As a
youngster growing up within a particular religious culture, I recall frequently
asking the question, “Why can’t I _____?” or, “What’s wrong with _____?” Such questions inevitably arose whenever I
was prevented from doing something that I wanted to do. I wasn’t alone in this as many kids in my
peer group would also resort to asking the same questions. While it is not uncommon to manipulate, argue
and rationalize in order to get our own way (and no doubt such questions could
be viewed in that light) nevertheless this line of questioning could form the
basis of a very valid discussion – one which needs closer attention.
In addition
to my religious upbringing, as a child of the 50's I was also subject to the
prevailing attitudes of that period. The
post-war 1950's can best be described as “restless” as evidenced by a lot of
moving and searching. With increasing
affluence and as part of an optimistic post-war boom, there was an explosion of
materialism. As people searched for ways
of coping, during this period in our history, there was a rapid growth in
religion. In the USA from 1950 – 1960,
the number of people identifying with a particular church went from 49% to 69%
and this period is describe by some as a time of conformity. Society was generally law-abiding and its
citizens generally conformed to both the moral and legal requirements of the
culture.
From these
two strong influential factors (strict religious and civil codes) my earliest
views of rules, laws and sin evolved.
Within this context, all behaviour (actions taken or not taken) could
thus be classified as right, wrong, lawful or sinful. Inherent within this paradigm, I believe, are
a number of problems…but I did not begin to reevaluate this approach to life
until much more recently. By itself,
approaches such as this can produce a strife-filled, divisive and restrictive –
some might say legalistic – world-view.
If we
attempt to tie all our problems – all our societal ills, our spiritual
depravity, our moral decay – either to a lack of laws, or to a failure to abide
by those laws I believe we are doomed to repeated failure. We view ourselves as “free” and yet we are
regulated by hundreds of thousands of laws and regulations. I read one statistic (but have no way of
verifying the accuracy) that as of January 2016 there were 4,668,934 laws and
regulations in Canada. Whether this
number is accurate or not, we can state with certainty that the number is
indeed huge. Even with the burden of all
these laws, inevitably someone will fall afoul of some act for which a law is
not yet on the books and so we hear a cry for yet another law… as in “there
ought to be a law…!”
At
creation, humanity was given free will and along with this ability to choose
freely, they were given one restriction – a simple rule – and they were told
the consequence should that rule be violated.
How then, did we ever get to the point where we have such an
unmanageably huge number of laws, rules and regulations? To have gone from one rule to such a
staggeringly huge number of regulations and laws is a sad commentary on human
behaviour.
With
humanity choosing to disregard and disobey that one rule (given in the Garden
of Eden) and the subsequent fall of mankind, we’re told of a rapidly
deteriorating human condition. Just
prior to the flood at the time of Noah, Genesis 6:5 says, “Then
the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in
the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually.”
After the
great flood (but before the Ten Commandments were given to Israel at Mount
Sinai) history, as recorded in the Talmud, speaks of the The Seven Laws of Noah – the so called “Noachide
Laws.” These seven laws as
traditionally enumerated are:
1. Acknowledge
that there is only one God who is Infinite and Supreme above all things. Do not
replace that Supreme Being with finite idols, be it yourself, or other beings.
This command includes such acts as prayer, study and meditation.
2. Respect
the Creator. As frustrated and angry as you may be, do not vent it by cursing
your Maker.
3. Respect
human life. Every human being is an entire world. To save a life is to save
that entire world. To destroy a life is to destroy an entire world. To help
others live is a corollary of this principle.
4. Respect
the institution of marriage. Marriage is a most Divine act. The marriage of a
man and a woman is a reflection of the oneness of God and His creation.
Disloyalty in marriage is an assault on that oneness.
5. Respect
the rights and property of others. Be honest in all your business dealings. By
relying on God rather than on our own conniving, we express our trust in Him as
the Provider of Life.
6. Respect
God's creatures. At first, Man was forbidden to consume meat. After the Great
Flood, he was permitted - but with a warning: Do not cause unnecessary
suffering to any creature.
7. Maintain
justice. Justice is God's business, but we are given the charge to lay down
necessary laws and enforce them whenever we can. When we right the wrongs of society,
we are acting as partners in the act of sustaining the creation.
According to the
Talmud, the Noachide Laws are considered by rabbinic tradition to be the
minimal moral responsibilities required of all men. All men (Jew and non-Jew alike) are considered
as sons of the ‘covenant of Noah.’
Talmudic teaching holds that he who accepts the obligations of the
‘covenant of Noah,’ is considered a righteous person who is guaranteed a place
in the world to come. It should be noted
that unlike non-Jews, Jews are obligated to observe the whole 613 commandments
of the Torah.
We know
that there were Jewish scholars and teachers who prided themselves in keeping
to the letter of every one of these 613 laws and yet they were not free of the
problem of sin. In fact Jesus pointed out the problems they were creating for
themselves as well as for those around them. One such example can be found in
Matthew 23:13 which reads, “Woe to you,
teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom
of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let
those enter who are trying to.” For their part, these same “law-keeping” teachers and scholars disputed
with Jesus and accused Him of being a law-breaker.
What I’m
attempting to show here is how, with our failure to obey one simple command,
humanity has required more and more rules to manage/regulate our
behaviour. We went from one command to
seven, then ten and on to the 613 mentioned in the Torah. Today we in the west are now living with more
laws and regulations than we can count!
Frankly, if one were to try cataloguing every possible human behaviour,
every action or inaction and then somehow codify it under the law, the possible
number of laws would be astronomical. Now
I’m not saying that laws are not important or that we should not have any…I’d
hate to think where we’d be without some of the laws which protect and govern
us…however, what I am saying is that we simply cannot pen a regulation to
govern every action or cover every sin.
It is my
view that even if we could – through human effort – achieve agreement among all
the nations of the earth, on laws to govern human behaviour (impossible
already) and if we could have every human on the planet make the effort to conform
to those laws (totally unrealistic) we would not eliminate the problem of
sin. If we got agreement on all
spiritual laws – a complete list of “do this and don’t do that” regulations –
as well as compliance with those laws, sin would not be eliminated.
This line of reasoning (or for that
matter any exploration of this topic) raises questions about the origin of sin
and destruction. Looking at the downfall of Satan is a key that helps
understand the nature and complexity of sin. We’re told in Isaiah 14:12-14 and
Ezekiel 28:15-17 about his fall from being one of a heavenly host to become the
devil. We’re told of his ambition to ascend above the heights of the
clouds and make himself like the Most High. These two passages point out
several things:
-
He was perfect in his ways from the day he was
created until iniquity was found in him
-
He was a covering cherub, from the midst of the
fiery stones
-
He became proud; his heart was lifted up because
of his own beauty and he corrupted his wisdom for the sake of his splendour
-
He
said in his heart he would ascend to heaven above the stars of God
-
He
aspired to set his throne on high and sit on the mount of assembly
-
He became filled with violence within and he
sinned
-
He was cast, as a profane thing, out of the
mountain of God
-
One third of the angels followed him and were
cast out with him.
It would
seem (my assumption) that Satan used his own pride/ambition to somehow tempt or
corrupt those angels who fell with him.
It also appears that he used a similar approach to corrupt humanity and
because we yielded to that temptation, we fell.
So what was that sin? Many would
say it was eating the forbidden fruit – and that would be true – but I think at
least part of the answer lies also within the temptation itself.
The devil
did not focus on the fruit for its physical properties such as taste…he didn’t
say look at this fruit, it tastes wonderful; you don’t know what you’re missing
– you should try it and you’ll really like it.
Instead, he first brought to mind that which had been forbidden by
asking a question in such a way as to get Eve to focus on the “tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.” The
question he asked and the answer it elicited served to highlight the
specialness of this tree and the unique qualities it possessed. Then he emphasized the desirability of those
unique properties while creating doubt about the warning God had issued in
relation to the tree.
Right from
the beginning, God did not prevent man’s access to the knowledge of good and
evil but He did gave direction not to go there and He warned that gaining this
knowledge would result in death. To
tempt humanity to disobey God’s command and disregard His warning, the devil
appealed to human pride, vanity and self-importance. He suggested that God’s warning was merely a
threat issued to scare them out of gaining parity with God. In essence he was saying that the properties
of this tree (the knowledge of good and evil) was all that separated them from
being equal to God. With the proper kind
of suggestion, manipulation and appeal, sin was thus born first in the heart
and shortly thereafter the disobedient act occurred. Consider this; before the sinful act actually
took place, we (mankind) had to disregard or disbelieve what God told us,
believe the tale of a serpent and (for the elevation of our own self-important
status) desire that which was not ours to have.
God’s
unheeded warning has seen man consistently mistrusting, disregarding and even
denying Him completely. This has
resulted in frequently choosing evil over good whilst following a path leading
ultimately to despair, destruction, depravity and death. As man journeyed further down this evil
pathway, it seems more and more rules and laws became necessary for our own
survival (in order to teach us how to live and remember who we are and from
whence we came). The irony these days is
that as we seek to replace God’s wisdom with our own knowledge, we end up
seeking even more and more regulation accompanied by a larger bureaucracy to
govern our so called “freedom.”
So then, how does this all tie in with those, “what’s wrong
with” questions mentioned at the beginning of this piece? I now believe such questions were based on my
underlying belief; I grew up thinking that sin is ‘doing bad stuff.’ As an example, if we had been taught drinking
alcohol is a sin, the question that would naturally occur in our mind would be,
“what’s wrong with alcohol?” Of course the answer many of us would have
received would then include some version of the “evils of alcohol” thus adding
to the idea that the alcohol somehow has moral qualities that make it
evil. Thus, I think many of us believed
(believe?) that the sin is in the action – not realizing the problem is in the
actor and not simply in the act.
Oswald Chambers said it this way: “It is not being reconciled to the fact of sin that produces all the
disasters in life. You may talk about the nobility of human nature, but there
is something in human nature which will laugh in the face of every ideal you
have. If you refuse to agree with the fact that there is vice and self-seeking,
something downright spiteful and wrong in human beings, instead of reconciling
yourself to it, when it strikes your life, you will compromise with it and say
it is of no use to battle against it. Have you made allowance for this hour and
the power of darkness, or do you take a recognition of yourself that misses out
sin? In your bodily relationships and friendships do you reconcile yourself to
the fact of sin? If not, you will be caught round the next corner and you will
compromise with it. If you reconcile yourself to the fact of sin, you will
realize the danger at once”
There is no
doubt that human beings are capable of committing all kinds of horrendous,
sinful, destructive and evil acts. In
the struggle to come to grips with and regulate our behaviour, certain laws and
rules are necessary. Until such time as
we truly have a change of heart (such that we can rightly govern and develop
the necessary internal self-control) external controls and mechanisms for
enforcement will be necessary. History has shown we are incapable of doing this
ourselves – we need a savior, one who can change our hearts. Jesus has promised us if we will believe in
Him, he will provide us with a new heart.
A New Heart?
“I
will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you
your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26 (New International Version). This is just one of many
passages in the Bible that makes reference to the heart of man and the
need for a change. In order for me to
begin to understand the need for a change of heart I needed to question what is
being described in passages such as this.
So what does this (a new heart) mean and why is it necessary?
On a recent
mini-holiday, it was my privilege to attend a church service where the pastor
happened to be preaching on the Beatitudes.
Specifically, he was speaking on the passage found in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see
God.” The pastor spent some time
teaching just what is meant by “heart” – and it turns out to be much more than
what we might have thought. The more he
spoke on the topic, the more it seemed to answer some of the questions I had
while musing about the ‘problem of sin.’
Sin is what
has separated us – and keeps us separated – from God. If sin was just us “doing bad stuff,” it
would stand to reason that if we stopped doing bad stuff, the separation could
be bridged. However, the problem with
sin is that it goes much deeper than our behaviour – it has penetrated all the
way to and infected the very core of our being.
That “core” is often what is being referenced when the term heart is
used. This infected core – this nature –
is a part of what we’ve become as humans living in a fallen world.
As I ponder
the problem of sin (those actions we often regard as sinful), I wonder if the
“bad stuff” we do is often an external manifestation (symptom) of the disease
(an internal, ongoing problem with our heart).
Are we far too consumed with the symptoms and not nearly concerned
enough with the disease? Is it the
behaviour or the motivation? Right now,
if we attempted to stop all our current bad behaviour but did not eliminate the
motivation to behave, what would happen?
Now, if we could switch that and eliminate the motivation to behave
badly, what would that outcome look like?
Eating something, wearing something, saying something or doing something
vs what flows from a changed heart…this (it seems) is too often the issue for
many Christians.
These
points are expressed in the following passages of Scripture:
- “For from within, out of the heart of man,
come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting,
wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these
evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:21–23 (ESV)
- “For I was guilty from the day I was
born, a sinner from the time my mother became pregnant with me.” (Psalm 51:5). Later in the same chapter, as he recognized this problem and what it
had led him to do, King David pleads for God to cleanse his heart; “Create in
me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)
- “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the
lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
- “But for all who did receive and trust in Him,
He gave them the right to be reborn as children of God; He bestowed this
birthright not by human power or initiative but by God’s will.” John 1:12-13 The
Voice (VOICE);
In Matthew 5:20
Jesus tells us “…unless your righteousness exceeds the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the
kingdom of heaven.” Earlier, in that
same sermon, Jesus told us, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Clearly He was saying that focusing on our
own good works, our own righteousness, will never bridge the gulf caused by
sin…we need purity of heart. For me,
this more than answers the question of why it (a changed heart) is necessary.
Whenever we speak of heart (and what or why we need to
understand what is being described) we should remember that the Bible also
speaks of God’s heart. Man was created
in the image of God; we have heart because He has a heart. We’re told, for instance, David was a man
“after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22) and God blesses His people with leaders
who know and follow His heart (1 Samuel 2:35; Jeremiah 3:15).
There are
over three hundred Biblical references to what has been translated as
“heart.” One difficulty I sometimes have
when reading passages from the Bible (as well as anything else written hundreds
of years ago) is to understand and appreciate how language changes and evolves
over time. Some terms are used
differently today than when they were written and their intended meaning has
changed somewhat while other words are seldom used any longer. Often the changes are subtle so as to make
the term recognizable but different in some way. For me the term “heart” (as used in some
Bible passages) is one such word and therefore it requires a bit more thought
and study.
“Heart has several definitions but in twenty-first century English we
often infer that a significant emotional element is being expressed. Often we think in terms of love, kindness,
empathy or sympathy when we hear the term “heart,” This is because it (heart) is often used to
express the emotions as an individual compartment (part of the inner self) and
we tend to divide humans into the physical and the metaphysical (meaning the
non-physical – mental, emotional, spiritual).
In North
America we have a tendency to see ourselves as having two separate parts (our
heart vs our head) with one part being the emotions, which we refer to as the
heart, and our head (brain), which houses the mind. This is how we end up with descriptions of
people who (we say) allow their heart to rule their head…or we might refer to
someone who likes to make decisions, based on logic alone, as “having no
heart.”
In the
Bible, both the Old and New Testaments use the word “heart” to refer to the
whole of the innermost part of the human, NOT merely the emotions. Basically the Bible speaks of the
heart as both the physical and metaphysical
part of us where our emotions and desires dwell. “Heart,” refers to that inner aspect of man and consists of some
combination or mixture of: 1) emotion, 2) a mental process and 3) the will
(free will).
The Mental
process is where action and reaction take place thus it is the process which is
most involved with making decisions and leading a person in their life. Generally we process our emotions (feelings)
as reactions to what we know and/or experience.
Emotions also serve to enrich our experiences by adding feeling to our
lives. Our Will refers to that part of
ourselves where decisions are made (between the rational and the emotive); it
is also reflective of one’s determination to follow through as evidenced by the
effort expended.
Thus we can see that the heart plans, makes commitments, and
decides. It is here (within the heart) where we deliberate, engage in self-talk
and make decisions. “In his heart a man
plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” (Prov 16:9). Due to this extremely important
function, the father instructs the son:
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Prov 4:23). Proverbs 6:18 tells us the Lord detests “a
heart that devises wicked schemes.”
The heart
is the core of our being, and the Bible sets high importance on keeping our
hearts pure. God’s work of creating a
new heart within us involves testing our hearts (Psalm 17:3; Deuteronomy 8:2)
and filling our hearts with new ideas, new wisdom, and new desires (Nehemiah
7:5; 1 Kings 10:24; 2 Corinthians 8:16).
It is clear that the heart must be changed in order for a person to be
saved. This change can only happen by the power and grace of God in response to
faith. “With the heart one believes unto
righteousness” (Romans 10:10). By His
grace, God can create a new heart within us (Psalm 51:10; Ezekiel 36:26). He promises to “revive the heart of the
contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15).
“No one can make himself pure by obeying
laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations— He gives us His
teachings which are truths that can only be interpreted by His nature which He
places within us. The great wonder of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He
changes our heredity. He does not change human nature— He changes its source,
and thereby its motives as well.” Oswald Chambers
Finally, to this point, we’re reminded the greatest
commandment according to Jesus is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart”
(Matt
22:37). Love here is more than
emotion; it is a conscious commitment to the Lord. It is my belief that we don’t need more and better laws, we need to
get our hearts right and our behavior will follow.
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