Counsel of Spiritual Life

Counsel #2 — Unrenewed Heart

Picture: Counsel #2 — Unrenewed Heart CSL 20.1

It is impossible to be in relationship with Christ with an unrenewed heart.^[17] We might admire Him, be drawn toward Him, and have hopes for eternal life based on thinking we’re pretty good people, but those things do not automatically guarantee a relationship. We are all sinners, and unless there is an intervention, we are headed for eternal destruction (see Romans 6:23). Jesus reaches His mighty arm down from heaven, and as we extend our hand to Him in acceptance of His rescue mission, He pulls us out of the abyss of sin and into relationship with Himself. Then, with our cooperation, He begins the work of transforming our character to reflect His holiness and purity. CSL 20.2

“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 NKJV CSL 20.3

“Adam and Eve persuaded themselves that in so small a matter as eating of the forbidden fruit there could not result such terrible consequences as God had declared. But this small matter was the transgression of God’s immutable and holy law, and it separated man from God and opened the floodgates of death and untold woe upon our world.” Ellen White in Steps to Christ, p. 33 (emphasis supplied) CSL 20.4

Reflect: Have you ever thought, “I’m a law-abiding, good, and decent person — there’s no reason why I shouldn’t go to heaven? What is the danger in thinking that way? CSL 20.5