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THE MEANING OF SALVATION: INNER TRANSFORMATION: Ezekiel 36:25-28
By Ted Schroder,
February 2, 2014
The Bible is the history of God's salvation. The history of the world is the record of our trying to save ourselves. Since the eighteenth century Enlightenment there has been the presumption that through the proper use of reason and intelligence, and with the assistance of science and technology, we can solve most of our problems. We think that we can find the answers to all our questions. This believe in human progress magnifies human ability, and a 'can do' mentality. We try to find solutions to all our problems through social, economic, educational or political programs. Yet the history of the world and our own personal experience of human nature gives evidence that our problems are much deeper. This is demonstrated for us in the history of Israel. God saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and brought them safely to the Promised Land. But they became proud, idolatrous and immoral, and in consequence they suffered defeat at the hands of their enemies. They repented, became willing again to obey God and turned back to him. In response he saved them again and again by sending them saviors, in the form of judges, prophets and kings. This was a constantly repeated pattern of events. Because of disobedience they were sent away to exile in Babylon. Ezekiel prophesied that they needed God to save them, not just from a foreign oppressor, but to save them from themselves, from their own uncleanness, from all their sinfulness. They needed inner transformation.
"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 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. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."
Like Israel of old, we have the tendency to blame our problems on outward circumstances. If only we had a better government, if only we had better health, if only we had more money. If only I had a better job, if only I had a better husband, wife, children, parents... .. you fill in the gaps. If only I could keep my temper, if only I didn't worry more, if only I could live up to my ideals. If only I were more attractive, if only I had a more pleasing personality. There are so many reasons we can find for not being the person we would like to be. The Bible tells us that we need to be cleansed of all our impurities, and receive a new heart and a new spirit. We need radical spiritual surgery. We need to be remade from the inside. We need to be controlled "not by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." (Romans 8:9)
We are incapable of saving ourselves. We are unable in our own strength to follow the Lord and walk in his ways. We are impure in our hearts. We are inconsistent in our behavior. We need a new heart and a new spirit. Our predicament is that we have hearts of stone. Like a stone our hearts can be cold as ice toward the way of the Lord. They need to be warmed with the fire of the Spirit. Like a stone our hearts can be hard. They are impervious to the words of the Gospel. They are proud and impenetrable to the invitations of Christ. Like a stone they are dead. They have no feeling for the abundant life of Christ and the love of God. They are not softened by the promises of the Gospel. They are senseless to the truth of Christ. They are indifferent to the claims of Christ. If you find that you do not respond positively to the message of the Gospel in the hymns and songs and sermons you hear every Sunday, you have a heart of stone. You need a heart of flesh.
What is meant by a heart of flesh? It means a heart that is sensitive to guilt, a heart that can bleed when God's word strikes with the sword of the Spirit, penetrating to dividing the soul and spirit, joints and marrow and judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). It means a heart that is impressed with the seal of God's Word. It means a heart that is warm, a heart that can think, a heart that can aspire, a heart that can love. It is a heart that is tender of conscience, that is alarmed at the approach of evil and uneasy at the presence of evil. It is a heart that is tender to suffering that recoils when God is dishonored and blasphemed. It is a heart that is open to the needs of others. It is a heart that is full of affection for the Lord and his people. It is heart that loves the Word of God and rejoices to spend time with the Lord and in fellowship with his people. It is a heart that is full of good works. It is a servant's heart.
Salvation has to do with inner transformation not just outer appearance. "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code." (Romans 2:28,29)
God's salvation consists not only in forgiveness for the past, or in protection for the future, but in putting his Spirit in the lives of his people so that they can begin to do what was previously impossible, actually keep his commandments. Whereas in the past they had been hardhearted, unable to discern the truth and maintain the faith, he would give them a new living heart. The old spirit of evil and disobedience would be replaced by a new spirit, pliable to the will of God.
In the past they had failed miserably to fulfill their purpose in the world. They needed radical surgery - a heart transplant. Their old stubborn spirits needed to be replaced with God's life-giving Spirit. The covenant based on the law given at Mt. Sinai was not enough. Instruction about right behavior and right worship would not change them and enable them to become all that God intended them to be. Judges, prophets and kings could not save them. They needed a radical, inner transformation. They needed a new heart and a new spirit.
This is what Jesus said to Nicodemus. "No one can enter into the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit." (John 3:5) None of us can keep the commandments in our own strength. We are slaves not to a dysfunctional family system, but to our own sinful nature. We need to receive from God a new heart and a new spirit. We need radical spiritual surgery which will save us from ourselves, and enable us to live our lives fully to the glory of God and so fulfill our purpose. This transformation of heart and spirit is the prerequisite to entering the kingdom of God. The water of baptism symbolizes the transformation of heart and spirit. This is the work of God's Spirit.
Through Israel before Christ, and through the Christian community today, God is working to reveal his nature and character to all humanity. If our hearts and spirits have been truly transformed, it is impossible to live for ourselves alone. Our lives are to be the avenues through which God's salvation is to be made known to all the world.
This inner transformation must be preceded by cleansing. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. We have to come to the cross in order to be cleansed. This requires repentance and faith. But you cannot change your own heart. No matter how long and how often you try to change in your own strength you will always fail. This is why we need a Savior. Christ is the great heart-changer. The Holy Spirit gives faith, and then through faith, human nature is renewed. Christianity is a religion, not of outward forms but of inward transformation. You cannot change the heart of others, your husband, your wife, your son or daughter, your friend, your neighbor. Only the Holy Spirit can change them. So pray for them that the Holy Spirit will give them a new heart. It is their only hope. It is our only hope. Do not resist the Spirit but welcome his work in your heart.
Ted's latest book: SOUL FOOD, Daily Devotions for the Hungry can be ordered through tschroder@ameliachapel.com at $14.99 plus S&H.
