4th April 2022
A new heart
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Genesis 3:6 (NIVUK)
One day, when a young boy, I broke out in spots which were subsequently diagnosed as chickenpox. But the spots were a sign that something deeper was happening, a virus was attacking my body.
The rebellion of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden was also a symptom that something deeper had happened. Before there was original sin there was original righteousness. Adam and Eve originally were created good (Genesis 1:31) and desired and had a close relationship with God. However, under the influence of the serpent (Satan) in the Garden of Eden, their hearts desire turned away from God to desire, as the opening scripture states, what they perceived the fruit of the tree of good and evil could give them: worldly wisdom.
Ever since that time humanity’s natural heart has turned away from God. It is a fact of life that human beings follow whatever their hearts desire the most. Jesus reveals the consequences of a heart turned away from God: ‘For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come – sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.’ (Mark 7: 21-22).
The New Testament elaborates further, ‘What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight…’ (James 4:1-2). The apostle Paul describes the consequences of humanity’s natural desires: ‘… gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts… we were by nature deserving of wrath.’ (Ephesians 2:3).
Although we are, by nature, deserving of wrath, God addresses this basic problem when he states, “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.” (Ezekiel 36:26)
The new covenant in Jesus Christ is a covenant of grace that gives forgiveness of sin and restores communion with God. Through the giving of the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9), people are born again, made new creatures, with a heart reorientated back to God.
Prayer
Father, we thank you that through Jesus Christ we have peace with God. Help us to play our part to bring peace in this world.
Study by Eddie Marsh
About the writer:
Eddie Marsh attends the Sheffield congregation of Grace Communion International.
Local congregation:
Please email the local congregational contact (see below) for information about the Sheffield congregation’s meeting venue and time.
Local congregational contact:
Email: sheffield@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church