create and renew

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

There is complete forgiveness of sin with God. And there is much more. God not only will forgive us when we are truly remorseful and repentant, but He will work at the heart level, making things new. In Christ we are made into new creations, given new desires and capacities to live in the righteousness that Christ supplies, and renewed in spirit to actually WANT to do the right thing. It is this clean heart and renewed spirit that are distinct to Christian conversion. No other religion makes you new!

What is amazing in Psalm fifty-one is that David prophetically prayed for what Christ would bring in His death and resurrection. David’s sins deserved death under the law: He committed adultery, murder, and conspiracy at the highest office of earthly authority in Israel. He disdained the covenant and led by example for the nation to do the same. And yet, when confronted, David confessed, repented, and begged for renewal and for a clean heart. He knew God’s grace even under the curses of the Law. And David knew his only hope was for God to re-create and renew! His old self deserved death. Only a new heart could be remade to love the Lord and keep His ways.

Lord, my only hope has been renewal in Jesus. In Christ I am a new creation. The old sin has gone. The new life has come. Praise You, My Lord! Amen