The Truth About Why We Sin
Jeremiah 17:9
I. Introduction - Heart Problems are THE problem in life (Jer 17:9)
A. Everybody has problems – inside kind of problems
B. Everybody thinks they are the way they are because it’s the way they were born – short, tall, ugly, blond
C. Some people excuse their drinking because they think they were born to drink
D. Some smoke…
E. Some rebel because they think it is in their genes
F. Some murderers think they can’t help it
G. And the truth is that they CAN’T help it – but I want to introduce to you someone who can!
H. The truth is, the problem is not genetic, it is in the heart! And it can be cured! But you first have to believe the problem is not external – it’s your own heart that is a mess!
II. Do you want proof
A. The Lesson of David and Bathsheba (2Samuel 11:1-4)
1. David is King, sitting comfortable, and no problems
2. Got a family to be envied, got friends, got peace
3. But was bored one time – everyone else out of the country, out fighting against a neighbouring country
4. Got up onto his roof (normal place to sit during the cool evenings)
5. Went looking for something to see – and a lovely young woman was undressing, and climbing into a bathtub – sounds just like a movie doesn’t it
6. David’s eyes pop right out of their sockets, and his heart skips a few beats
7. He should be looking, and yet he couldn’t stop
8. And he went a little further – called for her, got her name, invited her over – got into bed with her, and had sex with her
9. To top it all off, she got pregnant
10. David has to cover up the evidence – he had committed adultery with a married woman
a. Has Bathsheba’s husband killed in the battle (2Sam 11:14,15)
b. Lies about the whole thing and just takes Bathsheba to be his wife – acts like nothing wrong had happened
11. But then one day, a man of God, a prophet came and sneakily showed David that God had seen everything, and was going to punish him – bad
12. So David humbles himself, and admits he has done not just wrong, but wickedly, and asks God to give him a “NEW” heart that is clean, and soft, and true (Psalm 51:10) “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
B. Do You Want More Proof? Jesus proved it in Mark 7:15-23
1. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed…
a. Evil thoughts
b. ADULTERIES
c. Fornications
d. murders
e. Thefts
f. Covetousness
g. Wickedness
h. Deceit
i. Lasciviousness
j. an evil eye
k. Blasphemy
l. Pride
m. Foolishness
2. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
III. Message
A. So, What’s the Problem?
1. The problem in everyone’s life is not with my hands, my eyes, or my feet, my parents, my mind even – it is my heart
2. Something is wrong with it – it is broken, defective, it is ruined
3. How bad is the problem?
B. What Went Wrong?
1. What went wrong? We inherited a sinful nature – I naturally gravitate towards trouble (Job 5:7) “man is born unto trouble, (just as sure) as the sparks fly upward.”
2. It was the same in Noah’s Day (Gen 6:5) “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
3. Jesus has already showed us the problem in deep in our hearts (Mk 7:23)
C. The Good News Is That God Knows Your Heart – and Can Fix It
1. God made the heart – made it free – but didn’t make it fulfilled
2. God knows all the things in the heart – knows what you THINK, and secretly do IN your heart
3. God judges the heart (1Sam 16:7) more than the actions – “for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
4. Knocks on our heart (Rev 3:20) “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him”
5. If we believe with all our heart (Rom 10:9,10) “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt 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.”
IV. Conclusion - So How Does it Get Fixed?
A. Must be broken first – humbled, honest, hungry
B. Must believe with all the heart in Jesus the Saviour
C. Must be born again
D. Must bury the past life and be different now! Don’t let the past keep picking at the scars and scabs of your heart!
Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig