By Rick Sibert                                                                                                                                   June 2008  

The Heart – Desperately Wicked

As he nears the end of his time in office, I have allowed myself to do some reflecting on our 43^rd President. 

To begin with, I have been and always will be a great admirer of George W. Bush.  I admire him because he returned pride and professionalism and dignity to the office of the presidency (The White House has not resembled a frat party for the last eight years as it did in the previous administration).

I admire him because he is a man of character and conviction who clearly loves and honors his wife and has stood for the sanctity of marriage and of life.

I don’t agree with all of the decisions he has made, but I admire him for making tough decisions during tough times and sticking to his guns (as it were).

I also admire and respect President Bush because he is a man of faith in Jesus Christ and he isn’t afraid to not only say so, but allow his actions to back up his words.  But – much to the chagrin of many believers who have expected more from him because he is a believer (i.e. that he would also be our Pastor In Chief), he is not our spiritual leader.  He is a politician.  To that end he is not a theologian, and in my opinion he has been misguided a bit in his push for democracy in the Middle East.

I posit this because a major theme of his speeches during the last seven years is that “goodness and the longing for freedom beats in the heart of every man,” or words to that effect.  I believe his quest is noble, and I’d like to believe it were true.

Unfortunately, Scripture tells us differently.

King David tells us in Psalm 51:  “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Ps 51:5 NIV) The NKJV renders the passage, “brought forth in iniquity ….”  David is telling us that from before he was born he had the stain of sin upon him!  In other words, as much as he wanted to, there was nothing he could do about it.  He wasn’t born “good.”  Even though he was a great man who loved God with a passion we could all strive to emulate, he was born with the capacity to murder and commit adultery (of which he did both) like the rest of us.

In the fourth century there lived an English Monk by the name of Pelagius.  In the midst of the depraved Roman Empire, he looked around him and attributed the excesses of man to the doctrine of free grace rather than original sin, in effect saying that we could live up to God’s righteous standards if we wanted to.  Thankfully, Augustine eventually exposed Pelagius’ teachings as heretical and did much for the biblical teaching of original sin and the depravity of man – if you will, that strand of DNA left to us from our original parents, Adam and Eve.

Think of it this way - you don’t have to teach a child how to misbehave, do you?!  It is in our nature to sin.  We are a selfish, prideful, murderous, rebellious race who really wants to stay one up on our neighbors if truth be told.

By way of illustration, I recently saw a picture of myself taken when I was probably around five or six.  I, like a lot of boys of the sixties, was obsessed with being a cowboy.  But beyond that - and I distinctly remember this - I always identified with and wanted to be the dark cowboy.  No goody two-shoes cowboy for me!  In this particular photo, I had on a black hat and black vest with my six shooters in a black holster.  One of my favorite TV shows was “The Big Valley”, and although I liked Heath, the blond, blue eyed brother who wore khakis and a tan hat – my favorite character was Nick, the too-cool-for words, brooding, brawling cowboy who always wore black!  Why did I identify with him at such a young age?  Maybe to a degree because in my heart, like every one else, I am a sinner with a wicked heart in need of a savior.

The situation our President faces in the Middle East is perilous at best.  As I said earlier, I admire our President for trying to do some good, but I believe he is misguided in his intentions.  Unfortunately we are not dealing with a culture who cherishes and desires freedom.  They have thousands of years of ethnic hatred and hardening of hearts.

Moreover, the Bible tells us that in the end times because of wickedness, men’s hearts will grow cold toward one another (not more tender)! (Mt 24:12) Do you see it like I do?  I see it every day.  People look at you like they want to kill you.  No one smiles at anyone and says “hello” as they pass by on the street.  Teenagers beating up other teenagers are captured for all to see on youtube.com.   

We are such a pitiful race that our Creator Himself said He was sorry that he had made us. (Gen 6:7)

“Okay, okay,” You say.  “I get it – how about some good news??”

I’m glad you asked.

The Good News is Jesus Christ!  Because of His sacrifice and resurrection, we now have a Champion who stands in our place in front of a Holy and Righteous God.  When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior we now inherit His DNA!  Our sin is thrown into the deepest sea (Micah 7:19) and his perfect righteousness is attributed to us - forever.

For as Adam failed in his feral headship, Christ – the second Adam – succeeded and made a way for us all:  “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” (1 Cor 15:21)

If you don’t have that assurance of your eternal salvation, won’t you take a minute today and pray to receive the forgiveness of your sins?  And then walk in that newness of life.  Then, and only then will your heart be filled with the capacity to love as God loves, free from your condemnation and sin.

Editor’s Note:  Eternal Perspective is a monthly feature of Calvary Chapel Columbus and the commentary of Pastor Rick Sibert, focusing on living a Godly life in the midst of an ungodly world.