Opening illustration: A friend who is a heart transplant cardiologist has an appreciation of Ezekiel 36: 26 that not many of us can understand. Dr. Mohan was one of the top Christian heart-transplant surgeons. He’s often in the operating room as he removes diseased, discolored hearts and replaced them with vibrant, pink “new” donor hearts.
Dr. Mohan explained that the process for selecting who gets a “new” physical heart is similar to who can get a “new heart” from God (Ezekiel 36: 26). In both cases, NEED alone is the criterion.
Ezekiel’s mention of the people of Israel someday getting a “new heart” is a foreshadowing of the change that takes place at salvation. Ephesians 4: 24 and 2 Corinthians 5: 17 refer to it as “new man” and “new creation.” For the Israelites of Ezekiel’s day and for those of us living today, only one criterion must be met for us to acquire a “transplant.” We must need it. It matters not whether we’re rich or poor, respected or scorned. Citizenship, social status, and ethnicity are inconsequential. If we need a new heart from God, we can have one through faith in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
What indicates that need? As sinners, all of us need a new heart. Have you had a spiritual heart transplant?
Let us turn to Ezekiel 36 in our Bibles and get study God given instructions for a ‘heart transplant’ ..
Introduction: God’s Spirit will circumcise unbelieving hearts and give a heart that loves God, desires to obey Him and has the power to obey Him. This is clearly a description of the New Covenant which is promised in Jeremiah. We need a new heart because we inherited a sinful heart from Adam (Romans 5: 12; Jeremiah 17: 9). While God commanded Abraham to carry out physical circumcision, ultimately His desire for all mankind (women included) is spiritual circumcision. In Deuteronomy Moses speaking metaphorically instructed Israel to "Circumcise the foreskin of your heart." (Deuteronomy 10: 16KJV) How is this humanly possible? It’s not! Moses gives us the answer (addressing Israel but applicable to all mankind) declaring that "Jehovah your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live (spiritually, all mankind needs a "divine heart transplant" = Ephesians 2: 1). Remember that Scripture is always the best commentary on Scripture (Compare Scripture with Scripture), and so we go to Colossians where Paul teaches us that "in Him (Christ) you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands (Paul is addressing those who have already become believers or saints by grace through faith, see "the Gospel" in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. (Personal faith or belief in His death, burial and resurrection gives us spiritual life via the New Covenant in His blood) having been buried with Him in baptism (identification with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection), in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And when you were (spiritually) dead in your transgressions and the un-circumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions" (Colossians 2: 11, 12, 13). The passage focusses on having a new heart installed in lieu of the old one.
(A) What happens in a ‘heart transplant?’
1. Heart becomes SOFT and TEACHABLE (v. 26; 11:9)
• You can enlighten someone’s understanding, but if their heart’s wrong, it only enables them to sin w/greater weight of responsibility resting on him.
• He knows good to be good, but he prefers evil.
• He sees the light but prefers darkness.
• He turns from the truth because his heart is alienated from God.
• I will change the whole of your infected nature; and give you new appetites, new passions; or, at least, the old ones purified and refined.
• The heart is generally understood to mean all the affections and passions.
• I will renew your minds, also enlighten your understanding, correct your judgment, and refine your will; so that you shall have a new spirit to actuate your new heart.
2. Heart is RENEWED (v. 27; 18:31)
• What Moses law could not do God does through His "Spirit within you." His dwelling within enables the "new heart."
• The heart of stone has been removed and replaced with a "new heart" and "a new spirit."
• Only the sovereign grace of God can do that.
• As the believer yields to the Holy Spirit He enables us to "walk" in the statutes of God and carefully observe His "ordinances."
• The holy life is an exchanged life.
(B) Results of a ‘successful heart transplant:’
1. Possess God’s Promised Land (God’s promises) v. 28a
One of the most intriguing ideas is the people will return to the land and live in it permanently. The meaning is to "live" or dwell as permanent residents and is the opposite of the non-immigrant or alien. "You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God" (v. 28). How strange that this promise becomes a stumbling block to some students of God’s word when the greater miracle is the radical change in the heart of believing sinners. If we take verse 28 for what it says God will take care of the logistics. He will bring the people back to "the land" "from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you back into your land" (v. 24). The problem is not God’s doing it, but is our accepting the impossibility of man doing it. God will do it in His own way in His own time. The people "will live in the land" as permanent residents. This will be a God sized accomplishment; not something brought about by politicians.
2. God becomes ‘very personal’ to us (v. 28b)
• Wholly given up to me in body, soul, and spirit.
• To fill you with love, joy, peace, meekness, gentleness, longsuffering, fidelity and goodness, to occupy your whole soul, and gratify your every desire.
3. Blessings with NO SORROW (v. 29)
Not only will He bring his people cleansed, forgiven with a new heart and new spirit to their land, but also He promises fruitful agricultural production. Observe who instructs the increase in the fruit trees, grain, crops, etc. There will be no more famine for the people in the land. God’s fruitfulness will cause the people to see His glory and repent (vs. 29-30). God instructs the grain to produce and the crops to yield abundantly. "I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, that you may not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations." The LORD God will also restore the land to better than the original. Apparently Proverbs 10: 22 says, “The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.” It will be like the Garden of Eden before sin invaded it.
4. Natural Blessings (v. 30)
You shall be daily and hourly fed with the bread that endures unto eternal life. "But will not those get proud, who are thus saved, if there be any such? and will they not undervalue the blood of the covenant, for then they shall not need it?"
Not only will they be physically and spiritually restored, but the land will once again be fruitful. Back in 1948, when they returned to the land, the land was a barren wasteland. The Turks cut down many of the trees, and they taxed the people by the number of trees they had, so the people themselves cut down their trees so they would not be taxed so heavily. Things were just a mess, but today they have planted millions of trees all over Israel and the land is blooming once again. The latter rains have returned. They have pineapple trees, citrus trees, olive trees, grape vines, and banana trees, and-so-on. They are the fourth largest exporter of fruit in the world and yet the land they occupy is only the size of New Jersey! But as much as that is happening today, in the kingdom age it will even be greater.
Notice the reason that God is going to do this, not because Israel is so great, but because He is! They did not deserve it, they did not earn it, but God’s reputation was on the line and He wanted to show the people who He is and what He can do.
© Purpose of a ‘heart transplant:’ (How do you know it is for real?)
1. Disgust for SIN (vs. 31; 6:9; 20:43)
You shall never forget that you were once slaves of sin, and sold under sin; children of the wicked one; heirs to all God’s curses, with no hope beyond hell. Such cleansed people never forget the horrible pit and the miry clay out of which they have been brought. And can they then be proud? No; they loathe themselves in their own sight. They never forgive themselves for having sinned against so good a God, and so loving a Savior. And can they undervalue HIM by whose blood they were bought, and by whose blood they were cleansed? No! That is impossible: they now see Jesus as they ought to see him; they see him in his splendor, because they feel him in his victory and triumph over sin. To them that thus believe he is precious, and he was never as precious as now. As to their not needing him when thus saved from their sins, we may as well say, as soon may the creation not need the sustaining hand of God, because the works are finished! Learn this, that as it requires the same power to sustain creation as to produce it, so it requires the same Jesus who cleansed to keep clean. They feel that it is only through his continued indwelling, that they are kept holy, and happy, and useful. Were he to leave them the original darkness and kingdom of death would soon be restored.
How will you know that it is for real? The result will be a radical change in the heart. "Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations" (v. 31). True repentance will have taken place in the core of their being. The people will "remember" their evil ways and will "loathe" their iniquities. They will not secretly want the opportunity to be tempted to sin again. They will no longer be ready to sin when the temptation comes. They will see their former life style and feel the revulsion. That is what every true believer should experience when they pause and silently reflect upon their sins of the past in the sight of God. God is holy, and His holiness should cause us to loathe our past sins. His holiness should produce a desire in our hearts to be holy.
2. Be ASHAMED to repeat (v. 32)
True repentance will have taken place in the core of their being. The people will "remember" their evil ways and will "loathe" their iniquities. They will not secretly want the opportunity to be tempted to sin again. They will no longer be ready to sin when the temptation comes. They will see their former life style and feel the revulsion. That is what every true believer should experience when they pause and silently reflect upon their sins of the past in the sight of God. God is holy, and His holiness should cause us to loathe our past sins. His holiness should produce a desire in our hearts to be holy.
What God does for Israel as well as non-Jews is an act of sovereign grace. No one deserved these restoration promises (v. 32). A sovereign holy God reached down to Israel in His amazing grace to save and restore. God chose to save for Himself a holy people. He did this out of grace and mercy. We have been redeemed by the shed blood of the Lamb of God.
Application: We need more than a new start - we need a new heart!
