There are four great areas of spiritual vulnerability for people:
The second one we will cover is Corruption (moral & spiritual).
Human corruption is natural to us due to the Fall of our original parents, Adam and Eve. Our corruption exists on both the moral and spiritual planes. In other words, we are prone to sin against both tables of the Ten Commandments— against God and against our fellow man. We were born that way. It’s remarkable that pure, innocent infants and toddlers eventually and invariably manifest their corrupt, fallen nature. They can’t help it. They, too, as precious and sweet as they are, are human beings. Our human nature is sinful.
Moral corruption has many forms. Here are just a few: Lying, cheating, steeling, cussing, lust, pornography, adultery, fornication. Since the Fall, there has never been anyone on earth who has escaped the sin nature except Jesus Christ. And that’s because He did not have a human father. He was the Son of God.
Sin binds people.
Corruption is a huge hindrance to people getting saved because sin is desirable to them and they don’t want to give it up. The Bible recognizes that pleasure is associated with sin (Hebrews 11:25). Sin is narcotic in nature and people get addicted to their sin. It’s almost like cords or chains that compass them (Proverbs 5:22). Sin is like getting entangled in a trap. Quitting sin may seem like an insurmountable task to a sinner.
Sin is deceptive (Romans 7:11).
Sinners may not be able to imagine their lives without their pet sin(s) (Hebrews 12:1). In fact, they may even think that life would be undesirable without sin. They can’t imagine how Christ could change their desires or how life could be better apart from sin (John 10:10). From a sinner’s perspective, life without sin may seem utterly unattractive and boring, even useless.
God changes the heart.
God does, indeed, change the heart. That is the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old (Ezekiel 36:25-27). The sin of Adam and Eve brought alienation from, and hostility to, God. Human nature degenerated from its original upright state into being corrupt. But Christ offers regeneration whereby we are born again with new desires to please God (John 3:5; 2Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4;22-24; 1Peter 1:8).
The late Rev. W. L. Clayton once said: “People are not lost because they sin. They’re lost because they don’t repent of it.” I think what he was trying to convey is that everyone is a sinner and, thus, will sin. That’s natural. But Christ offers salvation to those who turn from sin to Him. A person doesn’t have to think beforehand how he is going to stop sinning. He only needs to turn to Christ. Christ will regenerate him and change his heart and desires. To refuse Christ’s gracious offer of salvation is the greatest sin of all and is worthy of the worst condemnation.
Every saved person was previously a sinner.
The cataclysmic change that salvation in Christ brings is witnessed by many changed lives. Millions of people in the world today have had their sins washed away by Christ’s blood and have been filled with His Spirit, which is the source of their power to live above sin (Acts 1:8; 2Timothy 1:7; Romans 14:17; 1Corinthians 6:9-11; Ephesians 2:1-4).
Sin is deadly.
Sin brings eternal shame and punishment in hell (Romans 6:23). It’s the height of insanity to cleave to sin when there is a Savior who can save us and promise us the hope of joy in heaven. Our natures will be perfect there. We will be able to enjoy life as God intended it for the human race (1Timothy 6:19).
Beware of self-deception.
Human corruption reached its peak in the corruption of the human heart. It is deceptive (Jeremiah 17:9). That’s a very unflattering statement and one that is perhaps rarely perceived. This condition poses grave danger to every person. Not only is our heart capable of being deceived, but it can be its own deceiver. In other words, we are able to fool our own selves (James 1:26). I think this is especially so in the following three scenarios:
1/ When a person is confronted with his sin.
Free will makes us each have the desire to live our lives just the way we want to. We may feel it is our right to do so, but it’s really not. While God gave us the liberty to sin, He did not give us the right to sin. We are bound to His governance as His creatures, for he who creates owns the right to govern. We are to submit ourselves to His Lordship, which is true liberty (John 8:36; James 1:25).
Sometimes, when a person knows he isn’t living right, he condones it in some way or for some reason. He may condemn the same sin in others but somehow his case is not so bad. That is the deceptive nature of his heart. It opposes conviction, which is unpleasant and unwanted, so it endeavors to excuse its own sin.
No one enjoys the feeling of self-condemnation. Everyone wants to avoid it at all costs. The awareness of condemnation distresses every pleasure and brings despair. And doom cannot be borne. So if a person chooses not to surrender his sin to God, then he must believe he’s okay in order to presently enjoy life. He judges himself to be alright, or condones his actions to be special in his case, or assures himself that God accepts him as he is.
2/ When a person is presented with the need to convert to Christ.
Our fallen human state is one of depraved moral independence from God. Surrender to Christ is the hardest thing for a human being to do, especially full surrender— what we often refer to as being sold out to Christ. In resistance to surrender, the reluctant human heart will look for reasons why surrender is not plausible or needed. He may also question if the cause is really true. Is Christianity real, or, does God really expect all this of us? If Christ died on the cross for me, doesn’t that mean He will overlook my sin and let me in heaven just because He loves me? The heart searches for a way to avoid surrender.
3/ When a person who is nominally committed to Christ is challenged with more truth.
Even if a person is a fervent believer in Jesus Christ, he may like his spiritual state just as it is for personal reasons and, therefore, oppose any suggestion of further commitment or experience. Every person loves to have his religion his own way. But, in reality, the call of Christ upon a soul is to follow Him no matter where it leads. We are not to determine how far we will go in following Christ. The command of Christ is simply to follow, which implies all the way (Matthew 9:9 and many others). True surrender does not have stipulations as to conditions. But often people only surrender partially to Christ. Half-heartedness will not satisfy Him. Incremental surrender may be alright as long as surrender continues. Only if surrender to Christ is complete is He truly sovereign in a person’s life. There can only be one throne in a person’s heart, and Christ must occupy it.
Conclusion
As we have endeavored to point out, the Bible reveals the corruption of the flesh and mind and heart (Ephesians 2:3; Jeremiah 17:9). And, in each case but One, the human experience has exposed it as well. But, thank God, there is a remedy for our corrupt nature if we do not squander the opportunity Christ made available to us (Hebrews 2:3).
People are naturally seekers of treasure (Matthew 13:44-46). They desire benefit from any and every source. But, often, they resist the greatest benefit of all because it requires full surrender to Christ. But He is so worthy. He gave His life for us when we were dead in trespasses and sins. And in the eternal ages to come, He will show us the exceeding riches of His kindness and grace (Ephesians 2:1-7). Our future with Him is beyond our present comprehension (1Corinthians 2:9). It will literally take eternity to reveal it all. That fact should be a great stimulus to follow Christ wholeheartedly.
I think sometimes modern people fear they will surrender more than they have to, as though they may be giving up too much for Christ, or following Him too ardently. That is more evidence of the deceptive nature of the human heart. Truly, we will never be sorry we surrendered all to Christ. When we see Him and His nail-scarred hands, we will only wish we would have been able to surrender more to Him Who gave so much for us.
The Bible assures us that every knee will eventually bow in submission to Christ (Philippians 2:10-11). But, for many, it will be too late. Now is the perfect time to fully surrender (2Corinthians 6:2). It is our wisdom to do so. Surrender to Christ is the truest form of self-preservation, which is a God-given trait.