A Holy Heart

All must be ready

It doesn’t matter who you are. You need to be ready for Christ’s return. When Jesus told everybody to be ready for his return, Peter asked him if that applied to them as well.

You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." Peter asked, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?" (Luke 12:40-41)

As you would imagine, Jesus said that it certainly did apply to them as well. Have you walked with Jesus physically on this earth for the last few years? Has Jesus declared to you that you are a rock and on this rock he will build his church? These things were true for Peter. Nevertheless, what was Jesus’ warning to him? He said to him that if the servant who knows his master’s will is not ready when his master returns, he will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unbelievers.


The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. (Luke 12:42-46)

Peter was certainly a believer and one that had a great knowledge of his master’s will as revealed to him by the Father. However, his believing would amount to nothing if he was not ready when Christ returned. He would receive the punishment that is due to unbelievers even though he was a believer. In fact, he would be punished more severely than the unbelievers because those to whom God has given much but do not meet its demands will be beaten with many more blows than those who have not been given much according to the Bible.

"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12:47-48)


This is not to say that there will be any comfort for those suffering eternal torment. However, there are differing degrees of the same torment reserved for people. It doesn’t matter who you are on the earth, who you are in the church world or how seemingly great your calling is. The same standard applies to all. It is the state of your spirit that will be the determining factor at the pivotal points of God’s judgement in relation to you. If you are not ready for the rapture when it happens, you will not be raptured. If you are not ready to go to heaven when you die, you will not go to heaven. It is not stagnant belief that determines the eternal place that you are given but a living faith. Believing without being ready will have the same negative reward as not believing. In fact, it will be worse.



Renewed mind

Paul said that we are to be transformed through the renewing of our mind.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

This is the determining factor in whether we live right or we don’t. All of us who have accepted Jesus as the Lord of our lives have an incredibly strong desire to live right for God. This incredibly strong desire to live for God is sometimes opposed by an incredibly strong desire to serve sin in one or some of its many forms. We may be torn between two incredibly strong desires. The outcome of our warring desires is ultimately determined by our mind because our will ultimately sides with the part of us that has control of our mind. All of us have abiding attitudes to certain issues as determined by our thought processes. If we are loving people, it is because of a type of world-view that we have that produces this disposition within us. All of us in Christ Jesus want to be loving, but not all of us are. This is because it is our world-view that produces our disposition, which guides our actions. Simply knowing that you should be loving doesn’t give you the power to be loving. It is adopting the way of viewing the world that produces a loving disposition that will give you the power to be loving. This is providing you have been spiritually regenerated by the Holy Spirit. It is the Bible that is the most powerful force on earth for renewing your mind. If you drink deeply of its truths, it will change your outlook on many things. However, some sins are harder to budge than others. For those sins, you will need to take time to renew your mind through a focused study on those issues that you are struggling with. Paul said that those who live according to the flesh do so because their minds are set on the flesh and that those who living according to the life that the Spirit requires do so because their minds are set on the Spirit.

Those who live according to the sinful nature (or the flesh) have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Romans 8:5)

When he says that their mind is set on one or another, he is talking about a mindset. You may have a good mindset in some areas but a bad mindset in others. The areas where you have a good mindset will be producing good fruit and the areas where you have a bad mindset will be producing bad fruit. Yet, the state of your being before God is always either good or bad, acceptable or unacceptable. It is only one. When your mindset is working for a certain sin, you will fall to that sin even though you may set your will against it. Setting your will against a certain sin may not be sufficient enough to overcome that sin. Some people find out from the Bible that something is wrong, so they decide that they will not do it any more. Yet, they fail. However, others decide that they will not do it any more, and they are successful. What is the difference between the two types of people? The difference is in their mindset or world-view that relates to that area. One views the commandment or law as compatible with his or her view on life whereas the other views the commandment as undesirable but necessary. When we view a commandment as undesirable, it highlights the sinful state of our hearts and minds in that area. While we view a commandment as undesirable, it is simply a law for us. The New Covenant that God has given us not only involves a new heart but a new mind as well (Hebrews 8:10). As long as our mind sees God’s laws in an area as undesirable, it is not the new mind but the old mind. It is not the new mind that God has provided for us through the New Covenant. So many of you wonder why your life is not working. It is because you have not received a new mind. The mind of the New Covenant is not something that simply falls from heaven. Rather, it is produced by your renewed spirit as it feeds on the word of God and looks to Jesus.



Repentance is foundational

In many ways, holiness is the beginning and not the end. The very first step in the Christian life is to repent. In Mark’s gospel, the first thing Jesus says is "repent". He says to "repent and believe" (Mark 1:15). The two of them cannot be separated for they are one. If you keep repenting but stop believing, you do not have faith because you don’t believe any more. In the same way, if you keep believing but stop repenting, your faith no longer has any value. It is a dead, meaningless faith. Of course, God will forgive you if you’ve sinned. If you sin again after that, he will continue to forgive you. Your standing before God is determined by what you believe as shown by the actions that the current state of your heart is reflecting. If your heart is right with God, it means that you have made the decision to stop sinning. You don’t need to wait until the consequences of your sinful actions ‘feel all right’ to be forgiven by God. Your forgiveness is not based on external circumstances, feelings or how other people feel about you. Your forgiveness is based on the state of your heart right now. You can always be forgiven right now. The Bible tells us that repenting of acts that lead to spiritual death and having faith in Christ is an elementary, foundational truth of the Christian life. It is ridiculous that some people think of repentance as some kind of optional extra in the Christian life. Repentance along with faith in Christ is completely foundational. There is no foundation that any real Christian life can be built on other than that. To build your life on a faith foundation that does not include repentance is like building your house on sinking sand. Our Lord clearly said that he will tell such people to depart from him (Matthew 7:21-23) and go to the place prepared for the devil and his angels forever and ever, which is hell. There is no other foundation. There is no other way. There is no other place that you can go and still be in eternal life. Jesus holds out eternal life to you. Receiving it includes not only maintaining your belief but the state of your heart as well. According to Hebrews, the steps are: 1) Repent and believe; 2) Be baptised; 3) Receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands; 4) Put your hope in the final resurrection of all from the dead and live with the knowledge that every action will come before the great throne of God’s judgement.

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. (Hebrews 6:1-2)

Baptism

We need to stop only giving lip service to the significance of baptism and start really taking to heart what it means. Paul said that we left our sinful lifestyle in the water and came out of it as a people who live a new and completely holy life to God.

We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:2b-4)


He said that the sinner that came to Christ is still there in the water. The you that came out of the water is not the same person that went down into it. You must come to the proper understanding of the significance that baptism demonstrates.

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. (Romans 6:6-10)

You died through the power of the Holy Spirit when you put your faith in Christ alone to save you from your sins. Through this death, you were set free from the power of sin to control you. Just like Christ who was raised physically from death, you were raised spiritually from death by the Holy Spirit’s inward work within you when you came to faith in Christ. This truth is demonstrated in baptism. What happens if I turn from this truth and take up my old sinful lifestyle for a time you may ask? You need to make the same decision again. This is not the decision to be baptised but to turn from your ways of sinful independence from God. This turning that you choose to make after you sin is through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will cleanse you and renew you every time you’ve rebelled against him and you turn to God in repentance. However, not all sin is an act of rebellion against God. It is only the type of sin that is rebellion against God that actually produces spiritual death (1 John 5:17). Rebellion against God is when we consciously choose to sin. When you turn from your rebellion, your spirit is made righteous and holy before God. This righteous and holy spirit that you now have gives you the power that you need to overcome all sin.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:2-4 – New American Standard)

However, you process your renewed spirit’s power through your mind. If there are Satanic and fleshly strongholds in your mind, you will fall into sin again because your mind is unable to harness the incredible power that the Holy Spirit has given you to live right.

Those who live according to the sinful nature (or the flesh) have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man (or mind set on the flesh) is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind (or the mind set on the flesh) is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. (Romans 8:5-7)

Nevertheless, it is important to remember that a right mindset is not the only issue. There will be no power in the first place from the Spirit if your spirit is not right before God. It is the Holy Spirit’s empowering of your spirit that gives you the power that you need to live right. You will try and try and try to be free from sin, but you never will be.

and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:8 – New American Standard)

You can keep trying to convince yourself that Christ has set you free from sin but until you appropriate his blood effectually you never will be. The blood of Jesus will not effectively work in your life if you have sin in your life that is a product of your conscious decisions. The blood of Jesus is the foundation for being free. You cannot continue to be free without the renewing of your mind. However, if you don’t continue to be free, there is no limit to the number of times the blood of Jesus can cleanse you. Yet, the power of the Holy Spirit has perfectly delivered you from committing wilful sin. You do not need to be cleansed again and again by the blood of Jesus from wilful sin. In fact, if you are continually being cleansed by the blood of Jesus from wilful sin, you are also continually not ready for his return. Ultimately, this means that if you are not ready when he returns for you, you will not go with him. In the same way that if you are not ready when you die, you will not go to him.



Arguing

The Apostle Paul told us that our actions come from two primary sources. They are either the spirit or the flesh.

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. (Galatians 5:17 - New American Standard)

When you fight as in argue with someone, you are in the flesh.

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, (Galatians 5:19-20 – New American Standard)

Do I mean that you cannot disagree with somebody? No, of course not, if you never disagreed with anybody, you wouldn’t have any integrity. You wouldn’t stand for what is right while others are standing for what is wrong (or at least, they appear to you to be standing for what is wrong). It’s fine to disagree, but it’s not fine to argue. The difference is the way you are treating the other person while you are taking your stand. If you take your stand in the wrong way, you are wrong even though you may be right. Our natural instinct when we feel threatened is to eliminate the threat, but God teaches us to manage and harness our natural instincts, so we are civilised and conform to reason rather than being wild or savage. Therefore, we can see that there are two ways to respond to someone when we disagree with them or feel threatened by them. One way is good, and the other way is bad. One way is in conformity with the Holy Sprit that God gave us when we were born-again, and the other is not in conformity with the ways of the Holy Spirit that God gave us when us were born-again. To reject the way of the Holy Spirit in a situation is to reject the Holy Spirit himself for he is holy and it is impossible for him to be a partaker of evil. You need to deal with adversity properly instead of shooting your mouth off. Your marriage, children or family will certainly provide you with many opportunities to practice these things. You should continually ask yourself though whether you are using your practice to get better or worse.



Will not share in Christ’s inheritance

Why should you stop giving people ‘a piece of your mind’? Why should you even look at so and so again, let alone speak a word to him or her? Am I saying that it is not wise to try and steer clear of certain people? There are definitely people in the world that the less time you spend with them, the better. Am I saying that you should never rebuke someone? If you care about someone, there are times when you will need to give them the truth right between the eyes. However, if you hate someone or you refuse to talk to someone, you are in sin. You are not walking in the Spirit. You are walking in the flesh. "Well, if that’s what it is, I like it a lot more than the alternative of putting up with them" you might say. What alternative? You mean to tell me that you like hating and being hated, that you like being nasty and people being nasty to you and that you like being cold and others being cold to you. That’s ridiculous. Of course, that’s not what you really want. However, you simply don’t want to go through the pain and self-discipline of breaking out of the negative cycle that you’re in due to the death that has attached itself to your tongue. Yet, if you continue to allow that death to attach itself to your tongue, you will not go to heaven. The Bible says, "enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions" are "deeds of the flesh". It also says that those who have them as a part of their life will not share in Christ’s inheritance that he will share with God’s people.

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21 – New American Standard)

Certainly, God will forgive you, but you need to repent.



Deeper than the Ten Commandments

Despite the clear standard of the Bible, some people seem to think that Jesus saw how hard it was for everyone to keep the law, so he came down to the earth to keep the law for them. Therefore, they don’t have to keep the law any more. However, Jesus actually came to take you to a higher level in regards to the law.

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)

Jesus certainly didn’t come to take you to a lower level in regards to the law. People think that Jesus understands their sin, so it’s all right. Jesus certainly understands our sin and empathises with us. However, under no circumstances is our sin okay with him. Keeping the Ten Commandments is a simple view of the much higher level of understanding that God requires of us. He requires us to go far beyond simply keeping the Ten Commandments. They are the tip of the iceberg.



"You fool"

The Ten Commandments tell us not to murder, but we can commit a thousand sins against someone and still be nowhere near wanting to murder them. What if we call them a so and so? Is that okay with God? "Well, they deserved it" you may say. What? They deserved you sinning by saying something displeasing before God. That doesn’t make sense. How can anyone deserve you doing something that displeases God? Displeasing God is sin. Do you deserve to sin? When did you get the right to sin, and who gave you this right? Did God give you the right to sin? He’s the one that forbids you to sin. Did the devil give you the right to sin? The devil doesn’t have the right to give that to you. Besides, the devil wants you to sin regardless of any so-called right to it. The actual reason you sin is because you choose to sin. Obviously, some circumstances are more conducive to leading you to sin than others. The reality is that you called someone a so and so because you chose to sin, and we choose to sin because we do not honour God enough to refrain. Friend, there are no excuses. If you have chosen to sin, it is purely and simply because you have chosen to sin. Well, what if I don’t call them a so and so, but I choose a more polite term like ‘idiot’ or ‘fool’. The terms ‘idiot’ or ‘fool’ may hurt their feelings less and have less dramatic ramifications for you but according to the Son of God these terms will take you close to a particular place that you don’t want to go to, and that place is hell.

"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, 'is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matthew 5:21-22)

The point is that whether you purposely choose a big sin or a little sin, you have still chosen to rebelliously sin against God with your tongue in relation to the way you speak about your neighbour. Big sin or little, you are not to speak against another person in that way whether to their face or behind their back. Does this mean that I cannot warn somebody about somebody else? Of course, you can, but it is God that judges the intentions of your heart. If you go around running people down sinfully with your words either to their face or behind their back, you need to repent. Your tongue has made your whole person unclean. You are not holy, and without holiness you will not see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). Stop choosing to sin with your tongue and choose to walk in love.



Rifts

Of course, it is bad enough that we speak to someone like that in the first place, but to leave the rift between another for days, years, etc… is totally unacceptable to God.

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24)

You can and should apologise to those that you have wronged to their face. Does this mean that they will be all sweet to you when you repent just like God is? They will probably be sweet to you, or they may hate you to your face. It is not unacceptable to God that someone hates you because of what you’ve done to him or her. You cannot stop someone from hating you. You cannot stop someone from holding unforgiveness towards you. Just because a person or people haven’t forgiven you for the wrong that you did to them doesn’t mean that God hasn’t forgiven you for what you did. However, you need to do what is in your power to make right the death that you produced in others with your tongue. Don’t make excuses. If you’ve done wrong, make it right. It is not God’s will for you to be in strife with those around you when it is in your power to set things right. This especially relates to family. Of course, the best avenue however is to hold your tongue and express your view properly in the first place.



Right hand

The tongue is not the only part of the human anatomy that needs to be controlled properly if we are to walk in the holiness that we need to in order to see the Lord. Holiness also involves our sexuality. In the context of sexuality, Jesus spoke of our use of our right hand in causing us to sin.

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Matthew 5:28-30)

I don’t think it requires that much abstract thought to work out what he was referring to. He didn’t say that the use of the right hand is sin if you are following me here. He said that the use of the right hand in producing adultery in the heart is sin. You need to understand that if anything is immoral in your heart and you act on it in a physical way, you have sinned. Whether that be with your hands, eyes, ears or whatever. You have moved from the temptation to an expression of the act of the sin. I am purposely remaining veiled here. If the act that involves the right hand does not produce immorality in the heart, is it sin? When I say immorality in the heart, I am talking about a desire that is not for the one person that we desire in a holy way in the context of marriage. Let me repeat that. If the act that involves the right hand does not produce immorality in the heart, is it sin? No, it is not sin. We did not choose to be sexually driven beings. We were created as sexually driven beings with the good of humanity in mind. We must understand that our sexuality is good and holy and that it is not bad and evil. However, we must also learn to manage our sexuality for by default, it will manage us if we don’t. If our sexuality manages us instead of us managing it, it will kill us spiritually because it bypasses the mind and heart where God has placed his laws. Sexuality was purposely designed to be all consuming because of its consequences. What I mean is that we might choose to not produce the next generation of humanity if the incentive felt like eating a small piece of chocolate. With this in mind, we must learn to manage this all-consuming, intense pleasure giving gift from our creator through the renewal of our mind and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.



Eyes

Our eyes, of course, also form an integral part of our sexuality. The saying, "I can look but not touch" is not true for you. It is not okay to look at a woman or a man with the purpose of feeding the sexual immorality that is in your heart. Jesus said,


But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:28)

As I wrote earlier, if you’re only focused on the Ten Commandments, you’re a long way from the new heart and mind that God requires of you in Christ Jesus. God wants us to completely change our whole mindset in regards to other women and men. God created a person to meet your need to not be alone. He has a wonderful plan for the two of you should you decide to marry. He has a wonderful plan for your intimacy. He wants you to drink deeply together of the intimacy that he has for you. He doesn’t want you to view intimacy as solely for the purpose of procreation. He wants you to view it as a celebration of life and love together (Song of Solomon 5:1). He wants you to be completely in love with one another and not simply bear with one another. He wants you to change your wrong ways of thinking towards each other. Any problem that we may have with our eyes is the result of a faulty mindset. We are simply responding to our basic instincts like an animal does. That’s not what God wants for you. He doesn’t want you walking around like a horse in a paddock trying to find whatever is available. He wants you live life fully. He wants you to learn how to truly love another. He wants you to experience what it really means to be loved by another. Will you sell your life short just to respond to a basic instinct that is common to all animals? Instead, rejoice in your instinct and allow your heart and mind to drink deeply from it. Enjoy life in its entirety instead of one small aspect of it. Increase your vision. Look beyond the tiny little picture to the big picture. You will not be able to overcome the flesh while your mind is set on accomplishing its desires. You must change your whole way of thinking to conform to the Spirit of God that God has placed in you. Jesus said that you would be better off going blind than to continue in your sin. Why was that? Hell awaits you.

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. (Matthew 5:29)

If you’re a part of the problem in our society and not a part of the answer, repent before God, and be cleansed. Receive a new heart and a new mind. God has declared that if you do not deal with your eyes, hell will deal with your body. Choose life and not death.



There is no licence to sin

Ministers of Jesus Christ, what do you think it means when you tell people that any sins they commit can never have any impact on their salvation? Wake up! Of course, if you tell people that no sin that they ever commit can have an impact on their salvation, they will sin. The exception is if their mind is right. In that case, they won’t sin simply because they understand that sinning is a stupid thing to do regardless of eternity. If you tell people that their sin doesn’t matter, guess what people will think? They will think that their sin doesn’t matter. Is it really that hard to work out? You, yourselves don’t even fully believe this. Otherwise, you would go out and fully sin. You believe that if you’re going to serve God, you need to be making an effort to repent of your sin. Wrong theological teaching has brought you into bondage to sin. It’s even caused you to wrongly separate your own practices in living your life to that which you teach. You try to live right because you know that it’s very important to God, and you shouldn’t teach anything contrary to that. As Jude wrote, you must take a stand for what is right.

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (Jude 1:3-4)

We are not to give people a licence to sin. Such a licence does not exist. However, we do have the grace of God that is always available to us regardless of how many times we may sin before our minds are renewed. This grace works its power after we sin in restoring us to right standing before God even though our actions and character don’t warrant it. It is actually the blood of Jesus applied in repentance in every circumstance which highlights the incredible grace of God.