John 3:6 – What’s Wrong with Me? – Bible study

John 3:6 Whats Wrong With Me? If you have been around, you know that we often speak of man being a trinity in nature; that is, he lives in a body (flesh), he has a will (soul), and he is an eternal being (spirit). \#6\ Notice that Jesus drew a clear line of distinction between the flesh and the spirit. These two are in totally separate camps with no crossover. The Scripture also often speaks of the superiority of the spirit over the flesh. Mt 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Ro 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing. If the flesh is so bad, why did God put us in it to begin with? What is wrong with the flesh? Let me give you some answers. I. The flesh has been corrupted. A. This is not how God created the flesh but how mankind has degraded it. 1. Sometimes Christians are asked, "If God created everything, why did He create evil and sin." 2. The answer is that God did create pretty much everything but His creation has been corrupted. a. God created Lucifer not Satan. b. God created free will not sin. c. God created the human race not the present human condition. B. What does corrupted mean? 1. It means man has and continues to devolve from what God originally created. 2. Many like to think that man is evolving but the opposite is true. a. Man never lived in a cave until after the fall! b. Where did he live? In a perfect garden! (1) Adam and Eve needed no walls to protect them from wild animals, heat and cold, or storms. There were none of those things. (2) The world had a perfect climate. (3) They needed no fire to cook since there was no death. (4) They needed no light to see by as they wore the glory of God and it gave off light. (5) They needed no method of preserving food since there was no corruption. (6) They needed no communication since they were the only two humans. (7) They needed no entertainment since they were content with creation. C. When mankind fell, all of that was lost plus and an almost infinite amount more! 1. sickness 4. old age 2. death 5. natural disasters 3. accidents 6. sin D. The flesh has been corrupted. II. The flesh is separated from God. A. We have a difficult time understanding the word "separation" in our age. 1. Modern conveniences mean we are never separated. a. Angel, Nathan, Bradley, Micah live 1000 miles away. b. Christy, Robert, Evvie, and child live 2400 miles away. c. 150 years ago, that meant I would probably never see them again. d. An average day of travel in a covered wagon was 5 to 10 miles per day. Considering weather, it would take more than one year to make the journey. e. Trains, cars, and air planes have made travel that once took months or years take only hours or days. f. I can pick up a cell phone and reach them almost anytime night or day. (Yesterday I talked to our friend in Russia!) g. Even if you are aboard the International Space Station at an altitude of 14,000 feet, you could communicate regularly with friends and family! 2. The only remaining separation is death. a. When a person dies, you cannot see, hear, communicate, share, orto some degreeeven imagine what is happening to them. b. So it is with those who are separated from God. (1) You cannot see God, hear from Him, communicate with Him, share with Him, or even imagine or guess what He is about or is doing. (2) This complete and total separation from God has led some to believe that God does not exist. B. God does exist, but He is beyond the comprehension of mortal flesh. 1. 200 years ago doctors had no notion of DNA or germs. 2. Scientist could not conceive of protons and neutrons. 3. Such things were doubted because they were beyond their comprehension. 4. Scientific evidence had to catch up with scientific theory. 5. Today, anyone with any education at all takes their existence for granted. C. Those who doubt the existence of God are doing so because their flesh is separated from God and incapable of comprehending Him. 1. They must exercise a faith that is foreign to the flesh. 2. Before anyone can know God exists, he must first believe that He does exist. 3. These doubters are caught in the vicious cycle of fleshly limitations which will lead to their ultimate damnation. D. In like manner, some people question the reality of the hell as described in the Bible. 1. The Bible describes hell as a place where flames, darkness, thirst, and worms torture you forever. torture of flames, darkness, thirst, and worms gnawing 2. Such a place is as far beyond the comprehension of flesh as is God, but our inability to comprehend it does not make it any less real. 3. Our lack of ability to comprehend or communicate with God today is only partial separation from God. 4. Hell will be the ultimate separation from God, complete and final. E. Outline 1. The Flesh has been corrupted. 2. The Flesh is separated from God. III. The flesh has a "bend" to do wrong in the best of us. Ho 11:7 And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him. A. Like you can bend a little twig and make it grows in the direction you want, so the nature of flesh has bend, but the direction it has been bent toward is sin. 1. When Adam and Eve sinned, they made a permanent bent in the direction of their descendants. 2. An arrow shaft with a bend will miss the target. 3. One of the definitions for the word sin is "to miss the mark." 4. The evil bend that is inside of us causes us to be less than God desires. That is sin. B. This slight bend to wrong grows into a sharp turn to do evil. Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? IV. The flesh thinks it is always right. Pr 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. Pr 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Pr 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. Jud 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. \#Judges 21:25\ A. You and I know that a lot of people are doing wrong. 1. But did you know that most of them THINK they are doing right? 2. There are a few wicked hearts that know what they do is wrong and do it anyway. 3. But most think they are right! 4. Thats really amazing when you consider all the wrongs that people do! B. There are people out there right now who are drinking away their life, gambling away their income, injecting drugs into their body, sticking a gun in someones ribs, beating the life out of a stranger, molesting a little child and they have somehow reasoned that their wickedness isin their caseall right! C. Hopefully no one in this church is guilty of such an extreme wrong, but every one of us is just as guilty of the faulty reasoning. D. It is inherit to the flesh! 1. You think youre right and your mate is wrong. 2. You think your cause is just and your neighbors is not. 3. You think you have the right of way and the other car is supposed to stop. 4. You think they started it and youre just responding in kind. 5. One morning when I worked at the hotel, a room called complaining about his neighbor. "I dont know what is going on but they are beating on the wall. They woke me from a sound sleep." I called the room and inquired. "Yes, we did beat against the wall but they beat on it first and we were just showing them what it sounded like." V. The flesh is arrogant even when its wrong. Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. A. There are three important truths to see in this parable. 1. The first man was terribly wrong in his attitude and his actions. a. You dont have to be wrong in both areas to be wrong. b. You can be doing the right thing with the wrong attitude and its wrong. c. You can also have the right attitude but be doing the wrong thing and its wrong. d. But if you have the wrong attitude and the wrong action you are terribly wrong! 2. The first man had no idea he was wrong. \#14\ Jesus made it clear that he was. 3. The first man was extremely proud even though he was wrong. B. How many have been the times when we thought we were doing good and were so proud of it, but actually, we were terribly wrong! 1. Personal confession – I find myself falling into this all the time! 2. We dont word it exactly like this but we follow the formula. 3. "If so-n-so thinks I am going to let them get away with such-n-such, theyve another thought coming! Ill just sass-n-sass." VI. With all of these marks against it, the flesh cannot please God. Ro 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. A. Here is the problem for the religionist who wants to have some part in earning his salvation. 1. His faulty flesh has deluded him into thinking he can. 2. His arrogant flesh prevents him from seeing that he cannot. 3. And with every religious work he performs in an attempt to please God, he offends God more and more. B. Such flesh cannot please God. VII. The flesh is very, very powerful. A. By powerful, I mean that it is strong in its desire to control and direct us. 1. Every human being has had to do battle with self. a. Getting out of the bed in the morning. b. Pushing away from the table. c. Controlling temper, greed, lusts. 2. But few recognize just how powerful the flesh is until they are born again. 3. Paul the apostle knew of the battle. Romans 7:15for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. B. What can we do to win in this battle? Our only recourse is to 1. trust Christ as our Savior. Joh 15:5for without me ye can do nothing. 2. walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. C. This is why Jesus made that most powerful statement: John 3:7 Ye must be born again.