"This is what the LORD says: 'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the LORD" (Jeremiah 9:23-24, NIV).
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalms 139:23-24, ESV.)
Before, that passage created discomfort in myself. Actually, I could not then honestly say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart!....”
Though I believed that God knew my thought or what’s in my heart, yet I would not like for Him to try me and know my thoughts. For I knew that there were many offensive things not only in my ways, but even in my thoughts.
But my attitude toward that passage had changed.
Now, I love to read it again and again. In fact, I want to include it in my prayer. It’s one of my new favorite passages in the Bible.
Why? Is it because there’s no longer offensive thought in my mind?
Actually, my attitude toward that passage changed when I encountered various verses in the Scripture that extol God’s Sovereignty, even in the spiritual salvation of His people, like:
”The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1, ESV).
”…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
Because of the verses like the above, I am now confident that God could even lead my awry thoughts in the right way! I pray He would always examine what's in my heart, so He could cleanse it by the blood of His Son.
"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn" (Deut. 10:12-16, ESV).
Again, "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn."
Of course, we could not "circumcise" our heart literally. But, could we just choose or decide to do it? Could we just exercise our so-called power of the human will and "be no longer stubborn"?
We also read Ezekiel 18:31, “Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?”
Could our so-called “freedom of choice” enable us to “make… a new heart and a new spirit” or “Repent and turn from all your transgressions” (verse 20)?
Could we just love God, or forsake our stubbornness, or repent just by the operation of the human will?
It’s easy to claim that we are able to do it. But consider God’s Word:
"This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).
In Deuteronomy 30:6, we read:
"And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."
We also read in Ezekiel 11:19-20, “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”
And it was emphasized in Ezekiel 36:26-27:
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
Some claim that that promise is intended only for the physical Israelites. Unknowingly, they promote the “power of the human will," that they could just change their heart!
But even in the New Testament, God’s Word is clear:
“But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God” (Romans 2:29). Notice: “circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit” – not by any other means, but “by the Spirit.”
As we also read in Romans 8:8-14:
“Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness…So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
It’s not by our human will or effort. Whatever “good” intention, decision, or action we have “cannot please God.” We always fall short of His perfect glorious standard.
If ever we love God, or we repent, or we have faith, or are saved, it’s because of His grace. That makes Ephesians 2:8 truly meaningful, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
Or, in the words of Romans 9:16, “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” Because of His mercy, God has caused us through His Spirit to repent, believe in Christ and be saved.
While others claim that everyone is already saved, God's Word says there are those who are being saved And those who are perishing (2 Cor 2:15). But why some would perish, if God is loving?
But God is not only loving, He is also Sovereign. He is also Holy, Just and a Righteous King. He can choose to unleash His wrath to the wicked And to those He called His mercy be extended (Rom. 9:22-24).
But isn't it that His Word could be heard by all? His written words are read by both the wise and the fool? Consider, however, when Paul was called: God's voice he heard and was so awed (Acts 9:4-6).
To his companions it's just a sound they heard (verse 7). Also at the cross two criminals heard Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them..." (Luke 23:34.) One of the criminals hurled insults at him.
"Jesus, remember me..." the other criminal said. For the message of the cross others could not heed. To those who are perishing, it's foolishness; But to those being saved, it's Power in it's fullness (1 Cor. 1:18)!
Man’s words, “…All humanity is invited and enabled by the Spirit to experience a radical change of mind away from sinful egoistic self-centeredness and toward God and his love experienced in union with Jesus Christ.”
Actually, those who are teaching that all humanity — according to them, every person in the world — are “enabled by they Spirit to experience a radical change of mind…” or to “repent” — are also saying that because of our human free will, others would also refuse to repent!
Just think about if this is Biblical or even logical: God would enable a person to repent, yet he could still unable to do it. Where is “enabling” there?
Besides, you cannot find a verse that shows God is enabling every person to repent!
Should we not accept God’s Word and realize that “…God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” (Rom. 2:4, NIV.)
Many, however, would prefer to extol the human free will and would be comfortable with the humanistic reasoning: God has enabled everyone to repent, yet others remain to be unable to do it!
Could we not bow down before the Sovereign Will of God as we accept that He determines whom He wants to lead or grant repentance? And if He leads you to it, you’ll be able to really have it?
While others claim that everyone is the child of God, God’s Word declares in Romans 8:14-16:
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” {NKJV).
Who are the “sons of God”?
The Bible says, “…as many as are led by the Spirit of God.” You cannot find a sentence or phrase in the Bible which says, everyone in the world is led by or has received the Spirit of God.
And we, who have received the Spirit, we are able to cry out “Abba, Father.” We are able to call God as “Father” not because we have just an ideal physical father in this world.
Wether we grow up without knowing any father, or we have an undesirable earthly father, we can still call God, “Father” — not just from our throat, not just from our lips, but even from the heart, because of His Spirit who enables us!
As we also read in Galatians 4:4-6:
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’”
You may be able to call God, “Abba, Father” from the heart, not because you just decide, or you exercise your human will to do so. But God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your heart. And as God’s Word tells us in Romans 5:5:
“…the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
God’s Spirit does not force us to say, “Father.” Through His Spirit, genuine love for Him blossoms in our hearts that we are able to affectionately call upon Him, “Abba,” or “Papa,” or “Daddy,” etc
Ninoy Aquino, the Filipino Senator who is now regarded as a Philippine hero, had known God during his solitary confinement in the Martial Law days in the Philippines.
