Human Anatomy

Today, the Doctor is going to give us a full physical examination, so He can give us a full diagnosis of our health.  He is going to check our eyes, our mouths, our throats, and check on the aptitude of our hands and feet.

Below, you will find the Doctor’s summary diagnosis.  On the plus side, He has let us know the diagnosis of everyone on this planet.  That means that you already are able to know some of the characteristics of the woman, or, for you ladies, of the man that you will marry.  We can always think that it is good to go into anything with a good amount of knowledge.  Being forewarned is forearmed, so carefully read the Doctor’s diagnosis before continuing:

Romans 3:10 – 12 — “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

The world loves to talk about the “dignity of all mankind”.  The Apostle Paul gives us in the above passage God’s estimation of that.  The appeal is to Scripture — the Psalms, that so many look for to get “words of comfort and encouragement”:

Psalm 14:1 – 3 — “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

“The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

“They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

Hear the words of the Psalmist.  The Lord rendered this verdict long ago, that mankind has nothing good within him.  We truly are a wreck, and, contrary to popular belief, we are not getting any better.  David wrote this Psalm approximately 1000 years before Paul presented this verdict in the epistle to the Romans, proving from Scripture that God sees mankind as all under sin.

A millennium later, the Apostle Paul speaks of the wickedness of the nations, from the primitive to the civilized, and of the elect nation, of how they represented themselves as “God’s Chosen People”.

Realizing that this is a summary verdict, let us look at this from the point of view of a physician performing a full physical examination, and rendering his diagnosis.

Open up and say “AHHH”.

Romans 3:13a — “Their throat is an open sepulchre…”

Doctors can learn much by looking in the mouth.  This Doctor looked in the mouth of His patient, and He sees death.  A rotting, decaying, putrid corpse is residing in down that throat; and it does not stop there.  What is found in the throat is an indication of the state of the entire body:

Psalm 5:9 — “For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.”

I see that you like to flatter with your tongue.  Maybe we should perform a tongue scrape, to further look at your condition.

Romans 3:13b — “with their tongues they have used deceit…”

We often say “How do you know when a politician is lying?  His lips are moving!”

As far as God is concerned, that is the condition of all.  Why is this such a common trait in politicians?  Because it is a common trait in all.  Flattery is that form of speech used to persuade to get what we want.  It is not honest speech, for even if what is said is true, it is not used to tell the truth, but as a means to an end.  Why does flattery work?  We all love to hear wonderful things about ourselves.  We all know everyone else loves it too.  Even when we know that it is used deceitfully, there is still a tendency to consider the words being said anyway.  While most do not like to hear what the Word of God says about them, it does not flatter.  It tells the truth.  People want flattery.  We need the truth!

This is not looking good so far.  I noticed that when I was examining your tongue, something was going on with your teeth.  Let me take a closer look.

Romans 3:13c — “the poison of asps is under their lips…”

I knew that there was a problem.  You call yourself a man, but there are characteristics of a snake in you.  You use that venom to kill, don’t you?

Psalm 140:1 – 3 — “Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;

“Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war.

“They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.”

This is a problem among all people.  None of this has changed, and none of it is new.  Our culture (notice the root word in culture) on one hand talks a big game against “hate speech”, and yet speaks hatefully against those that they, well, hate.  Should that be a surprise?  If we believe our Bibles, it shouldn’t be.  It is a trait of mankind going back to when our first parents were banished from the paradise in Eden, after they listened to the serpent, who, surprisingly enough, with his tongue used deceit, and they listened willfully and disobeyed their Creator.

Later, when we read of the first mentioned sons of Adam and Eve, we read that “Cain talked with Abel his brother” (Genesis 4:8).  What did he talk to him about?  We are not told, but whatever it was, it was deceit, as a false front to be with him … to kill him.  That is the poison of asps under his lips!

Well sir, I don’t like what I see in your mouth, here is a summary diagnosis so far:

Romans 3:14 — “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness…”

Remember, this is what God sees among all of the children of men.  Again, the Psalmist said all of this many years before the Apostle read the Lord’s final verdict:

Psalm 10:7 — “His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.”

We also find that even among the saved, their is that tendency toward the mouth that will bite.  This is the characteristic of the one walking according to the flesh:

Galatians 5:15 — “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”

Speaking of the walk, the Doctor is now going to take a look at the walk of mankind:

I would like to examine your walk now.  How are your feet doing:

Romans 3:15 – 17 — “Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known…”

We sometimes wonder why it is that there is so much violence plaguing our society.  The news is almost always bad…everywhere.  But this is the way of mankind.  Why, with all the striving for peace, why is there no peace.  The United Nations is supposedly a peacekeeping organization, and almost all nations are part of it, and yet there is still war daily.  The way of peace they have not known.  Destruction and misery are the norm, and if we are part of that group of people who has not lived in a violent area or time, we are the anomaly.  This world is full of war and full of violence.  The people of this world do not know peace.  In fact, when the covenant people met the Prince of Peace, they crucified Him, and desired a murderer would be granted to them (Acts 3:14).

Sadly, they got what they wanted.

For many years, the Covenant People have been a nation “scattered and peeled”, as spoken by Isaiah (Isaiah 18:2, 7).  They desired that Barabbas, one who “made insurrection … who had committed murder in the insurrection” (Mark 15:7), rather than the “Prince of Life” Who was God’s message of peace and goodwill toward man (Luke 2:14).  A murderer they wanted, a murderer they got. Now the book of Isaiah the prophet is another popular “comfort book”.  The appeals usually are to chapters 40 and 41, but not to chapter 59:

Isaiah 59:1 – 8 — “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.”

This sounds much like Paul speaks in declaring God’s verdict against all mankind.  The small sample of mankind reflects the whole.  All are guilty.

The Proverbs are also often quoted to seek wise advice.  This is what the Lord spoke through Solomon about the wicked man:

Proverbs 6:12 – 19 — “A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”

That sounds much like our verses in Romans, except that the Apostle Paul has let us know that God sees this as the characteristics of all men.  That which Isaiah said concerning Judah and Jerusalem, the apostle speaks concerning all, both Jew and Gentile, that they are all under sin:

Isaiah 1:5 – 6 — “…the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”

The examining Physician has given His diagnosis:  we are sick, sick, sick!

Before leaving this exam, I would like to look at your eyes.

Romans 3:18 — “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Well that says it all.  The Proverbs have much to say about the fear of the Lord.  One thing that is for sure, and this, again from the Psalms, is that the one who does not fear the Lord is one that is considered wicked.

Psalm 36:1 – 4 — “The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.

“For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.

“The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.

“He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.”

What can we do about this awful state that we are in?

We have a few choices:

We could deny it.

We could disagree and seek a second opinion.  Maybe another physician will tell us what we would rather hear.

We could ask the question that a prison guard once asked our Apostle:

Acts 16:30 — “…Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Now, to be saved, often has the connotation of health.  To be made whole is often translated from the same word that in other contexts is translated saved.  Take the following:

Acts 4:8 – 12 — “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole [σῴζω — sōzō — “saved”]; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom ye crucified, Whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation [σωτηρία — sōtēria — Paul uses this in Acts  27:24 “this is for your health”] in any other: for there is none other Name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved [σῴζω — sōzō — “made whole”].”

It is only through our Lord Jesus Christ that we can get out of this awful state of health that we are in, and we are saved by the gospel of Him.  Christ died for our sins, and was buried, and He rose again on the third day, and this is the gospel by which we are saved.  A second opinion will only be just like those “flattering tongues”.  They tell you what you want to hear, but it is deceit.

1 Corinthians 15:1 – 4 — “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures…”

By the way, Paul answered that question presented to him by the jailer with this:

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”