I. Sin is self-polluting and therefore self-destroying. Constant contact with sin will pollute the conscience, and render it powerless to fulfil the end for which it has been implanted in the man. It will destroy the understanding in the sense that it renders it unable to see and know the things of God (Eph_4:18-19). Sin persisted in defiles the will, and makes it like a palsied limb which has no power to perform its functions. It pollutes the affections by bringing them in contact with debasing objects, until their power to love goodness is gone. And so the man, having destroyed all the forces of his being, stands before the universe with nothing left but his identity, which he cannot destroy.
II. Those who depart from God shall be punished by the world for changing their master. (Verse 22.) The deserter who comes over from the enemy’s camp is often regarded with suspicion and sometimes meets with contempt where he expected to find reward. His zeal in the service of his new master is looked upon as simply an effort to ingratiate himself for his own ends and he very often finds punishment instead of welcome. So the world to which the apostate from God returns becomes the instrument of his punishment. He must become a greater sinner than those to whom he joins himself in order to convince his new master that he is entirely with him.
III. When sinners can serve no other purpose in the world, they may render a service by being a warning to others. We have shadows here of the truth that Hell has its use in the universe, and that men beyond reach of recovery may be of this use. Convicts have their sphere of usefulness, though it is of such a nature as to send a shudder through the mind of other men. The chained eagle is a warning to those whose wings are free. (A London Minister.)
