Over 2022, a new podcast came onto our radar called ‘New Heart Theology’. This author knew of the men who ran it, and started weighing their claims. This reflection is a summary and an endorsement of what they had to say. To hear their claims from their own platforms, click here.
This is the question they answer: does a Christian’s disobedience flow from their heart, or from somewhere else? Can a Christian truthfully say that their heart is wicked, or is it actually good?
Before we go any further, it is worth acknowledging that different Christians will appeal to slightly different categories to constitute the human person. Some will suggest a human person consists of mind, body and soul. Some will say mind, body, soul, spirit. Others might say only body and spirit, or replace those terms with material and immaterial. For this article, ‘material and immaterial’ should be seen as terms used for distinguishing between all of the physical and material aspects of a human person on one hand, and all of the spiritual and immaterial aspects of a human person on the other. This way we can encompass all the other sets of terms without making these statements meaningless to those systems. Additionally, where we use ‘flesh’, ‘heart’, and ‘spirit’, they should be seen in terms of the context of how they are used in Scripture: there is clear dichotomy in the Pauline corpus between the intentions and actions that are ‘according to the flesh’ and those that are ‘according to the spirit’ (Rom 8:5-11). In this sense, decisions made ‘according to the flesh’ are not merely those made with reference to the physical body, but to the sinful inclinations of man in his natural state. Conversely, decisions made according to the spirit refer to those new desires God-honouring impulses which are wrought in regenerate believers by the Spirit of God.
To those of you whose attention has not yet been torn away to something more instantly gratifying, we are much indebted. We will start by considering the effects of regeneration upon the heart and the flesh (again, when formulated in their biblical contexts, not anatomically).
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbour and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Jeremiah 31:33-34
Jeremiah 31 is probably the most significant OT text for this subject, because it points forward with amazing clarity to the purpose and nature of the New Covenant that we experience today. There are a few primary observations to make here. The New Covenant is not like the Old Covenant in the respect that all the members of the New Covenant are true believers that have been forgiven by God, and who have had their hard and stony heart removed and replaced with a believing heart that is capable of knowing and loving God. The reason that neighbour would not need to teach neighbour, saying, ‘know the Lord’, is because they would all already have a true and saving knowledge of Him in their hearts, as opposed to one imposed on them from outside, such as was the law of Moses (which could govern their actions, but did not change their hearts).
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
Here the prophet Ezekiel speaks of the future day (which is in our past) in which God would not only deliver his people into material comfort and prosperity, but cause the change to happen inside them, so that obedience to God would become natural to them in their hearts. A new heart, and a new spirit. The stony heart, that could not honour God (Rom 8:7), is then removed from them, and a pure heart that seeks to honour God is given to them. Take note of the language: ‘I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes’. It is God’s unilateral action to change the desires and will of the human such that they would now desire and ‘be careful to obey’ his law. The change that takes a person from rebellion to repentance is something that God does, which the penitent person then responds to with contrition and faith.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Romans 8:18-23
Here, Paul shows that the regeneration which is the common possession of all Christians has not yet come to the creation as a whole, and nor has it come to our physical bodies. The creation still groans under its subjection to sin, just as our bodies still decay and corrupt. His argument indicates that in a future time, both the physical creation as well as our physical bodies will be renewed and freed from the subjection to sin and corruption. So, what conclusions can be drawn from all of this?
- All Christian believers have had their hard, stony, unbelieving and wicked heart removed and replaced with a soft, fleshy (not meaning sinful, but simply a contrast to hard and stony), repentant, God-honouring heart.
- The physical bodies of all people, believing and otherwise, are currently still experiencing the decay and subjection that results from sin in the world.
- Christians will one day experience the full redemption of their physical bodies, at which point, everything about their person will be pure, regenerated, and sinless.
- Creation itself will also be set free from bondage to sin and fully redeemed.
Here this author will seek to address the most common ‘but what about x’ questions that the Christian will likely ask.
Q: “Don’t the Scriptures say that our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately sick?
A: This author is willing to be corrected if he answers here in ignorance, but we are persuaded that this language (Jeremiah 17:9) in its context (especially v5-8) speaks with reference to the stony and unregenerate heart, not the heart given to a Christian. In this perspective, a Christian would be mistaken to apply that verse to the pure heart that God gave them in regeneration.
Q: “How do you explain the presence of sin in my life, that I still choose, even when I am a Christian?”
A: This is why we have been so careful to outline the teaching that the flesh is still corrupted, because it is our understanding that our flesh is what motivates us to sin, and not our heart, nor our spirit. You can truly say that you have chosen to sin, as Paul here does in Romans 7:17-20:
So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Paul does not shirk responsibility for his actions, pretending that is was someone else twisting his arm to cause him to sin. However, he does identify his true will (“I have the desire to do what is right”) with the righteousness that his regenerate heart produces, whereas he identifies the origin of his sin as not being him, but sin that dwells within him. We advocate for speaking in the same way as Paul. It is not this author’s desire to sin. Christ has taken this author’s evil heart away and given him a heart that honours him and seeks obedience. Whenever this author sins, it is due to the remaining influence of the sinful fleshly will.
Finally, we will end this reflection with some pastoral implications. To be honest, although this author is certainly not a pastor, we found this aspect to be one of the most compelling reasons to share NHT and not merely consider it an academic exercise in precise language.
If a fellow Christian comes to you, confessing a sin they have been succumbing to, which is weighing heavily upon their conscience, then it matters hugely whether or not you will tell them that their heart is desperately wicked, inclined to sin, etc. If a Christian knows that God has given them a new heart which is designed for and capable of obedience, it bolsters their efforts and faithfulness with the truth of knowing that holiness is possible with God’s help. They are not destined to always have sin triumph over their sanctification, but can expect Spirit-led victory over sin.
Additionally, consider what it is that you are saying to God if you blame your wicked heart for your sin. Christ died to ensure that your wickedness would be done away with and paid for. When the Spirit worked regeneration in you, he didn’t make any mistakes, or leave any black spots. His work was total and perfect. It is perhaps disrespectful to the perfection of God’s work in regeneration to say that he has left you with a half-evil heart.
In summary, this author advocates for recognising the biblical distinction between the heart and the flesh where the origin of sin is considered (in a regenerate Christian). It is faithful to the Scriptures, useful in sanctification, and honours the perfect work of God in regeneration. If you would like to learn more, please check out the resources we linked at the beginning of the article.
Distilled Orthopraxy 