Parts of the Old Testament no longer apply to you.

Some ways of describing a God-follower in the Old Testament no longer apply to Christians.  Many Christ-followers read the the Old Testament today as if Jesus hasn't come. 

We can't simply apply certain passages to ourselves without thinking.  These passages were written to God's people prior to the Cross and the radical change of heart that comes with Christ's indwelling.  

Some ways of describing a God-follower in the Old Covenant are no longer true of you - now that Christ has rescued you. 

1.  For example:  Jeremiah 17:9:

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Salvation is a rescue of the heart [ -our core self, or nature and tendencies of a person].  Jesus cures the problem of a deceitful and wandering heart by giving us a new, pure, and blameless heart - his own heart/spirit/will embedded in our bodies.  [See Ezekiel 36:26; I Cor. 6:11; Heb. 10:10.]   This new heart, given to us at conversion, was the missing link in our Story.  We needed it in order to reconnect with him:

I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

2.  Praise songs that sing, "Create in me a clean heart..." are no longer necessary.  David's cry [which is everyone's cry] for a good and noble heart has been answered.  So what would David sing now?

3.  The Ten Commandments are no longer a necessary yardstick for the Christian.  This may be surprising for some.  Why?  Because the law has been "written on our hearts."  By living from the Spirit, our new hearts naturally want to do what the law commanded.  External constraints are needed no longer because the internal power and desire to live out the spirit of the law are now active in our deepest selves [our new hearts]. A person who is living from their new heart no longer wants to murder, covet, or make an idol of anything.

As Martin Luther declared:  the "Spirit doth make us new hearts, doth exhilarate us, doth excite and enflame our heart, that it may do those things willingly which the law of love commandeth.”  You now want God's will, despite your flesh's attempts to deny that.

It's like a parent removing the training wheels from a child's bike:  the child no longer needs them because the ability to ride the bike is now within her.

Is your message just a matter of semantics?

“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified…” (Romans 10:10)

I recently spoke at a mens' event in which one of the participants asked me if having a good and noble heart was just a matter of semantics.  [In other words, does it really matter?] 

His view was that we should simply count on the Spirit's ongoing work within us to make an errant heart good over time.  In other words, Why can't he make a diseased heart good... in time?  What did it matter that you start the journey with Christ equipped with a brand new heart?

My response was:

• It's hard to ignore Scripture's indication that Jesus replaced our 'heart of stone' with a new heart. [He didn't merely try and clean it up - but replaced it.]  [Ezek. 36:26]  When you said 'yes' to Christ, he removed the heart that would have been a hinderance to the 'in-Christ' life; and gave you a heart saturated with his own goodness, spiritual health and vitality. 
  
  Romans 10:10 points out that it is "with your heart that you believe and are justified."  Just as a sick and dying body can't reproduce life on its own, so a heart that's debilitated, self-righteous and wandering  won't trust God's offer of life, nor have the ability to successfuly abide in that life in the long run.  That would be asking it to do something that's against it's nature:  like asking spotted and rotted fruit to provide the body with nourishment.

• Second, the people of Israel's primary problem was a wayward heart -- forever wandering and fauning after lesser 'gods.'  So God solves the root problem, promising: “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.” (Jer. 24: 7).  You can't "return to God with all your heart" if your heart is 'prone to wander' and waffle.  That's why your new life in Christ begins with a new heart that can receive him, that desires his will, and can love as Jesus loves.

If we start the journey with a thoroughly-new, supernaturally radiant and good heart, then this is the way we continue the journey: We cooperate with the Holy Spirit as he releases the goodness he's already birthed within us.  

Simply relying on Jesus to be good for you underestimates his restoring work in us:  Jesus is not going to be good "on your behalf."  [This is the fallacy of "imputed righteousness."]  This would be short-changing his surprising work in you. Rather, he's made you good by giving you his own goodness; and will continue to nourish, celebrate and release "the work he began in you" -- the work that started with your heart.  We mature as we allow him to engage this new goodness he's already given us.

What, actually, is "new" about you?

How many times have we heard that we are “a new creation” in Christ and yet felt a vague sense of confusion? Perhaps even disqualification?

“I know I’m supposed to be a new creation but I really don’t feel any different. There must be something wrong with me.”

If we're honest, many of us think that "new creation" means God will change us...at some point in the future.  What if that "new creation" change has already taken place to a large degree?

So what exactly changed when we came to Christ? What became "new?" Is this just a quaint metaphor for 'new life' or has something actually happened in us, something worth talking about?

For centuries, theologians have rightly upheld the idea of “regeneration,” or the drastic transformation of heart Christ brings about. Sometimes, this is called the “new birth,” a spiritual re-creation of our deepest self. It therefore includes a re-creation of the heart. This restored heart is exactly what Paul means when he says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17) We should “put off the old self … and put on the new self.” (Eph. 4:22-24)

That ‘new self’ is a new heart given to us at conversion. Our radical goodness is an already-established fact, a gift given when we trusted Jesus. The new heart is the fulfillment of God’s promise to us in Ezekiel 36:26 and Jeremiah 31: 31-34.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you …” (Ezekiel 36:26)

You now have a supernaturally-good and noble heart. 

Why your good and noble heart is a big deal.

A friend of mine, who received the audio book of my book, "Recover Your Good Heart" sent me this response to the message.  I share it because it exposes why it is so hard for us to see the message for what it is:  startling. 

The message of your good and noble heart is not a footnote:  It's a HEADLINE.  It is not a theological nuance, nor a cute metaphor to describe our new life in Christ.  As one attendee said after I had spoken to his group:  "I don't know yet whether I believe what you're saying:  But if it's true, it changes everything."

Brent's response to "Recover Your Good Heart:"

Hi Jim,

I wanted to write to you and tell you how your book is having an impact in my life.

To be honest, when I first heard you describe your thesis, I thought, "That's nice. But what difference would it make?" In essence, I was asking rhetorically, "What difference would it make if I really believed that?" The key thing to notice, is that I didn't really think it was true. I thought it was just a nice metaphor, like a lot of other nice metaphors in the Bible.

Somewhere along the way, as I was listening to your book, the thought occurred to me that it might really be true. Factually. My heart(?) fluttered a little at the possibility.

I sort of began to accept the premise that it was true: That this fundamental change actually happened. But I still found myself wondering, "So what? What difference will it make if it was always true all along?"

I've found that it HAS made a difference. And the difference is a matter of faith. I find myself approaching problems, situations and life in general from the faith standpoint that I don't need something in addition to what God has already given me. I just need to live from my truest self, the new self that genuinely wants to please God. Needless to say, I was surprised by the difference.

As I've thought more and more about it, I really look forward to sharing the Gospel with people again. How many times have these conversations turned into "well, I know I sin, but I'm not that bad" discussions. I SO look forward to being able to say, "Hey, let's agree not to focus on behaviors...Jesus never said 'I have come that you might behave'...God wants to give you a new heart." What a great message, made greater by the fact that it's the truth.

Anyway, thanks.

b 

Is the message of the 'good and noble heart' a new teaching?

The idea that we have a good and noble heart now because of Christ's work in us comes from the classic Christian doctrine called, "regeneration."  It was even forecast in the Old Testament when God declared:

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you."  [Ezekiel 36:26]

This is not a new teaching; but rather, one we've largely ignored in contemporary Christianity.

J.I. Packer, whom Time magazine listed as one of the top 25 most influential evangelicals in America, describes our regeneration as, “the spiritual change wrought in the heart of man by the Holy Spirit in which his/her inherently sinful nature is changed so that he/she can respond to God in Faith, and live in accordance with His will (Matt. 19:28; John 3:3,5,7; Titus 3:5). It extends to the whole nature of man, altering his governing disposition, illuminating his mind, freeing his will, and renewing his nature.”

He goes on to say that, “The regenerate man has forever ceased to be the man he was; his old life is over and a new life has begun; he is a new creature in Christ, buried with him out of reach of condemnation and raised with him into a new life of righteousness.” (See Rom. 6:3-11; II Cor. 5:17; Col. 3:9-11)

[In my book, Recover Your Good Heart, you can read quotes from preachers of old such as Jonathan Edwards, Andrew Murray and Martin Luther who also confirm the supernatural goodness of our new nature.]

Too much of the Church's message is about sin.

History has brought us to the point where the Christian message is is thought to be essentially concerned only with how to deal with sin:  with wrong-doing or wrong-being and its effects.  Life, our actual existence, is not included in what is now presented as the heart of the Christian message, or it is included only marginally.  -- Dallas Willard, 'The Divine Conspiracy'

The Gospel is not primarily about rescue from sin. It is a rescue from death:

• Rescued from deadness of heart [spirit/will],
• Rescued from deadness of disconnection,
• Rescued from deadness of disorientation,
• Rescued from deadly and demeaning desires that are less than us.

The Gospel is about a life-giving-life:

• A life-giving heart,
• A life-giving connection with God and others,
• A life-giving re-orientation around the Incarnate Life himself
• A new set of life-giving desires.

Jesus' primary offer is not forgiveness of sins [although he does forgive our sins]. Rather, his offer is a great restoration: returning to us the things that Death has stolen from us.

IDENTITY REFORMATION -- A new Facebook Page for finding authors/bloggers you like

IDENTITY REFORMATION - Living our new identity is a new Facebook Page I created to showcase authors/bloggers/publishers who support the good and noble heart message. Here you will find resources and content from people like:

Current Contributors:
Jim Robbins, Gary Barkalow,
Kevin Miles, Joel Brueseke,
Bob Regnerus, Matt Gillogly,
Andrew Farley.

[More may be added.]

Go  to IDENTITY REFORMATION.

Podcast: "Dialing in Your Calling" - Jim Robbins

"DIALING IN YOUR CALLING:"  Here's a glimpse into the process I've used over the last 10 years to hone my sense of calling. [13 minutes]

You can also read my post, "Dialing in Your Calling" here.

[Podcast theme music written and performed by Jim Robbins - Expressive Music Scores.]

Dialing in your calling

For me, it has been important to narrow my sense of calling as much as I can.  Truth be told, there will always been an unfinished sense of mystery to our calling, an inability to pin it down with 100% clarity.

Having said that, here's a bit of my thought-process:

Rather than saying, "I'm a teacher," or "I help people gain a better understanding of what the Bible says about them," or "I talk about the heart," I get even more specific:

"I like to challenge assumptions that impair and wound a Christian."  Or,

"I expose beliefs that shame and diminish Christians."

When I dial-in my calling more specifically like the above, it answers a couple of questions:

1.  Who am I trying to reach, or who are the people that most need what I bring?

2.  What, specifically, am I bringing or doing?  ["challenging assumptions that impair and wound," or "exposing beliefs that shame and diminish."]

There are even key verbs in those statements that resonate with me:  "challenge,"  and "expose."  And, as I look back over the last 15+ years, I've always challenged destructive "assumptions."

I can bring this calling to any context I'm in - whether paid or not, at home or with others.  That's the beauty of it. 

How would you dial in your calling?

What does it mean that you were born a noble?

You were born a noble.  Your heart is both "good" and "noble."  So what does it mean that you are 'noble?'

1.  You come from a powerful blood line.

2.  You will come into an inheritance.

3.  Your family name speaks for you.

4.  An authority has been bestowed upon you, pricely because of that blood line and family name.

5.  You are more than you think you are.

See video:  "A KINGDOM OF NOBLES"

The fruit of the Spirit isn't something you must beg for.

Just like the armor of God being an already inward reality and powersource for the Christian [rather than something you don't yet have and need to put on], so is the 'fruit of the Spirit.' 

Don't we typically ask God for more love, more patience for so-and-so, more self-control to keep us from sin?  We ask as if it hasn't already been given. 

If the Spirit of God is not only happy to dwell in your heart; but has, in fact, re-created and equipped it with his own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, might a better pray be: 

"Lord release the kindness that is already there in my heart."  Or,

"Father, nourish and help me live from the patience you've already placed in my new heart."

What do you think?

The armor of God is not something you wear.

We tend to think of the armor of God as something you put on, external pieces of battle gear that you wear on the outside to protect the life inside:

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

In this passage, even the words "put on," take up," and "take" could imply protecting yourself with something you lack or don't yet have, and therefore must "put on."

But what if the armor and its protection extends from the inside - out, rather than outside - in?  Wouldn't that make sense, given the reality of our new and noble heart?

So what does that look like?

1. You already have the Truth moving within you, having permanently given his heart and mind  to you.


2. You've already been transfigured into the righteous radiance of Christ's own goodness.


3. You're already poised to bring the restoring shalom ["peace"] of Christ to others around you.


4. Jesus has already given you the settled and faithful confidence he has in the Father.


5. You've been rescued and renewed by the saving life of God.


6. The mind and heart of Christ, voicing his affection for you and counseling your heart, dwells within you richly.

 We can certainly "put on" or practice or rehearse the armor of God, remembering what we've already been given.  But the armor is an internal powerhouse:  The power and protection move from the inside - out.

What would Uncle Screwtape say about you?

C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters, pulls back the curtain on another world, or more accurately, a concealed dimension of the world we now inhabit.  He gives us the eyes to see the invisible world that many would dismiss as the stuff of fairytales. However, in our Story, the darkness is real.  As I tell my children, "What you don't see is often more real than what you do see."

Uncle Screwtape, the elder and seasoned devil, is giving counsel to his young nephew, Wormwood, on how best to assault his 'patient' [ i.e. human victim].  Many of you have read this account.

But here's what I'm wondering: if you were young Wormwood's victim, how would Uncle Screwtape counsel young Wormwood to approach you?

Let's say Uncle Screwtape had a dossier - a briefing paper -  on you, which he shares with his young protege, complete with details about you, including where his young apprentice should exercise caution in approaching you.  Why should he fear you?  What would that dossier say?   [After all, he's been watching you for years; for you are his assignment.]

For example, the dossier might say: 

"Use caution when approaching Mr. Noble, for he has an uncanny ability to sniff out any shaming devices you might use against him.  Therefore, you will have to be more subtle and persistent if you are to unravel his confidence in his new identity."

Or,

"You will have to devote yourself to long-suffering as you vex and harass Ms. Noble, because she understands that you are after her beauty, and she is more than capable of deflecting the malicious barbs you might whisper in her ear.  Wear her down over time so that through sustained erosion, she will no longer believe she's lovely or loveable."

What unique strengths of heart, what confidence of identity do you possess that would thwart Uncle Screwtape's and his young apprentice's intentions for you?  What is so noble and firm within you that causes them to fear you, or at least re-evaluate their plan of attack towards you?

Jobs are 'access points' not callings

Jobs and positions are only access points, not callings, to the people or places that God knows need our glory. ~ Gary Barkalow, It's Your Call - What Are You Doing Here?

Jobs [access points] are but one of many ways we bring our calling [our glory, the effect of our life on others] to the world.

Here's how I think of it:  Limiting the effect of your life [your calling] to any one job is like trying to funnel Lake Superior into an eye dropper. 

Gary's teaching on calling is far more helpful than personality tests and spiritual gifts inventories alone could ever be.  His book answers the questions the tests cannot, and gives you the missing clues to living from your hearts deepest desires.

How can you feel 'wretched' and good at the same time?

How can the apostle Paul call himself a "wretched man" -- overcome by sin; yet also see himself as a new creation, claiming that he's really not "controlled by the sinful nature but by the Spirit?"  Which is it, Paul?

Doesn't he seem to be forgetting his own God-given goodness, his new and noble nature, when he calls himself "wretched?" 

John Lynch, co-author of True Faced and Bo's Cafe, has a fresh and more helpful way of looking at "wretchedness:" 

“Wretched”:  Miserable, because of the pain in my regenerate heart of wanting to do what’s right but overcome with my [natural] inability to pull it off.  Only the regenerate mind can grieve over unrighteousness. 

This kind of wretchedness doesn't dismiss the radically-pure nature God has given us: 

Rather, it means, “Wretched through the exertion of hard labor.”  In other words, "I’m so tired of trying to make this work!”

It's the wretchedness of a man who has exhausted himself by trying to live a super-natural life with grossly inadequate, depleted natural reserves:  a man trying to live apart from his new heart and the Spirit's work there.



Deep tissue healing

Medical students will tell you that in a deep wound two kinds of tissue must heal:  the connective tissue beneath the surface and the outer, protective layer of skin. 
- Philip Yancey, What Good is God?

Let's use the idea of deep tissue vs. surface healing as a metaphor for healing the whole person:  What is 'deep below the surface' must heal if the person is to become well.  The layers below the surface must be knit together in wholeness. 

The heart [deep core of a person's identity] must be made well if the person is to recover from the Fall.  For too long, the Church has focused on getting the outer layer to look good, to behave well; as if apparent health on the surface was necessarily indicative of the reality on the inside.  [We all know that appearances can be faked.]

The new paradigm for spiritual [and therefore mental, physical, social] wholeness is this:  heal the heart [the reality below the surface] and you begin healing the whole person.  Health radiates from the Christ-follower's new heart [deep core] outwards.  The focus for God is not on proper outward appearances -- the surface layers:  Rather, His goal is the well-being and restoration of the heart/spirit deeper within; and the subsequent nourishing and release of the life-giving resources of that new heart.

This has already occured in the Christ-follower.  The sickly and sin-ravaged heart has been replaced.  A transplant took place when you said 'yes' to Jesus:  the Son dies to give his heart to the wounded and dying.  The wounded one receives the Son's heart so that he can live well.

Podcast interview with TrueFaced' John Lynch - Will you let your heart come out and play?

John Lynch is a blast.  He is the co-author of the popular books, Bo's Cafe and TrueFaced.  John and I talked about allowing our 'new nature to come out and play' -- rather than mistrusting our hearts, or assuming our first nature is sin.

Imagine a community that really believes that the heart of every believer is good and noble, and actually lives from that new identity:  recognizing the mess, but knowing that the mess is not our identity.  Imagine that kind of safe place.
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Photo:  John Lynch,  co-author of TrueFaced, and Bo's Cafe.

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Jim's podcasts on iTunes.

Update on Friday, October 22, 2010 at 2:35PM by Jim Robbins

Related video:  'HOW TO SHAME A CHRISTIAN.'

Update on Saturday, October 23, 2010 at 9:52AM by Jim Robbins

Here's the link to the 8th Letter video John did, to which we refer in the video.  [The video is in the lower right corner of the page.]

You are not a commodity - How we've reduced our calling to a job

As Gary Barkalow suggests in his new book, It's Your Call - What Are You Doing Here?,  your calling is not to a specific job, position, or ministry role.  It is broader and deeper than that. 

Though your job or role can certainly reflect your calling, it would be better to think of your calling as the weightiness of your life - the effect you have on those around you - the particular way in which you carry God's splendor into the world.  Your calling spills over into every role and relationship you have in your life, not simply what you call 'work' for 40 or 50 hours a week.

Pastors -- you are not called to be a 'pastor;'  although you might be called to shepherd people in their spiritual journey.  You can bring that shepherding and caring heart into each sphere of influence you hold.  It doesn't have to come with the role or title of 'Pastor.'

Teachers -- you are not called to the role or title or 'Teacher;'  although you might be great at bringing clarity and illumination to those around you.

Plumbers and electricians -- you are not called to be a 'Plumber' or 'Electrician.'  However, you may bring an ability to figure out how things work and how they can be repaired into every relationship and situation.  [You may also earn a living by doing what a plumber or electrician does, but your calling to bring your unique insight can't be contained in the hours you call 'work.']

Your calling cannot be fully contained and fulfilled by a job or position.  How could the weight of your life be defined by a list of functions or tasks?  Second, if finding your calling is tied to finding the right job or position, your calling would be limited to the extent of that work.  In a typical job, your life's purpose would be limited to forty hours a week. 

 - Gary Barkalow, It's Your Call

What do you do with your calling the other hours of the week?  Do you leave it at the office?  Of course not.  If you limit your calling to what you do for a paycheck, then you've made yourself a day-laborer, as Seth Godin cautions.  You've turned your value into a commodity -- reducing your worth to only those activities you get paid for:  equal pay for equal service.  Is that really the extent of your value?  Can you measure it by how much you're getting paid, or the hours you're putting in?  No!

Your calling is the brilliant effect of your life on others.  The unique splendor and perception you offer.  The way you see the world.  God is trying to tell the world something ... through you.  In you; as you.

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Related podcasts:  ORIENTATION - Calling Series, part one.  Special guest Gary Barkalow, author It's Your Call - What Are You Doing Here? joins me for this series.

THE NOBILITY OF LIONS - podcast -- guest Bob Regnerus

Before you listen to the podcast below, watch the video.  Note:  This video is not for the faint of heart.  But it will help if you frame it in terms of the Kingdom, and the idea that we are living in the Great Battle.

New podcast:  THE NOBILIITY OF LIONS

After you have viewed the video, listen to the podcast I did with guest Bob Regnerus [Co-host of Renegade Christian Podcast].  Bob and I share our personal stories of how God has conferred nobility upon us through word-pictures given directly to us.  Explore the lessons we're learning about the nature of our noble identity, and how we're learning to live in a Kingdom at war.

Your greatest asset is your perception.

If you haven't thought of yourself as an artist, you should. 

An artist, in the broader sense of the term, is someone who sees differently. Artists have the ability to perceive things others don't. 

Your artistry unveils what is hidden and masked.

Your greatest asset as an artist is your perception.

• One artist sees the wound beneath the surface of his friend's addiction and knows how to join God in healing it.


• Another artist understands how to gather the people and resources necessary to tackle a project.


• A different artist can perceive beauty where others only see the mundane and common.


• Still, another artist understands how the inner life works and how people can be transformed into themselves.

What do you perceive that others may not?  What uniqueness of insight and perspective do you naturally tend to offer when you're around others?  What do you see that often remains concealed and veiled to others?

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