As we have seen in the previous episodes of this series, where we read the modern-day parable of the heart entitled “My Heart: Christ’s Home,” there are both good and bad aspects of our hearts – rooms in our hearts that we are glad to invite Jesus into, and other rooms within our hearts that we are uncomfortable or even ashamed to invite Jesus into. As we begin to read various Bible verses that mention the heart, we quickly see that the Bible confirms this principle of both good treasure and bad treasure being in our hearts:
Luke 6:45 NASB "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.
In fact, there may be more warnings in the Bible regarding the potentially negative aspects of the heart than affirmations of the potentially positive aspects of the heart. Here are a few such admonitions:
Jeremiah 17:9 HCSB The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?
Hebrews 3:12 NIV See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. [Note that this verse is specifically referring to believers, since it is addressing “brothers and sisters.”]
When I read these verses, I think, “Why would the Bible address the hearts of believers as ‘unbelieving,’ or as ‘more deceitful than anything else, and incurable?’” After all,
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Wouldn’t that mean that God gives us a new heart? And what about Ezekiel 36:26?
“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.”
Well, in one sense, God does indeed give us a new heart. Our old heart, prior to our salvation, was hardened (like stone) and therefore incapable of drawing near to God, or of choosing the ways of God. Our new heart is softer (like flesh), and has the capability of choosing the ways of God. But it also has the capability of not choosing the ways of God.
The answer has to do with the fact that God created us as 3-part beings. This makes sense, when we consider that we are made in the image of God, who is a triune being. Our 3 parts are our spirit, our soul, and our body. Our spirit is the part that is born again at salvation – literally, recreated. Our old spirit was “crucified with Christ,” and we were given a new spirit.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
(Application: When we are born again, we become a new creation. God’s spirit does not merely take up residence beside our spirit. Our spirit is transformed into a “new creation.” The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. Salvation is not addition. It is transformation.)
So, even though our spirit is immediately made new, our heart (our soul) is not. Our soul is made up of our mind, will and emotions. It is that portion of our soul called the mind that was programmed before our salvation with ungodly, independent ways of thinking and living, and this part of our mind is now the source of our sin as believers. Our mind must, therefore, be progressively renewed, through the process of sanctification:
Romans 12:2 NASB And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed [G3339] by the renewing [G342] of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
G3339 = Greek, met-am-or-FO-o = transformed. Having undergone metamorphosis.
G342 = Greek, an-ak-AH-ee-no-sis = renovation.
So, the literal meaning of this verse is, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (like the process of metamorphosis) by the renovation of your mind.” And remember: just like a home renovation project requires both the removal of the old, unwanted, and damaged materials, and then the addition of the new, fully functional materials, so also the renovation of our mind requires the removal of our old, damaging, and dishonoring thoughts and attitudes, followed by the addition of the new, God-honoring, fully functional thoughts and attitudes.
This is so important, because “[our] mouth speaks from that which fills [our] heart.” (Luke 6:45). So, this is why the Bible cautions us to watch what we fill our hearts with:
Proverbs 4:23 NIV Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
What is the best way to guard our hearts? The answer, of course, is in the next episode. 😊
Today, I encourage you to “Reflect on This.”