Ezekiel 36:26-27, 31 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them…. 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.

We read in the old covenant a promise of a new covenant, a new ability to relate with God. Notice that this is a gift from our heavenly Father and it is now personal. The work performed is done supernaturally and brings about physical changes in our nature and character that every eye can see (Isaiah 61:9).

Notice that the Holy Spirit brings back the remembrance (“remember your evil ways”), not therapy or the various methods of man. He gives us the desire to repent, and to seek redemption and forgiveness. He causes a change within our heart so that we hunger after God’s heart and ways. He gives us balance in our repentance so that even though we are sorrowful, we are not overwhelmed or lost in hopelessness. With God there is balance in sorrow. Whenever He disciplines, He also gives hope for change and the future. Whenever He chastens, scourges, or rebukes, He always gives instructions with love for correction and a life in righteousness and again, a hope for the future. God desires us to be completely clean in His sight so He shows us how to confess our ways, deeds, iniquities, and abominations. He leaves no foothold for the enemy.

Lastly, we are told that we are no longer under the law if we are led by or surrendered to the Holy Spirit. Romans 6:14 declares that sin has lost its ability to dominate us because of the blood of Jesus Christ which was shed for us on the cross. Now we are born in the Spirit and, therefore, above the law. Whereas before Christ entered our hearts, we were under the law and we were carnal—sold under sin (Romans 7:14). Christ has now purchased us and made us free in Him (1 Corinthians 6:20; Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1-3; 2 Corinthians 3:17).

Romans 8:5-9 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Here we see the difference between the fleshly mindset and the spiritual mindset. We see the results of having a wrong focus. Focus affects six different items in our lives. The first three start with “D” and are direction, desires, and devotion. The second set begins with “W” and are worship, works, and walk. They can all cause a rippling effect on one another, as well as stand independently of each other. When our mind is set on the things of this world and our flesh, we are told of the promise of death. If it is set on the things of heaven and the Spirit, there is life and peace. As was stated earlier in this lesson, our carnal minds are in enmity against God and are irreconcilable. This is positive proof that nothing done in the flesh is acceptable to Him nor will it last.

The moment we accept Jesus into our hearts we are filled with His Spirit. We cannot be in the flesh if the Holy Spirit dwells within us and we are “born again.” This is what the Apostle John (1 John 3:4-9) means when he states that a Christian cannot sin. Because of our new nature we will not practice sin as a way of life. We are now beginning to learn new habits in righteousness. We now hate the sin we do, and when we do commit sin, we repent of it and turn from it. It also points out clearly that if we don’t turn from our sins and receive conviction from the Holy Spirit about our sin, we are not “born again” and we are not His. For a review, see the section on repentance in Lesson 1.