THE EVIL FROM WITHIN

The law was not intended to redeem us from sin but to reveal sin.

God gave the law to His people to show them what sin was

Romans 7:7 ESV

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

The Jews began with the premise that man is good and that goodness only need to be preserved. They saw obedience to the law as a way to preserve man’s innate condition. However, their Scriptures taught otherwise.

Psalm 14:3 ESV

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

This is man’s sinful default. We simply will not listen to Scriptures admonitions concerning our condition. We adjust Scriptures clear teaching to our own ideas about the human condition. Christian’s do this by making such statement as, “God doesn’t make any junk.”

We are made in God’s image but that image is marred. Every fiber of our being is tainted with sin. We all are born under Adam’s curse.

Jesus is teaching us that our defiled did not come from our actions but acquisition. We acquired defilement at birth.

Psalm 51:5 ESV

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psychologist and Sociologist seek to lay blame on outside forces or environmental conditions that have corrupted our pristine condition. However, Scripture teaches that . . .

Conditions do not corrupt because our condition is already corrupt.

Our condition was given to us at conception not by our culture. Cultural conditions can exacerbate our corruption but it is not the cause.

I often hear people talk about breaking generational curses. This asserts that people are acting out of an influence that is from the outside not the inside. If you see children repeating the behavior of their parents it’s not the effect of a generational curse but the Genesis curse.

Environments can have an effect but they serve as a means of revelation not causation. This is why Jesus taught that

John 3:3 ESV

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

He was teaching this to a high ranking religious official. Obeying Jesus with ones head is not the pathway of salvation. Obedience must come from the heart.

Mark 7:6 ESV

And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

Obedience from the heart indicates a love relationship. Whereas obedience from the head indicates a legal relationship. We obey legally because we don’t want to experience the effects of the law. We obey from the heart because we want to experience the effects of love. When I obey the law it fills me with pride, it says, look at what I have done or haven’t done. When I obey out of love it fills me with humility, it says, look at what He has done for me.

Pride and shame are the two aspects of the law that people use to bring about change. This is why the law was a burden and brought misery. This is why Jesus extended the greatest invitation in all of Scripture. . .

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Love is not a burdensome labor but a labor that is made light because we are yoked to Jesus not the law.

1 John 5:3 ESV

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

We are to obey God’s law out of delight not duty. We are to obey God’s law not to establish a relationship. We obey because we have already entered a relationship. Remember Exodus, God brought them out of bondage before He gave them the law.

Exodus 19:4–6 ESV

‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

After The Lord delivers them from bondage (salvation) he gives his people the law. The was to show them how they were to represent and reflect him in the world. After the law he gives them the sacrificial system found in Leviticus. The day of atonement in Leviticus 16 was The Lord’s way of preserving His relationship with law breakers. It was also a constant reminder of His future promise of Savior. It was a picture of His love for them.

Through the prophet Ezekiel God promised that His future Moses. The perfect Moses would bring about the end of the sacrificial system because he would be the final perfect sacrifice. This last deliver would deliver us from our sin and deliver to us a new heart that could obey from the heart not the head.

Ezekiel 36:26–27 ESV

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Those in Mark 7 are obeying from the hand because there heart is a stone. It is unable to obey. There obedience comes from pride or shame not from the Spirit. They need a new heart. This can only come from being born again.

When we are born again we are given a heart that is eager to obey and the Spirit which enables us to obey.

This new heart must be guarded from that which remains. Remember what I said earlier, “every fiber of our being is tainted with sin.” We are given a new heart so that we will want to obey out of love. This does not mean that we no longer possess the potential to sin.

A new heart does not neuter us to sin.

A new heart is not free from sin but free not to sin.

Our new heart gives us a new spiritual inclination but it does not inoculate us from sin.

This is why Solomon who these words concerning our heart. . .

Proverbs 4:23 ESV

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Our duty is to keep our hearts from defilement.

Acts 13:22 ESV

And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’

Psalm 51:10 ESV

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

A new heart is like a musical instrument which no matter how well built and tuned will require constant tuning and attention. Neglecting to tune one’s instrument negates the instruments intended glory.

Our duty is to keep our hearts from disorder.

Psalm 51:11–12 ESV

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Heart work is hard work.

Keep your heart with diligence.

Diligence describes the difficulty of guarding your heart.

Psalm 77:6 ESV

I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search:

Participation in religious duties with a carefree spirit will cost a person nothing. To set one’s self constantly and seriously before the Lord will cost something.

Possessing a proficient prayer language is easy; but to have one’s heart-broken while confessing sin is quite different. The latter guards the first doesn’t.

Whatever it takes, Lord. . .

give me delight in you as the greatest treasure of my heart.

align the desires of my heart with yours.

increase my awareness of my dependence on you in everything so that I will live continually by faith.

teach me to discern good from evil through the rigorous exercise of constant practice.

keep me desperate for you because i tend to wander when I stop feeling my need for you.

discipline me for my good that i may share your holiness and bear the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

increase my resolve to do your will with all diligence.

Keep your heart with vigilance.

Vigilance describes its duration of guarding your heart.

The keeping of the heart is a work that is never done until life is ended. There is no time or condition in the life of a Christian which will allow for an intermission of this work.

Remember Moses hands; when they were raised Israel had success against Amalek. However, the moment his hands begin to sink due to weariness Amalek prevailed. Let us not forget Peter sad state when he failed to be vigilant on the night of Christ denial.

Why are told to guard our heart, “it is the wellspring of life”. This means that joy and vigor ultimately come from within and not from circumstances.

Keeping our hearts has both an eternal and earthly consequences. Keeping our hearts will not save us because only those who keep their heart are truly saved.

How can one keep his heart . . .

Proverbs 4:20–21 ESV

My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.

Attentive

Incline

Meditate