Word for Word 4/6/22

God Doesn’t Remodel – He Rebuilds

I love building and fixing things. It’s fun to see the improvement at the end of a home or yard project.  Perhaps you enjoy those home improvement TV shows highlighting “extreme makeovers.”  It is amazing to see what some imagination, ingenuity, and hard work can accomplish!  But sometimes the old is just too worn out to fix, and the best idea is to tear down the old and start over.  With my skill level, that’s where I call a professional!

As I was thinking about this, I remembered God’s promise to Israel in Ezekiel 36:26: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”  It struck me that God doesn’t do remodels.  He always starts with a clean slate.

Why doesn’t God do remodels?  Because our hearts, our inner being, are in such bad shape that they’re not worth fixing.  That’s tough on our pride!  But over and over God reminds us that we are not good enough on our own.

God says things like, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10)  And again, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” (Eccl. 7:20)  “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)  God demands that we obey His moral law, but we just can’t measure up. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

God is not interested in making us feel better about ourselves, or giving our lives a facelift. Our condition is too bad and our sin is too great to be remodeled.  Rather, God wants to tear down the old and start completely over.

That’s why the Bible describes God’s salvation as being born again (John 3), becoming a new creation (II Corinthians 5:17), and being made alive from the dead (Ephesians 2:1, 5). Salvation is not a remodel – it’s a complete rebuild.

How can we receive this Divine rebuild of our hearts?  First, we must admit that we need it.  Only when we confess our sins to God will He forgive them.  Second, we must accept that the Lord Jesus, God in the flesh, died for our sins to give us new life (Ephesians 2:5-9).  Our lives need a Divine rebuild, and God is willing to give it to anyone who asks. Why don’t you take Him up on that offer?

Pastor Matthew Majewski, Center Baptist Church