The Consequence Engine



We physicists often remind ourselves that there are no uncaused effects in the universe. Even in very ordinary events going on around us, there is always a preceding chain of linked causes. In flipping a coin many times, one averages 50% heads and 50% tails. But the outcome of each single throw of the coin has been determined by a multiplicity of very real variables. Fluctuations in the stock market are all caused though no one has yet unraveled all the contributing variables. Thus there is no entity in the universe called "chance" which is causing coins to fall as they do. (1) According to the Bible, God is behind the Laws of physics (and the moral Law). Nothing happens that God does not permit, and ultimately nothing happens that He does not cause to happen. Ephesians, Chapter One says "[God] works [energizes] all things according to the counsel of His will" (1:11).


All of us have had some sample, some contact, some encounter with the power of nature -- we are awed by the mighty thundering of a storm that breaks upon our heads suddenly, or by the power of breakers dashing upon the shore. In some way, we find demonstrated to us the power of nature. God is a God of power, and that power indicates to us a force behind nature. Nature is alive with power. We are told that everything is in motion -- the atoms that constitute this pulpit are constantly in motion. And behind the motion is the pulsating force of energy. Nature is one great mass of energy. It bespeaks, therefore, of mighty power that tells us of the existence of God.


But, more than that, all of us have experienced some knowledge of the sovereignty of God in nature. We don't play around with the laws of nature. Have you noticed that? When we discover a natural law, we are careful to observe it because, oftentimes, our very lives are at stake.


You don't go fooling around with the law of gravity. You don't get on top of a 15-story building and shove your hands in your pockets and nonchalantly stroll over the ledge to show people how superior you are to the law of gravity. You won't break the law of gravity -- you'll just illustrate it. They'll just scoop you off the pavement!


We don't play around with the laws of electricity. When a wire is charged with 10,000 volts, we know that it will operate according to a strict and precise law, and we are careful to observe that law because one little mistake is enough to cause us to forfeit our life. Nature is sovereign. It has the right to do what it was made to do, and in that we see the sovereignty of God -- his right to be God, his right to choose, and his right to set up nature according to his idea, not ours. This, if acted upon, is the minimum basis man needs to know God -- and every man knows this. This is what Hebrews 11:6 says. But I stress the words if acted upon. It is not enough just to know about God's sovereignty: It must govern us. It must control us. It must do something to us. (Ray C. Stedman, http://raystedman.org/romans1/0006.html).


Just as there are great "natural" (built-in) laws at work in the material world, so there are also even more important laws at work in the moral sphere. The God of the Bible is a Just God, as well as a loving and merciful God: He rewards the good and eventually punishes all evil. No detail escapes His attention.


Many people suppose that God, being good, grants general amnesty to people, adding up our good deeds, subtracting the bad, and throwing in extra mercy so that most everyone gets into heaven somehow. Actually this is a long way from the truth one finds in the Bible. Every human choice and every action has consequences, whether good or ill. We are all affected by the choices others make as well!


The Consequence Engine in Every Day Life


It is obvious that ordinary daily life is full of consequences. Driving over the speed limit can lead to an expensive traffic ticket. Driving under the influence can have more severe consequences. Not paying the rent usually causes a renter to loose his residence. Not showing up for work on time can get one fired. The slightest disobedience to the Drill Sergeant in military basic training can prove painfully costly.


"Sensible" people who are law-abiding and "moral" cause less trouble for themselves in this life, and are better off as long as they live--compared to the person who is irresponsible, or promiscuous, who abuses booze and drugs and can't hold a job. Neither type of individual may end up in heaven, but this present life is better off for people who see the intrinsic order in the world and who follow it as best they can, even if their motives are self-serving, and even if they do not know God.


A common humorous expression goes, "no good deed goes unpunished." Actually God takes note of everything going on--nothing escapes his notice. Very often we do not know who among us has a relationship with God and who does not. Seldom do we know the motives of another man's heart--let alone our own motives. But God knows and God sees:


Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; For all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had." (Luke 21:1-4)


The Consequence Engine and the Non-Christian


The vast majority of people in the world are uninterested in knowing the real God. They are actually enemies of God. (Our general animosity towards the real God is the main reason for the invention of earth's many religions). God grants everyone enough knowledge of His existence and of His attributes so that all men everywhere are without excuse, (Romans 1:18-21). When people hear, but reject, the gospel of Jesus Christ, God ordinarily leaves such people alone and they live out the rest of their lives--often in relative peace and even prosperity. There seem to be no immediate obvious negative consequences to their unbelief. Because the silent, invisible wrath of God rests upon all men who reject Him, there is gradually increasing emptiness in the lives of those who refuse God's grace and mercy (John 3:36). In Ecclesiastes, Solomon states clearly that enjoyment in life is a gift from God given only to those who please Him--and not obtainable any other way!




Nonbelievers do not cease to exist when they die, nor do they pass into limbo or purgatory. After death they end up intact and conscious at the "last" judgment (2) described in Revelation 20:




The record books of life are being kept every day by recording angels who miss no details. Judgment is totally fair and just--even for the lost. Punishment is appropriately proportional, following the great principle outlined in Romans 2--God weighs the motives of the heart as well as behavior, and He takes into account the individual's actual knowledge of God.


It may seem to some harsh and unfair, but no human being can enter heaven on his or her own merits. It is only by trusting in the work of Jesus on our behalf that we are qualified.


The consequence engines of life, inexorable and unavoidable though they may be, do not usually bring immediate consequences in response to our actions. An old Proverb says, "The mills of God's justice grind exceedingly slow--but they grind exceedingly fine." Because we often do not see the negative consequences of our bad choices right away, we are often persuaded to make bigger and more foolish mistakes. Because God's judgments are usually long delayed in time, many think the Lord never judges anyone at all.


The Consequence Engine and the Christian


Non-Christians are said to be "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2) and therefore they are quite unable to do anything which pleases God. However for the individual who has entered into a personal relationship with God, everything one does matters! The consequence engine runs full time and at full tilt--both in regard to good and to ill--for those who follow Jesus with a committed heart. Christians are not judged for their sins (3)--which have been paid in full by Jesus--but certainly we are thoroughly evaluated for all our choices in life--like everyone else. All of our choices in life have negative or positive consequences.


The Negative Consequence Engine


Negative consequences in time and eternity occur when a follower of Jesus Christ does things in his or her own natural energy and strength. A number of New Testament passages highlight this:




One of the features of the negative consequence engine at work is that we do not get to choose the consequences of our sins. All sin is forgivable but all sin has consequences. (4) Negative consequences can involve lost opportunities for service, increased vulnerability to the same bad choices the next time we are tempted, and in some cases even an early death. (5) Some forms of life-style behavior exclude a person from entry into the kingdom of God altogether, thus revealing that many who say they are Christians never were in the first place (Matthew 7:21-29)! A list of these moral absolutes in the universe is found in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and yet another in Ephesians 5:1-6.


"The wages of sin"--which is death--are inevitable, inexorable, and unavoidable. Sin pays us back with boredom, guilt, shame, loneliness, confusion, emptiness, loss of purpose, and, in the end, with physical death itself--then final separation from God--unless we have laid hold of the saving life of Christ.


The negative consequence engine for the Christian should not be considered as punishment for sins--because Jesus has already been fully punished for the believers sins--all of them. Consequences of our bad choices is not the same thing as punishment for sin. God's corrective discipline of his wayward sons and daughters is also a separate matter (Hebrews 12:6-17).


The Positive Consequence Engine


Like negative consequences in life, the effects of the positive consequence engine at work in our lives do not usually show up immediately. This is frustrating for folks who want instant gratification and who expect a daily rewards balance sheet. The big pay off for followers of Jesus is in the next life--not here and now.






Positive consequences of knowing God include wonderful inner qualities of wholeness, fulfillment and contentment: Over time we become all we ever dream of being as whole men and women. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)


This great principle--the law of sowing and reaping in life--has never been revoked, altered, or amended. The consequence engines connected with sowing and reaping run with 100% reliability century after century in every generation.




(In reality, most Christians find we may still be reaping the unpleasant long-term consequences of past bad choices and at the same time, as forgiven sinners, we are probably also sowing to the Spirit for a future positive harvest).


As explained in Romans, Christians have only two daily choices. We are all servants (slaves), and there are only two choices of which master we choose to serve:




Yet another New Testament description of the consequence engine at work in the life of the Christian is described as that of building a house out of two different types of building material:





The Wages of Sin


A vivid illustration of how the "law of sin and death" operates in our lives is given by the Apostle James.


"Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away (lured) by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." (James 1:13-15)


James says that we must not attribute sin to God. God does not tempt us to sin. He is incapable of sin, He has no experience with sin. ("Temptation" and "testing" are similar--the same word in Greek is used for each. Temptation is the "solicitation to do evil"). James says that sin involves a surrender of the will to our inner desires. The terms "lured and enticed" are Greek words for hunting and fishing. The devil plays upon our desires--even healthy desires that are not in themselves sinful. The enemy attempts to get us to act in independence of God. When we do act on our own and yield to these desires from the heart--apart from God--an embryo is conceived in our inner being. The "child's" name is sin and that child is inevitably brought forth into the world as death. If we remember that death includes boredom, loneliness, guilt, emptiness, frustration, the absence of life and lack of blessing from God, it is easy to see the powerful metaphor James has chosen.


Christian Dynamics




However, it is by trusting and acting on what God has promised that we unloose the power of God working in us so that the consequence engine runs in our favor. (6) Jesus is more than willing to live through us whenever we give Him permission. Someone has said, "There is no limit to what God will do through any individual, if that person doesn't are who gets the credit."


Usually when we come to know the Lord we abandon those bad habits which everyone agrees are socially undesirable--such as getting drunk, living in a life style that is sexually immoral, being dishonest in business, lying, stealing, cheating--and so on. These actions do spring from that fallen humanity we all have inherited from Adam. Actions which lead to sin arise within us from what the Bible calls "the flesh." (The flesh is another name for the totality of our fallen nature inherited from Adam.) Nothing good can ever come from the flesh and so our entire "old nature" had to be nailed to the cross when we were identified with Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection--that is, when we came to Christ and were spiritually reborn. (7)


What is harder to recognize and deal with regarding the flesh is its "good" side. (A perfect example of not dealing with the "good side" of the flesh is laid out before us in the story of King Saul's loss of his throne in 1 Samuel 15). In God's sight, there is nothing at all in us--in our natural lives--that is able to please God. We must die and be replaced by Christ living in and through us day by day, year after year. (8, 9, 10)




For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. OI have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. OI do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2:19-21)




"Ethe who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works [self-effort] as God did from His [in creation]. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (4:10-13)


God and Community


American rugged individualism would have us believe that our private actions do not affect others. Not so. The Biblical God is a personal God who builds families and communities of which He Himself is a member. Everything we do--whether public or private--affects others--affects the community. As a participating member of the community, God seeks to move the individual and the community towards wholeness and well-being. Those who will not cooperate with His program will find themselves left out entirely. Consequence engines work for groups of individuals, and for entire nations. By the way, Jesus Christ is Himself the appointed personal judge of all mankind (11).


Deeply ingrained within all of us are the world's notions that each of us on his or her own energy is capable of having a lasting effect on our generation. The Bible has clearly teaches that only what Christ does through us will last. The Bible speaks of a coming time of great shaking "Not only of the earth but also of the heavens" (Hebrews 12:26). Only that which God has built will remain. Ray Stedman comments,










Israel's Consequence Engine


Leviticus 26:1  You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God. 2 You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD.


The Positive Consequence Engine

The Negative Consequence Engine

3 If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,  4 then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. 6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. 7 You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. 9 For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. 10 You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. 11 I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.





45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.'" 46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the LORD made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.


From Deuteronomy 28:


Blessings for Obedience

Curses for

28:1  "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.  2 "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:  3 "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.  4 "Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.  5 "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.  6 "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.  7 "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.  8 "The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.  9 "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.  10 "Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.  11 "And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.  12 "The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.  13 "And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.  14 "So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.


15  "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:  16 "Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.  17 "Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.  18 "Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.  19 "Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.  20 "The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.  21 "The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess.  22 "The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.  23 "And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.  24 "The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.  25 "The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth.  26 "Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away.  27 "The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed.  28 "The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart.  29 "And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you.  30 "You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes.  31 "Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them.  32 "Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand.  33 "A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually.  34 "So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see.  35 "The LORD will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.  36 "The LORD will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods--wood and stone.  37 "And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the LORD will drive you.  38 "You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it. 39 "You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.  40 "You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off.  41 "You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity.  42 "Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land.  43 "The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.  44 "He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.  45 "Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.  46 "And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever.  47 "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything,  48 "therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.  49 "The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand,  50 "a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young.  51 "And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you.  52 "They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you.  53 "You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you.  54 "The sensitive and very refined man among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind,  55 "so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.  56 "The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter,  57 "her placenta which comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of everything in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.  58 "If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD,  59 "then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues--great and prolonged plagues--and serious and prolonged sicknesses.  60 "Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you.  61 "Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed.  62 "You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.  63 "And it shall be, that just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.  64 "Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known--wood and stone.  65 "And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul.  66 "Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life.  67 "In the morning you shall say, Oh, that it were evening!' And at evening you shall say, OH, that it were morning!' because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see.  68 "And the LORD will take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, You shall never see it again.' And there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you." (Deuteronomy 28)











1. No Such Thing as Chance! http://ldolphin.org/chance.html

2. The Great White Throne Judgment, http://ldolphin.org/Gwhite.html

3. The Judgment Seat of Christ, http://ldolphin.org/Jseat.html

4. The Scars of Sin, by Ray Stedman, http://raystedman.org/scars.html

5. Deliberate Sin, and Sin Which Leads to Death, http://ldolphin.org/deliberate.html

6. The Power You Already Have, http://raystedman.org/misc/4308.html

7. How God Saves Us, http://ldolphin.org/howsaved.html

8. Jesus is our Sabbath Rest, http://ldolphin.org/sabbathrest.html

9. Entering God's Rest, http://ldolphin.org/Rest.html

10. Elaine Stedman on the New Covenant, http://raystedman.org/newrs/newcovenant.html

11. Jesus, Judge of All, http://ldolphin.org/judgment.html


Note: I first hear the term "the consequence engine" from Glenn Miller, http://www.christian-thinktank.com/. Glenn denies being the originator of this term.


Lambert Dolphin  July 29, 2005. October 17, 2005.