What Jesus illustrates is that there is a condition in the
hearts of man that causes it to produce evil thoughts, murders and every other
kind of sin imaginable. This is due to the fallen condition of man and Paul
further describes this condition by stating that “the carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
Romans 8:7. (**Mind and heart in the
Bible are used synonymously)
For this reason, in order to deal with the problem of sin,
Jesus wants to deal with it at the heart, or at the root cause. If there is to
be any change in the life of a man from one of sin to one of obedience, there
must of necessity be a change that takes place in the heart. It was with this
in mind that Jesus said the words to Nicodemus, “Marvel not that I said unto
thee, Ye must be born again.” John 3:7
Consider the idea: that it Is “by mercy and truth iniquity
is purged” (Prov. 16:6), not just
pardoned. God wants to bring us into an experience
of what that means, to bring one to a practical experience of being purged
(cleansed) from ones iniquities.
Notice God’s promise:
“Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be
clean (or purged): from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I
cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I
will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye
shall keep my judgments, and do [them].” Ezekiel 36:25-27
Only as the heart is changed and renewed can any true
obedience be rendered to God. This is
the truth which all must know who desire to live aright after having repented,
confessed and forsaken their sins.
The reason this is so is found in Jesus’s words: “Abide in
me, and I in you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except
ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:4-5 (emphasis added). God knows that
in the hearts of man, there is nothing in them that grants him the ability to
render the true service which Gods law requires, thus in Jesus is provided all
that man needs to live so as to please God. Without a vital connection with
Jesus that comes with a change of heart, man can of himself do nothing.
In order for this heart change to take place, there must then
be a surrender of the entire heart and life to God. To Ezekiel, God’s promise
is that “I will take away the stony heart…”(
Ezekiel 36:26), but God will not do that by force. The heart must be surrendered to Jesus. There must be a full surrender before
any real change can take place in the motives and inclinations of sinful man.
Notice the words of the wise man, words which are in
likeness to God’s words to us: “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes
observe my ways.” Proverbs 23:26. Before one can be able to observe (carry out)
God’s ways, one must first give to God his heart, to cleanse and transform it.
This is the step which we may call consecration. To decide to
devote ones heart entirely to the service and will of God, in order to carry
our His aims and purposes. This means submission of one’s own will to the will
of God. To say, like Jesus, “not my will, but thine be done.” (Matt. 26:39)
This is the secret to true success in the Christian walk,
and there is no other. Jesus alludes to this idea of heart surrender and
transformation in Matt. 12:33. He says the following: “Either make the tree
good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt:
for the tree shall be known by his fruit.”
Notice the idea: the reason why a tree produces the kind of
fruit it does, lies in the condition of the tree itself, not so much in the
fruit. So it is in the spiritual. A man may find that in His life, the fruits
are only corrupt: evil thinking and imaginations, shortness of temper, sinful
practices and habits. He may try by all means to reform these; in some
instances it may even seem as though he has been able to gain the victory (to
have cut off the fruit). This may last until after some time (perhaps in a time
of severe difficulty) he finds himself falling back into the same sinful practices
(the fruit has grown back). Jesus gives a formula that guarantees success: that
of transforming the entire tree to
one which will bear the fruits of righteousness. This is only through the
surrender of the heart to God and entering into a vital connection with Jesus.
To show that Jesus, in the illustration, likens the tree to
the heart He further says: “how can you, being evil, speak good things? for out
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good
treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil
treasure brings forth evil things.” Matt. 13:34-35. This is the root cause, and
it is to work a transformation of that very heart that Jesus bids us to give Him the heart, that we may thus be enabled
to observe His ways (Pr. 23:26).
As the heart basically refers to the mind, the surrender of
the heart to God is to bring one’s own will
into submission to the will of God; to make
a decision, to choose to accept the service and will of God as the first
and highest objective one’s life.
This consecration
demands a surrender of those things that seeks to cause a separation between
the soul and Christ.
In 2 Tim. 2:16, Paul admonishes Timothy to “shun profane and
vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” There is
something about vulgar and unprofitable discussion that leads to more and more
ungodliness in one’s experience, and because of the effects of these things,
Paul admonishes Timothy to avoid them. This instruction can be extended to other
things which make a person more and more ungodly: Pauls counsel is to shun
them.
A few verses further, Paul continues to emphasise the reason
for this. He says, “If any man purge himself from these (profane and vain
babblings), he shall be a vessel unto
honour, sanctified (or consecrated),
and meet (as in suitable) for the
masters use, and prepared unto every good work.” (verse. 21)
Notice the sequence of ideas: In order for one to be made a
vessel suitable for the Master’s use, in being “prepared” for every good work, one must first shun anything that will lead to
more ungodliness. In verse 21 Paul use the stronger word: “purge” (as in to
remove or eliminate). He says that “if any man purge himself of these,” thus the removal of these things must be a
personal surrender of them.
Thus we find that in order to be prepared for every good
work in receiving the new heart which Jesus offers, there must be a personal
surrender of the things which seek to separate the soul from Jesus.
What could prompt one
to make such a surrender?
Paul makes such an appeal for whole hearted surrender to God.
He says: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is]
your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1
Paul makes clear the relationship between surrender and the
experience of heart transformation. Before there can be a transformation which
comes by the renewing of the mind,
the life must first be presented to God as a living sacrifice. Of all the motivating arguments that Paul
could present, the highest motivating factor Paul uses is the mercies of God.
Therefore, the thing that should inspire any man to make a complete surrender
of the heart and life to God, is nothing other than the fact that God has been
merciful, that though I ought not to even exist because of my sins, God has
still not dealt with me according to my sins.
Thus we find that
even in the work of consecration, of wholehearted surrender of heart and life
to God, the mercy of God (the manner in which God treats us with kindness and
love, even as fallen man) must be the driving force.
