Removing the filthy rags of self-effort that we previously wore and replacing them with the gleaming white garments of righteousness changes our appearance. Far from looking like destitute and homeless vagrants, we are now clothed with bespoke, stylish, designer clothes. Our new look is described in the reminder of chapter four.
Righteous Despite Appearances Let’s begin in Genesis 15. Genesis 15:6 (NIV)“Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Abram (Abraham) was made righteous. God had promised him a son who would inherit his land. Now lets jump forward in his life.Genesis 16:1–3 (NIV)“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children….
You’ll See The day will come when you look back and notice that you have changed. You’ll see that the tug to do certain ungodly things you’ve been doing has grown much weaker than it was.You’ll discover that you have become more loving than you used to be.You’ll notice that all the turmoil and nonsense…
New Spirit or Renovated Spirit For me heart and spirit are very closely related. Our spirit is the life force. It’s who we are as a being. Then we have a soul (mind, will, emotions) which comprises our personality. As used in scripture, “heart” can refer to either or both. Our deepest desires and motives…
Our Nature When I speak of our “nature,” I am referring to our hard-wired inherited traits. When we were born of the flesh, we inherited our traits from Adam. Therefore, though not everyone sinned in the same way as Adam (see Romans 5:14), all are sinful right from the start. It is the default state…
Profound Change God’s promise in Ezekiel 11:19 & 36:26-27 contained these things:Removal of our old heart of stone (it was deceitful, cold, and unloving)A new heart of flesh (it’s soft, warm, and loving)A new spirit (the old one was bent on rebellion)His Spirit in us (without Him, we do not have eternal Life) Our new…
A Tale of Two Covenants A Study of Hebrews 8:7-13 We’ll begin our study of Hebrews 8:7-13 in Exodus 24. In this passage we find Moses delivering the Law of God to the Hebrew people. Let’s drop in at Exodus 24:3 “And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and…
New Creation By the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, I was given His eternal life.Ephesians 2:8 (NLT) “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” My cold hard heart was circumcised out of me and replaced by a…
Things you got when you believed: Your old stony heart replaced with soft loving heart.Ezekiel 36:26 “I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (NASB 2020) Death of old you and birth of new you by God’s seed.Romans 6:6 “knowing this, that our old self was…
