God isn't waiting for us to finally figure out and change to be perfect so that he can get on loving us.

God already knows who we are. He loves us anyway, forgives us anyway.

In fact, this love is best pictured in how Christ loves and washes the way, it washes away the sins his beloved bride the church.

For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ uses our Lord.

You're listening to The Gift, a radio ministry of Faith Lutheran Church in Capistrano Beach, California.

This week's gift is presented to us by a pastor Jeremy Rode.

Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We have a gospel-less gospel today.

There's not much good news in these words of Jesus. In fact, it's pretty

much quite the opposite. Jesus tells us that sin is not a matter of external's,

sin is internal.

The depth of our sinful condition goes far deeper than we like to think.

The bad news about sin is worse than we would like to think.

Jesus isn't being mean.

He wants us to know the truth.

A soldier dying of his wounds in a distant country does not want to be lied to.

Neither does a mother dying in a hospital of some disease.

Don't lie to me, doctor. Tell me how it is. Jesus tells us how it is. Sin is a

terminal disease. It is inside of you. It leads to death.

This is precisely what Jesus is getting at when he says that it is not what comes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of a man. From within, out of the heart of

man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

covening, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.

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