Here are a couple questions to help you determine if you believe your heart is your ally and not your enemy:
1. Can you trust the desires of your heart, or do you think those desires will lead you astray?
2. Do you believe your heart is as pure as Jesus' heart?
3. When you sin repeatedly, is your first reaction to feel powerless, defeated?
4. Would you refer to yourself as a "sinner?"
5. Do you think sanctification [holiness] is something that will happen to you someday, or has already happened?
Answers:
1. Yes, I can trust the desires of my heart. [Not the desires of my flesh, but the desires of my heart, my new nature.] The timing for the fulfillment of those desires often requires discernment and long-suffering; but Jesus intends on honoring the noble desires of my new heart.
2. Yes, my heart [new nature] is as pure as Jesus' heart. Why? He gave me his own goodness. His holines is my new nature. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to "love others as I have loved you."
3. No. I may feel conviction, but not condemnation. Frustrated, but not powerless. My sin is no longer who I really am. Even better, my new heart has the power to overcome sin's allure because it no longer wants what sin promises.
4. No. I am a saint, restored to a glory that even unfallen Adam and Eve didn't enjoy.
5. No. Jesus has already sanctified my heart, my true nature. I can still sin, but it's no longer in my heart to do so. The cause of my sin is no longer my heart, but rather a foreign invader called "sin" cooperating with my flesh. I am no longer striving to be good. I'm simply trusting the Spirit to release the goodness he's already place within my heart.
HOW DID YOU ANSWER?
If you had contrary answers to any of these questions, you may have heard the same message about your heart that I did for many years: "Your heart is prone to wander." It's not true. Not any longer. Being a "new creation" means that Jesus has removed the ruined heart and replaced it with a noble and radiant heart.
In Christ, your heart becomes your ally, not your enemy.
Related Resources:
- Video: "THE PRONE TO WANDER MYTH"
- Podcast Series: "God Without Religion"
- Book and Study Guide: "RECOVER YOUR GOOD HEART"