Psalm 36:1-4 (ESV)
To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
[2] For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
[3] The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
[4] He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.
Sin is ingrained in the human heart. Before a man will surrender up his sin he must have a heart that has a disposition to do so. This is the miracle of regeneration. We will never have the wickedness that is entrenched in our hearts take up a lesser position except by the power of God. The desire to truly desire God and chase after him is a work of God.
Sin here should not be thought of as that which makes a person completely unfit to be around. The essence of sin is independence and the wickedness that resides deep in the human heart is that which says “:you are good and you need not bow down to any god to grant forgiveness. Your sins are small and your good is bigger.”
This is where the Gospel is utterly rejected in our world today. People believe the lie that they are good, that they can accomplish good by themselves, that the good they do will stand them in good stead with God if they believe in God at all. It is the greatest sin of all and it is universal. It is thought to be nothing because it does not murder or destroy and is frequently accompanied by good works. This is its deception and it has succeeded in sending many unwary souls to a Christless eternity.
The most popular humanitarian can be guilty of this sin and many of them are. The saddest thing of all is that even some “Christians” believe it. They look up to people who have dedicated their lives to good causes as exemplars of a godly life when their lives may be just the opposite; a testimony of the deceitfulness of the human heart in that they believed they were good and acceptable because of their humanitarian efforts. It is the most common and the most serious of sins and only Jesus can deal with it as decisively as it needs to be dealt with.
Pray for the lost who are lost in a deception that tells them they have scored enough points to be found acceptable with God.
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