First Baptist Irving

Nearly-Wed and Newlywed Couples

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Week 2: Bonus Devo 1 "The Extreme Penalty"


Genesis 6:11-13: "Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with wickedness. God saw how corrupt the earth was, for every creature had corrupted its way on the earth. Then God said to Noah, 'I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth.'"

One day I was eating breakfast with a couple interested in being on our core team of our church plant. I was excited to sit down with them because I thought they had a lot to offer the team. As we talked, I got to hear the husband's story. I knew he had a jail stint in his past, but I didn't know any of the details. I expected to hear about some petty crime, and in my head, I even thought about how cool it would be to have on our team someone who served time!

As he continued to talk, I learned that he had spent more than 25 years locked up in a high security facility. I was shocked. I began thinking about the various crimes one could commit to receive such a severe sentence. As it turned out, the crime itself was severe  But Godcompletelyredeemedthis manand uses him to this day as a solid leader on mission for Jesus!

I knew this man's crime had to be bad based on the extreme sentence he received. In Genesis 6, we read about God sentencing the people on earth for a crime. Judging from the sentence, which consisted of a worldwide flood, it is safe to assume that the offenses were severe.

What was the crime? The crime was filling the earth with wickedness and sin instead of filling it with the image of God. The flood story ought to heighten our understanding of how bad sin is and remind us of the extreme penalty that we deserve.

Pause and Reflect

  • What happened to the earth as a result of the flood? - What does the flood teach us about sin?
  • Why did God send the flood?

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