The Heart

Have you ever wondered why there is so much crime, so much immorality, murder, sexual abuse, child neglect, drug and alcohol addiction, terrorism, etc... The answer is simple, human sin and the wickedness of the human heart. It's in Genesis 6:5 that we first learn how wicked the human heart is. "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart were evil continually" This speaks to the depravity of humanity. It's doesn't matter what the medical community says, the human heart is more than a blood pumping organ, all of life and our thoughts flow from it. In the Hebrew Bible there is no word for mind, so heart represents a person's thinking as well as their emotions. I hope you're getting the picture, the human heart is wicked and evil and when fed with the sinful desires of this world it becomes corrupted beyond cure. In Jeremiah 17:9, the prophet writes that "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?" This verse reiterates the desperate (or incurable) wickedness of the human heart. God makes it clear why we sin and why we have such depravity in our world, it's a matter of the heart. Our hearts are inclined towards sin from the time of birth because of the fall of humanity in Genesis 3. Even as a born again believer, we can still yield to a specific temptation, or we can ask God to help us resist temptation when it comes. Throughout the New Testament we see Jesus reading the hearts of people on many occasions, another indication of his divinity and in Matthew 15:18-20 Jesus spoke these words, "But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." Jesus is telling us that the human heart is innately corrupt and everything we do and say is first conceived inside of the heart.

In conclusion, the word "heart" occurs 78 times in the Old Testament  and 64 times in the New Testament and in every instance the heart refers to the thoughts or feelings of the mind. There is only one hope for the heart to be transformed, which goes back to Deuteronomy 30:6 "The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your dependents, and you will love Him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live." Paul would later compare the circumcision of the heart to a new life and relationship with God found only in Christ. In Ezekiel 36:26, God promises to give a new heart and a new spirit to anyone who comes to Christ to be cleansed. It's only by the regeneration of the human heart that God imparts new spiritual life to dead and darkened hearts. This is what being born-again is all about. The sinfulness of the human heart can only be overcome by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Trust in the blood of Christ to cleanse you of your sin and repent of those wicked sins with complete faith. Never believe your heart is good apart from Christ, but understand that wickedness reigns which is why sin has ravaged our planet causing unspeakable crimes and destruction.