Have you ever noticed that the Old Testament is significantly longer than the New Testament? In fact, counting by books alone, the Old Testament makes up 59% of the Bible. Counting overall content (which counts for book length), the Old Testament makes up 77% of the Bible.
What is the significance of this? I think there are many conclusions to draw from these statistics, but I think the most basic one is that it very hard for people to get to the point of fully understanding that they are sinners. The Old Testament is primarily about judgment (along with many other things like the one-ness of God, the sovereignty of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God, God’s plan to redeem the creation through the family of Abraham, etc.). If you were to thumb to a random page in the Old Testament, the likelihood that you’ll land on something having to do with judgment is very good. Much of the Old Testament is devoted to explaining to Israel (and Israel represents humanity here) that they have disobeyed and rebelled against God. God has to tell them so often because they just don’t get it.
Do you get it?
It makes sense, at least from a human perspective, that the idea of sin would be a jagged little pill to swallow. In fact, that fact that it’s hard for us to understand that we’re sinners is evidence in itself that it is true. After all, the ultimate sin is pride; taking the place of God. When we are presumptuous enough to take the place of God then it is very challenging (impossible, really) to turn this idea on its head and be willing to say, “You know what, I am flawed. I do have problems. I am broken and I need help because I cannot fix myself.” It is against our very nature to confess such things. To many the idea is abhorrent! (which is why many world religions do not propose that the problems in the world originate with humanity; they argue that the “problem” is tied up with some other dynamic of reality altogether).
I would take this one step further to argue that it is not only difficult to come to a sober understanding of our sinful state, but that it’s IMPOSSIBLE, that is, without the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit.
It is only by God’s grace that we can ever arrive at a place that we can truly come to grips with our desperate need for God. This is how He redeems the difficulties in our lives. He uses those moments to lead us in the path to healing that always begins at he place of conviction of sin, confession, and repentance.
This is what the Bible means in those many instances when God describes his people as having “hard hearts” (and sometimes “foreheads”). They are stubborn. They just can’t see that THEY are the problem.
The book of Hebrews says, “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heats as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years…Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” (Hey 3:7-8; 12).
Do you get it?
