A New Heart and a New Spirit
I love it when the Old Testament affirms the truths of the New Testament, because there are so many people who think salvation was completely different then. God has never saved anyone because they kept the law or lived right. Salvation has never been by works of righteousness. It has always been a change of heart and spirit that came when a person put his or her trust in the Lord. (Ezekiel 18:31,32) Yes, it has always required repenting from sins, but that is the only way to fully trust the Lord. We can't have it both ways, so the Lord says, "Therefore, turn and live."
When we go our own way, we are living in sin, even if we are not bad people. God's way is the only right way. We have to come to admit that, and turn from our ways and our transgressions. Those are the ways we have departed from God's ways. Then, when we trust the Lord by putting our faith in Him, He gives us a new heart and a new spirit. In other words, we are changed from the inside out. We don't just act right, we are right. Our heart and our spirit are right with God, so we can live right.
The question is, "Do you have a new heart and a new spirit?" Can you look back on your life and see when you turned to the Lord in faith? Can you tell that your heart became new because you want to do His will? Can you tell that your spirit is new because now you can talk with God and hear from Him? Everyone who has been saved has that change. It comes from God changing us. It is the only way to live!
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 19-21.
When we go our own way, we are living in sin, even if we are not bad people. God's way is the only right way. We have to come to admit that, and turn from our ways and our transgressions. Those are the ways we have departed from God's ways. Then, when we trust the Lord by putting our faith in Him, He gives us a new heart and a new spirit. In other words, we are changed from the inside out. We don't just act right, we are right. Our heart and our spirit are right with God, so we can live right.
The question is, "Do you have a new heart and a new spirit?" Can you look back on your life and see when you turned to the Lord in faith? Can you tell that your heart became new because you want to do His will? Can you tell that your spirit is new because now you can talk with God and hear from Him? Everyone who has been saved has that change. It comes from God changing us. It is the only way to live!
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 19-21.