Why do you assume that I don’t have a hard heart? I am horrified when I think of how selfish and hard-hearted I am. And why do you assume that I don’t have a battle with sin? I do daily. I am sure that I feel the same pull of temptation that you feel, perhaps even more.
However, the difference between us is something called "regeneration." Through the new birth, God takes the sinner’s "heart of stone," and gives him a "heart of flesh" (see Ezekiel 36:26). The Christian still battles the old sinful nature, but God regenerates him by giving him a new nature through the new birth (see John 3:1-5). I daily have a choice to either be genuine as a Christian (stay free from sin) or to play the hypocrite, and end up in Hell. For me, there’s no choice.
The regenerated person is "born of the Spirit," and the Holy Spirit in him gives him (or her) the power and ability to live a "holy" life. That doesn’t mean that he is "holy" in the sense of wearing robes, sprinkling water on people, or sitting motionless on top of a 20 foot pole for 10 years. It simply means that he keeps himself from the sin of this world, and if he does sin, he has the wonderful and consoling promise of 1 John 1:9. I hope this helps.
Monday, March 1, 2010
