Ephesians 1:18 English Standard Version (ESV) having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Be cautious about what you see here. We can get so involved with seeing our calling and understanding His inheritance that we overlook the issues of the eyes of our hearts. These eyes are enlightened by the presence of the Holy Spirit to the change of heart that has taken place.

Ezekiel 36:26 English Standard Version (ESV) And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

The desires of this new heart are vastly different from those of the old dead person that was baptized into the death of Christ. Being born again into His resurrected life is a concept our minds have trouble visualizing. That is why the passage says eyes of the heart, not eyes of the mind.

The issue of the stone heart is one of stubborn self-interest, one of rebellion. Having a changed heart means it is willing if not eager to obey God’s calling in our lives.

Up until the point in time when we accepted Christ’s Lordship, we made our own way in the world. We made all the decisions by whatever standards we were willing to accept in our rational minds. Our hearts looked to self-interest. For many, if it felt good we did it. For some of us that lifestyle brought consequences that resulted in an earnest desire for change. We became unhappy with the results of our decisions.

Seeing with this new heart is not instinctual. We have to get to know that heart in order to understand what it is capable of seeing.

Titus 1:9 English Standard Version (ESV) He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound^[healthy] doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Included in this post are the words that were removed yesterday. This might be a good opportunity to address another attitude that needs to be adjusted.

“It’s my responsibility.”

The first thing that should be noted about Titus was his calling. Paul left him in Crete to appoint elders to the church there. It was Titus’s responsibility to appoint men of God to hold that office and continue the work of the ministry of the gospel. The “he” in this verse refers to the office of eldership. The elders were to be responsible for seeing to it that the doctrine being preached was not just sound but meant to promote a healthy church. Rebukes were to come from them.

If we are not elders then it is not our responsibility to rebuke another. We may question, discuss, study and illuminate the Word of God, but as laypersons it is not our responsibility to rebuke what is taught.

If we hear what we believe to be unsound doctrine, there are steps to be taken. Perhaps the wise thing to do is to check with an accountability partner, or trusted friend to see if they heard what you heard. If they agree the two of you have the responsibility to the elders to bring up those concerns with those with oversight authority within the church.

Within the body of Christ we all have a role to play. Those roles have boundaries which should not be crossed. We are all accountable to one another but that does not automatically give us the authority to rebuke perceived errors.

Identification of gifts are important. Learning how to use those gifts to edify the body of Christ is part of our responsibility in those gifts given.