So I won't get into the details of regeneration because I'm sure most of you know about it. In accordance to Ezekiel 36, we're born with hearts of stone, full of wickedness, and we just hate God. But when born again, and regenerated by the spirit to have the "heart of flesh", we're given new hearts that are alive and love God.
My question: Does this new heart of ours have any wickedness or is it able to be filled with wickedness? Like I'm sure you've heard the phrase "My heart is getting really hardened against this person". Other examples include "My heart is so deceitfully wicked, who can know it?". But do these describe the born-again Christian heart? Or are hearts deceived too?
I was watching a sermon by Paul Washer on the doctrine of Regeneration over here on this link and it brought this question to my attention.
YouTube - Being What You Are [Regeneration] (Paul Washer)
Watch at the 26:54 if you don't have time.
Paul Washer rebukes a pastor he listens to because the pastor is telling the congregation about how "I'm just a filthy wicked sinner and my heart is so wicked, who can know it?" (paraphrased from memory) and then Washer replies "Well what exactly did God do to your heart when he regenerated it?"
So when I'm sinning or struggling with sin, what is the correct thing to say? A.) My flesh is so vile and my mind is so corrupted or B.) My heart is so wicked, I need to be regenerated to love him more
If I said that my heart is wicked, and my supposedly "cleansed-by-his-blood-heart" was the one thing that could take me into eternal life, wouldn't that mean that during the times where my heart is full of wickedness, I'm not even saved? This leads me to believe that once the heart is cleansed, it's always cleansed. No darkness can enter in.
This has been bothering me for quite some time now. Things relating to the body organs like mind, soul, heart, body, spirit, etc. have become a bit confusing. Maybe there's a systematic book on the issue. I know that sometimes when the Bible uses the word heart, it's not literal and can simply mean the "inner nature".
My question: Does this new heart of ours have any wickedness or is it able to be filled with wickedness? Like I'm sure you've heard the phrase "My heart is getting really hardened against this person". Other examples include "My heart is so deceitfully wicked, who can know it?". But do these describe the born-again Christian heart? Or are hearts deceived too?
I was watching a sermon by Paul Washer on the doctrine of Regeneration over here on this link and it brought this question to my attention.
YouTube - Being What You Are [Regeneration] (Paul Washer)
Watch at the 26:54 if you don't have time.
Paul Washer rebukes a pastor he listens to because the pastor is telling the congregation about how "I'm just a filthy wicked sinner and my heart is so wicked, who can know it?" (paraphrased from memory) and then Washer replies "Well what exactly did God do to your heart when he regenerated it?"
So when I'm sinning or struggling with sin, what is the correct thing to say? A.) My flesh is so vile and my mind is so corrupted or B.) My heart is so wicked, I need to be regenerated to love him more
If I said that my heart is wicked, and my supposedly "cleansed-by-his-blood-heart" was the one thing that could take me into eternal life, wouldn't that mean that during the times where my heart is full of wickedness, I'm not even saved? This leads me to believe that once the heart is cleansed, it's always cleansed. No darkness can enter in.
This has been bothering me for quite some time now. Things relating to the body organs like mind, soul, heart, body, spirit, etc. have become a bit confusing. Maybe there's a systematic book on the issue. I know that sometimes when the Bible uses the word heart, it's not literal and can simply mean the "inner nature".