If thou shalt believe in thy heart !
Rom 10:9-10
[FONT="]9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.[/FONT]
10 [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]For [/FONT]with the heart man believeth unto righteousness[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]What heart is Paul speaking of in these verses ?[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Lets keep in mind what the heart entails. Its the greek word kardia:[/FONT]
heart; "the affective center of our being" and the capacity of moral preference (volitional desire, choice; see P. Hughs, 2 Cor, 354); "desire-producer that makes us tick" (G. Archer), i.e our "desire-decisions" that establish who we really are.
the center and seat of spiritual life, "the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors" (so in English heart, inner man,[FONT=Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] etc.);[/FONT]
[FONT=Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Now scripture has an indictment against the heart of naturally, for instance Gen 6:5
[/FONT]5 [FONT="]And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.[/FONT]
Gen 8:21
21 [FONT="]And the [/FONT][FONT="]Lord[/FONT][FONT="] smelled a sweet savour; and the [/FONT][FONT="]Lord[/FONT][FONT="] said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
Jer 17:9
[/FONT]9 [FONT="]The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Now folks this is Gods indictment on the natural mans heart, even if hes very sincerely religious !
So what type of heart performs the actions described in Rom 10:9-10 ?
Its the New Heart given in the New Birth Ezk 36:26
[/FONT][FONT="]A [/FONT]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.
Which produces these results Ezk 36:27
27 [FONT="]And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Believing on Christ is the fruit of the New Heart ![/FONT]