EZEKIEL 18:30-32 – “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”
THEME OF THE DAY: KEEP A SENSITIVE HEART TOWARDS HUMAN DEPRAVITY. It is the cause of all human misery. It ruins relationships, fractures families, splits churches, brings divine judgement upon a nation, and will be the ruin of any individual who toys with it, plays with it, allows it, and even celebrates it. It is the worst evil in all of human history and unless it is individually dealt with through the Lord Jesus, will prove to be the cause of eternal agony for all who die with it still on themselves. This “it” is sin.
There are two other words associated with sin proving the total depravity of all human beings. They are found in today’s scripture as well as the first two verses of David’s Psalm of Repentance – Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! (Psalm 51:1-2). The words are “iniquity” and “transgressions.” Combined, they paint for us the accurate picture of the human condition outside of Christ. Sin means to “miss the mark” or fall short of God’s standard. Transgression is a violation of a known boundary, a willful act of rebellion against God’s laws. Iniquity refers to our nature, what we are by birth – corrupted to the core. Iniquity or our nature is what produces sins and transgressions. So, it is not difficult to see how bad sin, transgression, and iniquity is, but the problem is maintaining that proper perspective.
Our Lord Jesus told us the danger which faces us when sin or lawlessness is unbridled in a culture. It is a danger facing His true people. He says, “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). There it is. The danger. A cold heart. A loss of first love for Jesus. A callousness toward sin. How would we know if the sins of the culture are cooling our affections for the Lord, for His gospel, His church, and holiness? One way would be the sinful attitudes of the culture being present in the lives of us, His people – complaining about anything and anyone, critical spirits toward authority (all authority), and self-centered lives focused on self-interests and self-preservation.
Perhaps a good way to end today’s nugget would be praying. Maybe something like this, “Father, guard my heart from allowing the rampant sin in the culture desensitize me to the easily tolerated sin in my life. Keep me constantly aware of the heinous nature of all sin, Your hatred towards it, and Your great display of wrath against it by what You did to Your Son. May I never have a light view of what cost Your Son His life, and help me do constant battle against all sin – attitude, action, and speech – knowing there are no “little sins” in my life. For Jesus’ sake, amen.”
PRAYER: “Father, help me not allow the sin of the culture desensitize my heart to the easily tolerated sin in my life.”
QUOTE: “To maintain the proper attitude toward sin, stay close to the cross of our Lord Jesus.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim