CORRUPT
“All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Psalm 14:3). The only assessment and description of our spiritual state that should concern us is that which we learn from the mind of God. It matters not what others say about us or even what we think about ourselves. Utlimately, the only judgment concerning our condition that is truly based upon reality is that which comes from God. And God’s assessment of the human family is not pleasant.
Apart from the intervention of God, all of us are corrupt—morally and spiritually bankrupt. “As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10). God’s description of man is not, however, designed to drive him further into the abysmal state in which he finds himself. When God shines the light upon our sin, it is not to condemn us. We are already condemned (John 3:18).
The purpose of God’s convicting speech is to arouse us to recognize our condition so that we will seek help. God is throwing lifelines, not stones. Nothing God has said about us makes the situation worse than it was before he said it. God has merely evaluated and described what we are. His words do not make us that way.
Dear friend, you do not have to do anything worse than you have already done to qualify for condemnation. But the important consideration as far as your future is concerned is what you will do with this information. Will you find it offensive that God has the compassion to deal straight-forwardly with you and tell you the truth? Will you argue and try to defend your nature which God has described in horrible terms? Or will you see yourself as you truly are and accept that your only hope is Christ?
To make us aware that we need a Savior, God must paint an accurate picture of the corruption of our souls. When we see how bad we really are, we will know that there is no amount of personal effort that can bring about a change in our condition. Only the forgiveness and power of God can change what we have discovered about ourselves.
The good news of Jesus is that in Christ you can be a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). You can receive the forgiveness of your past transgression and the changing of your nature. You can become a vessel of service to God, rather than a corrupt and practicing reprobate on an ever-ascending scale of evil thinking and behavior. Things can be different. but Christ is the way. There is no other option for those who “corrupt.”
Dewayne Dunaway
