The Pure Heart Of Wisdom

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

This is the second in a series of posts from Chapter 2 of Friends With God: “How Do You Love God As His Friend”. In the first post we discussed the warnings about false prophets and the need for wisdom to discern who is teaching God’s truth honestly.

In this post we will examine a scriptural misunderstanding about our relationship with God and what our responsibility as children of God is.

This post is longer than usual, as it is a very complex and sensitive subject, which is at the foundation of many church teachings, and as such will be very controversial. Not all issues on this subject will be addressed in this post, but will also continue over to the next post.

We Can Have A Pure, Good And Honest Heart

God wants and expects us to have pure and wise hearts:

• Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. (Matt 5:8)

• You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. (Matt 22:37-38)

• The wise in heart will receive commandments; but a babbling fool shall fall. (Prov 10:8)

• My son, if your heart is wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. (Prov 23:15)

This good treasure of a pure and wise heart is what God expects us to love him with.

He also expects us to use our good heart to produce abundant good fruit: But those (seed which fell) on the good ground are the ones (people) who, in an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience. (Luke 8:15)

Despite these clear scriptural expectations that we can, and should have, a pure, good, honest and wise heart, the doctrine of most Christian organisations is that the heart, even of converted Christians, remains inherently wicked, and its thoughts are evil continually.

Preachers often quote Jeremiah 17:9 as the justification for such a teaching: “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked”.

Yet, how can we have a pure and wise heart, or an honest and good heart, or love God with all our heart, if our heart is actually always deceitful and desperately wicked, and is made that way by God?

Such apparent contradictions within scripture should be fully addressed in order to comprehend the truth, for scriptures should obviously never be contradictory. (John 10:35, Luke 16:17)

What The Scripture Actually Says

The way preachers use this verse, it’s as if the heart were easy to understand, because it’s obviously totally bad all the way through! Yet, as we will see, that is not what these verses teach us at all.

What Jeremiah 17:9 actually says is: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?

This verse is not a statement of condemnation on our heart, but it is a question- which is immediately answered in verse 10) I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.

By reading the verse in full, and in context with the next verse, we see that Jeremiah 17:9 is not a statement of fact on its own, as it is most often quoted as being.

God then tells us that he searches the heart in order to reward people according to how they live.

Unfortunately, without reading the verse in full, or the next verse in context, then the true intent and meaning is distorted into a completely different purpose from what was intended.

Preachers use Jeremiah 17:9 to say that we have no ability to choose good or evil. Not that we are without sin either: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us”. (1John 1:8)

But Jeremiah 17:9 is not talking about our inability to not sin, it is talking about our responsibility to overcome sin by directing our heart toward God.

Now that we have read Jeremiah 17:9 as it was intended, it raises the next obvious question:

• Why would God “search the heart” in order to reward people, if their heart were actually always wicked and deceitful?

If the heart was always deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, then God would not need to search the heart to know if it were worthy of being rewarded or not. In asking “who can know the heart?”, Jeremiah is implying that the heart is difficult to understand, such that it is God only who is able to comprehend it.

For if the heart is always wicked, then there would be no reason for God to test it!

Some Basic Bible Study Tools

The first thing we need to do in order to sort out an issue like this, is to see if other scholars translate these scriptures in a different way. Two translations provide a different assessment:

The Brenton translation of verse 9 is: “The heart is deep beyond all things, and it is the man, and who can know him?”

Also the Bible in Basic English (BBE) version tells us: The heart is a twisted thing, not to be searched out by man: who is able to have knowledge of it?

These versions seem to fit the context of the topic, for to be deep beyond all things and a twisted thing” fits the question of “who can know the heart”. It also fits the answer, which is that God says that he is the one who searches the heart.

However, the translation of the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked simply doesn’t fit the context at all.

The next thing we can do is to look at the original words in Hebrew and Greek, in a Biblical concordance, which is like a dictionary, but is limited to those words used in scripture. Not only does it provide a definition of the word, but also tells you how often the word is used in scripture, how the word is related to other words, and lists all the verses in which that word appears.

In addition, if a word is used very often in scripture, then it’s generally clear what the word means, as you can tell by the context how a word should be used. However, if a word is not used very often, then, due to the limited number of contexts that it’s found in, it may indicate that the meaning of the word may not be particularly clear.

For example, if a word has three or four meanings, but is used only once or twice in all scripture, then it may be difficult to know which meaning should be applied in any particular scripture.  

What The Original Words Could Actually Mean

When we look up Jeremiah 17:9 in Strong’s Concordance, we see that the two Hebrew words for deceitful and wicked are only ever translated in this way in this one verse. This tells us that the translation of these words can’t be well supported by the scriptural context in which they are used. Not only that, but these words are not used very often in scripture. By examining the detailed explanation of these words, we see various renderings of them: 

1. The Hebrew for ‘deceitful’ is aqob, and is listed in Strong’s as H6121. It could mean either crooked, deceitful or polluted.
   It appears in scripture only two other times, where it’s translated as ‘crooked’ in Isaiah 40:4 and ‘polluted’ in Hosea 6:8.
   While something “crooked” or “polluted” may poetically be called “deceitful”, it doesn’t really fit our modern usage of the words. People can be blatantly crooked or polluted without necessarily being deceitful. 

2. The term ‘desperately wicked’, is from the Hebrew word anash (Strong’s H605), which, quoting from Strongs is: “to be frail, feeble or melancholy, desperate (-ly wicked), incurable, sick, woeful”.
   These words have a similar meaning of being weak and unhappy, in a state of sickness, or to be desperate.
   The term desperately wicked, however, just does not fit with the other meanings of this word, at least not in our modern meaning of what it means to be desperately wicked.
   Sure, the desperately wicked are most probably going to be weak and unhappy, but that’s not the meaning we ascribe when using this word today, and particularly not when preachers quote Jeremiah 17:9.
   The Hebrew word anash appears in scripture only six other times in the Bible; and is translated “incurable” five times and “woeful” once.
   Therefore, to interpret this word as ‘desperately wicked’ is not strongly supported by the meaning of the word, or the context, or by how it’s translated in other scriptures.

The Broader Context of Jeremiah 17:9

From the above we can see that while deceitful and desperately wicked are possible translations of these words, they are really very poor renderings for enlightening the modern reader.

The fact that such an important verse, which is the foundation of many churches’ teachings on our relationship with God, should be shown to be so poorly translated, and generally quoted completely out of context, ought to be very concerning.

If we look again at the context of this verse, we will come to a much clearer understanding of its meaning, and a deeper understanding of our relationship with God than we often receive from preachers who quote these verses out of context.

Please read Jeremiah 17:1-10.

From 1 to 4 it talks about the sin of Judah, how they have turned away from God, and consequently God will take away their inheritance in the land of Israel.

Then God says, Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a juniper (tree) in the desert, (it will grow very poorly) and shall not see when good comes (it doesn’t rain so it doesn’t grow well). … Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord is his trust. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters; (it will grow very well) … and he is not worried in the year of drought, nor will it cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? (The heart is a twisted thing, not to be searched out by man: who is able to have knowledge of it?) I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. (Jer 17:5-10)

Looking at verses 1 to 10 in summary we see what this section of scripture is talking about:

1-6) Those whose hearts are turned away from God will not do well,

7-8) those who trust and hope in God will do well,

9) Yet the heart is a very difficult thing for humans to understand,

10) However, God is the one who can search our thoughts, which are in our heart, and he does this so he will be able to reward us according to our motivation, actions and attitudes.

We may easily put on a good front to other people, but only God, who is able to read our heart and mind, is able to search out our true motivation.

Because the heart is complex, it’s only God who can understand our heart’s convoluted way of working, and only God is able to justly reward people according to their actions.

Our Relationship With God

The whole point of Jeremiah 17:1-10 is not that we have a wicked and deceitful heart, but that God is testing our heart, to reward us according to our actions. We will be blessed if we are the man who trusts in the Lord, but we will be cursed if our heart departs from the Lord.

Also it is self evident that the man “whose heart is turned away from the Lord” has chosen to turn his heart away, otherwise God would not be rewarding the man who trusts in the Lord.

In contrast, however, if the hearts of all men are always wicked and deceitful, (as preachers so often claim) then our heart could never be turned back toward God, as he desires and expects.

These verses actually show us that we have the capacity, and power, to choose to turn our heart to God, or to choose to turn away from God. God has called us to open our eyes to be able to make this choice. This is indeed the entire the purpose of our opportunity for salvation, to see if we will choose life, or death. (Deut 30:15-19)

This rendering concurs with what Jesus implied when he said “Blessed are the pure in heart”, and also when he said You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.

We are expected to control our heart, so that it’s pure and full of love toward God.

As we can see, the lesson of these verses, when taken in context, is that our heart is not inherently wicked, nor is it unable to be changed- which is, of course, exactly the opposite of what is often taught from Jeremiah 17:9.

The lesson is that when we turn our heart toward God, then he will bless the man who trusts in the Lord. It is God who will “give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings”. Only God can justly judge our heart, as only he can understand the intent of our hearts.

God rewards people according to their inner thoughts, motivations and actions when they turn to him and then he gives them a portion of his Spirit, so that they can understand his truth even more. This spiral of growth and understanding is repeated throughout our lives: God gives us some understanding, we respond positively, he then gives us more understanding- in this way we … grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (2Peter 3:18)

Our Responsibility: To Turn To God

As God made our heart, why would he need to bother testing it? There are many scriptures which support the idea that he made our heart with the ability to choose to obey him or not. It’s our responsibility to direct our heart to do good, or to do evil:

• My son, forget not my law; but let your heart keep my commandments (your responsibility for directing your heart): For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to you. (Prov 3:1-2)

• Let not mercy and truth forsake you: bind them about your neck; write them upon the table of your heart: (your responsibility for guiding your heart) So shalt you find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. (Prov 3:3-4)

• Trust in the Lord with all your heart; (your responsibility for using your heart) and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. (Prov 3:5-6)

God expects us to guide, teach and keep our hearts turned toward him, for he knows that there are many good men with good hearts, just as there are many evil men with evil hearts. (Matt 12:35)

Logically if the hearts of all men were “desperately wicked”, then the fruit of every heart would also be wicked. However, if this were the case, then how could David have said:

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

This Psalm is the meditation of a man with a good heart.

We, clearly, have the capacity to choose to have a good heart, or an evil heart.

We can determine if we want to turn to God or not, and he will reward us for choosing good over evil, by granting us his Holy Spirit.

Do You Want To Do Good, Or Not?

It’s obvious to any rational person that we can make up our own mind to be wicked or good. However, those who think we have a wicked heart, (which they call “human nature”- another term not found in the Bible) deny the basic understanding that we are responsible for our actions.

God teaches very clearly that we are capable of choosing to do good or evil, and that is why he is willing to reward us appropriately.

This is the first step, the next is that God gives us his Spirit and then we respond to that, or not. In Hebrews chapter 11 we see a great list of many people in Israel who did respond to God’s Spirit appropriately. Similarly, Paul tells us: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Rom 8:14)

There is no use having the Spirit if we are not led by it. We need the Holy Spirit to be able to love God with all our heart, therefore we live according to his way of life, guided by his Spirit: For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die. But if you, through the Spirit, mortify (stop) the deeds of the body, you shall live. (Rom 8:13)

Love God With All Your Heart

God wants to be our friend, if we choose to live his way of life. He won’t force us to love him, for that is not possible.

We are told to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. However, if our heart were inherently wicked and deceitful, then we could never love God with it.

We have the capacity to choose to love God with all our heart, or choose to ignore him and get on with other things. We therefore choose to have a good heart or a wicked heart. Such a capacity is at the foundation of our personal relationship with God.

Our heart is critical to our understanding of God and of our loving God:

"The Word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart"; that is, the Word of Faith which we (Christians) proclaim;

Because if you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation. (Rom 10:8-12)

If your heart were wicked, then how could the Faith of God be in it?

Also, how could it be that “with the heart one believes unto righteousness”?

Such faith and belief can’t live in a wicked heart.

The reality is that we have the capacity to determine to be wicked in our heart and lack faith, or to be righteous and believe in God with all our heart. It’s our choice.

The heart does not control us, rather we control and determine how we use our heart.

Our capacity to decide to be wicked or good is an obvious truth, evident in everyday life, and the scriptures are also full of this simple logic. It’s difficult to understand how Christian preachers could teach such a negative and morose perspective of our heart, for it totally undermines our motivation to change and overcome.

If we human beings are made to always be desperately wicked, why is there no mass murder in the streets? Indeed, one would be blind not to see that there are many noble and generous acts being performed every day, by both Christians and non-Christians.

Could desperately wicked hearts produce self-sacrifice, wisdom, courage and love? 

God Made Our Heart For A Purpose

We also need to logically question why God, first of all, would want to make such a wicked and evil heart in us, and, secondly, why would he then love mankind within whom such a heart supposedly abides? (John 3:16)

As stated above, we are not without sin:

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us”. (1John 1:8)

Similarly: Who can say, I have made my heart clean; I am pure from my sin? (Prov 20:9)

But these verses don’t mean that our hearts’ intents are always incessantly evil, or that we have been created with a wicked heart.

They simply mean, that to overcome sin and to change our heart, we must yield to God, and this is a lifetime’s work. It’s a process of change, not a one-off event.

We cannot make ourselves pure from sin, but God can perform this miracle of conversion through the indwelling of His very own Spirit. 

In order to be in agreement with God’s way of life, we need to change from having sin guide our lives. To accomplish this change we must have God’s Spirit guiding us.

The Spirit is available to us, once God calls us to be part of his family. We must then put in the effort to search and seek and apply our heart and mind, guided by his Spirit, to find wisdom through his written word.

When we follow his word, and the promptings of his Spirit, then we will be directing our heart appropriately. Then, with God’s help, we will gain wisdom, and live a life of righteousness, to reflect his truth to the world through our actions.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

As discussed in the previous post, we should not expect that God is going to bless us with wisdom, because we simply ask “God give me wisdom”. He expects us to work through the processes of gaining wisdom, which takes many years of growth and overcoming sin.

By persevering in our search for wisdom, we demonstrate how much we love God’s way of life. He then imparts wisdom, knowledge and understanding in varying amounts, as we are able to appreciate and apply them.

As part of this growth process, God will test us to see what is truly in our heart- be it good or evil. God then teaches us what our heart’s motivation is, where we need to repent and change, and then we set to work to overcome and change some more.

So, it is our desire to choose God’s way that determines what is in our heart, which is predicated on how much effort we put into our seeking and searching and asking God for his guidance to help us understand.

It’s a process of change that takes time.
Which is why we have about seventy years to get it right!

In the next post we will examine our responsibility to choose to love God and how God tests us to refine us and make us in his image.