Dr. Mike Jones

Q: Biblical ‘TRUTH’ is under assault; are our hearts still deceitfully wicked after we’re Saved?

A: When Christians quote this famous Bible passage, they’re quoting the Prophet Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

When we look at TV news, on a daily bases, and see the level of wickedness all around us, we normally find ourselves saying [self-consciously], “Man, some people are wicked to their core!” However, we don’t think of that particular person(s) being born-again. Nevertheless, we’ve also seen/heard of situations whereby some have professed Christ, and yet, brought shame upon the Body of Christ.

For example, in the book ‘The Cheating Culture’ by David Callahan, he talks about some of our most moral conservative corporate leaders that were caught with their hands in the ‘cookie jar’.

He mentions Bernard Ebbers, head of World Com. Ebbers was known as one of the most religious CEOs in the high-tech sector. He invoked God regularly in speeches and press interviews, and started each board meeting with a prayer. He was a deacon at his Baptist church, where he also led a weekly Bible study class. According to those who took his class, he was remarkably fluent in scripture. If students missed class, he would be on the phone to see if they were okay. Believe it or not, Ebbers presided over the largest fraud in U.S. history, one that brought massive financial pain to present day and future retirees across America. When this broke via national headline news, Bernard Ebbers (in tears) told his congregation, “More than anything else, I hope this doesn’t jeopardize my witness for Jesus Christ.”

Take John Rigas, who headed Adelphia Communications, one of the largest cable television companies in the United States. He was a regular church-goer. He raised his four children in a small town in upstate New York, with traditional moral values. His sons went to the nation’s best colleges, then to work for dear old dad. Their cable television companies didn’t permit pornography to be shown. By the time federal investigators caught up to the Rigas, the father and sons had frauded hundreds or millions of shareholders funds for their personal use through various shady loans.

You and I both know, that before we received God’s Salvation, the heart was the ‘SEAT OF SIN’ and depravity. The mind of the flesh could not please God, therefore, the heart was thoroughly corrupt, according to Galatians 5:19-21, “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

[But] when the grace of God graces our hearts through Salvation, a new covenant has been established, and we get a glimpse of it in the Old Testament, in Ezekiel 11:19-20, “And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be My people, and I will be their God;” and 36:25-26, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”

Wow! What a great honor it is to be alive during the New Testament era: Godhas moved in, giving Christians a new heart in Christ, indwelt by the presence of the Holy Spirit. And what has He called us to do with our newfound heart? To bear fruit out of the abundance of the heart, that’s found in Galatians 5:22-26, “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”

 Our Heavenly Father alsosaid through the writings of the Apostle Paul, in Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Now, we can boldlydeclare, apart from Christ I would be deceived and corrupted. So, we need to do what Apostle Peter expressed in 1 Peter 2:2, “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment.” In otherwords, as we grow in God’s Word, we’re in the process of completing our sanctification, which will onlybe completed in our glorification, which is yet to come.

So, until that appointed time, we’re warned in Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” [Meaning: if we’re not careful of what we permit in, our heart can still deceive us and lead us astray. But, as true believers, walking upright before God, and sensitive to the leading of the Spirit, it’s hard to be deceived nor led astray.]