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Establishing Believers in the Christian Faith

from The Judgment God Desires to Withhold

Chapter 19: The Evil Heart from which Evil Deeds Flow

Man is born with a sinful nature that impels him towards rebellion and evil.

We have seen that Jesus viewed all mankind as having violated God’s laws and thereby earned judgment. But this only reveals one of man’s problems. Even if somehow a person could be forgiven every single one of their prior offenses, they would still commit many of those same evils again and again. This would occur because man’s heart is inclined to do evil instead of good.

Paul identified the various attitudes and behaviors that comprise man’s fallen nature. He associated them with man’s mortal human body, and used the term “flesh” to represent not human nature per se, but man’s fallen human nature.

When we speak of a creature having a certain nature, we mean the prevailing or dominant tendencies inherent in it. Different creatures are characterized by different sets of behaviors. Squirrels gather nuts, gophers burrow holes, beavers build dams, birds build nests, dogs run on four legs, and lions are predators — these behaviors are instinctive to these creatures. Yes, a circus performer can train a dog to temporarily walk on two legs, and a lion tamer can train a lion not to devour him. But in such cases the nature of these creatures has not been changed, but only temporarily subdued.

The world has its own views on the nature of man. Some believe people are born basically good but then become corrupted by either imitating the evil they see or being negatively impacted by various external factors — if we just put people in a good, loving environment, or if we eliminate stumbling blocks such as poverty, everyone will naturally be good. Others believe people are born having no inclination one way or the other and simply adopt the values impressed upon them by their upbringing, society, and so on.

While there certainly is truth in the idea evil is imitated, God’s perspective is even apart from witnessing bad examples the entire human race is from birth inclined towards doing wrong. Yes, mankind can do things like forgive, share, and so on. But he tends to gravitate toward acting selfishly, immorally and defiantly as opposed to unselfishly, faithfully and obediently towards God. As such, he has a sinful nature. Man’s works and scripture itself testifies to this fact.

Man’s sinful nature is testified by merely observing man’s works. We do not even need to consult the Bible to know man is corrupt at his core. All we have to do is look at the way he acts.

Man’s sinful nature is evident by its universality over time. Without question modern man has advanced from where he was thousands of years ago. But this is only true technologically, not morally. The works of the flesh are just as present today as they were long ago. And this will continue to be the case in the future. Indeed, while man views things such as abortion, living together, and same sex relationships as moral advancements, they actually reflect moral steps backward.

Man’s sinful nature is evident by its universality throughout the world. There is not one culture in the entire world that has ever been characterized by righteousness. It is not that if we were to find some unreached people group deep in the heart of the jungle, we would find a loving, caring, godly society. Not at all. Instead we would find tribal wars, selfishness and immorality. There is no such place as Shangri-la.

Man’s sinful nature is evident by how he tends towards sin even in his youth. Children can be very selfish — every parent knows this. And defiance and tantrums characterize even toddlers. These activities occur not because the child observed them, but because it is their nature.

Man’s sinful nature is evident by the restraint required to contain his evil tendencies. What would happen if parents never corrected, disciplined, or controlled their children? What would happen in a society where all criminal penalties were removed? Absolute chaos would ensue. The reason children and societies maintain a semblance of moral order is due to coercive measures.

Man’s sinful nature is evident by his inability to free himself of sinful habits. If a man knows a certain thing is morally wrong and ultimately destructive to himself, why does he not just simply stop doing it? Why does he find himself trapped in patterns of behavior he cannot escape? It is because it is his nature to be that way.

Man’s sinful nature is evident by his inability to restrain evil desires. Why do we still yearn to do something we know we ought not? Why do we have this inner drive to defy authority and cross that line? Why is there this pull to get back at someone when we are offended? It is because this is our nature.

Scripture testifies man has a sinful nature. While the witness of man’s works provides ample evidence of his sinful nature, the scriptures forever settles the matter for it is the testimony of God Himself.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul characterized what his life and those of fellow Christians was like before they were converted.

This is man’s natural state prior to salvation. He “walked” or ordered his life in ways that conformed to Satan. He lived in his lusts and indulged himself. And this was his nature.

David confirmed his own sinful nature when he said:

David was not stating the sexual act between his parents was sinful. Rather he perceived his evil tendencies were part of his nature from his very conception.

Jesus confirmed man is evil despite his displays of kindness to his own children.

Jesus’ point was that man, who is evil by nature, still responds kindly when requests are made by his children. That being the case, how much more will God, who has no such nature, be gracious to those who make requests of Him.

From the testimony of both human experience and scripture, mankind has a two-fold problem. He is not only guilty of countless sinful deeds. He is also at the very core of his being disposed towards sinful behavior. Yes, his sinful tendencies can be restrained through certain coercive measures. But even then the prevailing tendency in his heart is towards evil; that is why he must continue to be restrained.

Man not only needs to be forgiven; he needs to be inwardly transformed. Even if God somehow miraculously wiped away and forgave all a man’s sins at a given point in time, it would not matter. That man would be guilty of countless other sins from that day forward, and store up for himself judgment again. Man is therefore destined to perish because of this dual reality.

Mankind has a two-fold problem. He has committed innumerable evil deeds which make him liable to God’s judgment. He also has a heart which is bent on disobeying God’s laws and defying authority. Man therefore not only needs to be forgiven. He also needs the innermost part of his being supernaturally transformed to be disposed towards righteousness, goodness, purity and love.

from The Judgment God Desires to Withhold

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