The Heart
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The
Heart
DEFINITION OF THE
HEART: Contemporary people generally consider the head with its brain to be the center and
director of human activity. However, the Bible speaks of the heart as the center; "it
is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23; cf. Luke 6:45). Biblically, the heart may
be seen as containing the totality of one's intellect, emotion and volition (see Mark
7:20-23).
(1) The heart is the center of the intellect. People know things in their heart
(Deuteronomy 8:5), pray in their heart (1 Samuel 1:12-13), meditate in their heart (Psalm
19:14), hide God's Word in their heart (Psalm 119:11), devise plans in their heart (Psalm
140:2), keep words within their heart (Proverbs 4:21), think in their heart (Mark 2:8),
doubt in their heart (Mark 11:23), ponder in their heart (Luke 2:19), believe in their
heart (Romans 10:9) and sing in their heart (Ephesians 5:19). All of these actions of the
heart are primarily issues involving the mind.
(2) The heart is the center of the emotions. The Bible speaks about the glad heart (Exodus
4:14), the loving heart (Deuteronomy 6:5), the fearful heart (Joshua 5:1), the courageous
heart (Psalm 27:14), the repentant heart (Psalm 51:17), the anxious heart (Proverbs
12:25), the angry heart (Pro-verbs 19:3), the revived heart (Isaiah 57:15), the anguished
heart (Jeremiah 4:19; Romans 9:2), the delighted heart (Jeremiah 15:16), the grieving
heart (Lamentations 2:18), the humble heart (Mat-thew 11:29), the excited or burning heart
(Luke 24:32) and the troubled heart (John 14:1). All of these actions of the heart are
primarily emotional in character.
(3) Finally, the heart is the center of the human will. We read in Scripture about the
hardened heart that refuses to do what God commands (Exodus 4:21), the heart that is
yielded to God (Joshua 24:23), the heart that intends to do something (2 Chronicles 6:7),
the heart that is devoted to seek-ing the Lord (1 Chronicles 22:19), the heart that
decides (2 Chronicles 6:7), the heart that desires to receive from the Lord (Psalm
21:1-2), the heart that is turned toward God's activities (Psalm 119:36) and the heart
that wants to do something (Romans 10:1). All of these activities take place in the human
will.
THE NATURE OF THE HEART APART FROM GOD: When Adam and Eve chose to folow the ser-pent's
temptation to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, their decision drastically
af-fected the human heart - it became filled with evil. At present, therefore, according
to Jeremiah's testimony, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?" (Jer-emiah 17:9). Jesus confirmed Jeremiah's diagnosis when
He said that what makes a person un-clean before God is not the failure to follow some
ceremonial law, but the willingness to listen to wicket inclinations lodged in one's heart
such as "evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice,
deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly" (Mark 7:21-22). Jesus taught
about the seriousness of sin in the heart when He said that the sin of anger is tantamount
to murder (Matthew 5:21-22) and the sin of lust is just as sinful as actual adultery
(Matthew 5:27:28; see Exodus 20:14; Matthew 5:28).
Hearts that are committed to doing evil run the grave risk of becoming hardened. Those who
per-sistently refuse to listen to God's Word and to obey what He commands, and instead
follow the wicked desires of their hearts, will find that God will eventually harden their
hearts so that they lose all sensitivity to His Word and to the desires of the Holy Spirit
(see Exodus 7:3; Hebrews 3:8). The primary example of this in the Bible is Pharaoh's heart
at the time of the exodus (see Exodus 7:3, 13, 22-23; 8:15, 32; 9:12; 10:1; 11:10; 14:17).
Paul saw the same general principle operative in the Roman empire (cf. Romans 1:24, 26,
28) and predicted that it would also occur during the days of the antichrist (2
Thessalonians 2:11-12). The writer of Hebrews filled his letter with warnings to believers
not to harden their hearts (e.g., Hebrews 3:8-12). Anyone who continues to reject God's
Word will eventually have a hardened heart.
THE REGENERATED HEART: God's answer to the sinfulness of the human heart is regeneration,
which comes to all who repent of their sins, turn to God, and place a personal faith in
Jesus as Lord and Savior.
(1) Regeneration is a matter of the heart. Those who repent from their heart of all sin
and confess in their heart that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9) are born again and receive a
new heart from God (cf. Psalm 51:10; Ezekiel 11:19).
(2) Within the hearts of those who experience spiritual birth, God creates a desire to
love Him and to obey Him. Repeatedly God emphasized to His people the necessity of a love
that comes from the heart (Deuteronomy 4:29, 6:6). Such love for and devotion to God
cannot be separated from obe-dience to His law (cf. Psalm 119:34, 69, 112); Jesus taught
that love for God with the whole heart and love for one's neighbor summarize God's entire
law (Matthew 22:37-40).
(3) Love from the heart is the essential ingredient in obedience. All too often God's
people tried to substitute obedience to mere outward religious forms (such as feast days,
offerings and sacrifices) for genuine love from the heart (Isaiah 1:10-17; Amos 5:21-26;
Micah 6:6-8; Deuteronomy 10:12). Outward observance without an inner desire to serve God
is hypocrisy and is severely condemned by our Lord (Matthew 23:13-28; Luke 21:1-4).
(4) Many other spiritual activities take place in the hearts of regenerated believers.
They praise God with all their heart (Psalm 9:1), meditate in their heart (Psalm 19:14),
cry out to God from the heart (Psalm 84:2), seek God with all their heart (Psalm 119:2,
10), hide God's Word in their heart (Psalm 119:11), trust in the Lord with all their heart
(Proverbs 3:5), experience God's love poured out into their heart (Romans 5:5) and sing to
God in their heart (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).
This article is found on pages 906-907 of The Full Life Study Bible, New International
Version, copyright 1992 by Life Publishers International. The author of the article and
editor of The Full Life Study Bible is Donald C. Stamps, M.A., M.Div.
Luke 15:4-7
4 "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not
leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and go after the one which is lost, until he
finds it? 5 "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6
"And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to
them, `Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' 7 "I tell you that
in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over
ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. |
May
God Bless You and Guide Your Every Step and Word, I Do Hope You Have Been Blessed at
Franny's Place and Enjoyed Your Time Here.
In Jesus Name Praise God!!!
Love Franny |
  
  
Created 1/23/2003
FDM
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