The Problem Is Closer Than We Think

“The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart.” It is one of those lines that sounds almost too neat until you let it sit with you for a while. Andy used it as he took us into Romans 1 on Sunday, and the more I have thought about it, the harder it has been to keep the problem at a comfortable distance.

Romans 1 contains words our culture does not particularly want to hear. If I am honest, there are parts that none of us finds comfortable. We can read them, see the world around us and quickly begin making a list of everything that is wrong “out there”. Yet that was not where Andy left us. Before God’s Word becomes a pair of binoculars through which I examine everybody else, it needs to become a mirror in which I see myself.

The Bible is a mirror before it is a pair of binoculars

That changes how we approach a passage like this. It is easy to recognise rebellion, confusion and misplaced worship in someone else. It is much harder to ask where I have exchanged God’s truth for something more convenient. Where have I wanted to remain in control? Where have I treated my judgement as final and expected God to agree with me?

Romans 1 tells us that God has made Himself known through what He has created, yet humanity has repeatedly pushed the Creator aside and given His place to created things. That may sound like an ancient problem involving carved idols, but an idol does not need to be made from stone. Anything that receives the trust, obedience or devotion that belongs to God can quietly take His place.

This is where the mirror becomes uncomfortable. The passage does expose the darkness in our world, but it also exposes the instinct in every human heart to say, “I will decide.” The problem is not merely around us; it runs through us. We are all without excuse, all affected by sin and all in need of the same Saviour.

The gospel is more than better behaviour

I keep coming back to Paul’s choice of words: the power of God for salvation. The gospel is not a self-improvement plan with Jesus added to make it spiritual. It does not simply give reasonably good people a few principles that will help them behave a little better. It meets people whose hearts have turned from God and does what they cannot do for themselves.

Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again. Through Him, forgiveness, righteousness and eternal life are offered to everyone who believes. That righteousness is not a reward for finally becoming good enough. It is received by faith and then lived out by faith. We come empty-handed, and Christ becomes our hope.

That is why the truth of Romans 1 must never be separated from the gospel announced earlier in the chapter. If we speak about sin without showing people Jesus, we leave them exposed but with nowhere to go. If we speak about grace while refusing to name sin, we offer comfort without the freedom of repentance. The gospel does both: it tells the truth about our condition and reveals the Saviour who can rescue us.

Andy reminded us that this power reaches into real bondage. It can confront sinful patterns, break through destructive thinking and bring freedom where we have assumed change is impossible. This does not mean every struggle disappears instantly, or that discipleship requires no costly choices. It means sin does not get the final word. Jesus does.

Who gets the final word?

Perhaps that is the question beneath the whole passage. Who has the right to define what is true, what is good and what human life is for? Our culture tells us to look within and make our own truth. Scripture points us beyond ourselves to the God who created us, knows us and loves us enough to confront what is destroying us.

That confrontation is not comfortable, but neither is it cruel. A doctor who refuses to name an illness because the diagnosis may upset us is not loving us well. In the same way, God does not expose the condition of our hearts because He delights in condemnation. He exposes what is wrong because He calls us to repentance, freedom and new life.

And that removes any reason for Christian superiority. We cannot stand at the foot of the cross while looking down on the people Jesus came to save. The ground really is level there. Different stories, different struggles and different consequences perhaps, but the same need for mercy. The message is not, “Look how right we are.” It is, “Look how good Jesus is.”

Carrying Sunday into Monday

So how does this travel with us beyond Sunday? I think it begins with allowing the Word to examine us before we use it to evaluate someone else. We can ask the Holy Spirit a more honest question: “Lord, where have I made myself the final authority? What have I excused because surrender would be uncomfortable?”

Then, rather than hiding behind explanations or blame, we respond plainly. Repentance sometimes begins with three very simple words: “I did it.” We confess without dressing it up, turn towards Jesus and trust that His mercy is greater than the sin we are bringing into the light.

It also changes how we speak to others. Sound doctrine matters. Biblical truth matters. We must not reshape Scripture every time the surrounding culture changes its mind. But if the truth has first humbled us, we will carry it differently. We can be clear without being proud, courageous without being cruel, and confident in the gospel without pretending that we saved ourselves.

The problem—and the answer—are closer than we think

The heart of the problem really is the problem of the heart. Mine as well as yours. That is sobering, but it is not the end of the journey, because the answer is not distant either. Jesus stands at the centre of the gospel offering forgiveness, a new righteousness and the power to live differently.

If you are exploring faith, carrying questions or would value prayer, you would be very welcome among us. Join us at Flame Community Church, Cardale Street, Blackheath, West Midlands, B65 0LY, or contact us at info@theflamecc.org.uk. There is a place for you at Flame.