THE PROBLEM IN OUR SIN

This is a heavy week, but don’t give up. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but you have to move through the darkness to experience the joy of freedom on the other side.

As we saw yesterday, the same root of sin has corrupted every human heart. The diagnosis is terminal. There’s no cure. Even Jesus’ half brother James affirmed that the problem of sin is fatal. After generations of so-called human progress, people still can’t fill the gaping holes in their hearts. The problem of sin remains. Broken people can’t fix themselves:

“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.

“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

ECCLESIASTES 1:2

That conclusion is repeated throughout the Book of Ecclesiastes. Most of the things the Teacher experimented with in his pursuit of wisdom, the various desires of his heart, weren’t bad things. Nevertheless, all the wealth, pleasure, discipline, education, work, relationships, and experiences in the world can’t provide meaning, purpose, or identity.

List several pursuits in which you’ve tried to find satisfaction and identity. Consider various stages of your life—different ages, interests, and priorities.

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Highlight anything on your list that you use to define your identity.

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Your heart can be enticed by the pursuits you listed—even inherently good pursuits like work, family, or church—to define your identity and purpose in life. When you desire something to do for you what only God can do, it becomes a potential idol, false god, and futile pursuit. Not everything you enjoy, desire, or feel is sinful or deceptive. God gave you a heart, not just a mind. He created beauty and pleasure for your enjoyment. He’s the giver of “every good and perfect gift” (Jas. 1:17). Every tree in the garden of Eden was a delight to the eye and good for food. The problem is when your desires tempt you to put those things in God’s place or to put yourself in God’s place as the judge of what’s best for yourself. That’s the heart of sin.

Read Romans 1:18-25 and summarize the human problem in personal terms. What happened to humanity’s relationship with the Creator?

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Though the problem is universal, it manifests itself in many different ways. Your temptation and sin may not be the same as your neighbor’s or a family member’s. The following list of sins is so bracing and varied that anyone who’s honest can’t keep from finding himself or herself in it. We’re all broken. That’s not an excuse. It’s a wake-up call.

Highlight all of the sins in the following verses that you’ve been guilty of at any time in your life.

Because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right. They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. Although they know God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die—they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them. - ROMANS 1:28-32

The person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. - JAMES 2:10, NLT

Conclude your time of personal study with prayerful reflection and confession. Admit specific sin by name, recognizing that any and every sin is a serious problem. Before you can live in the good news of the gospel, you have to identify with the bad news of sin—not just generally but specifically. Even if you’re already a Christian, being reminded of the deceptive nature of your own desires and the unique ways they creep into your life is vital to your spiritual health and growth. Pray now, confessing your sins.