What Did Our Lord Say about Us Human Beings?

 The Lord said that it is in our fundamental nature to commit twelve sins repeatedly throughout our entire lifetime because we were born with these sins (Mark 7:20-23).

When we really think about this carefully, we see that this is indeed true. As flowers blossom, so we commit sin with a lustful heart today, and tomorrow we commit theft with a greedy heart. We commit all the twelve sins in this way. Only when we know ourselves does it become possible for us to truly believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior who came by water, blood and the Spirit and praise Him despite our many, many insufficiencies. 

Unless you know yourself, you cannot grow your faith. Even if you have some faith but dont know your true nature, when your wickedness is stirred up, you will become discouraged and disappointed about yourself, saying, “Why am I so lousy?” and end up drifting away from the Lord. However, those who know themselves do not get discouraged like this. They are always thankful for the love of the Lord who has saved them, and they are compelled to shout out, “Lord, You are right about my inherent sinful nature, yet You loved me so much that You gave Your only begotten Son who washed away all my sins when He received His baptism from John the Baptist and atoned my sins on the cross. You saved such a worthless person like me. Even though I was destined to hell and was doomed to be cursed, You saved me.” Taking this into their hearts, they thank God with their faith in return for His manifold grace.