Sin is no longer a heart issue.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 11:30AM 
Bottom line: Your heart is no longer compatible with sin. Sin cannot penetrate your heart. Jesus now lives within your heart, and he isn't compatible with sin.
Your new heart in Christ deflects sin rather than absorbing it!
A friend and I were reflecting on a sermon we had recently heard in which the pastor was urging people to be more honest in their relationships and toward God. The pastor concluded that the reason people (he was speaking primarily to Christians) are not as honest as they should be was because of a deep-seated condition: “It’s a heart problem,” the pastor said.
So, as my friend and I sat smoking cigars (some of my best conversations have been over a good cigar), I asked him: “What did you think about the pastor’s statement—that it’s a “heart problem.” Is he right?
While my friend paused to think through it, I asked another question: “Is it a heart problem or a flesh problem?” As we talked through it, we agreed that it was, in fact, a struggle with the flesh, or old programming, not with the heart.
When I told my friend that his heart was now pure because of Christ, he immediately felt a sense of pressure lift from him. Christians may be slow to live from their hearts, but sin is never a “heart problem” in the believer: sin is a flesh problem. As Christians, we don’t reject our hearts: we reject (consider as dead) our flesh through Christ’s cross.
[Excerpted from Jim's book, RECOVER YOUR GOOD HEART.]
Reader Comments (2)
Hey Jim,
It is so hard to find others that feel the same way that you/us feel. We are taught that or sin is a behavior issue that we need to "get right" before God. Ugh, I think the de-programming walk is the first and maybe hardest step. I realize that my heart is good and that God is there, but those years of "religion" are tough to peel away!
Peace and blessings,
Doug
Hey Doug -- You're right - once you realize the truth about your good heart, it does take time for that to change your thought patterns. But over time, the Spirit changes the 'soundrack" that plays in our heads to more accurately reflect our new nature.