Heart Defects

Proverbs states, "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects that man" ( Prov. 27:19). Often when the Bible speaks of the heart it is referring to the inner person. The "inner person" is sum of all we really are. The heart was the seat of conviction, will, reason, and intellect. A defective "heart" means that our convictions, wills, reason, and intellects are all defective.

Jeremiah states, "The heart is deceitful about all things, and desperately wicked; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9). The follow up question should be: "Whose heart?". The answer to that follow up is: our hearts. The human heart is defective. Humans come into this world turned away from God. Do you believe this? How did your heart respond to Jeremiah's words? Has it been trying to rationalize them away? Is your heart saying, "surely that doesn't apply to me?"

My heart desperately wants to believe it is not that bad. My inner man tries to convince me all the time that I am a pretty good guy. I do a lot of good stuff, and I don't do any really bad stuff--like kill people, but the Spirit of God does not sit idly by allowing my sinful heart to go unchecked. No, the Holy Spirit continues to apply the law of God to my heart, convicting me of my sin, convincing me of my need of salvation, and comforting me with the truth that through repentance and confession I can be cleansed of all unrighteousness (see 1 John 1:9).

As I thought about this proverb and Jeremiah's words, I was reminded of Jesus' assessment of the human heart. He stated, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of a man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness, all these things come from within, and they defile a person" (Mark 7:20-23). We have to remember that even during his earthly ministry could see into the hearts of all men. He was not speaking hypothetically here. In the dark waters of the human heart a horrific reflection emerges.

We are creatures, who by nature, need new hearts. I am not talking about a physical heart transplant, but a spiritual one. It is a transplant accomplished by the Lord as he states, "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws" (Ezk. 11:19-20). Those who receive this transplant will keep the law, because God will put his "law in their minds and write it on their hearts" (Jer. 31:33).

This event happens when the Holy Spirit comes to us and through the gospel convicts us of our sin, convinces us of our need of righteousness and of the coming judgment. He compels us to receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. When we trust in Christ's saving work and his glorious person the Spirit comes and dwells in us. He begins the process of sanctification, setting us apart for service to God and conforming us to the image of Christ.

A heart would have us to believe that this is the end of the matter. It wants us to believe that with the Spirit present no work remains for us. "God wants us changed let him change us," it says. What makes this line of thinking is that it has some truth to it. When we turn from sin to God through faith in Jesus, God does change us. He gives us a new nature. He gives us a new identity. But, we must learn how to live out this new nature and identity within the same old context. We are not taken from the world, we are not simply converted into perfect, sinless people. We become those who are in the world, though no longer of it.

Paul helps us to strike a helpful balance in our view. He states, "Continue to work our your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purposes" (Phil 2:12-13). We are called to work out our salvation. This statement does not mean that we can earn our salvation. It means that if we trust in the Lord there will be fruit in our lives. But, Paul also reminds us that as we work, we must remember that it is God who is bringing about his will and purposes in our lives. We are commanded to walk in obedience and then promised that God will enable us.

The reason that this is so difficult is that our heart is continually (often subtly) trying to convince us that its just fine. The heart wants to believe it as pure as new fallen snow, but it has been totally transformed yet. Even after believing the gospel, the heart needs continual work. The fastest way to see change in our lives and behavior is to fill our heart with something other than what is currently in there. As Jesus said the natural state of the human heart is filthy. The Psalmist says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I may not sin against you" (Ps. 119:11). The Holy Spirit transforms us primarily through applying God's Word to our lives. If we fill our hearts with the Word of God, through reading, study, meditation and memorization we the Holy Spirit an arsenal to use in battling the erring heart. Conversely, the less we know and study Scripture the slower change will be, because we become slow of understanding through spiritual malnourishment.

I hope you take this post to heart. But take heart, the heart is not beyond remedy. God has provided the remedy through the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is my prayer that you will, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God" (Col. 3:15-16).