The Nature of a Sinner
(Rom 3:11-12)

As we come to see what we truly are, God’s love becomes all the greater to us. We cannot help but become more grateful to Him. “A sinner deserving of eternal punishment”—this is the indictment against humanity. The Bible begins with the fact that there is none righteous and presents the grounds for this charge.

1. A Failure to Understand
   Humans are spiritually ignorant. We may accumulate information about God, but we cannot understand His heart because of our sinful nature. Following that nature, humanity has consistently refused to know God; as a result, our hearts have become calloused and our spiritual senses have dulled. Like a leper who feels nothing, we have become unable to perceive anything of God, and even the conscience He gave us no longer functions as it should.
   

2. A Failure to Seek God
   Though human zeal for religion may be fervent, it is often nothing more than an attempt to avoid God. We do not seek Him. Yet, God reached out to us first. A true seeker of God responds to Him. Such a person is one who has resolved to be led by God, who acknowledges His sovereignty, and who has decided to live by His Word. No one can do this by their own natural strength, but the power of the Holy Spirit makes it possible.
   

3. Turned Aside
   Another ground for the indictment against us is that we have left God to live however we please. We have turned aside; our will continually drifts toward destruction. To such people, God has opened a new and living way. Those who walk this way are called Christians. To become a Christian means that our path has fundamentally changed. Walking this path requires faithfulness and devotion. It means reaching out to the church with compassion. While we cannot walk this path by our own strength, the Lord is with us every step of the way. This is the path that leads to His kingdom. And God allowed even those who once stood against Him to walk this path.
   

Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim