Acknowledgment of the Source of Sin

In this part of the sermon: Martin provides further Old Testament support for original sin from Job 14, Psalm 58, and Isaiah 48, demonstrating that humanity is born unclean, estranged from God from the womb…

A friend who believed in Pelagianism (men born neutral) was cured when he witnessed Martin's one-year-old baby sister throw a 'downright old-fashioned temper tantrum' that was clearly wickedness, demonstrating innate sinfulness before an 'age of accountability'.

They weren't dying. They were just itching for a little attention. See the deceptiveness. I had a friend of mine who was a Pelagian.

16:59 - 17:08 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: New Testament passages like John 3:6, Ephesians 2:3, and Mark 7:21-23 are cited to confirm that human nature is inherently fleshly, children of wrath by nature, and that evil…

Martin asks children if they had to learn ABCs and shoe-tying (yes), but then asks if they had to learn to sass parents or be selfish (no). This illustrates that a 'built-in teacher' (the wicked heart) is responsible for innate sin, not external learning.

When I'm teaching children I like to ask the question we got some children here tonight? Five? Ask the question how many of you kids had to learn your ABC's? Did you have to learn them?

23:31 - 23:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Know yourself by mourning before God the foul, polluted stream of original sin from which all your actual sins flow.

Martin quotes A.W. Tozer saying the 'ugliest sight I've ever beheld is the heart my mother gave me,' to illustrate the depth of self-knowledge and confession required by Psalm 51:5.

I shall never forget words that the late Dr. Tozer said on the tape that I heard in one occasion.

28:06 - 28:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin instructs listeners to resist environmental psychology, which blames external pressures for human wickedness. He argues that sin proceeds from the heart, not merely the…

The case of a man who sexually abused and slew eight nurses is used to highlight society's tendency to blame environmental pressures rather than the depraved heart, contrasting with Christ's teaching that murders proceed from within.

And so a man who in cold blood sexually abuses and slays eight nurses, what do they want to do to him? Everybody crying out. Well, let's find out the psychological pressures that were put to bear upon the man that correcting them we should clear society of all the problems of such crimes. I heard a Ph.D.

31:44 - 32:08 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin instructs listeners to resist environmental psychology, which blames external pressures for human wickedness. He argues that sin proceeds from the heart, not merely the…

Martin recounts hearing a leading criminologist from the University of California express bafflement that clearing poverty pockets in ghettos had not led to a decline in vicious crimes. This illustrates society's failure to understand the true source of sin (the heart) due to environmental psychology.

I don't dare say where it was, but it was somewhere. I can't remember. And I had the radio on and they were interviewing some outstanding criminologists. Did I mention this last week?

32:56 - 33:06 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin instructs listeners to resist environmental psychology, which blames external pressures for human wickedness. He argues that sin proceeds from the heart, not merely the…

The analogy of lighting a match to dynamite is used to explain that environmental pressures are merely catalysts that trigger the explosion of sin, but the 'dynamite' (potential for evil) is already present within the human heart.

You light a match to dynamite, it'll blow. The match simply becomes the catalyst to start the reaction. Not the match that blows. Not the match that's the cause of the explosion.

34:25 - 34:38 Read in full sermon

The point: Allow the text to lead to humiliation, acknowledging that what you've done is the fruit of what you are.

Parents often see their sleeping children as angelic, making it hard to believe they could have misbehaved. This illustrates the deceptive appearance of innocence, reminding parents that even within that 'sweet little bundle' lies the potential for evil.

Because if you get them to raise their little paddy while they're still humble and teachable, you see, and trust full, before sin somehow enters, and the grace of God can only make them humble. Oh, no, my only hope for my dear children is the grace of God from the moment they breathe their first air, because they were conceived in sin, and I've passed on to them that same potential for wickedness that lies in my own breast, and nothing humbles me more as a parent. If you go in and look at my children, they look most like angels when they're sleeping. Don't you wonder sometimes, parents, how in...

38:34 - 39:18 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate holy concern by avoiding occasions of sin, recognizing that you carry the 'remains of corruption' (like gasoline-soaked rags) that can be ignited by temptation.

The analogy of carrying gasoline-soaked rags near open fires is used to illustrate the danger of playing with temptation. Believers, though regenerate, still carry the 'remains of corruption' (like gasoline-soaked rags) and must avoid situations that could ignite sin.

What would you think of a man who carried in his arms gasoline-soaked rags and who deliberately walked by a situation where there were open fires? You'd say that man was a fool. He had to carry gasoline-soaked rags and let him go as far away as possible from that which might ignite the rags and turn him into a burning torch. You and I carry within us, even though we may be regenerate, we carry the remains of corruption within us.

41:58 - 42:28 Read in full sermon