EDITORIAL by Pastor Ralph H. Flynn
The Heart Produces Sin

The news reports some heinous crime or grossly immoral act and we respond, "How in the world could any human being do such a thing?" According to the Bible it is simply a heart problem. The prophet Jeremiah declares, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it" (Jeremiah 17:9)? That does not single out any heart, whether making the news or reading this article; it describes the hearts of all human beings.

The heart, in Scripture, seems to be the fountainhead of personal human activity. Solomon says, "Eat not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee" (Proverbs 23:6,7). An outward appearance to the contrary notwithstanding, the heart shapes the character of the man and produces his words and actions.

On a certain occasion, Jesus and His disciples were confronted for eating without washing their hands, as required by the Pharisees. Jesus responded, "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashed hands defiled not a man" (Matthew 15:18-20). Jesus' list of sins could have been gleaned from the evening news or the daily newspaper.

Israel's king, David, sinned by committing adultery and by committing murder to cover the adultery. Nathan, the prophet, confronted him. Deeply repentant, David wrote Psalm 51. In it he pleaded with God, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin  . . . Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: . . . Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me . . . Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:1-10).

We all have the same problem that David had. We may not have committed his dual sins, but we have sinned. The mercy of God has been extended to us, too, and has provided the basis forgiveness. God, in His mercy, has given His Son, Jesus Christ, to die upon the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Thus, He is able to justify believing sinners but continues to demand the death penalty for the sins of unbelievers.

The apostle Paul explains the process, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:9,19).

Please note that Christ is the solution to the heart problem. It is not possible to whittle away at the known sins in our lives, eliminating some and suppressing others, until our hearts are rid of them. That is the wrong direction for correction. Our hearts are the source of the problem and cannot be renewed by our efforts. God must do the cleansing and He must make the heart new, as David asked Him to do.

Paul amplifies the idea. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new" (II Corinthians 5:17). He further explains, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:8-10). With the changing of our hearts, our actions will change.

You may not have made the news, but you have the capacity to hit the front page. God would spare you that probability, but He needs your response to His Son. You can respond in only one of two ways: Receive Him or Reject Him (doing nothing is the same as rejecting). One of these ways causes a real heart problem. If you recognized you have a heart problem wouldn't you want to take care of it as soon as possible? It is foolish to wait because " Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away (James 4:14). This means our heart problem cannot wait and must be addressed today: "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation (II Corinthians 6:2). What say ye then to God about Christ, the Giver of a new heart and a new life upon request?

Ralph H. Flynn, Pastor
Faith Bible Church of Bellevue

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