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? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live." (Ezekiel 18:31-32, ESV)

I know many people who believe
that repentance is what ushers
us into the Christian life and afterwards continue with other so called important stuffs. I don't agree. Repentance is not a one day activity that a man performs
and he or she is done with it forever.
Repentance is not a vaccine that one
receives before he starts the journey of faith. It's the Christian life. It has no end until the man becomes completely clean from the flesh when Christ appears on his second coming.

As long as the flesh resides in the same body with the new creature, there will be sin. And anyone who claim to be without sin is wrong. "8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 1:8-10, ESV). Therefore no one is completely perfect in the flesh. There is the nature of sin that causes us to cry with Paul that "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:15, ESV)

Show me a Christian without this feeling and I will show you a self -righteous and a lost man in religion. That's why we must listen very carefully to the words in the verse for today. He starts by saying "Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!". Here we are told to take away our sins committed name snake ourselves a new heart and a new spirit.

First I want to ask how this can be possible. Because we know that it's the Lord who washes us with his blood , it's he who creates within us a new heart and a new spirit, (Ezekiel 36:26). How is that possible? Well I don't think the responsibility is on us. It may be so in the old covenant. The people of God were supposed to do things their own. Their repentance and salvation was based on their doings. But there is the promise in chapter 36:26. Ezekiel gave the promise of how this would happen. And he said concerning the new covenant that God was about to give to his people

26 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. 27 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, ESV)

Isn't that a good news? If you were to do this on your own, create a new heart and spirit and wash your own sin, how would you do it? I have no idea how I would do that. But it was the responsibility of the sinner to do all these in the old covenant. Bless God for this covenant. The writer of Hebrews caught this clearly when he said "But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises." (Hebrews 8:6, ESV). I am blessed to be in this covenant that has its promises based on Christ. He is the forgiver, the creator of new heart and spirit so that the glory will go to him forever and ever.

I want to end the message by considering the verse 32 which says "32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live." I think this verse has its perfect illumination in the new covenant. God had said this in the shadow that he is not pleased with the death of anyone. But the performance of this love was displayed on the cross. It's only on the cross that Christ died with us and on the third day rose with us into a new eternal life where we shall give him pleasure forever and ever.

So we need repentance. We need to put away all the sin that we committed. And how is that? Only by going to the cross. Now we know how to do it. Now we know that we have a hope in Christ. He's the reason we can do it. Without Christ verse 31 which says "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" is not possible. Only God can do it through his son Jesus Christ. Why won't you repent? Why won't you believe him. He's not pleased in your death. You need to be healed of your infirmities and enjoy eternal life in him.


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