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Tony E. Denton, 4/07.
ASiteForTheLord.com
The Bible heart is not in our
The Bible heart is in our
.
*
.
In other words, when the Bible
speaks of the heart, it’s nearly
always referring to the mind; in
fact, many times heart and mind
are used interchangeably (e.g.
2 Cor. 3:14-15 consulted later).
So let’s ask and answer 1, 2, 3
questions about the
heart.
What’s
The Heart
Comprised Of?
The Heart Possesses Intellect.
It
Thinks.
Luke 9:47 speaks of Jesus perceiving the thought of the multitude’s heart.
Hebrews 4:12 speaks of God’s
Word as being a discerner of the
thoughts … of the heart.
The Heart Possesses Intellect.
It
Reasons.
Mark 2:8 records Jesus asking a
group, Why do you reason about
these things in your hearts?
Mark 8:17 records Jesus asking
His disciples, Why do you reason?
... Is your heart still hardened?
The Heart Possesses Intellect.
And since it thinks
and reasons, it also
does 2 other things:
The Heart Possesses Intellect.
It Understands.
Matthew 13:15 has Jesus saying,
The heart of this people has become dull, otherwise they would
understand with their hearts.
Mark 8:17 has Jesus asking His
disciples, Do you not yet understand? Is your heart still hardened?
The Heart Possesses Intellect.
It Believes.
Acts 8:37 cites Philip telling the
Ethiopian, If you believe with all
your heart, you may be baptized.
Romans 10:9-10 have Paul saying, If you … believe in your
heart …, you shall be saved. For
with the heart one believes to
righteousness.
So…
Bible
The Heart Possesses Intellect…
Because It…
Thinks,
Reasons,
Understands,
Believes.
Next…
The Heart Possesses Will.
It Desires.
Colossians 3:23 says, Whatever
you do, do it heartily.
Heartily not only has the word
“heart” in it, but it also means
to do something out of desire.
The Heart Possesses Will.
It Desires.
Colossians 3:23 says, Whatever
you do, do it heartily.
Heartily is from the same term
translated will in Ephesians 6:6
where Paul encouraged brethren to do God’s will from the
heart; the point is that there’s
a direct connection between
heart and will.
The Heart Possesses Will.
It Desires.
Colossians 3:23 says, Whatever
you do, do it heartily.
First Thessalonians 2:17 says that
Paul, having been taken from the
Thessalonians for a short time in
presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see them with
great desire; i.e., in his heart, he
desired to see them.
The Heart Possesses Will.
It Purposes.
Acts 11:23 relates that when
Barnabas went to Antioch, he …
encouraged them all that with
purpose of heart they should
continue with the Lord.
Second Corinthians 9:7 has recorded for us that each Christian
at Corinth was to give as he purposed in his heart.
So…
Bible
The Heart Possesses Will…
Because It…
Desires &
Purposes.
Next…
The Heart Possesses Emotion.
It Loves.
Matthew 22:37 has Jesus quoting
the greatest commandment of
all: You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart.
First Peter 1:22 has Peter telling
Christians to love one another
fervently with a pure heart.
The Heart Possesses Emotion.
It Despises.
Second Samuel 6:16 says that
Michal … saw King David…; and
she despised him in her heart.
Leviticus 19:17 has God saying to
His people, You shall not hate
your brother in your heart.
The Heart Possesses Emotion.
It Rejoices.
John 16:22 alludes to Jesus as
saying, I will see you again, and
your heart shall rejoice.
Acts 2:26 alludes to David as
saying, My heart rejoiced.
The Heart Possesses Emotion.
It Suffers.
Romans 9:2 has Paul speaking of
great sorrow and continual grief
in his heart.
Second Corinthians 2:4 has Paul
speaking of how that Out of much
affliction and anguish of heart he
wrote … with many tears.
So…
Bible
The Heart Possesses Emotion…
Because It…
Loves,
Despises,
Rejoices,
Suffers.
Next…
The Heart Possesses Conscience.
It Regrets.
Genesis 6:6 cites the fact that
God was sorry that He had made
man … and He was grieved in His
heart because of it.
Acts 2:37 cites the fact that after
the Pentecostians heard the Gospel, they were cut to the heart.
The Heart Possesses Conscience.
It Condemns.
Psalm 69:20 says, Reproach
(condemnation) has broken my
heart, and I am full of heaviness.
First John 3:20 says, If our heart
condemns us, God is greater than
our hearts.
So…
Bible
The Heart Possesses Conscience…
Because It…
Regrets &
Condemns.
Now…
What’s
The Heart’s
Condition?
The Heart Varies in Conditions.
Encouraged
Acts 27:22 records Paul as saying
to a shipwrecked crew, I urge you
to take heart, for there will be no
loss of life among you.
Discouraged
Luke 18:1 records Jesus teaching
that men always ought to pray
and not lose heart.
The Heart Varies in Conditions.
Good
Luke 8:15 has Jesus praising the
noble and good heart.
Evil
Hebrews 3:12 has Paul warning,
Beware, brethren, lest there be in
any of you an evil heart.
The Heart Varies in Conditions.
Humble
Matthew 11:29 notes Jesus as
saying that He’s lowly in heart.
Proud
Proverbs 21:4 notes that one of
the things God detests in a person
is a proud heart.
The Heart Varies in Conditions.
Open
Acts 17:11 commends the Bereans for being open-minded.
Closed
Second Corinthians 3:14-15
condemn some Jews for being
closed-minded: Their minds were
hardened. For … a veil lies on
(over) their heart.
The Heart Varies in Conditions.
Obedient
Romans 6:17 refers to those who
obeyed from the heart, resulting
in salvation.
Impenitent
Romans 2:5 refers to the impenitent heart of many Jews, resulting
in condemnation.
The Heart Is Initially Pure.
Matthew 18:3 tells us that Jesus
once said to His followers, Unless
you are converted and become as
little children, you will by no means
enter the kingdom. Then…
The Heart Is Initially Pure.
Matthew 19:4 tells us that soon
after that Jesus said to them again,
Let the little children come to Me
… for of such is the kingdom. So…
When we’re born, we’re pure in
heart and part of God’s kingdom.
But then…
The Heart Becomes Polluted.
Unfortunately, we allow sin to enter our lives, polluting our intellect,
will, emotions, and conscience.
Proverbs 20:9 reads, Who can say,
“I have made my heart clean; I am
pure from my sin”? And…
The Heart Becomes Polluted.
Romans 7:8-11 read, Sin, taking
opportunity by the commandment,
produced in me all manner of evil
desire. For apart from the Law sin
was dead. I was alive once without the Law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I
died. And the commandment that
was to bring life, I found to bring
death. For sin, taking occasion by
the commandment, deceived me
and by it killed me. So…
The Heart Must Be Changed.
John 3:7 has Jesus demanding
people to Be born again. And…
Romans 12:2 has Paul demanding
Christians to Be transformed (Gk.
metamorphosis) by the renewing
of [their] mind (heart). So…
The most important question is…
What’s
The Heart
Changed By?
The Intellect Is Changed By the
Testimony of God.
Romans 10:17 has Paul saying,
Faith comes by hearing … the
Word of God. And…
The Intellect Is Changed By the
Testimony of God.
John 20:30-31 have John saying,
Truly … [these] signs … are written
… that you may believe Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life. So…
The intellect thinks, reasons, and
understands the testimony, producing FAITH!
The Will Is Changed By the
Motives of God.
Second Corinthians 5:10-11 reveal
Motive #1—The Fear of Judgment:
Paul wrote that We must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ.
... Knowing therefore the terror of
the Lord, we persuade men.
The Will Is Changed By the
Motives of God.
Romans 2:4 reveals Motive #2—
The Goodness of God: Paul plainly
said that The goodness of God
leads … to repentance. So…
The will longs after God, producing
REPENTANCE!
The Emotions Are Changed By the
Commitment of God.
John 3:16 states that God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes
in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life.
The Emotions Are Changed By the
Commitment of God.
Second Corinthians 8:9 states, You
know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though He was rich, yet
for your sakes He became poor that
you through His poverty might be
rich. So, based on the love of God…
Our emotions well up within us,
producing a CONFESSION of our
commitment to Him!
The Conscience Is Changed By
Our Submission to God.
Romans 8:16 declares that The
Spirit Himself bares witness with
our spirit that we are children of
God. And…
The Conscience Is Changed By
Our Submission to God.
First Peter 3:21 declares that There
is also an antitype that now saves
us, namely baptism (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,
but the answer of a good conscience toward God). So…
The Conscience Is Changed By
Our Submission to God.
Our conscience, instead of condemning us, now pardons us because we have submitted our will
to God’s will by obeying the culminating act of BAPTISM through
which we are saved.
In Summary...
What’s the heart comprised of?
Intellect, will, emotions, and
conscience.
What’s the heart’s condition?
It begins pure, then becomes
polluted, remaining that way
until we decide to change it to
avoid condemnation. And…
What’s the heart changed by?
The intellect is changed by the testimony of God, producing FAITH.
The will is changed by the motives
of God, producing REPENTANCE.
The emotions are changed by the
commitment of God, producing a
CONFESSION. And…
The conscience is changed by our
submission to God in BAPTISM.