A couple weeks ago, Pastor Herk preached at the Little Church in the Pines on what is in our hearts that really matters. He states that there are questions that everyone has at one time or another as they read through the Holy Scripture and are confused about the biblical standard of what is clean and not clean, what is good and what is bad, and what is right or wrong in the eyes of the Lord? The Word of God points out sinful behaviors that we fallen humanity had in their hearts then and today, and that before we can really change our behaviors, we must have a change of heart. Change comes from the inside out.
Mark 7:1-13 Now the Pharisees and some of the scribes came from Jerusalem and gathered around Him, and they had seen that some of His disciples ate their bread with [ceremonially] impure hands, that is, unwashed [and defiled according to Jewish religious ritual]. (For the Pharisees and all of the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, holding firmly to the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves [completely according to ritual]; and there are many other things [oral, man-made laws and traditions handed down to them] which they follow diligently, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper utensils.) So the Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus, “Why do Your disciples not live their lives according to the tradition of the elders, but [instead] eat their bread with [ceremonially] unwashed hands?” He replied, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders), as it is written [in Scripture], ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. ‘They worship Me in vain [their worship is meaningless and worthless, a pretense], teaching the precepts of men as doctrines [giving their traditions equal weight with the Scriptures].’ You disregard and neglect the commandment of God, and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men.” He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside and nullifying the commandment of God in order to keep your [man-made] tradition and regulations. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother[with respect and gratitude]’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of his father or mother must be put to death’; but you [Pharisees and scribes] say, ‘If a man tells his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you is Corban, (that is to say, already a gift to God),”’ then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother[since helping them would violate his vow of Corban]; so you nullify the [authority of the] word of God[acting as if it did not apply] because of your tradition which you have handed down [through the elders]. And you do many things such as that.”
Why do people treat others so badly? Why do spouses break their wedding vows and commit adultery? Why does racism and hate crimes exist all over the world? Why are people greedy? Why do people lust after the other sex? Why do people act with treachery and deception towards one another? Why is there war? Why is there violence and murder? These moral questions have plagued society forever. But the Christian faith has its own beliefs about what is at the heart of the human moral problem. In “O Holy Night”, the beloved Christmas Hymn’s first verse reads: “O holy night the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.” The word “pining” is defined as “wasting away”. This fallen world lays in sin and error, wasting away still today.
Genesis 1:31 tells us about creation, Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. The sinful and chaotic ways of the world are not the way things are supposed to be; it is not the way God planned life on earth to be. The entire earth was infected through Adam and Eve by sin; and how great a fall that was. Sin is defined as the voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity. Sin is either a positive act in which a known divine law is violated, or it is the voluntary neglect to obey a positive divine command, or a rule of duty clearly implied in such command. Doubt, disobedience and rebellion against God, including all evil thoughts purposes, words and desires.
Sin is the essential element in the human race’s rejection of God and God’s Word, Will or Way. It is essential in mankind’s declaration of independence from God. The unregenerate heart says, “God, do not tell me what to do and do for me only what I say or what cannot do myself.” God’s good world fell into egocentric darkness and pain. As followers of Jesus Christ, we have to believe that sin is at the heart of the problem and Jesus Christ is the only answer to solve sin problem. The holiday of Christmas is the world’s celebration of God’s plan to do something about the sin problem on both sides of eternity. Christmas is the celebration of the incarnation – God, in the flesh, among us. The promised messiah, Christ, the anointed; the Savior of the world. God provided a way out of sin with its temporal and eternal consequences. It was all in His plan, called the Gospel. John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Let's continue Pastor Herk's message on sin being the heart of the matter today and the solution provided by God for the sin problem in the world and in each individual heart.
In Christ, Brian
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