God's Spiritual Heart Transplant
Illustration © Dynamic Graphics
Bad News & Good News LEVITICUS 20:26; 20:8
Only God can deal with our sin and make us holy as he is holy. [For more on this, click on CALLED TO BE HOLY.] The good news is that when God commands us to be holy because he is holy, he follows it up with a promise saying he is the God who makes us holy! (LEVITICUS 20:26; 20:8)
God Promises His Children A Heart Transplant EZEKIEL 36:22-28
God promises a radical change of mind, heart and behaviour for his children involving -
1. WASHING WITH WATER is a picture of THE WASHING AWAY OF SINS
The Pharisees and Jewish religious leaders were outraged by Jesus' claim to be able to forgive people's sins. They knew that only God could do that and so they saw Jesus' claim to be God as blasphemy (MARK 2:1-12).
2. SPIRITUAL HEART SURGERY is a picture of A SUPERNATURAL HEART TRANSPLANT
God promises not just to wipe the slate clean for past sins but to give us a heart transplant. That involves removing our old heart of stone that rebelled against God and replacing it with a heart of flesh that beats with the cleansing lifeblood of Jesus.
3. FILLING WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT to give us THE DESIRE TO GO GOD'S WAYThe Holy Spirit of God creates in us godly desires. With Jesus' heart beating inside us, we find we want to go God's way now instead of going our old rebellious way.
To receive God's spiritual heart transplant we need to -
• REPENT of going our own way
• BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST as the only way to get right with God
• RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT empowering us to go God's way now