The Problem of Sin
By Don Gentry
One of my favorite passages growing up and continues to be to this day is Jeremiah 17:9.
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9
It may be a little weird to think of that as a favorite passage, but allow me to explain. I have always used it as a reminder of who I am and my position in relationship to God if I didn’t have Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
You see, what this passage does for us is helps us to understand the power of sin. The original Hebrew means, “The mind, our intellect, tries to trip us up, our minds are polluted, crooked and corrupt. Our minds are literally incurable.” What that tells me is my own mind tries to deceive me into thinking that my ways are actually “ok.” The power of sin can deceive even my very best intention. Many people think that is depressing. To me it is not depressing at all. It simply keeps me in check.
It reveals to me that I must constantly keep my mind in check with the righteousness of God. How many times have you caught yourself saying, “It wasn’t that bad,” or “I’m not that bad compared to…?” The reality is this – our only comparison should be to the holiness of God. In comparison to His Holiness, we are deplorable even on our best day!! The good news is that the Bible gives us the answer to our demise.
“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10
Only God knows the true intentions of our minds. It reminds me of the passage that Paul gives us in Romans.
For in my inner being (mind) I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? hanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:22-25
The power of sin is to deceive us and hold us captive to a law that we don’t really understand. The beauty is that the power of God offers us victory, deliverance, freedom, and grace. We get to choose which one we want to live by. However, we have to start by understanding just how tricky our minds can be. If you ever find yourself justifying sin, trust me that is not God talking to you. Hope to see you Sunday as we continue to uncover the richness of all that God has come to do in our lives!