A New Heart and a New Spirit
A true child of God has a new heart and a new spirit, which makes obedience to God's law a delight and a pleasure.
Thomas Brooks emphasizes the transformative power of God in giving believers a new heart and spirit, as described in Ezekiel 36:26-27. He explains that a true child of God finds joy and delight in obeying God's laws, as they are written on their hearts. This inner transformation leads to a natural aversion to sin and a deep love for spiritual practices such as prayer and meditation. Brooks highlights that genuine obedience is not burdensome but rather a source of pleasure for those who have received God's grace. The sermon encourages believers to embrace their new identity in Christ and the joy that comes from living according to His statutes.
Text
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit
within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give
you a heart of flesh. I will place My Spirit within you
and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully
observe My ordinances." Ezekiel 36:26-27
A true child of God has the law of God written, not only
in his understanding--but also in his heart and affections.
And this is that which makes his obedience to be pleasing
and delightful to him.
If he might be free from the injunctions and directions of
the word--he would not value such a liberty. He would not
swear, nor lie, nor be drunk, nor whore, nor dissemble, nor
cheat, nor run into all excess of riot if he could--because in
his soul he has a principle of grace, and an inward contrariety
and antipathy against evil. He would not cease to hear, to
read, to pray, to meditate if he could--because his soul takes
a pleasure and sweet delight in these things.
There is a principle within him agreeable to the precepts
of Scripture, which makes all pious performances to be easy
and pleasurable to him.
Look! as the eye delights in seeing, and the ear in hearing,
so a gracious heart (except when it is under a cloud of
desertion, or in the school of temptation, or under some
grievous tormenting afflictions, or sadly worsted by some
prevalent corruption) delights in obedience.
Sermon Outline
- A New Heart and a New Spirit
- The Principle of Grace
- The Delight in Obedience
- The Promise of a New Heart
- The Nature of a True Child of God
- A Principle Against Evil
- A Principle for Piety
Key Quotes
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” — Thomas Brooks
“He would not swear, nor lie, nor be drunk, nor whore, nor dissemble, nor cheat, nor run into all excess of riot if he could--because in his soul he has a principle of grace, and an inward contrariety and antipathy against evil.” — Thomas Brooks
“Look! as the eye delights in seeing, and the ear in hearing, so a gracious heart (except when it is under a cloud of desertion, or in the school of temptation, or under some grievous tormenting afflictions, or sadly worsted by some prevalent corruption) delights in obedience.” — Thomas Brooks
Application Points
- A true child of God has a principle of grace within them that makes obedience to God's law a delight and a pleasure.
- A gracious heart delights in obedience, except when it is under certain circumstances.
- We should strive to cultivate a heart that is in harmony with God's law and statutes.