to your little sisters. Farewell now, an eternal farewell, my three little orphans.

Written by me, your dear father,

HENDRICK ALEWIJNS.