Sin and Psalm 119:11

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good afternoon everyone. It is Thursday, April third, twenty twenty five. It is currently five forty three pm Central time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. Now, I don't know if you heard that, but the sound that you may have heard in the background was the sound of being very close to an absolute disaster as far as broadcasting is concerned.

0:44 Because right when I got ready to say good afternoon everyone, I picked up my iPad. Right, so I say good afternoon everyone. I pick up my iPad because I'm going to look at my iPad to say good afternoon everyone. It is Thursday, April the third, because I'm looking at the right twenty twenty five, it is currently then I give the time because it's right there in my iPad. Five. It was five forty three, five forty four pm Central time, coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Ablene, Texas. But right when I picked up the iPad, a part of the what was kind of sitting on the side of the iPad where kind of where the case is, you know, kind of folded over.

1:24 When I got ready to pick up the iPad. Here's a coke can with coke. And when I picked it up, you may have kind of heard a little of this sound. You may I heard that that coke can almost flipped over and would have spent sent coke all over the place, all over my Bible. I would have been like, I would have been trying to say good afternoon everyone, theology central no no no no no no no no no no, I need a towel, I need something, okay, And that would have been that would have been. That's what almost just occurred. It's I tried to make it sound professional, but in my mind, I was like, oh man, that was so close, so close to disaster, so very close to disaster. And maybe just maybe sometimes pastors open their Bibles read a verse and maybe they're well so close to getting it right, but it actually can lead to disaster.

2:27 So a little different then it was almost disaster. It was so close to disaster. Maybe sometimes pastors get a verse, they're so close to getting it right, but it actually leads to the disaster, and they're not so close to disaster. Maybe they're so close to avoiding disaster, but maybe they kind of walk right into it. Maybe. Well, we'll see if that illustration works. As I well introduce this, and here's what I want to do. I want you to imagine yourself of sitting in church. All right, it's Thursday, April, did I say second? April? The third? I want you to imagine you're sitting in a pew. It's Sunday. You're at church, and the pastor walks up to the pulpit.

3:19 He lifts up in the air his Bible, all right, and he looks at everyone and he says in that kind of pastoral voice. I can't really pull it off. I can't really mimic it because I don't really have a pastor's voice. But he says, this book and he's holding up his Bible in the air. This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book. And you'll hear people in the congregation saying amen. Depending on the type of church, they may even start applauding this book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book. Everyone in your church will probably agree with that that the Bible will keep us from sin, and maybe that is close to saying something is true. I think it can actually lead to disaster.

4:13 I know everyone's going to disagree with me, because most of you are going to be like, it's true, the Bible will keep me from sin or sin will keep me from the book. Okay, well I could get into we could break that down. We won't get into that right now, but let me just ask you. Do you agree that the Bible will keep you from sin? That quote you've probably heard in sermons. You've probably heard it maybe in Sunday school. You've probably heard it in Christian podcasts. You've probably seen it in Christian books. It's in all kinds of devotional books. The quote is often attributed to D. L. Moody. I didn't do enough research to determine if that's actually true.

4:56 If D. L. Moody is the first one to say it, I've seen other people accredited with saying it. I think Bob Jones, Sr. Is accredited with saying I've heard lots of people, but I think it is traced back most believed dialmudy. I cannot verify that, and it sounds right to some. It may actually sound right. It's in fact, I will argue it sounds maybe close to the truth. This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the book. Again, I could already start taking it apart. I want to do that. I'm not going to do that right now. But it sounds right.

5:37 It may sound close to the truth. We have to admit. It's very simple, it's very catchy. It's easy for you to write down in your notes. It may seem that it lines up with what we want to believe. It may line up with what you've been told, it may line up with what you think it may be. It may line up with well, that makes sense, right, It's God's word. It will keep me from sin. I mean that has to be it has to be true. It has to be so close. But what if it actually isn't close. What if it will actually lead to the disaster of you maybe ending up extremely disappointed, extremely discouraged, maybe extremely depressed, maybe even deconstructing. Maybe it sounds close, but maybe it actually ends in disaster. I mean, it really leads to this idea. If I will just read my Bible more, if I will just study more, if I will just memorize more, then I will sin less and less and less and less and less. Does that sound true? Again? Using that my opening illustration, just like when this coke can almost tiptoe, I was so close to disaster, I think in this case it sounds so close to the truth. But I think the coke can

7:07 ultimately spills out and it leads to all kinds of problems. But this afternoon, fast approaching this evening, I'm going to stop and I'm going to ask a very hard question. Is that actually true? Is that actually true? Does reading? Does reading and studying? Does reading, studying and memorizing scripture really keep you from sin? Or are we once again turning the Christian life into a performance plan instead of a gospel promise. Now what I want to do is I want to challenge maybe one of the most widely accepted beliefs in modern Christianity, the idea that consistent Bible intake will lead to moral transformation and victory over sin.

8:23 We're going to honestly look, We're gonna honestly look at this. We're honestly going to consider, well, then if this is true, then why we still sin? Even when we read? We still sin? Even if we read the Bible daily? We still sin. Even if we read the Bible hourly, we still sin. If we read the Bible minute by minute. Why well, because you know what I'm gonna say, Come on, class, you all know it by heart. And how right? Why do I say that we still sin? Because the Bible says be holy as God is holy. You've never been holy as God as holy. You never will be as holy as God as holy. Prac speaking, Therefore, you're in a perpetual state of sin. Love God. You know all the ones I'm going to say. So. If reading the Bible is supposed to stop this, fix this, eliminate this, then why can't you even obey that scripture? Be holy as God is holy, Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. Love God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul. If reading your Bible actually leads to less sin, you think you would be able to that would be one of the first things you could accomplish. I'm holy as God is holy. Why sin doesn't seem to disappear just because you know you can answer all the Iwana questions, you can answer all the Bible trivia questions, you can answer all the Sunday School questions. You can get in a and seminary. How come sin doesn't go away? And

9:58 that may lead some of you to Psalm one nineteen, verse eleven, where we read these words, thy Word, have I hid in mine heart? That I might not sin against THEE? In fact, when most preachers preach p. One nineteen eleven, thy word, have I hid in mine heart? That I might not sin against thee? Almost inevitably, typically in many of those sermons, you know what you'll hear. This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book. So then, how does a verse like Psalm one nineteen eleven? Then how should we understand it? How is it misused? Is it misunderstood? Or do we wrongly understand it? Now, what I'm going to do is try to offer a different, a more gospel centered lens for understanding that scripture. And I'm gonna try to I'm gonna try to help you. I'm gonna try to help myself for all of us to understand scripture not as a weapon to eliminate sin from your life, but as a witness that drives you deeper into your need for Christ and His perfect righteousness on your behalf. Now, have you ever felt guilty because your Bible reading didn't

11:33 make you holier. I mean, be honest. Have you ever felt guilty if you're fell Well, I read, I study, I listen to sermons, but I still sin. Have you ever felt guilty? Have you ever felt like, well, maybe if I read more, maybe if I studied more, maybe if I memorized more. Because almost inevitably, in churches, when they do a hey, we're gonna we're gonna do a course on how to study the Bible, they almost always began, why should you study the Bible? And it without fail? They're going to say, because it will make you holy, it will help you to stop sinning, it will it will lessen sin in your life, it will draw and almost inevitably, that's they're going to put that out there, is this is the reason you do it. Have you ever possibly wondered why do I still fall into sin?

12:18 Even after meditating on scripture for I don't know fifteen hours. So we're going to talk about the Bible. We're going to talk about sin, We're going to talk about the difference between information transformation and imputed righteousness. Now, why are we going to be talking about all of this? Why? Why? Why? Are we going to be talking about getting so close maybe to the truth, but yet leading to complete disaster? Is it just because I almost knocked over a coke can at the beginning? No, I just simply used me. I just simply tried to use me knocking over a goat can. That's an illustration to fit in with everything. That's not why we're going to do this. We're going to do this because I received an email. In fact, what time did I receive this email? I received an email at Let me go look here, let me open up my email in box. Here we go. I received an email at four o six pm, so it's getting close to about two hours. Guess what the subject line is for the email? Does reading the Bible keep you from sin? Question mark? Oh? I was like, Now soon as I saw the subject line, does reading the Bible keep you from sin? Question mark? I'm like, oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no. Someone's not happy with me because remember we reviewed that sermon about you know, victory over sin in a believer's life, and remember it gave us five things we need to do that if we'll walk in the spirit, we'll basically stop sinning. Well,

13:51 how do I walk in the spirit. Read my Bible, Read my Bible, study my Bible. If I read and study, then I'm walking in the spirit. Then don dunda done? I get the power so that I can stop sinning. Remember we talked about that in great detail. So I was like, someone is going to be ticked off with me. All right, let me open it now. As soon as I saw the name, I'm like, okay, well, this is probably not going to be negative because this person's always positive. He sends me emails all the time. I'm okay, this should be pretty good. So it says this year I'm reading the one year Bible and have made it into Deuteronomy, which makes me question the idea that reading the Bible keeps you from sin. I was like, okay, so is he going to say? What's causing me to question this is I'm all the way up to Deuteronomy and yet I keep sinning. Is that the direction he's going to go? Hey, I keep reading the Bible. I've made it to Deuteronomy and guess what it's now April the third and I keep sinning. It's like, is that the direction he's going to go? I'm like, well, maybe I don't know. Well, it says this, the law is meant to show us our depravity and an ability not to sin. And I'm like, oh, the law is meant to show us our depravity and inability not to sin. And I'm like, that is so true that I love that someone's reading the Bible. And there I've been saying that forever. The Law is there

15:21 not so that you can keep it, because you can't. It's there to reveal you that you can't, and it's to reveal all the ways you break it and fall short of it. Reading the Law gives us ideas for new ways to sin that we haven't tried yet. Oh that's awesome. Oh come on, now, you can't say that in Sunday School, and you can't say that in church. Can you imagine, Hey, guys, we've been encouraging everyone in the church to read the Bible. This year. We would like to let open it up so everyone can stand up and give a testimony about what they have gotten from reading the Bible this year. Can you imagine this guy standing up on Sunday going, yes, a pastor, this is what I have discovered that the more I read, the more I come up with new ideas. And new ways to sin that I haven't even tried yet. That would be like, sir, could you sit down, stop listening to the Theology Central podcast? And you may want to go find another church. And in fact, maybe if he did that, Hey, guys, you know what I discovered in reading the Bible? I have now found new ways to sin that I haven't even tried yet. Young people would probably be like, whoa wa, wait wait wait If I read the Bible, I'll learn new ways to sin. Yes, can I get a copy? Where's a copy? Where's a copy?

16:45 Can I get a copy? Sh don't tell Republicans that because they'll be like, ban the Bible. It's giving ideas and how to sin. We've got to ban the burn the Bible. It's giving. It's corrupting the minds of kids. We can't let read the Bible and come up with new ways of sinning. No, no, no, no, no, oh, I'm not getting political. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sorry, okay whatever that political party that wants to ban books everywhere? Okay, all right, So that that made me laugh. And then it says, and then we realize how deprave we are and how much we need Christ. Now being serious. That's perfect law gospel distinction. The law condemns, the law shows our inability. But what does the law do. It drags me to the foot of the cross, and there's your only hope. You can't he did. You can't obey. He completely obeyed. You're a failure. He's victorious. You're defeated. He won.

17:50 You're a sinner. He was sinless. You're disobedient. He was obedient. Then they asked me, do you see what I mean? Oh? Do I see what you mean? I've been saying this for like ever. Yes, I see what you mean. He's saying, I'm disagreeing with the laid back Guy's entire premise, and so and the laid back guy is I guess the sermon we reviewed, and yeah, I disagree with it obviously completely Reading the Bible isn't meant to keep you from sin. It's meant to show you that you can't keep yourself from sin. Oh that's great. The Bible isn't meant to keep you from sin. It's meant to show you that you can't keep yourself from sin. If you read the Old Testament without all the layers of allegory and interpretation and just take it for what it says. It's absolutely crazy what people did and what God had to explicitly prohibit that they wouldn't have laws if no one did those things. I've said that a million times. If you go into Deuteronomy in some parts of the Old Testament, like they had to have a law again, its beast reality, Like, really, we needed a law against that, We needed a law for this, We needed like some of those laws. You're like, I don't think we needed a law for that, But you know why we needed a law for that, because we human beings do these things, the most depraved thing you can come up with. Human beings do them. You say, well,

19:20 I don't, You've got the depravity inside of you to do it. Being totally depraved doesn't mean we're going to do every sinful thing possible. It just means we're all going to sin in some way, shape or form, and that we are totally depraved. That it impacts every part of our being, our mind, our desires, our wants, everything. But the fact is, you don't know what your depravity is capable of doing the most egregious things, things that you don't even think you could do. Your depravity is capable of it. Where it leads you maybe different than where it leads me. That's why when people always say, well, I just don't understand how that. I always hate when Christians say that, I don't know how the pastor could do that, or I don't know how that person could.

20:06 You don't know how they could do it. They're depraved sinners. I just don't know how a Christian can do that? Are you out of your mind? We can commit any sin because we're still depraved. Romans three and Roman seven shows were absolutely no different people and shows us. We're absolutely no different. And that's true. Romans three and Roman seven shows were absolutely no different. People also try to explain away Roman seven. Yes they do. They constantly try to explain away Roman seven. And what's so crazy is they try to explain it away while literally lying to them them very selves. If you don't if you want to try to explain away Roman seven, I don't know why you would want to explain it away, because it's the very passage that explains us. The things I want to do I don't. Things I don't want to do are the very things not only do I do, I delight in it and I can't wait to do it again.

21:10 Then the email goes on to say, at least the people listen at least the people I listen to a lot are realistic about the human condition. They never say you'll ever be free of sin in life, and they preach only Christ, not what we can do to stop sinning. When I hear stuff like the sermon you found, I see why you go around in circles. Well I appreciate that. Yes, I do go around in circles. And look, look, if someone finds sermons that are radically different, congratulations, that's good. I just want to make it very clear to everyone. I find these sermons not by you know, looking for bad ones. I find sermons in the most random way possible.

21:50 Look that that victory over the Believer's victory over sin sermon that was a featured sermon on sermon audio isn't one of the ones we reviewed was a staff pick. So some of those are just right there, like I'm not, I'm not. I don't have to go look at they're just right there, promoted, they're they're right there. So yeah, So that but that email got me thinking about all of this. So let's do a little bit of work. So I emailed the person back and I was like, WHOA, you know, I think I'm going to have to do an episode on some one nineteen eleven because inevitably, what you're saying, and what I'm saying, is that the reading and studying of the Bible doesn't keep us away from sin.

22:34 While some people would say, what about some one nineteen eleven? That word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee So we're going to have to address that. But I feel that before we can address it, we need to look at what I believe are three absolutely foundational objections that strike at the heart of a deeply flawed and widespread teaching and modern day crew Ristianity. So I think we need to look at three foundational ideas that completely goes against what I believe is the flawed idea that reading and studying the Bible helps you stop sinning. I think that that's a flawed idea.

23:14 I think it's broken, and I think it sounds so good, it sounds so close, But ultimately the coke can is going to spill over and it's and it leads to pain and disaster and confusion. That's one of the things that confused me so much. Remember I became a Christian as a teenager. I've told the story a million times. The night I was saved, the pastor called me back to his office, handed me a Bible and said, this is the Word of God. This is the Word of God. And I just remember touching it. Remember I've told the story before. Driving home, I had it sitting there in the passenger seat next to me, and I just kept looking over, thinking, there's a God and his word is right there in that book, the God who There's a God, and that's his word. So I've told you. I went home read I think the entire New test I think, yeah, the New Testament. All that night I stayed up and read the entire New Testament. Within a week, I'd read the entire Old Testament. So basically, within the first week of being saved, I'd read the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Within one week. After that, I read the Bible constantly. I told stories all the time that where my high school was, literally just ride across the street and maybe up a half a block was first Baptist Church, Tesco to Texas. The church I was saved in. I would skip school, walk out of the school, cross the street, up the block, break into the church because I knew a way to break in. Sit there in the sanctuary

24:45 of reading my Bible. Read my Bible over and over and over and over and over and over. I even got the Bible and audio cassette and listen to it over and over and over and over and over. I did not miss a church service. I was there for Sunday school, Sunday morning, Sunday night Wednesday. If the Wi ladies had a Bible study, I was there. And then after school, I was going to one of the elderly lady's house who was in the church. We called her Miss Mac. I don't know in my mind she was one hundred and fifty. I don't know how old she was. I would sit there on the floor, she said, in her rocking chair with a Bible, and I would listen to her talk to me about by the Bible theology.

25:27 I would go. I made a trip to the Bible bookstore in Abilene, Texas, got a book by James Montgomery Boys, the pastor of tenth Presbyterian Church. I read everything in it. I was saturated in scripture, and I still kept sinning over and over and over and over again. Oh, it may have been different sins than I was committing prior to getting saved. So I could still pay on myself on the back and say, look, I've been changed, I've been transformed. I could do that, But it was just different kinds of sins. In fact, a lot of it was just pretending to be something that I wasn't, which is a form of hypocrisy. So we've got to get rid of this idea of that Studying the Bible helps you stop sinning. Now again, it may sound pious, it may sound so very close, but it often becomes a very subtle form of law based sanctification, and it collapses.

26:40 The coke can spills under honest I'm gonna actually spill the coke. Okay, after all this time, I'm actually gonna just not I'm gonna spill the coke everywhere. Under honest, biblical, philological and experiential scrutiny. It becomes law based sanctification, and I believe it collapses under honest, biblical, philological, and experiential scrutiny. So what are these three foundational ideas objections? Well, number one. You're ready, here's number one. Write it down, put this on your refrigerator, all right. The Bible does not remove the sinful nature. The Bible does not remove the sinful nature.

27:29 Salvation does not remove the sinful nature. Regeneration does not remove the sinful nature. The sinful nature remains. So how could it stop you from how could it stop you from sinning? If unless it gets rid of the sinful nature, My sinful nature, your sinful nature, the flesh inside of me, my nature remains with me until death or glorification. Paul says things like, it's no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh.

28:09 Romans seven seventeen through eighteen Galatians five seventeen. The flesh lusteth against the spirit, so that you cannot do the things that you would. The flesh, the flesh, it's still there. Reading the Bible is good. Obviously. We're called to read, we're called to study, we're called to meditate, we're called to love the Word of God. I got no, I'm not in any way diminishing that. But if you think it's a surgical tool that removes sin from your being. Then I think you're just you're setting. It sounds good, it sounds so close, But the cokecan is ultimately going to spill and it's going to collapse. Your sin doesn't come from your ignorance. Okay, you may sin in ignorance, but sin doesn't come from ignorance. It comes from within.

29:06 It comes from a corrupted nature. The call is coming from inside the house, and that is not cured by information. It is crucified positionally, but it remains practically Galatians two twenty. I have been crucified with Christ. The life I now live. I live by the faith and the son of God. That's me positionally practically see Roman seven. The things I want to do I don't do. The things I don't want to do I do. I see this struggle, I see this fight. In my mind, I may be serving the law of God, but in my flesh, I'm serving the law of sin. That knowledge may make you know you know what that knowledge does. It makes you feel guilty.

29:54 That knowledge will show you that what you're doing is sinful. That knowledge will remind you hey that desire sinful, that lust sinful. The way you looked at that woman sinful, The way you're thinking about her sinful. Oh, the way you are gossiping and slandering about that person sinful. Of the way you won't forgive that person sinful. Oh, you don't love your animal enemy sinful. It's going to make that knowledge is going to constantly remind you and give you that sense of guilt where you're going to be like, man, the things I want to do, I don't. The things I don't want to do, I do. So the knowledge is important, but it's not going to get rid of your sinful nature. It's not going to remove it. It's not going to cut it out. So no matter how much you read scripture, no matter how much you read you can read twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, the flesh isn't going away until glorification. You can read it. I'm telling you you can go. You can just be like, Okay, I'm not going to go to work anymore. I'm going to get rid of my family and I'm just gonna see here and read read read, read, read, read read. Your flesh isn't going anywhere. The sinful nature is still there. So Number one, the Bible doesn't remove the sinful nature, so how can it stop sin? Number two?

31:22 Stop sinning is an impossible, unmeasurable standard. When you say, oh, it's gonna it's gonna help me stop sinning, or I'm gonna sin less, it's it's an impossible, unmeasurable standard. It means nothing. When pastors say that, oh, you know, you may never be sinless, but you can sure sin less. What does that even mean? How do you even measure sinning less? What does that even mean? How would you even define stop sinning or sinning less? Or do you mean stop lusting? Do you mean stop being selfish? Do you mean stop wasting time? Do you mean stop lacking love for God and others? Stop failing to give thanks? And all things? How would you measure it? Sinful thoughts, sinful desires that may never actually be manifested outwardly, things not done but that should have been sins of omission.

32:14 And just remember, if you're guilty of one point of the law, you're guilty of all of it. And again I'm just going to give you the basic standard. Be holy as God is holy. You're never that, So you're already in a perpetual state of sin. So you can say, well, I'm sinning less. How can you be sinning less when you're perpetually sinning love God with all your heart, mind, body, and saw You've never done that, So you're in a perpetual state. But I'm sinning less. What do you mean sinning less? You instead of looking at pornography fifteen times in a week, you only looked at it five times in a week. Well, even if you stop looking at it completely, you stop, you can say I stopped committing that sin, But did you really sin less? Because you're in a perpetual state of sin, it becomes this like just subjective way in which you're defining it. You still are not holy as God is holy. And now you say, well, you telling me to keep sinning. No, I'm saying we have to be honest, that we're in a perpetual state of sin. So trying to brag about sinning less, it means nothing. Because you can sin and thought, you can sin in word, you can sin indeed, you can sin and desire. You can sin in what you do, and you can sin in what you fail to do. James for says, whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it for him, it is sin. Romans fourteen twenty three says whatever whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. So sin is not just breaking a list of rules. It's failing basically to be perfect, to be continual, to be faith, to be perfect, continual, faith filled obedience to God. That means we sin all the time,

33:47 often without even knowing that we're sinning. So the idea that scripture helps you stop sinning is a subjective mess. It's an invitation to spiritual delusion or desire. It's a contradiction of the biblical doctrine of sin and the flesh. So these are two foundational truths that this, Hey, the Bible's gonna help you stop sinning. Well, it doesn't remove the sinful nature, so it can't help me stop sinning. And number two, to even talk about stop sinning or sinning less is an impossible, unmeasurable standard. You're just gonna have to say, well, you stop sinning here, Yeah, but I'm in perpetual sin. Yeah, but you stop sinning there.

34:27 I'm in perpetual sin. Okay. So and if I'm guilty of one point of the law, I'm guilty of all. So even if you say, well you didn't you didn't break that law. Yeah, but broke that law, meaning I'm still guilty of the law you said I'm not breaking because I have a break one, I'm guilty of all. So it just there's just no measurable way to even It's just a meaningless It's some humanistic idea we impose upon our theology because and our human terms. We want some sense of achievement, we want some sense. It's one of those things that I talk about kind of americanized martial arts. I've been a martial arts my whole life. I can't stand the belt system and American martial arts.

35:11 I hate it. I loathe it. It's all about you joined martial arts? What belt are you? Who cares the belt? Kind of the original idea. You know what changed the belt color was the sweat, dirt, blood and tears is what changed the color of your belt, Not some ridiculous tests so that you can be awarded impact yourself on the back, like oh look look, look look I'm now a yellow belt. Oh look look look look now I'm an orange belt or a blue belt or an orange belt with a stripe or what depending on your ranking system and your form of martial arts or your skull. It's just ridiculous. It means nothing. Who cares about a stinking belt? But why do you do it? Because, especially Americans, we got to have some sense of feeling like we're accomplishing something, that we're doing something. We gotta feel like we gotta get that pad on the back at the belt ceremony, So everyone stop it. You know what you should care about is knowing the technique. You know what you should do that you could actually defend yourself if you were attacked. So in all the martial arts schools, I would irritate the instructure and structures and structure instructors so much. I didn't ignore their instruction, but I ignored the instructors so many times because it would be like, are you going to test? No, I'm not going to test.

36:30 Oh what are you going to test? I don't know who cares? Can I keep learning techniques? Can I keep learning? And so sometimes it'd be like you've been in this school for two years, You've taken one test, and then when it came to sparring or doing something, people who are far more advanced in their little belt. I could I could absolutely destroy Not because I was stronger, not because I was smarter. It's only because i'd been in the school for four years, and take and two tests. They'd been in the school four years and they're already, you know, fourth degree black belt. Like that black belt is useless. You mean you you started way after me, and yet you're already a black belt and here I am still a yellow belt or an orange belt. I don't care about your little reindeer games. I want to know the technique. I want to learn it. But we want this sense of measurement. I'm fulfilling something. So Christians kind of do the same thing. Hey, oh look look, look, look, look look, if you if you go to church, if you go if you go to youth group, if you go to small group, you'll stop sinning. You'll you'll do better, You'll do better. And then we got to find some way to oh, I stop sinning this way. But we're not really measuring ourselves to the standard. And martial arts.

37:45 To me, the standard is how well can I defend myself? How well do I really know that technique? Can I not that I can do the technique when someone is standing in front of me like slow punching. No, when someone stands in front of me and can punch full force, and I can do the technique. When someone truly tries to choke me out, I can truly get out of it. When someone truly grabs me by the back of the head and try to slam my head into the ground, I truly can get out of it. I don't. It's of no value. I can do it when you're like, okay, now I'm gonna punch ooh, block okay, block okay, And I'm going like, you know, zero miles per hour means nothing because when you get on the street, nobody's gonna be like, hey, I'm gonna throw a punch. Now it's like boom. It's that Can I do something? And if I can't, then I don't care about passing your stinking test.

38:40 That's the standard. The standard is that, Well, then the test is irrelevant. Well, in Christianity, what's the standard perfection? So I can play all these little games where I think, ooh, look at me, look at me, doesn't mean anything, doesn't mean anything. So go through these again. Right, here's the foundational truths. The Bible doesn't remove the sinful nature. So you're not gonna stop sinning. Stop sinning is an impossible and measurable standard, especially when you consider the standard. And then number three, the law of God. Oh this is gonna be controversial. The God's law actually provokes and incites sin.

39:23 This is where Christians get very nervous. This should really bother Christian parents, because what Christian parents saying, No, no, no, no, they can't watch Netflix. They can't listen to Lady Gaga or Sabrina Carpenter or Chapel Row and they can't listen to any of these people because because they will incite sin. I can't let my kid do this. They will get corrupted. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no. Don't let the kid in the library because they could read a book that no, no, no, it will incite sin, It will cause sin. Did you know the very thing that will incite sin? Did you know the very thing that will provokee poke sin? Is God's Law. Oh you're not going to learn that in church. No no, no, you're not going to learn that in church. So I asked AI, is that true? This is what Ai says.

40:15 This idea makes many evangelicals very nervous. But the apostle Paul teaches this explicitly and unashamedly in Romans chapter seven. So I asked, Ai, is it true that the law of God actually provokes an insight? Sin Ai says, this is where this is where many evangelicals get nervous, or this makes evangelicals very nervous. But Paul teaches this explicitly and unashamedly in Romans chapter seven. Then it quotes Romans seven to five. While we are living in the flesh, our sinful passions aroused by the law, we're at work and our members to bear fruit of death. I'm going to go to Roman seven five. I don't know which translation it's quoting from. I'm going to go to Roman seven five. In the King James Romans seven five. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. Well, we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions aroused by the law.

41:26 Roman seven eight. Sin seizing an opportunity through the commandment produced in me all kinds of coveteousness. It was through the commands that it produced in me all kinds of coveteousness. The Law is holy and good, but our flesh reacts to it like rebellion to a command. So once we give the flesh the word of God, our flesh is like, oh, I'm going to break that. I'm going to violate that. It provokes it, it incites it. It brings up the lust and the rebellion. The law says, do not covet, and the flesh says, now I want everything, do not lust.

42:10 I'm gonna lust at everything. Do not have primarital sex. I want to have primarital sex. Whatever. And Christians will never acknowledge that. They'll say no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no. The Bible's gonna make my little boy and girl and the good little boys and girls, and they're gonna do everything right. So I'm gonna take them to church and give them the scriptures and this will it's actually going to provoke it in site sin. I don't know how you Christians will never admit this. They will rebel against it. But it's what actually occurs. So the Bible may reveal truth, and we may even argue that the spirit may use the word to convict, to comfort and expose. The mere act of reading scripture does not subdue sin. In fact, it agitates the sinful nature unless the reader is resting in faith by Christ. And I will argue that even if you're resting in faith by Christ.

43:05 That's AI saying that last part. I will say, even if you're resting in faith in Christ, the Bible still can incite and provoke because you still have that same set. The sinful nature doesn't go away as long as the sinful nature is there, the sinful nature in the word. They have this problem in the way that the flesh will respond to it. So what's the alternative. Well, the Bible does not transform you morally through your effort to study it. It's not a sanctification tool for self improvement. The Bible is a witness to Christ. It is the means by which we behold his finished work, rest in His righteousness, and live by faith in Him. When we read Scripture as law, it crushes. When we read the Gospel, it comforts and drives us again to Christ. In reality, that's walking in the spirit. Not try to stop sinning through increased Bible reading, but resting in Christ, who died for your sin and lives in you by his spirit.

44:11 But guess what, some person out there is already screaming at their phone or their tablet, or at other people in the house. This guy is an idiot. Has he never read Psalm one nineteen eleven the word Have I hid in my heart? That I might not sin against thee? This is typically often quoted as a proof text that reading and memorizing scripture will stop you from sinning. And it sounds so close to the truth the coke can But if you don't get it right, it spills and you're going to be left depressed, discouraged, deconstructing. Basically, it sounds simple. If I will internalize God's word, I won't sin.

45:00 But what happens if we look at the verse carefully? What if we look at it contextually? What if we look at it philologically? And what if we look at it realistically? Can we then see how it doesn't contradict the doctrine of ongoing sin, but it actually supports what I will call a gospel driven, faith dependent approach to scripture. Do you think that can work? Now? I'm about to give you what I say is a hypothesis. I tried to do that with Galatians five sixteen and seventeen Galatians two twenty. I'm going to give you a hypothesis here.

45:41 All right, let's look at what the verse actually says and what it doesn't say, or at least attempt to. All Right, thy word have I hid in thine heart or my heart that I might not sin against thee. Now does it say thy word have I hid, and therefore I no longer sin? It does not say that. Doesn't say, hey, I've hid your word in my heart, and now I no longer sin. It says that I might not sin. It doesn't say that I well that I no longer sin. It does not say your word has made me sinless. It does not say that in any way, shape or form. It does not say I memorize scripture. Now I am holy as God is holy.

46:33 Definitely does not say that The verb might not Some would argue that it's not a guaranteed result. But it's an express an expression of desire. It's it's almost like a prayerful aim. It's not a claim of a perfection. It's expressing a desire. It's expressing a prayer, a full aim. I like that, Now if I go I'm gonna see here. Let me let me see. I'm gonna check something here. I did not check this out here. I'm gonna skip this. Okay, I'm gonna go into the blue Letter Bible app. Blue Letter Bible APP. I'm gonna go to Psalm one nineteen. Okay, now we're about to again. We're putting forth a hypotheses here.

47:21 I'm gonna go to the ante linear. I. Well, it's kind of broken down here. Have I hid that word not? I might? That's kind that's kind of weird the way, yeah, the way this is broken down, that's not gonna how about not. Let me go back to not hand. I don't like the way this is broken down. We need a different way to break down that phrase not. Uh yeah, this this doesn't help very much. The way this is broken down into linear does not give me a lot of help. According to artificial intelligence. Let me go back to artificial intelligence here. Artificial intelligence says that verb might not and it does put it together two words. So I'd have to go put the two words together in Hebrew and see if we could come up with this ideaity.

48:18 But according to AI, it says, this is not a guarantee. But it's an express an expression of a desire, a prayerful aim. It reflects a heart that says, here we go. This is kind of what AI says. It's actually doing. I treasure your word because I don't want to sin, even though I still do. I've hid that word in my heart that I might not sin against thee I don't want to sin, so I'm treasuring your word. I'm reading your word because I don't want to sin. It's expressing a desire. I don't want to sin. So then I'm looking to your word because I don't want to even though I know I still do. It's not acknowledging that I'm going to stop. It's acknowledging I know I sin, but I don't want to. That's very different from saying I hid your word. Now I can stop sinning, or I will stop sinning. It's more saying I don't want to sin. That's why I have treasured your word hid in my heart. The idea means to store, treasure, protect, or cherish. It's not merely about memorizing. It's about valuing.

49:28 I value what the Word of God says. I value it, not just mentally, but inwardly. I'm going to trust on it. I'm going to depend on it, I'm going to return to it. So the verse is not about using scripture like a moral crowbar to price sin out of your heart. It's about loving God's word precisely because of one reason. You know that your heart is prone to sin. You know your heart is prone to sin. Let me state it this way. You know your heart is sinful. So therefore you memorize or you hide God's word because you know the reality that's inside of you. Why do I go to God's word outside of me? Because I know what's inside of me. Inside of me is a sinful, narcissistic, prideful, lustful, disgusting piece of trash. All right, that's on a good day.

50:22 So I go to God's word outside of me because it will reveal what I am, it will condemn what I am. It's not so much a technique, it's a posture. Lord. I know I'm a sinner. I know I'm a sinner, So I'm hiding my word so that I because I don't want to sin. So then how do we reconcile one nineteen eleven with perpetual with the idea of perpetual sin. The desire to not sin and the reality of sinning are both present and the heart of a believer. I want you to hear that again. The desire not to sin and the reality of sinning is present in any true Christian at the same time. On one hand, I don't want to sin. I don't want to. On the other hand, I do. Both are true at the same time. This is what the Church has failed to show the world.

51:23 We try to tell the world. You become a Christian, you basically become perfect. No, no, no, I've become a Christian. I now know what sin is. I accept what sin is. I don't want to do it, but I'm going to keep doing it. Psalm one is not written by someone claiming sinlessness. It is full of I have gone astray like a lost sheep Verse one seventy six. Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things verse thirty seven. Let my cry come before you. This is someone who treasures the word, wants to obey, but that they constantly fail. So one nineteen eleven is a statement of humble dependence, not self righteous claim of transformation. It's a it's a it's voicing a desire almost like a prayerful attitude. I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. I don't want a sin, so I'm going to hide your word in my heart.

52:25 I'm going to hide your word because I know what's in my heart is sin, So I'm going to hide this there. So can this verse support a this kind of gospel centered understanding. I think Some one nineteen eleven shows a believer longing not to sin. I think it acknowledges the need for God's truth. I think it shows treasuring God's word because sin is still present. And I think it shows depending undivine mercy and instruction, not your own willpower. I think it fits with Roman seven. I do the things that I hate, Galatians two twenty, I live by faith of the Son of God and Galatians five seventeen, so that you do not do what you want.

53:17 It's all, it's all those concepts all wrapped together. I know I'm a sinner. I don't want to sin, so I'm gonna hide your words, and maybe I don't sin even though I know I do. Psalmone nineteen eleven is not a promise of sinlessness or sin lessness. I think it's a prayerful declaration of love for God's word by someone who still sins and knows that only God's truth, treasured in the heart, can continually reorient a sinful life towards grace, not perfection. I think God's word the rea. It leads me back to the solution, which is the finished work of Christ. So, ultimately, after fifty four minutes and almost a spilled can of coke, where does that leave us? I believe that Psalm one nineteen eleven, Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. I don't think we should see this as a formula for sinless living. I don't think this is a verse about self discipline or moral performance.

54:23 I think it's the confession of someone who knows how deeply they still need God's word, not to keep them clean, but to continually call them back to the only one who is clean. The psalmist hides the word in his heart because he knows he still sins, and he wants to be reminded of God's mercy, his promises, his holiness again and again and again, just like we all should desire that. If you have ever believed that, reading and studying the Bible should make you sin less and wondered what's wrong with you when you didn't. Here's the freedom.

55:04 Here's what you need to remember. This book, the Bible. This book won't keep you from sin, but it will keep pointing you to the one who bore your sin. And the more you see him in its pages, the more you'll trust him and not your self. That's why we open the Bible, not to prove we're changing, but to remember we've already been crucified and raised with Christ. Not to track my progress, not to see if I'm moving on to the next belt, using that illustration, not to say, ooh, look at me, but to fix my eye on the one who already finished everything, accomplished everything, did everything. So do hide the Word in your heart, not as a shield for your performance, but as a window to your savior. Now I'm going to classify that as a hypothesis. Many of you are going to strongly disagree.

56:23 All I know is you can hide the word all day, every day you're still going to send Now I'm going to go just I'm going to go back to the blue letter Bible. App I'm gonna try to break this down again, all right, so might not. I'm going to try to look at this phrase might not yeah lo okay, all right, So the first knot is this Strong's age thirty eight eight Lo lo lo, And it's it's definition is kind of all over the place, right yeah. It doesn't really help me though, right not no, not not nothing without before it does it doesn't really help me in any way, shape or form. And then and the other part might not. They're that low is the not I might. But see they put it I might sin.

57:26 So it's it's not I might not sin. Not I might sin would almost be the way it's in the into linear I might is this, it's this if I can play it. Strong's age twenty three ninety eight shatah shatah. And that hota really goes more. It focuses more on not that I might. It focuses more on the uh, the idea of sinning. Right, I might. So it's almost like I have hid my I've hid your word because I don't want to say it's it. I think if you see it more as a prayer, it makes sense. Look, I've hid your word because I don't want to so that I might not. I don't want that it's it's a prayerful desire. It's it's expressing a desire. I'm a sinner.

58:20 I don't want to be a sinner, so as a result, I'm acknowledging my sin. That's why I've hid your word. If I think, if we see it that way, that's it. And you say, well, no, that doesn't make any sense. Well if you go the other way, it doesn't make any sense from a from a practical standpoint, you can hide, you can look. I've known people who who have won a Wanna medals, like all kinds of a Wanna medals, because they've memorized like a million things. They still sin all day every day. There have been people who have memorized like entire like the entire New Testament, and then they'll get caught up in some scandal, so memorizing it doesn't stop. It's not that simple. But if we see it as it's a the psalms are typically like it's poetics, it's words of prayer, it's words of of of of of basically confession to God Lord, I'm a sinner. I'm gonna hide your words so that I might not sin that because I know that I'm a sinner. I know what's in my heart is a sin. I know it is sin. That that's the only way it makes any sense. Now, we could do more work on it, but that's where sometimes you get to look at reality and go it doesn't work. Just like we saw in Galatians five, if I walk in the spirit, I just stop sinning. Come on, that doesn't And then so to get around that, you say, well,

59:52 you have to do ten things to walk in the spirit. Well, then if I'm doing those things without the spirit, okay, then the whole thing. We already saw how that whole thing fell apart. So all right, thanks for listening everyone, have a great night. God bless