Trust Your True Heart and Spirit

Many times I have heard religious people say, in effect, "You can't trust your heart! Don't listen to your feelings. Just submit and follow these rules." And so begins the breaking of your spirit and shackling of your soul by the spirit of religion.

The spirit of religion is NOT the Holy Spirit. It is the spirit of the Pharisees. Run from it!

While the Scriptures say "the heart is deceitful above all things," they are talking about a heart that is not regenerated or reborn. What happens when you believe in Christ?

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
 - 2 Corinthians 5:17

The Apostle Paul says we are transformed into an entirely new being. The old things are gone and the new things have come!

This passage in Ezekiel describes the same internal renewal:

"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from 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 be careful to observe My ordinances."
 - Ezekiel 36:25-27

The Lord cleanses our souls and renews our hearts and spirits. God puts his Spirit in us and causes us to walk in his ways.

Yes, we still live in corrupted bodies, so there is an internal battle between the spirit and the flesh. As Jesus said, "The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." But if you are reborn in Christ, your spirit is made alive to God and is the good guy in this battle. You can trust your true heart, thanks to the heavenly renewal made available by the blood of Christ.