"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you."
This is what God promised Israel that He would do in the New Covenant. This is exactly what He is doing through Jesus Christ in our day and in the 2,000+ years since He sent Jesus to this planet. This is a present reality that God is working out in His people, the Church.
A few things to note. Firstly, God saves us from ourselves. It is our hearts of stone that threaten our eternal destiny. The Gospel is not merely that God sent His Son to deliver us from the guilt of sin, but also the corruption of sin. A Savior would do a dead people no good without the regenerating grace to enable that people to come to life and embrace that Savior. So, God sends us Christ and does heart surgery.
Secondly, God saves us not only from our evil hearts, but also from our evil ways. A new heart necessarily results in a new lifestyle. This word heart does not mean the center of emotions or even the organ in your chest that pumps your blood. No, it means the core of your being. Your heart is all you think, love, desire, believe, and accordingly, do. God changes your heart and that changes your life.
Notice lastly the sovereignty of God in this passage. God says, "I will...I will...I will..." He never says He will offer you a heart change. He never says He's going to send Jesus so that, if you want, you can be born again. No, God begats us anew by giving us a new heart. This is why Nicodemus should have known what Jesus was talking about in regard to new birth (John 3). Being born again/from above is nothing new in the New Testament. It was God's promise in the Old that He would save a remnant of people, despite themselves.
A Christian wants to want God and His ways because God gives him a new wanter. What mercy and grace! God not only provides a way of escape, but He also gives us the desire and ability to take that way of escape!
This is what God promised Israel that He would do in the New Covenant. This is exactly what He is doing through Jesus Christ in our day and in the 2,000+ years since He sent Jesus to this planet. This is a present reality that God is working out in His people, the Church.
A few things to note. Firstly, God saves us from ourselves. It is our hearts of stone that threaten our eternal destiny. The Gospel is not merely that God sent His Son to deliver us from the guilt of sin, but also the corruption of sin. A Savior would do a dead people no good without the regenerating grace to enable that people to come to life and embrace that Savior. So, God sends us Christ and does heart surgery.
Secondly, God saves us not only from our evil hearts, but also from our evil ways. A new heart necessarily results in a new lifestyle. This word heart does not mean the center of emotions or even the organ in your chest that pumps your blood. No, it means the core of your being. Your heart is all you think, love, desire, believe, and accordingly, do. God changes your heart and that changes your life.
Notice lastly the sovereignty of God in this passage. God says, "I will...I will...I will..." He never says He will offer you a heart change. He never says He's going to send Jesus so that, if you want, you can be born again. No, God begats us anew by giving us a new heart. This is why Nicodemus should have known what Jesus was talking about in regard to new birth (John 3). Being born again/from above is nothing new in the New Testament. It was God's promise in the Old that He would save a remnant of people, despite themselves.
A Christian wants to want God and His ways because God gives him a new wanter. What mercy and grace! God not only provides a way of escape, but He also gives us the desire and ability to take that way of escape!
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