Re-Created Heart

                   

The whole of Psalm 51 echoes the deep penitence of King David when Nathan, the prophet came to him, after he lay with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah whom he plotted to kill by sending the soldier into the hottest battle (2 Sam 11).

In the aforementioned text, King David expressed his need for a clean heart; thus, he asked God to create in him a new heart, as it was in the beginning. Mending and restoration would not benefit for he knew that such was altogether filthy and corrupted.

He recognized what sin will do. Every human being is susceptible to sin, having known good and evil. Sin respects no civil, academic or economic status. Even David, whom the Lord hath sought to be a man after His own heart, a captain over His people (1 Sam 13:14), admitted in Psalm 51:3 “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” The elements of sin’s nature do no man any good: Satan, the author of sin, deceives man with his subtlety since the time of Adam and Eve (Gen 3:1); the matter of sin itself deprives man of real joy, hence offering great pleasures but only for a season (Heb 11:25b); the act of sinning (continually) depreciates the value of eternity by exposing one soul to “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, (1 John 2:16).”

He realized what he must do. God’s compassionate hand worked abruptly when He sent Nathan to David. He was not just a prophet to the king but a friend and a counselor, too. In 2 Samuel chapter 12, by a fine parable, pointedly applied, he convicted David of his guilt in respect to Uriah and Bathsheba. Consequently, David declared that he had done such evil in God’s sight, and confessed that he had sinned before the Lord (Ps 51:4). He then desired cleansing until he would become whiter than snow (Ps 51:7). Our daily prayer must always include a sincere plea that God would make us know our transgression and sin through the conviction of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. One more point is that conviction requires action.

He resorted to what God can do. In Job 14:4, Job uttered to his friends, “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.” He spoke of man’s limited capacity over a sinful heart; and behind such truth, he was convinced that there is no other person who can revive and renew but only God Almighty. Same was David’s disposition that he cleaved unto God whom he believed to be the author of his salvation. Only such a mighty God can bring back the joy and a free spirit in him (Ps 51:12). God can surely deliver us from guilt and shame, only if we will believe. More so, let us not forget that pacifying gifts to the Lord for our transgressions is not what He earnestly desires. He delights more in broken hearts (Ps 51:17), and to those who are willing to get right with Him.

Just as anyone can be grievously affected by sin, it is good to know that above anything else, and before God transforms a life, He will first create a new heart. So whenever you feel broken-hearted, come and only God can make for you a re-created heart!

Man’s Fortifying Need

“Jer 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” (Jeremiah 13:23)

The greatest foolishness of men is to think that they had all the answers and remedy to life’s deepest problems.  They look within themselves for answers when they are fully convinced that they are indeed lost. First, they try what outward reformation can do, and they are amazed when they discover their own ineffectiveness; then they turn their eyes towards their feelings, and either they labor after tears and mental tortures until they grow conceitedly miserable, or else they yield to hopelessness, because they find their heart to be as an adamant stone, “Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.”

The Need To Be Received. The study of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs states that humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance among their social groups, regardless whether these groups are large or small. For example, some large social groups may include schools, co-workers, Church groups, professional organizations, and sports teams. Some examples of small social connections include family members, business partners, mentors, colleagues, and counsellors. Humans need to receive and be received by others. A collapse in providing this may cripple a person’s life. The Lord Jesus in John 6:37 assuredly invites, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” It is amazing that a failure to trust in our fellow to supply this needs is an opportune time to trust in Jesus to satisfy. There is a God in Heaven Who is ready to receive us if we come to Him.

The Need To Be Redeemed. Redemption is the act of buying something back, or paying a price to return something to your possession. Redemption is the English translation of the Greek word agorazo, meaning "to purchase in the marketplace." During the ancient times, it often referred to the act of buying a slave. The Christian use of redemption means Jesus Christ, through his sacrificial death on the Cross of Calvary, purchased us from the slavery of sin to set us free from that bondage. The Scriptural passage in Romans 3:23-24 attests, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” Our redemption is in God’s provision and not on any human concoctions.  The world may promote redemption through any other means but without the authority of the Word of God, that is all but deception by the Devil himself.  Jesus Christ is able to redeem us.

The Need To Be Restored. Throughout history no one has suffered more than God. He has suffered because his own children fell away from Him. Ever since the Fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God has been working tirelessly for the restoration of mankind. People neglect this brokenhearted aspect of God. 2 Corinthians 5:18 asserts, “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” The truth is, a Christian falls into sin. This is an unchangeable fact. Thankfully, it is the exception and not the rule, but it happens. We are to restore the fallen brethren as we would have them had it been us who fell into Satan’s fiery darts. We are to reconcile him to God and to the Church. We are to help him back on his feet again. This discipline is both personal and corporate; the individual has a responsibility as does the entire church. We are commanded to help the brethren up. This is restoration.

Without the Way there is no going; without the Truth there is no knowing; without the Life there is no living. John 14:6 evidences this, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  May we all look to Jesus to have all our needs fulfilled.

Man’s Fallen Nature

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. – Romans 5:12

There are a growing number of people today who are lured into the fatally deceptive belief that men are inherently good in themselves.  They promote that the influences of the world have subjected man to give in to sin. This then gives them the false perception that right and wrong are relative to intentions, motives, and the end result.  However, the Bible gives explicit facts about the nature of man’s fallen state.  We are made in the image of God but Adam’s disobedience gave way for sin to creep in and corrupt mankind as attested by verses 18-19, “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners…”

Sin is Conceived In Man. David explained that his conception had involved sin as Psalms 51:5 proved, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” We as David have a sin nature when we are born;  it is not something we learn afterwards. Our actions only express what our nature is. The sin nature is the basis for all sinful habits. Without understanding the source of sin one cannot understand nor give the solution correctly. The Law is not the answer, it points to the problem, it is diagnostic but it is not the cure.

Sin Comes From Within Man.  We do not just make up our mind to sin or make a mistake and go from being perfect to being sinful. Ephesians 2:3 says, “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” Sin has its roots in the heart that influences the intellect and will and ultimately finds its expression through the body when we follow through with the desire as Jeremiah 17:9 affirms, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” The sin nature is the basis for sinful habits; it is not a single act but a process that begins in our heart. We can say that the real source of man’s problem is heart disease, our fallen human nature.

Sin Communicates To Outward Actions.  We sin because we have the nature of sin already in us. Mark is even more specific in chapter 7:20-23, "And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,  Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:  All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. "

Because of our fallen humanity we cannot act apart from our nature. We can see the sin nature at work even in a child who is not trained in his behavior as he disobeys and naturally acts selfishly; he does not necessarily learn this from external influences to act it out. The Bible says that we act on our nature.  The Psalmist says in chapter 58:3 “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” Job 15:14 says, "What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?”  

Certainly, if we would have the scriptural attitude in the matter, we must humbly confess that the Bible is right when it says in 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  Only then will we be able to allow the Spirit of God to lead the lost to repentance and the saved to spiritual maturity in his walk with God.