EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/10/2024 10:40 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 “Because of What the World Does”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 John 2:16
Message of the
verse: “For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and
the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”
I have been writing about sin, and sinfulness in the
last few Spiritual Diaries. Now it is
because people are sinful that evil overpowers fallen mankind, and I now want
to look at some verses that support that.
“Then the LORD 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” (Genesis 6:5).
(This verse speaks of what happened
after the flood.)
“Jesus answered them, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” (John 8:34).
“For when you were slaves of sin,”
(Romans 6:20a). This verse is speaking to believers before they became believers.
Now I want to complete the sentence
that I began with “such that all that unregenerate people can think about and
do are sinful things, because sin so utterly dominates their minds, wills, and
affections.” Now if you are a believer
you still think about sin and even commit sin, but it is not like before you
were not a believer when all your thoughts were to sin. Now I think that most of this is a mind thing
and not all the time an action thing, but nonetheless sin was something that
you were thinking about or doing before you became a believer.
MacArthur writes “It is because of
sin the they are under Satan’s control, as slaves to the prince of darkness
(cf. Eph. 2:2). It is because of sin
that the unredeemed remain under the wrath of God, destined for eternal hell
unless they repent (Ps. 9:17; Matt. 3:7, 10, 12; 7:13; 13:40-42; 25:41, 46; Luke 13:3; John 3:36; Rom. 1:18;
2:5; Col. 3:6; Rom. 1:18; 2:5; Col. 3:6;
Rev. 6:17; 19:15; 20:11-15). And it is
because of sin that people are subject to all the miseries of this life. As Eliphaz the Temanite, one of Job’s
friends, remarked. ‘Man is born for trouble’ (Job. 5:7a). And Solomon reminded his readers of the
emptiness and meaninglessness that sin causes, ‘I have seen all the works which
have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind’
(Eccl. 1:14; cf. vv. 2:8; Isa. 48:22; Rom. 8:20).”
Let us now talk about the origin of sin in human
behavior. Now while it is true that
temptation comes from Satan’s system, (Eph. 6:12; 1 Peter 5:8-9) through the
world, yet sinful behavior cannot ultimately be blamed on external
influences. Let us look at how the
sinner himself is responsible for his sinful actions, which spring from his own
wicked desires as James talks about in James
1:13-16. Sin, then abides in all
human hearts, as Jesus clearly taught is in Mark 7:14-23, verses that we will
now look at.
“14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began
saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the man which can
defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are
what defile the man. 16 [["If anyone has ears to hear, let him
hear."]] 17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His
disciples questioned Him about the parable. 18 And He said to them, "Are
you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes
into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his
heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?" (Thus He declared
all foods clean.) 20 And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the
man, that is what defiles the man. 21 “For from within, out of the heart of men,
proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as
well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23
“All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.’”
I conclude with a quote
from MacArthur’s commentary: “The Lord’s
words illustrate the doctrine of original sin; all sin stems from mankind’s
fallen nature, and that nature derives from Adam and Eve’s initial disobedience
(Genesis 3; Cf. Ps. 51:5; 58:2; Eph. 2:3; 4:17-19; Col. 2:13a). Since then, it has been an integral part of
everyone who has lived (Rom. 5:12-21).”
I can say that there will be a few more Spiritual Diaries
on the subject of 1 John 2:16.
11/10/2024 11:14 PM
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