Today's message spoke of the default-mode of the human heart, which is religion. Generally, we all live a certain way and make the choices we make in order to understand ourselves as good people and out of a desire to be acceptable to God.
In Ezekiel 36, God declares that he wants to give us a heart transplant, replacing our heart of stone with a heart of flesh that desires to obey Him. This heart of flesh is the heart that has an absolute assurance of the love of God and God's acceptance. My desire to please God, to live a new life, is not a desire to make myself acceptable to God, that's impossible. Only Jesus can make me acceptable through his life, death, and resurrection. My desire to please God and live a new life is a response to the reality of my acceptance by God. Very different motivation.
So, we need a heart transplant.
In my message, today, I offered several "heart exam metrics" so we can diagnose our need for God's intervention of grace. Here are a couple more:
1. Why Obey God?
If I have a religious heart: I obey God because I want to get things from Him.
If I have a heart of faith: I obey God because I want to resemble God and be like God.
2. Source of Hope?
If I have a religious heart: My talents, my moral uprightness, my personal discipline, my social status, etc. are all absolutely necessary, and serve as my source of hope, meaning, security, and significance.
If I have a heart of faith: I may have many good things in my life: family, work, spiritual disciplines, etc., but none of these things are ultimate to me. I place my hope in none of them. I certainly may enjoy them, but if they are threatened I will be okay because my hope is placed solidly on the grace of God. Jesus Christ is my source of hope, meaning, security, and significance.
Religion is pernicious and pervasive. It's sneaky. The religious mindset is truly the mindset of the whole world. Unfortunately, many churches and countless Christians are not fully aware of it's sneakiness. We fall prey to the works-righteousness mindset. Works-righteousness says that you must work to earn your righteousness, your right standing with God. But the Gospel teaches a very different approach.
The way of the Gospel is the way of absolute dependence on the grace of God, being fully aware that I am a sinner in need of saving, and that the way to salvation is not a religion, but a relationship with Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
God wants to give us new hearts, hearts of flesh, hearts that are assured of the grace of God, hearts that are free for joyful obedience. How's your heart?
You should not beleive in God because he will give you things,he does more thwn enough to help us all live everyday. You should be grateful not asking for more.
Posted by: shaye | April 27, 2009 at 08:59 PM