The Problem We Have

The Problem We Have

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:6

We…have a problem. It is a universal problem. It is a problem which takes on a very individual flavor. It is a problem for which there is a solution. The solution for our problem comes from God and is in Christ. Having had that much of the discussion, and seeing that there is some hope, we can articulate the problem frankly. We are depraved by nature. Our text puts it in a picturesque way. ‘All we like sheep have gone astray.’ This articulates the problem of our depravity as a collective issue. We are all breakers of the Law of God. We are so because, ‘our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created by sinning against God.’ We are the spiritual inheritors of their sin nature. We are born, ‘by nature the children of wrath.’ Beyond that, we are breakers of the Law of God by choice, ‘we have turned, every one, to his own way.’ As hard as it is for us to face, this problem will not resolve itself by any human effort. Until we come to some honest conclusions about our natural state and condition, we will not seek the Lord. It is for this reason that we must arrive at the hard conclusions first. Our consideration today will pave the way for us in time to arrive at the Person and Work of Christ. For today, let us face the problem and look to God in Christ to bring us the solution.

O Great Shepherd of the Sheep,
we confess we are Your ever-wondering ones.
We rejoice that though we have gone astray,
You seek us and find us where we are.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning