My stepdaughter loves to tell the story of how her dad told her not to worry about the ongoing pain in her arm after she had experienced a fall during a high school soccer game. He assured her she was just bruised up and would feel better in a few days. Except she didn’t.
A week later, they sat together in the ER, and an X-ray clearly showed what the human eye could not see. The imaging picture revealed the problematic disintegration hidden beneath the surface of her skin. Her bone was broken and would not heal without medical attention.
Bible Teacher Warren Wiersbe has called this passage in Romans 3 “an x-ray study of the lost sinner from head to foot.” You see, on the surface, we may think we have a few minor issues to deal with that aren’t that problematic, but that’s a lie. That’s a lie from the pit of hell that the enemy of our soul wants us to believe.
The enemy of our soul tells us we are “just fine.” After all, we haven’t murdered anyone, and we try to be nice to everyone as much as we possibly can. Sure, every once in a while, we get a little angry and demand our way like a selfish brat, but that’s not who we really are. Right?
Friend, God sees our hearts more clearly than we do. Sin has permeated our soul and spirit as an unseen, yet deadly poison. When our sin-saturated hearts are viewed using the lens of God’s Word as a standard, the corruption becomes clearly visible:
– Our minds lack understanding of what is truly right. This means we fail to comprehend why we truly exist. We dream big dreams and have our own agenda, but the truth is that we were created by a holy God. Our all-consuming purpose should be to know Him and make Him known.
“The human mind is more deceitful than anything else. It is incurably bad. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
“…because the outlook [mind] of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so.” (Romans 8:7)
– Our hearts do not seek what is holy and follow after God alone. We continually “turn away” from our First Love who is worthy of all our worship and pursue what is worthless.
“For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:20-21)
“But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person. For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” (Matthew 15:18-19)
– Our will exists enslaved to sin. In our fallen sinful state, we give way to our fleshly desires and cannot wholeheartedly embrace what is good.
“For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil. I do not want!” (Romans 7:18-19)
“Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)
Friends, our sin may be unseen to others, but death is certain if no action is taken to address this total depravity. Thankfully, the Shepherd of our souls came to rescue us. Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we can receive healing redemption through His blood shed for us.
If we turn to Jesus and confess our need for forgiveness, He cleanses us from all our sin. All who look to Christ as Lord can rejoice today because He has forgiven all our offenses. We can share the Good News that His grace has forever delivered us.
