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| the bullseye |
Depravity means "inherited corruption". Depravity is one of my favorite words.
Strange.....
But, once I truly understood that word, I was able to begin to grasp the concept of grace. Not just grace given to me by God, but grace that I need to give to others...and to myself.
Humanity is inherently corrupted. Humanity needs Grace. Humanity needs Jesus.
Until I understood the true condition of humanity, I could not appreciate why humanity needs Jesus.
As strange as it sounds, I think that my favorite, most life changing, class in seminary was one of my systematic theology classes, "The Sin Class". Well, officially it was ST103 Angelology, Anthropology, & Hamartiology- the study of angels, Satan, humanity, and sin. Hamartiology (the study of missing the mark), is the segment of Theology (study of God) that examines the concept of sin. For me, it will always be the class that taught me about depravity.
I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow, it was deeply ingrained in me that there was something good about me that God recognized and that this is why he spoke to my heart and led me to salvation. I believed that by serving and doing enough good stuff, I could earn the favor of God. I also believed that sin was just what I did or did not do.
Sin is what we are and sin is what those around us are. That is why we need a Savior. That is why we need daily submission to that Savior. That is why Jesus Christ must be both Savior and Lord.
Sin is literally, "missing the mark". It is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude or nature. Sin not only relates to our actions, but also our attitudes and ultimately our very nature. Because our human nature is sin, we act out in sinful, selfish, lawless ways. It's like when little children do wrong without having ever been taught to do wrong. By our very nature we are stubborn, obstinate, selfish, and broken.
We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned Romans 5:12
Sin is serious. At the core, it is man completely separated from God. It manifests itself as painful, harmful and destructive actions by us or by others against us. Sin is wrong and God hates it.
History reflects the record of man's sin and rebellion and of God's plan to bring man back to Himself. God has given a standard of holiness and that is the "bullseye" we are aiming for. The problem is that most of us spend our lives trying to hit the middle of the bullseye, using tools in our own pockets....morality, religion, traditions, money, talents....
Our tools alone will never hit the bullseye...Humans throughout history have died, having never hit the bullseye. They spend eternity separated from God.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
Another way to look at it is that man starts off in a hole, completely separated from God. Nothing that man does alone can ever get him out of the hole. Nothing that man does alone can ever clear him of this inherited corruption.
On his own, he will never, ever, ever be able to hit the bullseye or get out of the hole, even if he spends his entire life trying to do just that.
A Man in a Hole
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
Because we could never meet the standard, God in his great grace and mercy, sent Jesus to meet the standard for us. He came to earth for the sole purpose of hitting the mark on our behalf. He was the perfect sacrifice that was made for us. God accepted his sacrifice....and then made it available to us. Jesus satisfied God....apart from Him, we cannot.
And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Hebrews 10:11-14
Because Christ hit the bulleye, we actually can do something to meet God's standard. We actually can do something to get out of the hole.
We can trust in Jesus Christ. We can admit that we are in a hole. We can turn to Him and to Him alone, and He will pull us out of the hole.
"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13
So we do have a tool in our pocket that we can use after all! But we had nothing to do with it.
There are many challenges today...
If you are not a Christian:
- Do you know that you are in a hole? (full of sin and unable to satisfy God)
- Do you know that Jesus is how to get out? (because he was fully able and did satisfy God)
If you are a Christian:
- Do you know that others are in the hole (full of sin and unable to satisfy God)
- Do you care?
- Do you daily rely on Jesus as the one that hits the mark for you?
- Do you give grace to others, even other believers, who are living in sin and making sinful choices?
When I remember this, I am a better parent, wife and friend. I understand that people are human, they are sinful. They need grace. When those around us hurt us, we give grace...because that is what God does for us. We are not responsible to change the heart of the other person, that is God's job. We are just to be graceful, speak the truth in love, be kind, and share Christ.
If you are a Christian, also remember:
-Grace does not mean that we are to use it as an excuse to keep on sinning. We are to walk in new life and be victorious. Strive to live a life that makes choices obeying the Spirit of God more than you make choices obeying your own flesh.
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:1-4-Your desire to keep sinning does not mean you are not saved. Once, a student told me that he did not think that he was really a Christian, because he thought that if he was a Christian, he would not sin anymore. Back to the hole analogy, once we are saved, we are never, ever back in the hole. But, unfortunately, we do stay human until the day we die. Because we stay human, we stay sinful. We are just saved sinners. We are new and we have the Holy Spirit, but we are still human. That is why we battle sin. Struggling with sin is a sign that you know the sin is wrong. You should worry if the sin never bothers you. The struggle does not mean you are not saved, it means you are human. For this reason, even Paul could say:
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. Romans 7:15-20-Since you have been set free from your sins, do not let yourselves become enslaved to those sins again. Know your tendencies and temptations. Take every step necessary to flee from those temptations. Get an accountability partner. Lean heavily on God to help you resist and flee.
For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.-Do not be defeated if you choose sin. Repent and march on, trusting God's grace to bring you forgiveness and restoration.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 6:10-14
He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:10-14
You cannot hit the bullseye, but Christ did. Admit your depravity and the depravity of those around you. Accept God's grace in Jesus Christ. Give grace to others. Let Jesus be your Lord and Savior. Walk victoriously in that truth.
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