If you have ever had to pick weeds, you know the importance
of removing the weed with the root. Not
doing so is just vain work, as the weed will quickly grow back. I am currently preaching though the book of
Matthew, and I am in the middle of a three part sermon I called, “Getting to
the Root of the Problem”. The text is
from Matthew 5:17-34. In this section of
verses you will find Jesus stating something like, “…It was said of them of
old….”, and he then goes on to quote something from the law. He then shows how the law was misinterpreted
or used in an improper manner. In the Sermon
on the Mount, of which Matthew 5 is a part, Jesus was dealing with the
Pharisees of his day. The Pharisees, for
the most part, only worried about outward actions and tradition, but cared
little for areas of the heart. They
never got to the root of the problem!
I think we see the same problem in our day. We concentrate on the outward but rarely get
to the root of our sin problem. As a
result of this, our Christian life becomes a roller coaster going up and down,
faster, slower, and still returning to the same place you started! We need to get the root out or our sin will
quickly return. In our text, Jesus deals
with what I call “root” sins. Sins of
the heart, i.e. anger, lust, lack of commitment, deceit. All of these sins are “root” sins and lead to
other sins. Many times we concentrate
our efforts on the “other sins”, which are simply manifestation of the root sins. If we eliminate the root sin, the other sins
which stem from them will die off.
For some a root sin is unrighteous anger. Jesus dealt with that sin first in our text. We see how it leads to murder and other
sins. Jesus demonstrates how it affects
our prayer life, walk with God; how it affects our relationship with others and
our community. If we get the root
problem out, anger, it takes care of so many other problems in our life. Anger will destroy your marriage, your walk
with God, your relationship with your family and your co-workers.
For some a root sin is lust.
Lust is another sin which leads to many other sins. Lust leads to adultery, fornication,
stealing, etc… If you remove lust,
adultery will not be a concern, neither will many other sins such as living for
money, new houses, new cars, etc…
Stealing will not be a problem.
One horrible effect of this sin is it will cause the Word of God to be
of no affect in your life (Mark 4:19).
The lust “of other things”, is what will consume you, and God will not
consume you! Is it any wonder the
preaching does nothing for you, when all week long you lust to have things of
this world, and then try jump to the Spiritual for one hour a week! May we desire God and Him alone! All else is vanity!
My point is, if you are struggling with your walk with God
perhaps it is a “root” sin. Maybe you
have cleaned up the outside, but the root is still there. If the root is not removed, the weed will
grow right back!
