Jer 17:8 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it?
17:9 “I the Lord search the mind and try the heart, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
The dopamine within our brains is released when we act upon the sin. Our "eye" desired it, and our feet followed the heart. And God created the dopamine and this caused our desire.
Ps 51:1 True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.
Ps 33:13 From heaven the LORD looks down and observes the whole human race,
33:14 Surveying from the royal throne all who dwell on earth.
33:15 He (God) who fashions the hearts of them all, and observes all their deeds.
Our hearts is a symbol of the pleasure we experience by the dopamine released in our brains. The desire of our "eye" released a small amount of dopamine and when our hearts committed the sin, more dopamine is released.
Prv 22:15 Folly (sin) is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
Ecl 2:9 So I became great and became greater than all who were before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me.
2:10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.
As I said, dopamine gives us pleasure. The "eye" is the symbol of the things we desire. Each man is created with different desires, thus no man has the same exact desires as another man, but each are different.
Ecl 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
Sir 5:1 Do not set your heart on your wealth, nor say, “I have enough.”
5:2 Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart.
Mt 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
We must recognize that we will be judged by saying yes to the dopamine when our eye says yes to the sin. No sin occurs when the "eye" of our desire has released dopamine. Only when our hearts say yes to the desire. We are being tested to say no to our hearts, thus saying no to the desires and pleasures of sin.
2 Tim 2:22 So shun youthful passions and aim at righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart.
But most young people and adults will not say no to the dopamine. Thus God will harden their hearts and they will feel no danger.
Heb 3:13 Encourage yourselves daily while it is still “today,” so that none of you may grow hardened (heart) by the deceit of sin.
Ecl 2:16 Every man also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and find enjoyment in his toil—this is the gift of God.
2:17 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
Ps 10:6 He thinks in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
Adversity will come to all men at their Final Tests. But men have placed God's words on their lips but not in their hearts. Their "god" is truly their dopamine and thus they never made room in their hearts for Jesus Christ.
Mt 15:5 ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
Our goal is to say no to dopamine when it causes us to sin. Also know this, the dopamine released, depending on the activity, may not be sinful, but never does it produce virtue.
1 Cor 10:23 “Everything is lawful,” but not everything is advantageous. “Everything is lawful,” which does not mean that everything is constructive.
10:24 No one should seek his own interest but rather that of his neighbor.
For example, taking a vacation is not a sin but we rob ourselves from helping the poor.
Jesus says we must be pure of heart. In other words we must not be divided between the dopamine that causes us to sin and the Life of Jesus.
Mt 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
What is a pure heart? We can't serve the world and be pure in our hearts.
Mt 6:21 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and material wealth.
Life is very dangerous on earth because if we fail to disipline outrselves from sinful dopamine, God will harden our hearts and we will not see the danger of everlasting punishment. This is why so few people make it into heaven.
The Potter
God calls Himself the Potter. And He is responsible for making our hearts hard when we sin.
Jer 17:9 “I the Lord search the mind and try the heart, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
Rom 9:20 But who indeed are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Will what is made say to its maker,“Why have you created me so?”
9:21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for a noble purpose and another for an ignoble one?
9:22 What if God, wishing to show His wrath and make known His power, has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction?
In the verses above, Saint Paul is referring to God as the potter that makes vessels for noble and ignoble purposes. Noble means possessing outstanding qualities. Ignoble means in this case for dishonour, vessels for destruction. Saint Paul says God is patient, but God's wrath will destroy these vessels.
Ps 33:13 From heaven the LORD looks down and observes the whole human race,
33:14 Surveying from the royal throne all who dwell on earth.
33:15 He (God) who fashions the hearts of them all, and observes all their deeds.
Jesus warns us that many men enter the wide gate to destruction and few enter the narrow gate to life. Thus God is making many vessels for His wrath.
Mt 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Questions:
1) Our desires, represented by the eye, were created by God to _______ us.
2) Dopamine is automatically released when our _____ sees something we desire.
3) If we say yes to the desire, greater amounts of _________ are released when we actually commit the sin.
4) Sin is _____ to our eye because dopamine is released.
5) We are born sinners because God created within our _________ the chemical that produces pleasure.
6) The rod of ________ must be used to drive away sin.
7) Do not blame God because He created us with sinful desires. Realize God will judge our _______.
8) God will ______ our hearts if we do not discipline ourselves from sin.
9) A hardened heart does not believe he will be _________.
10) What cause the heart to be hardened?
11) When activity is lawful and not sinful, we are seeking our own ________. This will rob us the opportunity to do good for our ____________.
12) Saint Paul likens God as a ________ making _____ vessels.
13) As a Potter fashions a vessel, God fasions our hearts. If we chose sin, God will make us into an ________ vessel destined for _______.
The Heart is Corrupt.
Sin is pleasing to our "eye" because a small amount of dopamine is released. To be tested with desire is not a sin, but the action is.
The "feet" is the symbol of our hearts. Follow the feet and the desires of the heart are revealed. The feet can take us to sin or to virtue.
Email
mercermark@att.net
