Sewage of the Heart

May, 2004

by: Jack Hughes

• Common Sins

Face it — You're a Sinner

When you think of things like immorality, sensuality, impurity, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, pornography, immodesty, lying, stealing, swindling, covetousness, greed, hoarding, jealousy, murder, hate, unrighteous anger, slander, gossip, talking too much, being ashamed of Christ, lacking self control, gluttony, anorexia, bulimia, overeating, living an undisciplined life style, materialism, being mastered by things, worry, anxiety, fretting, fear of man, fear of consequences, selfishness, praying with unconfessed sin in your heart, loving money, boasting, ungratefulness, unwillingness to be reconciled to others, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, lying, deception, stubbornness, unsubmissiveness, manipulating others, idolatry, pride, strife, disunity, laziness, ungodly business practices, persecuting the righteous, or defending the wicked, what comes to your mind?

Well, if you are familiar with the Bible what probably comes to mind is the word “sin.” It is possible to sum up all the sins mentioned above with what Puritan Thomas Watson calls the “godless man's trinity,” “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life” (I Jn. 2:16). I am sure that as you read that list of sins your conscience was pricked at least a few times. No matter how godly you are, no one is perfect. Everyone falls short of the glory of God. Everyone sins (Rom. 3:23).

Now you may be reading this, and thinking to yourself, “Jack, I am no thief!” Oh, really? You have never stolen anything, not even a paper clip, a pencil, or glory from God, nothing? I thought so. So admit it — you're a thief. Maybe not to the same degree as a bank robber, but you are a thief nonetheless.

You may be thinking to yourself, “But I have never committed adultery!” Oh, really? Do you mean to tell me that you have never had a lustful thought about someone who wasn't your spouse your entire life — ever? I thought so. Jesus said if a man looks at a woman and lusts for her in his heart, he has committed adultery (Mt. 5:28). Have you ever lusted after someone who wasn't your spouse? I thought so. Admit it — you are an adulterer. Maybe not to the same degree as someone who physically commits adultery, but you are an adulterer nonetheless.

“But I have never murdered anyone,” you say to yourself. Oh, really? You have never been angry with anyone? I thought so. Jesus said anyone who is angry with a brother has committed murder in their heart (Mt. 5:21-22). This makes you a murderer. Not to the same degree as someone who physically kills someone else, but a murderer nonetheless.

Bottom line, you're a guilty sinner, I'm a guilty sinner, and everyone else is a guilty sinner. And this is why Jesus Christ came to earth. He came to die for guilty, unworthy sinners. He was punished in our place on the cross. He suffered God's wrath for us, so that we, through faith in Him, might not perish but have everlasting life. So if you have repented of your sins and placed your faith in Jesus Christ, even though you are a sinner, you are a saved and forgiven sinner. You have forgiveness in Christ, you have the gift of the Holy Spirit, you have a new heart, a changed life, and are a new creature in Christ! But still, you are a sinner.

You can divide sin into two general categories or kinds i.e., sinful acts and sinful thoughts. Every sinful act comes from a sinful thought, but not every sinful thought produces a sinful act (Jam. 1:13-14). The Bible teaches that everyone is a sinner (Rom. 3:23). And you might be wondering why God saved you from the power of sin, and the eternal consequences of sin, but has not saved you from the presence of sin or the ability to sin. There will be a day when you are perfectly holy but for now, God wants you to be in the world but not of the world (I Jn. 2:15-17). He wants you to learn to trust in Him and His gracious resources to overcome sin. Since we all struggle with sin, I thought it would be good to do a series addressing specific sins from the Word of God and how to overcome them. For this Calvary Review we will explore foundational truths about sin.

What is Sin?

Most people know that sin is “being bad.” But that definition is very vague. It doesn't really tell us how we can know if we are sinning. It doesn't tell where to find the standard of “right and wrong.” It doesn't tell us why sin is “bad” or what “being bad” actually means. So let's consider what the Bible says in Rom. 14:23, “whatever is not of faith is sin.” James in James 1:17 defines sin for His readers with these words, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”” John tells us in I Jn. 3:4, that “sin is lawlessness.”” Later, in I Jn. 5:17 he says that “all unrighteousness is sin.”” When we put all of those verses together we might define sin as, “refusing to believe the Word of God, doing what you know is contrary to the will of God, which is lawlessness and unrighteousness.”

The first place the word “sin” appears in the Bible is in Gen. 4:7. The context is the story of Cain and Abel. Abel's sacrifice was acceptable to God but Cain's was not. When God rejected Cain's sacrifice, Cain became very angry and started to pout. Then God said this to Cain in Gen. 4:6-7, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”” Here, sin is contrasted with “doing well” before God, which means that “not doing well before God” is sin.

Why are we sinners?

The Bible teaches that when Adam willfully rebelled against God and ate the forbidden fruit he was cursed (Gen. 3). Being cursed, Adam was only able to produce children who were cursed. Adam and Eve could only produce children who were fallen sinners just like they were, and hence, the entire human race received the sin and guilt of Adam (Rom. 5:12-14).

This is why David says in Psa. 51:5“in sin my mother conceived me.” He wasn't saying that his mother conceived him in an illicit relationship, he was saying that even from the very beginning of his life, at conception, he was a sinner. Psalm 58:3 says, “The wicked are estranged from the womb; these who speak lies go astray from birth.”” David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says that men are sinners from the womb. After God destroyed the world with a flood, Noah offered sacrifices to God, and the Lord said in Gen. 8:21, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth.”

Scriptures like these make it clear that men are not born sinless and then become sinners. They teach us that men are born sinners and sin because they are by nature sinners. You don't have to teach a child how to say with a sassy voice, “no!” You don't have to teach them to disobey, they are experts at disobeying from the very beginning. Sinning comes naturally to them because they are by nature sinners. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” Jesus said in Mk. 7:21, “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.”” The Word of God tells us that our hearts are like septic tanks overflowing with the sewage of sin. We are sinners because we are part of Adam's sinful race and choose to rebel against God like Adam did.

Why do Christians still sin?

We read in the Bible that Jesus died for our sins (I Cor. 15:3; I Pet. 3:18), forgives us of our sins (Eph. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14), delivers us from the power of sin (Rom. 6:6-7, 14, 18, 22), that God's grace is sufficient so we never have to sin (II Cor. 8:9; II Pet. 1:3), and yet — we still sin (I Jn. 1:9)! Before coming to Christ, we are like prisoners on death row. We are confined to our prison of sin, waiting for execution. But after God's grace invades our life in the person of Jesus Christ, we are saved from our death sentence. The doors of the prison are opened. We are freed from that terrible place.

Yet often after being set free we long to go back to prison for a visit, to loiter around the halls, dabbling in the things we are now ashamed of and which we were set free from. Though we can leave anytime, we often choose to enjoy the pleasures of those things Christ died to set us free from. So before coming to Christ, we were on death row and were held in prison awaiting execution, but after coming to Christ we are set free from our bondage. We now have a choice, we can either live for Christ in the world, or we can or will choose to go back to prison. When we sin, we are choosing to go back to prison.

While it is common in our day to blame our sin on someone or something else, the Bible says we are responsible for our sin. When we do sin, it is never God's fault, it is always our fault for He always provides a way of escape for us (I Cor. 10:13). When Satan tempted Eve in the garden, Eve's sin was not eating the forbidden fruit, Eve's sin was doubting the Word of God and lusting after that which God said was forbidden. When she ate the forbidden fruit, that was an outward manifestation of her inward heart rebellion. We sin when we are tempted and carried away by our own lusts (James 1:13-14). Our flesh cries out to be satisfied with evil things and when we submit to our sinful cravings, we sin (Rom. 7:14-24; James 4:1).

How do we Overcome Sin?

The first step in overcoming sin, is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” Believing in Jesus' name is not merely agreeing that He exists or that He died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Saving faith is a complete trust in and commitment to follow Jesus Christ. For this to happen we must repent or turn from our sins as we cannot turn to Christ if we are unwilling to turn from our sin. This is why Jesus said twice in Lk. 13:3, 5, “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”” Once a person has repented of their sins and placed their faith in Jesus Christ, then they become a new creature in Christ (I Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20). They are granted every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3). They have super abundant grace available to them to walk in holiness before God (Jn. 1:16; II Cor. 9:8; 12:9).

God saves you by grace and sanctifies you by grace. Yet this does not relieve you of the responsibility to use the resources God has given you by His grace. Grace is not freedom to do what you want, grace is freedom to do what God wants. Out of all the texts in the New Testament which speak of the purpose of God's grace, Tit. 2:11-14 makes it very clear, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” In the weeks to come, we will apply the Word of God to common sins Christians struggle with. Until then, stay in the Word, pray at all times, wage the good warfare.