Praying for your cold, dark heart

What comes out of a person is what defiles him.  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 7:20-23

The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

Jeremiah 17:9

I am reminded of the horror movies where someone runs into the house, bolts all the doors, locks the windows, and closes the blinds to escape the Zombie, Vampire, Ooze, or whatever evil lurks outside. Just as they begin to feel safe, they realize they forgot to secure one entry point, and now the evil is inside the house (not vampires - they have to be invited in).

Jesus words are clear - our sin comes from within. The world does not corrupt us - we corrupt the world. There is no outside force to blame for our failings. There is no way to run from the cause. There is little we can do to protect ourselves from the sin that lives inside us. 

What are we to do with this? Let me suggest some observations and application that comes from the fact we are declared by Christ to be rotten to the core.

1. There is no room for pride. Pride is pointless when we realize that we are corrupt from within. 
2. Legalism if foolish. Our outward behavior cannot cure an inward disease.
3. Sin wants to Reign. Sin hides within our very nature, looking to spread, plotting our overthrow. 
4. Sin must be tamed. Sin is not something to avoid. External hedges only serve to stave a beast that will not die. This said, we avoiding feeding our lusts, passions, and addictions, yet realize that the beast remains.

How does God look for us to respond to these hard truths? Look at the verses that follow those mentioned above:

 "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."

Jeremiah 17:10

"Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 

And he said to her, "For this statement you may go your way.

Mark 7:28-29

Three quick truths:

1. God Knows. He knows our hearts, our sinfulness. Religion tries to make God see us as righteous, deserving of His mercy. Religion tricks our minds into believing we deserve grace and mercy. Religion makes us ignore our inner condition. It is pointless.
2. Face Facts. The woman in Mark 7, never defends herself. Jesus has just called her a dog - she doesn't care. She asks for mercy in spite of her condition, not base off her goodness but because of Jesus' goodness. Seeing ourselves for what we really are drives us to repentance.
3. Die to Self. It is an amazing truth that we can belong fully to God while sin still struggles within us. Being dead to self doesn't remove the sin from within, but it should draw us to grace, making us thankful to God that while sinners, he still loves us. Praise and blame are equally nothing to him who is really dead and buried with Christ. All praise is due Jesus - he alone is worthy. All blame is real, we deserve it. He bore the penalty in our place.