What does conflict reveal about my heart?
Conflict Resolution vs Reconciliation - Lesson 2 - Repent Before God, Question 4, p. 28
As we ponder on the instances where individuals have sinned due to unmet desires, we recognize a common thread: the internal struggle with desires that battle within manifest in sinful external expressions with those around us. The Bible provides profound insight into where sin originates.
Psalm 51:10 states, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." This verse highlights that sin is rooted in the heart. A heart tarnished by sin requires divine cleansing and renewal. Our natural inclination towards sinfulness necessitates God's intervention to purify our innermost being.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 further illustrates, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds." Here we see that the heart's deceitfulness and sickness are the breeding grounds for sin. It is the Lord who comprehends the depths of our hearts and judges our actions accordingly.
Matthew 15:19 reveals the manifestations of a sinful heart: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander." These words of Jesus underscore that sinful actions stem from within us, from a heart corrupted by desire and deceit.
Yet, amidst this bleak understanding of our sinful nature, the gospel brings us hope and assurance. Psalm 103:10-12 reassures us, "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." God's mercy and forgiveness are boundless. Through the gospel, we are assured of His love and the complete removal of our sins.
In understanding the origin of sin and embracing the assurance of the gospel, we find solace in God's unwavering love and grace.
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