A New Heart
A Sermon on Ezekiel 36:26
Originally preached May 27, 1956
Scripture
26A 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.
Sermon Description
What does it take to change a person? Many in modern society say people simply need political change, or to change their environment. In this sermon on Ezekiel 36:26 titled “A New Heart,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that Scripture gives a very different answer. Scripture tells that a person’s greatest need is not that they should be wealthy or emotionally fulfilled. The greatest need is to be made right with God. For all are naturally born with a sin-hardened and corrupted heart. They desire sin continually and reject God and His ways. This cannot be remedied by shallow and external change, but it requires true change. What is this change? According to the prophet Ezekiel, it is a change brought about by God granting a new heart to sinners. This is when God miraculously changes people from sinners to children of God. This wholly new orientation frees people from the bondage of sin and immorality, and gives them new desires for what is righteous, beautiful, and good. This is the free gift of salvation for all who believe in Jesus Christ.
Sermon Breakdown
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The passage under consideration is 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.
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There are two views on man's nature and needs:
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The popular view: Man is fundamentally good but fails to live up to his potential. He needs instruction and help.
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The biblical view: Man is radically corrupt and needs a new nature and heart.
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According to the Bible, man's heart is "stony" - hard, unresponsive, and impervious to truth. This is due to sin.
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A "stony heart" means man is dead to:
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God and spiritual things
- His own soul and eternal destiny
- The truth of the Bible and gospel
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The glory of Christ
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Man's spirit is also wrong - it is antagonistic to God and the things of God. There is enmity against God.
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Nothing can be done for those with hard hearts through teaching, appealing, or example alone. A new heart and spirit are needed.
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A new heart and spirit are given by God alone through regeneration and the new birth. This is a miracle of grace.
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A "heart of flesh" means a new ability to see and understand truth, a new delight in God and desire for Him, and a new spirit that loves Him.
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The gospel offers hope for the hardest of hearts. We must cry to God to give us new hearts and renew our spirits.
Sermon Q&A
What is the New Heart in Ezekiel 36:26 According to Martyn Lloyd-Jones?
Based on Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon on Ezekiel 36:26, I'll provide answers to key questions about the concept of the "new heart" in this passage.
What does Ezekiel 36:26 say about the human heart condition?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Ezekiel 36:26 reveals that humans naturally have a "stony heart" that God promises to replace with a "heart of flesh." The verse states: "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." This indicates that man's natural heart condition is hard, unresponsive to God, and needs divine intervention to change.
How does Lloyd-Jones define the "heart" in biblical terms?
Lloyd-Jones explains that the biblical concept of "heart" is broader than our modern understanding: "In scripture the word heart has a wider connotation than that. It's more inclusive... It really means that most central part of man's being and personality, and especially, therefore, his mind. His mind, which is, after all, the biggest and the greatest thing in men." He notes that the heart represents the center of personality, including both mind and will.
What are the characteristics of the "stony heart" according to the sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the stony heart as: - Hard and obdurate (unyielding) - Dead to spiritual things - Unresponsive to God - Unable to understand spiritual truth - Dead to one's own soul and eternal destiny - Seeing nothing in Christ - Antagonistic toward God and spiritual matters - Having wrong motives and attitudes - Loving darkness rather than light
What does Lloyd-Jones say is man's fundamental problem?
Lloyd-Jones contrasts two views of humanity's problem: "The popular view, the non-biblical view, is this. It says that man is fundamentally and essentially good, but that his real trouble is due to the fact that he doesn't live up to what he is." In contrast, "the biblical view says that men is radically and basically foundationally, fundamentally wrong... the trouble with him is not in the superstructure but in the very foundation itself."
How is the new heart received according to Lloyd-Jones?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that the new heart is entirely God's work: "It's God who says, 'a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.'" He stresses that humans cannot change their own hearts: "A man can't make himself a new heart. A man can't change his own spirit." The new heart comes through God's miraculous intervention - what Scripture calls regeneration, new birth, or new creation.
What are the characteristics of the "heart of flesh" that God gives?
According to Lloyd-Jones, the heart of flesh is characterized by: - A new ability to see and apprehend spiritual truth - Understanding the Bible with clarity and interest - Having a completely new outlook on life - Desiring God above all things - Loving God rather than being antagonistic toward Him - Delighting in God and wanting to know and do His will - Having sensitivity to spiritual matters
Why is this doctrine so important according to Lloyd-Jones?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones states this doctrine is crucial because it affects our entire understanding of salvation. If man only needs improvement, then education and moral influence might be sufficient. But if man needs a new heart, only God's miracle of regeneration will suffice. As he says, "The gospel of Jesus Christ is a miracle. It doesn't improve men. It makes them anew."
Old Testament
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.