Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks free#
Love is birthed in a heart that is free from guilt and that enjoys pure motivations.
For Paul, a conscience can be “good” (1 Timothy 1:5, 19) or “clear” (1 Timothy 3:9 2 Timothy 1:3), but it can also become “seared” or “defiled” when someone turns from the faith and rejects Christ (1 Timothy 4:1–2 Titus 1:14–15). In the Bible, the conscience urges right and hinders wrong it passes judgment on a decision or action and it produces guilt or commendation in the heart (Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 24). Love is also fueled by a “good conscience” (1 Timothy 1:5). Love flows from a cleansed, purified heart. In fact, if we are in Christ, our failure to love others is a sure sign that our heart is not relishing enough the wonder of our salvation. The pure heart empowers one to love even those who are most difficult to love because it has experienced the sin-overcoming love of God itself. May we say with Paul in 1 Timothy 1:15, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” The pure heart is not haughty because it recognizes the depth of its own depravity apart from Christ. God-honoring lovers are those who cherish Jesus –– who recognize their sin and cling to the cross, the only place where God’s wrath against sin is satisfied. Wholehearted, life-encompassing love for God expressed in radical love for neighbor is only possible where sin is forgiven and offense is pardoned. He says that love will flow out of a pure heart –– that is, a heart that has been cleansed one that has no defilement. Our heart determines our identity, and that is why in order to become a believer we need a new heart and new spiritual influences upon it (Ezekiel 36:26–27). The heart is the factory of our soul that generates all desire, thought, emotion, and action.
“Out of the abundance of the heart mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). How is love generated in our lives? The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 1:5, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” Love Overflows from a Pure Heartįrom the heart “flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
0 kommentar(er)
