And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.
Mark 7:20-23 NASB
The word of God tells us that the heart is more deceitful than any other thing. It is desperately sick, spiritually speaking, that is (Jeremiah 17:9). In the above passage, Jesus tells us the evil deeds that men commit, flow out of the heart. In other words, we are responsible for our actions, and we have chosen to do the things that we do. If the heart is right, the deeds will be right; if the heart is evil, evil deeds will be the result (Matt 12:33).
It does not matter what the politicians believe about the evils that permeate society, it does not matter what our courts say about the issues of the day; sadly, many so called ministers of the gospel today miss it as well. They fail to look to the real root of the problem, which lies deep within the heart of man; a heart that is wicked, refusing to subject itself to the law of God (Romans 8:7).
The Bible tells us that the Lord searches our hearts; He knows our inner thoughts and motives, and will give to each man according to his deeds (Jeremiah 17:10). This is also shown us in Romans 2:5-11. God will judge us based upon our deeds. He can do this because our actions are the reflection of what is in our hearts. It is only the pure in heart who will see God (Psalm 24:3-4, Matt 5:8).
It is a heart transplant that we need. Jesus said that unless you are born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3,5). The deceitful heart of a sinful man will seek to justify his actions. You may fool yourself, you may fool others, but the fact remains that without the new birth, without a new heart, you are lost, dead in your sin. Once again, it does not matter what the world says about sin; the politicians can legalize it, the psychologists can explain it away, the false teachers can give you a false sense of security, but apart from the new birth, you are lost!
In Ezekiel we read,
"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Ezekiel 36:25-27 NASB
We read this also in Titus,
When the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:4-7 NASB
In the new birth we are transformed by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. We are washed from our sin. This speaks beyond the cleansing of the guilt of our sin, to the actual removal of the sin itself. The promise of the new heart, the promise of the Spirit within us causing us to walk in the laws and statutes of God, are found in Jesus Christ, and availed to us in the new birth. Paul says,
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God."
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NASB
There are two things to notice in this passage of scripture.
1. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. The verse goes on to show who the unrighteous are. Many of the sinful acts mentioned here are also mentioned by Jesus in the passage from Mark 7:20-23. Once again, out of the sinful rebellious heart flow immoral actions of every kind. Paul emphatically states, "Do not be deceived." As I have already stated, no matter what anyone else tells you, unless you have been born again, unless you have experienced the renewal of the Holy Spirit, you are lost. You can deceive yourself, (and the heart will try to do this), but without the new nature that only comes through Jesus Christ, you are still dead in your sins.
2. The past tense of sin. Notice Paul says, "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God." This is the new birth; the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This is the sprinkling of clean water as mentioned by Ezekiel; the removal of the hard, stony heart, replaced with a soft heart that is made willing to obey God. These individuals once lived in these sinful ways, but no longer. They had been transformed by the grace and power of God. They had not been saved "in" their sin, but from sin, and this is the gospel message.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Monday, June 15, 2015
Under the Curse of the Law.
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Galatians 3:10 KJV
There are great numbers of people who are trying to become "good" people by reforming their lives. They may sincerely believe that they are trying as hard as they can to follow God's laws, and that this will be enough to gain entrance into heaven someday. Sadly, they are laboring under a grave deception.
The above verse tells us that those who are trying to become righteous through obedience to the law are under the curse. The reason being is that God requires perfection. If we manage to keep the whole law, and yet slip at one point, we are guilty of all of it (James 2:10). James uses the example of one who does not commit adultery, but commits murder, is still a lawbreaker in God's eyes. Likewise, we could say that one who has never stolen might have coveted things in his heart; someone who has never committed adultery physically, may have done so in his heart as well (Matt 5:28). One may keep the commandment prohibiting theft, but be guilty of lying. He may not be a thief, but a liar is still a lawbreaker in God's eyes, and God requires perfect obedience continually, to the entire law.
This verse tells us that one must continue in the perfect keeping of the law if we would be righteous. Not only would we have to keep the law externally, but our inward motivations would need to be right as well, as the law is summed up in loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as our self (Matt 22:37-40). Any obedience to the law done in a spirit of self preservation rather than done out of love for God and our fellow man, is selfish, and cannot be pleasing to God.
If we would be honest with ourselves, we would see that by the time we decide to be obedient to the law, we have already broken it; we are already guilty of it; we are already under the curse of the law, guilty, and condemned under its just sentence.
This passage in Galatians also tells us that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. He became cursed for us, so that we could be released from the curse. In other words, when He died upon the cross, He took our sin, our guilt, upon Himself, thus making it possible for God to forgive those who turn to Jesus in repentance and faith (Galatians 3:13).
Galatians 3:10 KJV
There are great numbers of people who are trying to become "good" people by reforming their lives. They may sincerely believe that they are trying as hard as they can to follow God's laws, and that this will be enough to gain entrance into heaven someday. Sadly, they are laboring under a grave deception.
The above verse tells us that those who are trying to become righteous through obedience to the law are under the curse. The reason being is that God requires perfection. If we manage to keep the whole law, and yet slip at one point, we are guilty of all of it (James 2:10). James uses the example of one who does not commit adultery, but commits murder, is still a lawbreaker in God's eyes. Likewise, we could say that one who has never stolen might have coveted things in his heart; someone who has never committed adultery physically, may have done so in his heart as well (Matt 5:28). One may keep the commandment prohibiting theft, but be guilty of lying. He may not be a thief, but a liar is still a lawbreaker in God's eyes, and God requires perfect obedience continually, to the entire law.
This verse tells us that one must continue in the perfect keeping of the law if we would be righteous. Not only would we have to keep the law externally, but our inward motivations would need to be right as well, as the law is summed up in loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as our self (Matt 22:37-40). Any obedience to the law done in a spirit of self preservation rather than done out of love for God and our fellow man, is selfish, and cannot be pleasing to God.
If we would be honest with ourselves, we would see that by the time we decide to be obedient to the law, we have already broken it; we are already guilty of it; we are already under the curse of the law, guilty, and condemned under its just sentence.
This passage in Galatians also tells us that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. He became cursed for us, so that we could be released from the curse. In other words, when He died upon the cross, He took our sin, our guilt, upon Himself, thus making it possible for God to forgive those who turn to Jesus in repentance and faith (Galatians 3:13).
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