In this lesson, Pastor Dave Capoccia steps out of Genesis to consider the issue of man’s heart on a broader biblical basis. Is man’s heart basically good, evil, or neutral? Does the doctrine of original sin absolve man of responsibility or compromise the justice of God? And if man can only be saved by the merciful intervention of God, what is the point of calling on anyone to forsake sin and embrace Jesus Christ?
Auto Transcript
Note: This rough transcript was automatically generated by YouTube’s AI algorithm. We provide it here for your convenience, but know it will surely contain errors as it has not been proofread or edited by a human.
let’s open with a word of prayer Heavenly Father we are so thankful for your word it is a light in a dark place and God we wouldn’t even know our own Hearts except for your word thank you God for showing us who we are because you show us who you are and you do that by Your Word open our minds to it this morning and help us to be transformed by it in Jesus name amen well we are continuing in our study of Genesis 3 to 11 the consequences of sin and today we’re talking about the heart of man we broached this topic in our last few Le lessons we’ve talked about Adam and Eve Cain and Abel and we saw in what the Bible records in those early narratives about those people we saw flagrant unbelief flagrant Disobedience both in the first couple and in Cain but are all people like them are people basically evil at heart or basically good man has wondered about this question for all of man’s existence are there some of each are there good people are there evil people in the world with the right training can we change the heart of a good person into a bad person or a bad person into a good person are people just blank slates waiting for input of course when I speak of the heart I’m not talking about that blood pumping or organ that is is in all of us the heart of course is a figure of speech both in the scriptures and in our own language for the seat of Desire the seat of thought the seat of will in a person the heart is your causal core it is your inner self your inner person your inner man if you ask most people in our culture whether they are good whether they are good or evil at heart what do you think they’ll probably say they they’ll probably say that they are good not perfect but good still good basically basically good and certainly if you were to bring up the example of what we talked about last time Cain and murder they would say oh I would never do that I’ve never killed anyone I’m not like Cain at all not only do people think themselves basically good but they also have generally great hope for their fellow man at least in our culture if we can just educate him properly show him that racial prejudices are groundless show him how good it feels to treat others kindly show him how bad other people feel when you make fun of them if we can just show them these things then surely a person will realize that he wants to be a good person and he will be or if we can just get people to communicate to understand each other then they’ll see they’re not that different and they’ll stop fighting they’ll stop going to war or if we can just get people to realize what it is that they really want and help them achieve their dreams and self actualization or if we can just build High self-esteem in people get them to love and accept themselves then they’ll stop acting out in harmful ways they’ll become happy peaceful and productive people this basically is the secular religion of our culture very much pushed by psychology certainly you’ve heard some of these ideas but what really is man and what really is in man’s heart let’s see what the Bible has to say in response to these questions because the Bible is the only trustworthy Authority and it actually has a lot to say about the heart of man to investigate our question rather than studying one passage in depth even one at the beginning of the Bible we’re going to look at a number of different passages today and come up with an overall view provided by the Bible on this topic so here’s our outline for today’s class we’ll first identify what the bible really says is in man’s heart second we’ll deal with objections to what the Bible says about man’s heart and third we’ll ask some application questions about how we talk to others about their hearts so what is in man’s heart have Adam and Eve indeed brought a curse on all of mankind in this area a great place to go to help answer these questions is the Book of Romans so if you would take your Bibles and open to Romans 5 we’re going to read Romans 512- 21 remember that the book of Romans is written basically as an introduction to Paul’s Ministry and to his gospel message to Roman Christians who have never met Paul directly never met Paul personally before our section in chapter 5 Paul has just explained that Christ died to save us while we were helpless while we were enemies of God and he accomplished full Recon reconciliation for those who belong to him but let’s now read what Paul writes in verses 12 to 21 follow along with me therefore just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin and so death spread to all men because all sin for until the law sin was in the world but sin is not imputed where there is no law nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam who is a type of him who was to come but the free gift is not like the transgression for If by the transgression of the one the many died much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abound to the many the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned for on the one hand judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification for If by the transgression of the one death reigned through the one much more those who receive the abundance of Grace and of the gift of righteousness will re reign in life through the one Jesus Christ so then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men for as through the one man’s Disobedience the many were made Sinners even so Through The Obedience of the one the many will be made righteous the law came in so that the transg depression would increase but where sin increased Grace abounded all the more so that as Sin reigned in death even so Grace would Reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ Our Lord okay that was a bigger section and that’s the Apostle Paul and you know him he writes with very tightly packed arguments so if you’re like I don’t know if I followed all of that that’s okay let’s take a step back and we’ll just start with some basic observations and we won’t observe everything here this is a dense text but we’ll try and get some of the Basics notice who is the one man mentioned in verse 12 that would be Adam he’s the first one he’s the one who first sinned and verse 14 also identifies this person as Adam as a result of Adam’s sin we see three effects spread to all mankind according to Paul we have physical death verses 12 and 14 death spread to all men death reigned we have have spiritual death verse 19 the many were made Sinners that is a new condition and we have also Eternal death condemnation and judgment verses 16 and 18 judgment resulting in condemnation transgression resulted in condemnation now which people did not experience these negative effects of Adam’s sin did the Gentiles not experience sorry this is the way I asked that question may have been a little bit confusing but who did not experience these effects of these negative effects it would be nobody because notice verse 12 death spread to all men because all sinned that’s very inclusive also verse Verse 18 through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men no one was excluded everyone who came from Adam is included notice though repeatedly to whom Adam is contrasted In this passage Jesus Christ if being in Adam resulted in such negative effects what are the effects of being in Christ well we notice basically they’re the opposite we have justification in verses 16 and 19 that is being declared righteous that is being declared Justified you have righteousness contrasted with being made a sinner you are made righteous so this is a new condition verses 17 and 21 and then verse 17 talks about we reign in life through Jesus Christ so instead of death there’s life instead of condemnation there’s justification instead of being a sinner you are made a righteous one and notice these effects are also Universal for those found in Christ with the words all and many being used again so you have this contrast between Adam and Christ and those in Adam and those in Christ so really the teaching of Romans 5 is pretty straightforward when it comes to understanding man’s heart in Adam all people are sinful people who will die and will be condemned Forever by God and why are they like this it is because of Adam’s Disobedience these effects these conditions they are because all became Sinners through Adam’s Disobedience but this is not the only passage that expresses this this sobering truth is echoed throughout scripture Romans 3:23 famous verse what does it say for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God I know I always get Romans 623 and Romans 3:23 confused so don’t don’t worry if you do too but all have sinned all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God this is the same thing that Romans 5 says all people again Universal all people are sinful sin doers who are condemned by God as Pastor Bobby likes to say you have a bad record and a bad heart and it results in a bad outcome condemnation no one reaches God’s righteous and glorious standard all fall short all have sinned but those are two passages from Paul he’s not the only one who says this either if we go back to the beginning of the scriptures to the words of Moses a few chapters after the Canaan abble account listen to this statement from God recorded by Moses in Genesis 6:5 Genesis 65 then the Lord and that’s the Hebrew word Yahweh then Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually wow what an indictment understand when God is making this observation about Mankind this is right before the flood and God really emphasizes how evil man is in this verse notice the three-fold description the wickedness was great on the earth so high magnitude every intent of the thoughts was he was evil so that’s comprehensive and it was continually it was unceasing there was no moment where it was not true now that doesn’t leave much room for exceptions does it every thought of man was evil all the time according to Genesis 65 but we might say well maybe man was different After the flood after all that was a pretty severe judgment maybe man got his act together well soon after the flood there’s the Tower of Babel which by itself argues otherwise but also consider another statement from God to Noah After the flood and after Noah offers sacrifice to God for God saving him from the flood Genesis 8:21 Genesis 8:21 says Yahweh smelled the soothing Aroma and Yahweh said to himself I will never again curse the ground on account of man for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his Youth and I will never again destroy every living thing as I have done now we’ll come back to that verse when we actually talk about the flood account but I know about you but that’s kind of a surprising statement from God it’s not like I’ll never destroy the world again because now man’s different says I’ll Never Go destroy the world again even though man’s the same it’s almost the same description as Genesis 65 God identifies even after the flood even after the whole world has been cleansed of Sinners God identifies the state of man’s heart present tense as harboring constant evil except here God says the evil evil intent in man is evident from that person’s youth from when he’s a child even little kids God says show forth continual evil King David in Psalm 51 goes even further in Psalm 51 which is a his Psalm of confession and repentance after David had committed adultery and murder over bath Sheba David records this poignant Insight in Psalm 515 Psalm 515 behold I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me now you may remember we talked about this verse during our last Sunday school series David is not saying with this verse that his mother conceived him in some type of sexual sin even if she had it wouldn’t have anything to do with David’s own sin remember that Psalm is about confessing his sin nor is David saying that sexual intercourse is itself sinful or shameful we’ve talked about this before but no God created sex before the fall as part of the Fulfillment of his initial command be fruitful and multiply and he concluded at the end of his creation that all was very good including that aspect man sexuality so sex in marriage is good and is to be honored it is to be enjoyed it is not condemned as sinful by David here so what is David saying David is telling us when he became a sinner and when was that as soon as he was conceived as soon as he began to exist he was a sinner and this by the way is a great verse to support the truth that life begins at conception if David was a sinner as soon as he was conceived then David must have also had life in personhood because a clump of cells cannot be a sinner but a person can but back to the main point David confesses he was a sinner as soon as he began to exist and if this was true of David right righteous David a man after God’s Own heart how could it not be true of all people you and me included finally and this is just a survey we could add many more verses Jeremiah 179 Jeremiah 179 says famously the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick who can understand it notice J IAH says the heart not referring to so and so’s heart or sinner Hearts but whose heart man’s heart every person’s heart this is the inner being of all men Jeremiah says the inner person of man is so deceitful is so perverted that no man can understand it which makes logical sense doesn’t it your deceitful heart prevents you from even fully understanding its deception and wickedness that’s right you can’t even Plum the depths of your own heart and I think we can even observe this personally especially after coming to Faith in Jesus Christ when you were in sin and then you come out of it you look back and you say how could I have ignored that how could I have Justified that how could I deceive myself in such an obvious way this is the human heart no one no person can unravel the twisted sick heart of man but there is one who can do this and does do this and that’s mentioned in the very next verse Jeremiah 17:10 I Yahweh search the heart I test the mind even to give to each man according to his ways according to the results of his deeds there is one who perfectly understands the human heart and can unravel all its deception and that’s God what’s sobering however is that God doesn’t simply search the heart to understand but what will God do with that information he will judge he will judge and you may notice Jeremiah 17:10 talks about a man according to his ways according to the results of his deeds there’s always a connection between your heart and what you do God sees what’s really going on he knows your heart and he sees how that informs what you actually do and God will judge you on that basis God knows and will judge each person’s heart so bringing this all together what does the Bible say is the origin and extent of sin when it comes to humanity sin originated with Adam and has passed on to all people therefore man is physically dying he’s completely sinful and he’s totally condemned by God the same three consequences we observe from Romans 5 make no mistake then the sins we see in Genesis 3 and 4 are not simply a couple of bad examples oh don’t do as Adam did don’t do as Cain did they are the first manifestations of a deadly debilitating malady a terminal spiritual sickness that is common to all humans us included and really what we’re talking about here is the doctrine of original sin the doctrine of original sin now we sometimes think of the Fall as the original sin and in some ways that’s a correct way of speaking about it it is the first sin it is the model sin all other sins are just a version of that but understand the doctrine of original sin it refers to something a little different than that event the doctrine of original sin refers to the inherited sinfulness that we all have as descendants of Adam it biblical Doctrine declares that every person is born with a sin nature that is sin is an essential Dee rooted condition in every man every person and it moves that person to rebel against God from conception from birth now this is evident this is not obscure in the scriptures this is obvious from the scriptures nevertheless some might raise objections to what I just presented to you someone might say for instance if my condition forces me to sin doesn’t that mean I’m not responsible for my own choices after all I can’t choose anything different to this we must respond by saying first that the Bible clearly declares that God is just and rightfully able to hold all people accountable for their choices before him whether those people can understand why they can be held accountable or not just because you can’t understand why God is just to hold you accountable doesn’t mean that somehow he can’t hold you accountable the Bible says he can can and he does so that’s number one but also it is useful to clarify the nature of our inability and we can do so by an explanation from the Great American Theologian Jonathan Edwards you’re being a sinner is not like being bound to a chair with a chain it’s not like if you’re trying to picture your inability think about a person in a chair and he’s tied up with a chain he says this is not what your inability is like because that person in the chair even though he might want to get up even though he might try to get up he cannot because external constraints constraints are holding him down Edward calls such a state natural inability external things are preventing you from doing what you want that is not how we are though as humans as Sinners you’re being a sinner is well described as you simply being bound by what you love love see every person is compelled to do whatever he wants to do given the chance every person will do whatever he loves to do unless prevented by an external force and this is obvious You’re motivated to act by what you love what you desire but here’s the problem as a result of the Fall man has a new Chief Love and what is it it’s not God it’s himself man loves and worships himself most of all as his own God and thus he loves idols and ultimately he loves all evil therefore though man is not externally compelled to commit sin he is internally compelled because of his self idolatry he is bound in his own heart Jonathan Edward calls this moral inability moral inability is worthy of judgment and even unbelievers recognize this even people in the world recognize that those who love to do evil deserve punishment a man who steals because he’s desperately hungry he reive some sympathy but a man who steals simply because he loves stealing he receives no sympathy because that desire is clearly Wicked yet that latter case is like what we all are in the heart as those born as lovers of evil hang on a sec as those born as lovers of evil then we all justly come under the Judgment of God we are all doing what we want but the problem is what we want is evil therefore god holds us justly accountable now someone else might say okay I can certainly admit that I sin but I’m not that bad I mean I’m not as bad as Cain or Judas I even do some good things sometimes I’m pretty sure I don’t sin constantly so how can you say that I all I do is sin I’m not a bad person well how should we respond to that kind of statement yeah mark but think of Isaiah 646 you know all our righteous Deeds are right yeah the very best that we can do is offensive to him yeah so you’re going immediately to Isaiah 646 we will come back to that verse in just a second but and I think I heard Mike you say it too whatever you feel whatever you think about yourself well let’s face it the Bible’s already said already said your heart is untrustworthy we need a trustworthy source to tell you what’s really going on and we have that in the scriptures and what does the scriptures say scriptures say that you are evil yes everything everything you do is Tainted by evil the Bible is more trustworthy than your corrupt and deceitful human heart therefore even if you feel like you’re good you’re not that’s the first thing we can say but second of all if we just clarify for a person what sin actually is he might be more willing to admit oh oh okay yeah everything I do is sin because what is sin sin is not simply doing something wrong I mean that’s a correct way to answer it it’s not simply evil sin is any missing of the mark it is any departure from Perfection and where’s Perfection how do we know what Perfection is perfection is God so sin is any departure from the Perfection and Holiness of God so unless you do your good deeds exactly the way that God would do them and including with appropriate trust with thankfulness with love to God love for others unless you do that your Deeds are imperfect meaning they are not only not righteous they are actually sinful because you have misre misrepresented and Dishonored the goodness of God it’s partly for this reason the scripture says in James 2:10 James 2:10 for whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point he has become guilty of all you say how’s that fair well unless you keep the whole law you are a law breaker you are incapable of truly obeying any of God’s commands you fall short of God’s standard which is perfection so how do you think you can keep the law how can you call yourself good as Mark was already alluding to in Adam even the supposed good we do is imperfect it’s therefore offensive to God it’s reprehensible to God a holy God if God w’t holy then he might say okay it’s not that bad but he is perfectly holy he’s totally set apart totally pure and so he says I must see something that is totally perfect and pure otherwise I don’t want nothing to do with it ultimately If we’re honest with ourselves in the scriptures we have to confess the same thing Isaiah does in that verse that Mark mentioned Isaiah is speaking on behalf of sinful Israel but they were God’s chosen people they were if anybody had a chance of being actually righteous it would be those people who actually receed God’s word and were called by God especially but what does he confess on behalf of Israel even on behalf of himself for all of us have become like one who is unclean and all our righteous Deeds are like a filthy garment literally like a used mental cloth and all of us wither like a leaf and our iniquities like the wind take us away that’s our righteousness before God that’s our goodness those are our Good Deeds before God indeed if you are merely in Adam but not in Christ you do sin constantly and thought and word and deed outwardly to men you may not seem so bad you may not have committed particularly heinous sins publicly shameful sins but God searches your heart and he meticulously examines every one of your works and God’s assessment of you is perfect the assessment that he comes to as is evident in the scriptures is the same that it was for belshazzar and Daniel 5 you remember remember that that ruler of Babylon you have been weighed you have been measured and you have been found wanting you’re lacking you have missed the mark you have fallen short of the glory of God you’re not a good person now someone else might say but that’s not fair why should I suffer the consequences of Adam sin all right if I became a sinner through Adam how’s that fair I wasn’t there I didn’t choose him as my representative how is it just that I should inherit his sin I actually remember I had a student when I was um doing my brief time teaching at Timothy Christian school and he he he tried to come up with an analogy he’s like you know if a child is born with a deformity based on his parents actions that’s not fair right well so why are we accountable why are we and suffering the consequences of Adam’s sin because that’s not fair this is uh certainly a common objection but this too is a question that we could respond to from multiple angles I’ll just choose two first of all God is the one who appointed Adam to be the head of the human race he not only instituted the system of headship he also specifically created the person who would serve as the role of Representative now everything God does is perfectly wise and good so God’s installation of Adam as the head of humanity must then be perfectly wise and good and just to reject the idea of headship in this sense or to reject Adam specifically as your head is to demand an account of God and his wisdom which the Bible makes clear is always folly does the pot have the right to say to the Potter why did you make me like this the Bible is clear that God always does what is right and he is not obligated to explain himself to any of us so this is the way it is I’ve ordained this in my wisdom now you need to respond appropriately moreover God does not leave us in the dark as to why he has done what he has done in creation and Redemption and yes even in the ordination of the Fall it is is ultimately to enjoy his own glory and to show forth his satisfying glory to all the universe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ say how how could it be good how could it be perfect that there was a fall because of what it’s ultimately going to connect to so the choice of Adam as our failing head in one sense it was perfect it was perfect for God’s glorious purposes and salvation and consequently it is perfect for our ultimate good it’s not Fair it was good and speaking of that speaking of that salvation God second of all is pleased to save using a similar system to that which resulted in our condemnation and this is what we saw exactly in Romans 5 right in Adam in Christ in Adam in Christ just as Adam was our head that doomed us with his curse so Christ becomes for believers a new head that bears the curse for us and instead gives us his righteousness if we have a problem with act Adam acting as a representative then we should have a problem with Christ acting as a representative but that’s not the kind of problem that we want to have because if we refuse Christ as our representative especially in the face of such clear testimony from the scriptures and even life of our sinfulness then what hope do we have left say I don’t think that’s fair so I’m not going to go to Jesus Christ well they you’re just condemning yourself God in his perfect wisdom says we were conceived in Adam but in the gospel you can be placed in a new head and you can be in Jesus Christ and you will see the curses reversed but before we take Christ as our new representative we must see the horrifying curse that we are automatically already under as a result of our first head Adam he sinned and he passed on death a sin nature and eternal condemnation to each one of us now this truth has so many profound implications but even on a societal level this means that many of the efforts that we see today from government officials from Educators from health professionals they are doomed to fail because they assume something about man that is completely untrue that man is innately good or can be made good with enough man-made help enough man-made education training that’s not going to work because of original sin this truth also shows that many of the messages that we listen to or see in our immediate entertainment are completely silly how many times have we seen in movies or cartoons or heard in music the encouragement to follow your heart be true to yourself let your feelings guide you love yourself accept yourself those messages might work those messages might be appropriate if man is naturally good at heart but in light of man’s true state from this trustworthy Authority known as God’s word these are simply naive invitations to embrace and justify the Folly of our own sin this is the situation but the one big problem that we still haven’t addressed is is okay if we all start as sinful dying condemned Sinners how do we make this witch how can you move from having Adam as your representative to having Christ as your representative Genesis 3 and4 don’t give us much hope because they demonstrate that man is so sinful that when given the opportunity to confess sin turn from sin come to God for Mercy what will man do he hides from God he runs from God he accuses God he treats God as the enemy our situation in Adam then is completely wretched and desperate because not only are we so dead we’re dying physically spiritually we are corrupt and eternally we are condemned but we are also so unwilling to come to the only one who can save us we are committed and our rebelling against God continually even when he reaches out to us we say but I don’t want that get away from me we will never choose to repent or be saved on our own so what hope is there for us for mankind what hope is there for you if you see that you’ve been in Rebellion against God but the Bible says there is hope and to see how this works out look at Ephesians 1-9 Ephesians 2 1:9 if you ever want to talk about man’s inability to repent this is probably the best passage to turn to because it is so emphatic Ephesians 2 1:9 man’s inability to seek God to find Salvation in God on his own Ephesians 2 1-9 Paul again writing and he’s writing to Gentile Christians new Believers and you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air of the spirit that is now working in the sons of Disobedience among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh indulging the desires of the flesh flesh and of the mind and were by Nature children of Wrath even as the rest but God being rich in Mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our transgressions made us alive together with Christ by Grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the ages to come he might show The surpassing Riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus for by Grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not as a result of works so that no one may boast what an amazing passage in verses 1 to 3 we see a description of man’s state that is completely depressing completely true but complet depressing I mean how many ways can Paul describe how helpless and terrible our state is we are dead in trespasses and sins now if you’re dead you’re unable to do anything and you’re corrupt you you are totally helpless trapped in the world’s pattern he says we are dominated by the prince of the power of the air and that’s a description for whom that’s Satan the the enemy of God the serpent from the beginning we’re dominated we’re under his control we’re enslaved by the lust of our own flesh and mind we are ruled by various desires we we just always go after those things in our very nature in our essential being we are children of God’s Wrath that’s what’s reserved for us that’s what we’re heading to how many ways can Paul show us that we are doomed in Adam how many people if they are just in Adam how many people will choose to repent and seek God how many zero because of how thoroughly trapped and dead they are in their own sin but some people are nonetheless saved how verse four but God the reason that some people can be saved is because God graciously intervenes in their hearts and as he has done for us God makes Us Alive showing us Grace unearned undeserved favor favor without regard to Merit he opens our eyes to see him to see truth to see reality as it truly is even to see the glory of God in Jesus Christ so that we repent and believe it is just as Jesus explains to Nicodemus in John 3 you guys remember that we went through that to be saved a man must be begotten from above he must be born again what child can ever accomplish his own conception what baby can cause himself to exist there is none that is the point God himself must cause spiritual birth he must provide his life giving seed as First John 3 says he must recreate us with a new nature one that is like his own this is why we say from the scriptures that salvation is completely of God is completely of God he does everything he calls he draws near he regenerates he sanctifies he gives Faith he causes a new love for him to arise in our heart Hearts he grants us repentance he grants us that change of mind that leads to a change of Life 2 Timothy 2:25 and Ephesians 2 89 also says that not of yourselves by Grace you have been saved through faith that both the grace and the salvation and the faith all that not of yourselves it is the gift of God why does God do it this way because this is the way that God gets all the glory Ephesians 2 Ephesians 2:9 says so that no one will boast this not of works not of anything you achieve on your own not of ritual you go through Deeds you do no God is making sure that no one will boast it is a gift it comes by faith even the faith comes from God this is so that no one will boast God is determined to show himself to be worthy of utmost worship as he displays his amazing patience mercy and Power by completely accomplishing salvation on behalf of undeserving Sinners says I’ve done it all for you and this is why we always want to give God praise this is why we come to church this is why we sing this is God’s kindness on display and his Sovereign electing Grace and it’s been shown to us praise God praise the Lord with man salvation is totally impossible that is so obvious from our original sin condition but With God all things are possible Matthew 19:26 he has to do it all and he does do it all we because of original sin are radically depraved and completely unable to seek God so he causes us to seek him now then if salvation is all of God even our our own salvation it will never happen unless God accomplishes it what should we tell unbelievers what should we tell those who do not yet believe is there any point in urging them to turn to Christ what would you say yes why it’s the only way you say it’s the only way our declaring the scriptures our giving the gospel it’s the only way but but how they’ll never turn they’ll never believe right Glenda Hearts ands natural cannot has open mind and then can see yeah right so this is the thing God says I do all of it on my own I accomplish salvation in every heart I’m the one who changes a person from the inside but there’s a way that I do it the way that I’ve chosen to do it is not just that person is sitting all by himself and I believe no he says it’s through my preached word it’s through my declared word that’s what the spirit uses to open a person’s eyes to believe now just because he preach word doesn’t mean that somebody’s going to believe but if somebody never hears the word he will never believe because that’s the means that God has chosen that’s how God works when he chooses to save somebody it is through his preached word so yes in obedience we do that but also in expectation we don’t know who God’s going to save but he is going to save people through his word so that’s why we speak that’s why we declare it we and this is also why we pray because we say God I can’t change a person’s heart but you can and you do and you use these means so we pray we share the truths of scripture we urge people to repent and believe we seek to persuade them knowing that God is ultimately the one who has to make any of it effective and God will for those he’s chosen he will we’ve seen this also in the Gospel of John right all that the father gives to me will come to me and those who come to me I will never cast out Jesus says unless the father draws him he will never come but God will bring all of his sheep into his Sheepfold if you want to point an intersection of God’s sovereignty and salvation and heartfelt sincere urging for Sinners to turn and believe look no further than Matthew 11:25 to30 why don’t we go over there Matthew 11:25 to30 say is Jesus speaking look at how two things are just opposed Matthew 11:25 to30 at that time Jesus said I praise you father Lord of Heaven and Earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants yes Father for this way will was well pleasing in your sight all things have been handed over to me by my father and no one knows the son except the father nor does anyone know the father except the son and anyone to whom the son Wills to reveal him come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light how interesting right Jesus immediately switches from thanking the father for only saving those who the son chooses to reveal himself to to tenderly inviting those who are listening to him to come to Jesus in faith Jesus doesn’t see any contradiction in that he says those two things are appropriate side by side literally side by side in the scriptures and this is just like we see in John 6 Jesus tells the Jews no one can come to him unless God first draws that person and then he tells the crowd you need to come you need to come and believe because only he is the bread of life who can save you from death so we follow Jesus’s example we proclaim the Eternal gospel urging those who do not know Christ to repent and believe knowing that only those who God himself draws will actually do so and he even be able to do so so there’s a pretty direct application from this isn’t there any of you listening today who have come to church and still not yet repented of your sins and received Christ as your only savior your only lord well you need to repent and believe today that is the call from your God that is the call from his scripture turn away from your love of self Your Love of the things of the world which cannot save you or satisfy you turn from your love of sin and embrace the God who loves Sinners enough to die for them in their place do not say to yourself well maybe I’m not elect maybe God didn’t choose me so what’s the point of seeking him do not worry about what you cannot know what you do know is that you are responsible to obey God’s call so come repent it will be life and health to you he will not refuse anyone who comes to him with a broken and contrite heart take him up in his invitation maybe a stirring that you feel in your heart right now or a paying that you feel in your conscience it is in fact the Lord drawing you so respond respond to that call don’t cling to the deceitfulness of sin don’t cling to the comfortable lies of the world these will not give you true gain these will not give you lasting Joy come to The God Who is in himself life so that your sins might be washed away and be saved from Eternal death be saved from your unclean corrupted condition of just sin continually and you can walk in the righteousness of Christ now to those of us who are in Christ to those of you who are in Christ man this should give you fresh reason for praise for God doing for you what was impossible for you to do for any of us to do salvation was completely out of reach for all of us we were going to rot in our sins and we were going to burn in God’s hell judgment forever and we had no true objection to that other than saying God I I I don’t want that but God had mercy on us and why Us in particular we cannot tell that is only in God’s mind instead of giving us what we deserved what we ourselves wanted God intervened he gave us new hearts and now he’s bringing us to Eternal joy in Jesus Christ and those truths should move you those truths should cause you to love God even more and Want To Praise Him and want to follow him if you truly know God and if you truly appreciate what he’s done for you you don’t remain in your sins you don’t say thanks God that’s a big burden off my back now let me get back to what I want to do no if you’ve come to know Jesus Christ then you cling to him and you follow him so don’t cling to the world don’t cling to your besetting sins don’t cling to the other entanglements walk worthy of the Lord there was no true gain there was no True Life In Those Old things so don’t go back there don’t be deceived again be a true disciple of Jesus and make more Disciples of Jesus because that’s what he’s called you to do help others to know the one who is true life God will use you even for that so to sum up today’s main points in contrast to the beliefs of many in our culture all men are evil at heart they are continually sinning they are doomed to die and they are under God’s wrathful condemnation man’s sinfulness is so severe that he actually is unable to repent unless God intervenes and supernaturally saves him man is completely lost God has mercifully chosen to save a Remnant by grace and he uses his Believers as ambassadors of the Gospel so we declare the message that Jesus and his Apostles declared trusting God to use it to save whomever he has chosen two other quick questions before we end what evidence could you offer to someone some who doubts that all people are sinful from conception yeah Lea when you’re talking about the world’s belief that you can train someone to be good or you can cultivate that goodness or you can can somehow work it in and work it out proves that we’re naturally bad because you don’t have to train us to be bad try to work that in they’re trying so hard to put something it’s not fa yeah okay so there’s a there’s a good point right there even the fact that we realize that there’s a problem that needs to be fixed need to educate need to train need to re redo the environment or something like that recogniz it that we’ve already come in bad and I think we could just go back even to a more basic example someone says oh I don’t think people are naturally sinful just say all right why don’t you hang out with some kids for a little bit some very young children have kids yeah have kids or or being in a situation where you’re taking care of kids and these kids they’ve never been trained taught to sin in various ways and yet they somehow just figur it out and that’s what they do of course that’s not even the first line of defense the first line of defense of the scriptures you say I don’t believe this is the case well the scriptures say otherwise but it is observable not just in the world generally but even in the youngest people who otherwise don’t seem like they have been taught to sin yeah um Yeahs yeah yeah that’s another good example sh just pointing the laws that we have whatever we might say whatever our leaders might say they are meant to restrain sin and uh reward righteousness but if we didn’t have laws we would we would have some serious serious trouble I saw some other hands but let me make sure that we get enough time to go through these things and then we’ll come back for more questions and comments so certainly the scriptures are obvious but our own experience confirms what scripture says here’s a one other question if sin passed to all of Adam’s descendants why is it important to affirm that Adam and Eve were the original parents of all people and the answer is kind of in the question there but can you explain that it had to start somewhere right okay it all had to start somewhere anything else we can say to that well there’s no we’re all in the same condition there’s no kind of SE that’s better than any other right I mean cast system or anything even like that where there’s speci people that are exemp right yeah so Mark explaining that we’re all in the same boat we’re all in the same condition there’s no separate line that’s less sinful or even not sinful which could be the case if the beginning chapters of Genesis are not true just figurative poetry myth we all evolved okay well if that’s the case then maybe only one branch of it is sinful and the rest are not but that’s not the way it is all people are sinful because we all come from two literal people that are described for us in the Bible Adam and Eve Eve is the mother of all living and Adam was her head who sinned with her therefore all were made Sinners so this is another reasons why it’s important for us to affirm the historicity and the accuracy of the Genesis 1:3 and following accounts because otherwise suddenly theologically there’s no explanation for why all people are sinful or why all people have come under condemnation this goes back to the simple history that was recorded for us by God and His scriptures and we must hold to this over whatever new Theory man comes up with even if he calls it scientific all right I saw some other hands a couple minutes for questions or comments yeah Glenda I like to go back to where you say blame God if they’re not responsible they cannot I first I go back to with Moses and Pharaoh but he was saying God saying I’s God for his his God get honor and get we can want people want to blame him but we who know who God is we cannot because God he does it bring right right yeah so glena interesting observation you made there looking back at God’s interaction with Pharaoh how Pharaoh hardens his own heart but God also hardens his heart and people still saying they want to blame God for ordaining evil or Escape responsibility but one observation we can make from the scriptures is that though God is ultimately in charge of all things and yes even ordains evil he does it for good I think even of what Joseph said to his brothers when they were afraid that he was going to Once Jacob died they he was going to come after them in Vengeance he says what you meant for evil God meant for good and that’s really the way it is with all sin and this is one of the reasons why God is Not chargeable even though he’s the ultimate cause because what man wants to do man does want to do evil and he does evil God ordains that you could say even say wants that but not in a chargeable way because he’s going to use it for good but the reason that man cannot be excused is because man is not looking to do it for good man wants it for evil and you see another parallel example Assyria in the scriptures where God says I’m going to use Assyria to judge judge an ungodly Nation but then I’m going to judge Assyria for doing that say why would you do that I thought they were your agent of judgment it’s because of what Assyria intends Assyria intends for its own glory and it doesn’t want any restraint in it and that’s worthy of judgment but I have a different intent and that’s why I am not I’m not guilty of any sin Danny yes say that our responsility Evel to commun theel clearly don’t make yeah okay so Danny giving a comment but also asking for affirmation on it our role in evangelism is it not to make clear the gospel and not try to make it easy Easier by altering the gospel and that is indeed correct now it does mean we don’t want to go too far with it and I’m not saying you are but this is just a useful time to clarify we don’t want to go too far with it and be like well it doesn’t matter what I say or how I say it if they get offended God’s Sovereign and so whatever I’m just going to say whatever I want to say if it comes from the scriptures now we see the intent from Paul and other the apostles is that they are trying their best to make sure there’s no offense unnecessary offense to the gospel not to put any stumbling block and to persuade people so our goal should be to persuade to plead to somehow get past their objections and get them to see the light of Jesus Christ and believe but never to the point of altering the message never to the point of becoming Unfaithful as a Herald because that’s what a preacher is right we’re all preachers or at least we’re all called to be preachers preachers of the Gospel we just declare the message that we’ve been given you wter that message because you think I got a better message or uh I wouldn’t say it like that let me help God here first of all you are demonstrating pride and second of all that is not if you’re going to go outside God’s means don’t don’t think you’re going to get receive a blessed Harvest from that God may use you despite your unfaithfulness but often times when you try and help God you help God make untrue converts I mean look at Jesus we’re about to see in our next passage when we get back to John 8 Pastor Bob is preaching but when we get back to John 8 Jesus is going to tell the people who believed in him a few things that make them so mad they want to kill him say Jesus why would you do that they were so close oh he wanted to make sure that they understood and truly believed and when it came down to it they didn’t want to so we don’t try and cause an unnecessary offense but we want to make sure we give the true message we give the true message clearly though sincerely and with a heart to see them believe all right if you have other questions or comments come see me some other time in church today I’m going to be going to get my family right afterwards but next week we move on in Genesis go back to Genesis and we’re going to start talking about that Monumental and sobering display of God’s holiness and man’s wickedness and the great flood judgment so that’s next time let’s close in prayer Lord thank you for this time thank you Lord for even though it’s a sobering word it is in the end for us a celebratory word because you have done what none of us could do Lord you are indeed an amazing Savior and we want to give you praise today not not just in what we say and what we sing but in our lives in Jesus name amen amen