Just Exactly Where Does Deceit Come in?

What is man’s standing before God? He has none. Why? “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God,” Romans 8:7. Oh, and if that’s not bad enough the “… heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” (Jeremiah 17:9) Thus, the human mind has a deep-rooted hatred for God and the heart – being deceitful above all things – is desperately wicked… lusting after the things of the flesh; not after the things of God.

Now, a person may say they are moral… ethical people, decent people… they haven’t done anything… well, you know, that heinous. That same person may say they don’t particularly hate God. He might even argue, ‘how can you say I hate God when I don’t believe God exists?’ Nevertheless, the Bible gives two verses that tells us exactly how God sees humankind since sin entered the picture through the first man, Adam. Frankly, we’re dead to God. For the wages of sin is death… (yes, another Bible verse, Romans 6:23) … dead, not just in the physical sense but the eternal. Now, you may ask, ‘how am I dead? I am very much alive.’ Well, that’s isn’t how the Great Physician and Coroner sees us. All men are dead in sin. (Ephesians 2:1)

Now, returning to our two Bible verses: Romans 8:7 and Jeremiah 17:9. Here, the Bible speaks to –  one, the carnal mind (focused on the flesh) which hates God, and two, the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. I know, I know… you said you were basically a good person who doesn’t believe in a God to hate. Got it. Still, look carefully… closely at those two verses. See how they work together… mind and heart? Your argument of being a ‘moral atheist’ proves the truthfulness of those two verses. The mind… focused on the flesh and the heart lusting after the things of the flesh? Doesn’t say anything about God, just about the flesh. Now, you tell me, just exactly where would deceit come into your argument?