Rotten to the Core
Foundations • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 19 viewsNotes
Transcript
The Real You
The Real You
You have probably heard these sayings before:
“Follow your heart.”
“Be true to yourself.”
“Find yourself.”
“Love yourself.”
“Express yourself.”
“Believe in yourself.”
It sounds good to us, like there is a “self” out there or deep inside us that we need to find in order to be happy, fulfilled and successful.
But the assumption is that the “self” at the core of us is good.
This passage in Romans 3:9-20 paints a very different picture.
9 What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, 10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. 13 Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. 14 Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, 17 and the path of peace they have not known. 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment. 20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.
That is not good news and sure isn’t very positive toward the “self” everyone keeps telling us to find.
The bible’s understanding the “self”, or who we are as humans, is really that we are rotten to the core.
That the self at the center is broken, not hidden or lost.
There is a structure to this passage that is arguing that we as humans are fallen, broken, and sinful by nature, or at our roots.
10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.
Our minds
Our minds
Our thoughts and intentions are broken and sinful.
“No one understands” means that no one comes to understand and obey God in the way that He requires.
And for that reason “no one naturally seeks God.”
Instead, our mind wanders and pursues things counter, in opposition to God.
We listen to and follow the wrong voices and are motivated by the wrong motives.
In another letter, Paul tells the Philippian church what they should focus on.
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
Our speech
Our speech
Not only are our minds corrupted, but that overflows into our mouths as well.
This isn’t just curse words or dirty jokes.
Our speech is corrupted when we lie, use our word to hurt others, gossip, slander, present ourselves in a false way, and many other ways.
Listen to James 3
5 So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. 10 Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.
Tough words for our tongues.
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
Our actions
Our actions
Sinful minds and sinful words lead also to sinful actions.
It is like a slippery slope isn’t it.
Corrupt mind, corrupt speech, and now corrupt actions.
The things we do flow out of our thinking, they aren’t just random.
By nature, the way we make choices in life is motivated by sinful motives.
It doesn’t mean everything we do is evil and bad, but that the root and reason why is broken and sinful.
16 ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, 17 and the path of peace they have not known.
Our lives as a whole
Our lives as a whole
The conclusion we can draw then is: we, by nature, are rotten to the core.
And that is Paul’s argument.
So the search for self doesn’t lead us to see our selves as ultimately good, but rather as broken and corrupt.
Even though that sounds pessimistic and hopeless, it is actually a really freeing truth.
Admit Your Broken so you can be free
Admit Your Broken so you can be free
If we believe that there is this hidden “self” inside of us that we need to discover and let blossom in our lives then it puts a whole lot of pressure on us to find it and cultivate it.
Much of the reason you feel like a failure or deficient in some way is because you are working so hard and spending so much energy trying to prove yourself to yourself and to others.
What Romans 3 is saying is that you can’t look in yourself for goodness, peace, and satisfaction.
The reason the gospel is such good news is that it promises people to come to realize they are lost and broken salvation and hope.
You can’t fix yourself, but God can.
You can’t be good enough, but Jesus was.
You can’t save yourself, but Jesus will, when we trust in Him.
This is the first part, but an essential part, of an important section of Romans
Next week we have the fullness of the good news.