Getting to the Heart Of It...Literally

We like to blame everything on everyone else...I mean ever since the beginning of time that has been the pattern; look back to Genesis 3 and notice how it was Adam who blamed Eve who blamed Satan. Even as Christians we like to minimize our sinfulness and magnify our godliness and somehow seem to think that there is "good" within us. What is so often the case among Christians today is to think that when we are tempted to sin or when we sin it is because some outside influence, or most commonly some scheme of the devil has "made us sin"...I once heard someone say when asked why they stole something, "the devil made me do it". Now, although this can be the case in many circumstances, this is only coupled with the fact that our hearts are where it starts, and that even as Christians they are wicked and deceitful, or as our high school pastor likes to say, "cesspools of wickedness" (Jeremiah 17:9).

I have been wrestling with why we, myself included, as chosen kids choose to sin! I mean I know that we are imperfect until the day of redemption but I guess my Spirit within me just doesn't get it. In Jerry Bridge's book he talks about how a Christian willingly sins because they are no longer in bondage but have been freed. Paul talks in Romans about how he does the very things he hates and doesn't do the things he knows he should do. So why, in light of the cross, in light of the insurmountable amounts of blessings we have, in light of who God is do we slip up all the time, but more importantly why do we CHOOSE to disobey?

I believe James 1:13-15 gives us good insight into this very idea, "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. " So what do we see here? I think it is quite obvious from the passage that each one of us has certain "lusts" or evil desires in our hearts. With enticement these lusts stimulate our drive to sin. You can see that temptation in and of itself is not sin, it is when that temptation turns into a desire that sin is birthed. That means that there is a way to stop at the temptation and choose NOT to sin! And lets just get one thing down, nobody is ever going to understand their heart entirely. Jeremiah 17:9 says that only God can know the heart fully because of how wicked and evil it truly is. But that does not mean that we just give up and give into sin then. In fact, that should be a motivator for us to beg the Lord to reveal to us the wickedness within and purge it from our very being.

Nobody has ever had to teach any child to love themselves, it just comes natural. People, whether boastful or full of self pity are all full of pride and love themselves far too much. Because of that love for oneself we tend to overlook the wickedness within our own hearts and we fool ourselves into thinking we Christians really aren't that bad. We even sometimes start to compare ourselves to so-and -so at church or those pagans down the street. Elyse Fitzpatrick once said, "Sin speaks to us in our hearts telling us that the wrongs that we are planning is right". That is a scary thought, how self-deceived we truly are! Now coupled with the fact that we are self-deceived is the fact that in our areas of weakensses, in those areas of temptation the enemy will prey and look to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." He is looking to ally with the wickedness of our own hearts and seek to cause us to fall.

So just because we can never know the fullness of our deceived heart doesn't mean that we shouldn't strive with all our might to purge ourselves from the uncleanliness of it. In fact God's holiness and our love for Him shoudl be a motivator for us to beg the Lord to reveal to us the wickedness within and purge it from our very being. But how am I supposed to do this you might ask? Well here are three simple and practical ways that have helped me and that may enable each of us to better pursue holiness as we seek to understand our own sinfulness.

1. Be In The Word
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." -Hebrews 4:12

Only as we are in the Word will we be able to understand our hearts and more accurately be able to judge our thoughts and intentions. It is only here in the Bible that we can gain the wisdom we so desparately need. Paul himself in Romans 7:7 said that it was not until he was in the Word that he realized His covetous behavior was sinful. How are we to know what is right and wrong if we don't look to the one who commands it all? We must be saturating ourselves in the Word.

2. Pray, Pray and Pray Some More
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." -Matthew 26:41

We must humbly realize our dependence upon the Lord and ask God to teach us where our strong desires are (aka the ones that lead us into sin). We also want to pray that God would enable us to be alert so that when the time comes and our flesh is enticed we will resist that tempation.

3. Rely on the Spirit's Power
"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." -John 14:26

Only the Holy Spirit can help you resist tempation. He is the most effective agent for change, it is by His power that we were made new in Christ and went from death to life. He is the one who convicts and convinces ous of sin and it is by His power that we are able to overcome sin in our lives. "You can be confident that as His Spirit trains you in truth you will grow in your ability to discern good and evil" (Elyse Fitzpatrick). Romans 8:13 tells us that by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the body. And only He can bring about real and lasting change.

So our hearts are wicked and deceitful and really impossible to understand. We constantly deceive ourselves and yet we somehow think that there is good within...how discouraging can this get?! BUT GOD in His grace and mercy has redeemed us from the bondage of sin my brothers and sisters!!! He has freed us from the power of that bondage and has given us His Word to guide us, the ability to ask Him for the help we need and the Spirit's power to say NO to sin and willingly choose to obey our Father in heaven! How great the blessing it is to be a child of the most Holy One. May our hearts break for the very things that break His and may we truly desire to understand the heart that we have been given and by His grace choose to say no to the sin that so easily entangles it (our heart that is)!