"Drunk Peasants"

This was a followup question to my answer about depravity:

I think everything you said is true, and it's a great reminder. I'm still not clear about whether you think that sometimes we focus too much on our depravity and not enough on Christ's FULL redemption of us. I think it may be like recognizing a quarter only by the man on the side. (Who is on the side?) and not by the other side - that has something else on it.

Clearly, I know exactly what I'm talking about.

Example: What exactly does it mean that our hearts of stone have been replaced with hearts of flesh?

Great followup, here is what I would say:

We are like drunk peasants who are constantly falling off one side of the donkey (an illustration by Luther). The Bible speaks of both our abiding sinfulness and Christ's full redemption of us. We must not forget our sinfulness (to keep us humble), and we must not forget Christ's mighty and sufficient power to save (to keep us from sliding into despair). I have called it the "dance of redemption" which I'm sure I ripped off of somebody. As Christians we should constantly be aware of our sinfulness, repent of it, cast ourselves on Christ believing that He has borne our sin and absorbed the wrath of God, and press on, only to fall again, and repent and believe that Christ is mighty and sufficient to save... you get the idea.

As far as the heart of stone being taken out and a heart of flesh being put in. Obviously this is figurative language describing the change of heart that a believer experiences. It does not mean that all believers will have a cataclysmic shift in thinking or behavior (though some will- see CJ Mahaney's testimony for an example of a radical change.)


More than likely your experience, like mine, will not be (have been) as dramatic as CJ's. It probably looks more like a change in trajectory, or a change in direction. Primarily, regeneration softens our hearts toward God. Whereas before, we were at odds with God, and now we love Him and seek to obey Him, no matter how unsuccessful we may be at it. We want to please Him, we want to glorify Him. That is what a ransomed heart looks like.

By the way, it's Washington.