Baptist City Blog

Checklist of a Right Heart

Ezekiel 36:28

"And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God."

When a person desires to get right with God it is always difficult to know how sincere they are, but often their actions will tell if they are sincere. Though you should not judge the motives of people, their actions will tell you a lot. In Ezekiel 36:24-28, God shows us what a person must do to get right and the results of their getting right.  

First, if a person is going to get right with God, they must separate from the old crowd.  Verse 24 says, "For I will take you from among the heathen..." You will notice the first step for Israel to get back to a right relationship with God was separating from the heathen.  You will never get right and stay right with God and still run with the old crowd. I often hear people tell me that the old crowd are their friends.  That may be true, but those friends are the ones who pulled you away from God. You can't play in mud without getting muddy. A person will never be, or stay, right with God when they run with the old crowd who pulled them away from God.  

The second step in getting right with God is confession of sin and avoiding the sin. Verse 28 says, "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you." You must confess your sins to God in order to be right with Him, but confession alone won't keep you right. You must also avoid the sin's that you were committing. Yes, that is changing your lifestyle to avoid that sin.  

The third step in getting right with God is new desires.  In verse 26, God talks about a "new heart." Once you separate from the old crowd, confess and avoid sin, then new desires will start coming into your heart.  You will notice when a person comes to this step that their thinking process has changed. Their desire for the old is not driving them like their desire to do right. Desires tell a lot about a person.  

The fourth step in getting right is a good attitude. God talks about a "new spirit" in those who get right. If a person still has a bad spirit, then they are not right with God. When you get right, and the load of sin and guilt is lifted, a new spirit of obedience and excitement is immediately found within.  An attitude that wants to do right will immediately come.  A person's attitude reveals their heart.

The fifth step is a tender heart. Here is a step that cannot be manufactured.  God talks about the "heart of flesh." This is a tender heart for the things of God. When people once were never moved about the plight of others, now they become emotional when they see others hurting. This is when you will start seeing tears in the eyes. You can't hide a tender heart just like you can't hide a cold heart of stone.  Preachers can tell in their preaching when someone is cold because they show no emotion.  Nothing ever moves them! A tender heart is a sign of getting right with God.  

The next and final step is a Spirit-filled life that daily strives to live like a Christian.  When a person is right with God, they will live in God's will for their life.  Like the verse above says, they will "dwell in the land" where God wants them to live. When a person is right with God, they want nothing other than to please God in all that they do.  

Go honestly through this checklist and see if you are right with God.  Many times we fool ourselves, but a checklist like this reveals when we are straying from God. If you find yourself failing in an area, then it is time to get right with God and get back to where God wants you to be.