Reflections on "My Utmost": July 26

Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart . . . . For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man . . . —Matthew 15:18-20

In Christ, we are already made pure:

"And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;

"And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith." (Acts 15: 8-9)

Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust our innocence, calling it purity. Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back, saying, “But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart.”

Once again, Chambers fails to rightly divide the Word of God. We have now received a new heart, by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us:

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

"And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)

We resent what He reveals.

If we are a new creation in Christ, then all things are made new in us (2 Corinthians 5: 17), then we have nothing to fear within us, but rather we are exhorted to ask God to open our inner eyes to the wonderful gifts which God has given us (Ephesians 1: 17-19).

Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attentiyon to.

Paul also prayed that Christ would dwell in our hearts by faith (Ephesians 3: 16-17). He is already there, but we need to renew our minds to the truth of Who is in us (Colossiasn 1: 27).

 Am I prepared to trust the penetration of His Word into my heart, or would I prefer to trust my own “innocent ignorance”?

This discussion about innocent ignorance is moot once we have been convicted of our sin nature and have received the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 21).

 If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me.

The evil that still permeates our flesh is present, but no longer has power over us:

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6: 11)

But as long as I remain under the false security of my own “innocence,” I am living in a fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me.

Christ Jesus, seated at the right hand of the Father, has dispensed with sin once and for all. We are called not to look at ourselves, but rather to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord (2 Peter 3: 18)

The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart.

Where does anyone get the idea that we can "hand ourselves over to Him"? A man dead in his tresspasses can do nothing but receive His redemption and life by faith.

 Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.

Right on, Oswald. This statement is exactly the full fruition of the Gospel!