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Metanoia = New Life

By G F Herrin

To understand the concept of “metanoia” we only need to examine the life of the Apostle Paul.  Paul, before he came to saving faith in Christ, was known as Saul, a man dedicated to persecuting and tracking down Christians and having them killed and imprisoned (Acts 7:58; 8:1-3).  Yes, it is true that he was a devout Jew and even studied under one of the great teachers of the Jewish faith: Gemaliel (Acts 22:3).  However, Saul was legalistic and as a Pharissee he believed that he could justify himself before God by how many good works he did and how well he kept the Law.  After he had his road to Damascus experience, though, and converted to Christ, his life was COMPLETELY and miraculously changed (Acts 9:1-6).  Saul became Paul and for all intents and purposes became a new man. Paul preached, taught, wrote, went on mission trips, was beaten, shipwrecked and was happily arrested for the cause of Christ.

 

Paul viewed the life that he led before he met Christ as one of a horrible sinner (1 Timothy 1:15).  After he met Christ, though, he became a man on fire for the Gospel! He dedicated himself to the things of God in every way.

We as devoted followers of Christ should be able to point to a point in our lives BEFORE and AFTER we met Christ. We should see behaviors that we began when we became children of God.  We should have a desire to read His word, to serve others in the Church, to share the Gospel, to pray and to draw closer to God. This desire to draw closer to Him is part of the change that is our behavior after we met Jesus.

Men who follow God should want to be more like Christ.  We should serve at the church and desire to be around other believers.  We should meet with others and share God’s word and desire to live moral lives.  We should meet with other men who help us to be accountable and encourage us.  We desire to pray with others and we desire to have a godly wife in our lives that we can love and to serve the Lord with in any way we can. We should desire to give a portion of our income to the church and we should ”seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).

 

Women should demonstrate a new nature where they want to live a life that is pleasing to God.  They do not have to do good works to go to Heaven, but desire to because they love God and have received His grace and forgiveness for their sins.  Both men and women are living a life where they are being molded and shaped to become more like Christ.  This behavior is the life of a person who has turned away from sin and has determined to live a life pursuing God and godly things. This behavior is the one demonstrated by one filled by God’s Holy Spirit. This is a complete change of heart brought about by the filling of God’s spirit in one’s heart.  This is Metanoia.

 

How does a person convert to Christ?  By coming to the realization that you are a sinner and there is nothing you can do to make up for your sins. Only Jesus dying for you on the cross can blot out the sins that you have committed against God.  Your sins are an offense to a holy and Righteousness God.  You must make a conscious effort to repent (turn away from your sins) and ask Jesus to be Lord of your life.  Accept the free gift of forgiveness that Christ has graciously given to you.  It is not something you or I deserve.  It is His Grace.  When one does that, he or she feels God’s spirit come into their lives and brings a supernatural peace.

Is there anything preventing you from making that personal commitment to Christ? Call on Him today, we are not guaranteed a tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

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From the Heart

By GF Herrin

 

As saved Christians when we speak of the Human heart, we must take a different approach from the Unsaved World that is all around us. The unrepentant world views the human heart as good since they are separated from God because of their unforgiven sin and have not experienced His perfect Holiness. However, we who have come to saving faith in Jesus, and have come to an understanding of the Righteousness of God, (In contrast to our own unrighteousness) know that the Bible has a different view.

In Jeremiah 17:9-10, Jeremiah writes of God’s perspective of the human heart:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings

 

In a person’s life, until God’s Holy Spirit takes up residence in us,  our hearts are not truly good or clean.

Ezekiel prophesied of such a time when people could have a new heart:

Ezekiel 36:26-27

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

When we come to saving faith, Jesus’ indwelling Spirit gives us a new nature, and a strength to love God and other people.

Psalm 73:26 – “My flesh and my heart fail;

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Apart from God we can do nothing. But with Him we have a new nature and a heart that longs to please our Lord and delights in Him.

Psalm 37:4 says “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”

This passage may not be what it seems. On the surface, this passage sounds like God will give you what you long for in your heart, and that may very well be true.  However, if you look deeper, it seems as if the passage is also saying that a heart that has been changed by God will be given different and new desires that reflect the new godly nature which it has been given by God. A heart of flesh, (not stone) will desire to have a spouse who loves God, His Word, people, family, and morality. These things reflect the heart of God.

Are you walking today with a changed heart that desires the things of God? Or do you just want fleeting things that you think will make you happy, but in the end will just leave you empty?

Call on Jesus and ask Him to change you and He will today.