Matthew 7:11
Man Has an Evil Nature
11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Luke 11:13
Man's Evil Nature
13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Matthew 5:17-30
Jesus Came to Fulfill the Bible
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus on the Heart and Our Thinking
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Isaiah 55:8
My Thoughts are Not Your Thoughts
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus Was Made Without Sin
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Acts 4:12
Salvation Can Only Be Found in Jesus
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
With great respect for the Bible, Jesus makes it more stringent than I have read it...He tells us that He came to fulfill the Bible and the Laws of Moses and what is written in it...Therefore, the Bible is completely about Him, if He is to fulfill it...And I had understood the Bible to mean sin is an action we take, but Jesus tells us that sin is even more...But maybe I do not want the Bible to be even more stringent than it already is...
Jesus tells us about the nature of man...And He does not give us a good account of us...He says that mankind has an evil nature...He says (this about our evil nature) in both the gospel of Matthew and Luke...And while He was on earth, He taught us about the nature of man's heart and our thoughts...Jesus assumes we are evil...He said in Matthew, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"...He says in Luke, " If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"...And to further this teaching He goes about telling us that many of our thoughts are evil and are sins...When He gave us His Sermon on the Mount, He teaches not only about forgiveness but also much about anger and being angry toward our brother or sister and failing to reconcile with them...He says, "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment...Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court...And anyone who says, ‘You fool! will be in danger of the fire of hell..."Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar...First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift."..."Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court...Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison...Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny...
Then Jesus teaches us about adultery...He says, "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’...But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart...If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away...It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell...And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away...It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell."...
What we think is who we are...Our thoughts in a way make us...What we think is who we are and what we do in our acts and deeds...
So men and women often, maybe without even realizing and often we do realize it - we sin through our thinking and our thoughts...When we have angry thoughts and are unable to forgive we will be judged...We may have negative thoughts on different things...When we look at a man or woman lustfully, we have already committed adultery and have sinned...In our hearts and our thoughts, even before we have taken any action - we have sinned...We have a sinful nature and need Someone to forgive us...And as we read these things about what and how we think, we must think about this Greater Good...We must think about Him, and His Father...
To contrast our hearts and our thoughts, Jesus thoughts are never evil or sinning...He is without sin...So His thoughts and His heart are pure...And as we read about Him calling us evil, He says that our Father in Heaven will give us good gifts...He adds that although we are evil, His Father will give us the Holy Spirit if we only ask Him for It...He is this Greater Righteousness...He is this Greater Righteousness of God...His thoughts do not come randomly or just pop into His Being, because He is Perfectly Good...His thoughts are not just mental events...His thoughts are much different than ours...His ways are different than ours...So He has no evil thoughts...No thoughts of lust...If He gets angry, He was the ability to forgive unconditionally...Repentance and forgiveness are at the heart of His teachings...Jesus is our remedy for our corrupt nature and our sins...He died for our sins...He is our answer to our sins, because He committed no sin...God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us and to save us from our sins, so that in Him we might become the Righteousness of God...He is our Savior...No other One offers this in the world...Salvation is found in no One else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be and can be saved...