- Hebrews 10:26–27 26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
- To sin willfully, our heart must consent to that sin
- John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
- Jeremiah 31:33–34 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
- Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
- This is the original sin
- Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
- 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- This is sin after we are saved.
Grace is not sinning willfully
You should never partake of sin in any way or form.
- Psalm 1:1–3 1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
Our relationships with other people
Recognizing that the real person is hidden in the depth of the heart is also meaningful in our relationships with other people.
When we hear someone say or do something that we don’t think is right, we are often quick to draw a conclusion about the person.
What a difference it could make if we first stopped and asked our self, “Am I hearing or seeing the real person, the person in the depth of their heart?”
- Spirit of God
- spirit of Man
- Demonic spirit
I have learnt to ask myself
- Do I really know the person behind who I see?
- Do I know the person’s heart and what has shaped it this way?
- What traumatic wounds—perhaps in early childhood, perhaps continuing—have contributed to this outwardly dysfunctional life?
- Do I know what is in the deepest part of the heart the deep drives and passions that may be there battling against the powerful negative forces, but only occasionally and weakly breaking through?”
God alone knows our hearts.
- Yet I’m told to know its condition
- Proverbs 27:23 Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds;
- Both physically and mentally, naturally and spiritually
Therefore, I need information that God alone possesses.
This is the word of knowledge.
You can fool me, but you cannot fool God.
- 1 Corinthians 12:4–11 4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
Judge nothing before the time
Paul said that no human being can know the heart of a fellow human being absolutely.
- 1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.
The emotionally disturbed person who has difficulty coping may, underneath all of the outward dysfunction, have a heart that is genuinely seeking God
- even more than the person who outwardly seems on top of things.
There are times when we can’t avoid making some kind of judgment about people.
- But caution should always be in order since the real person is the hidden person of the heart.
Judgment vs discernment
- 1 Corinthians 12:10, a gift, discerning of spirits
- God will judge all things
Jesus and your heart
No one taught that the heart is the source of life more plainly than Jesus.
- Old Testament/covenant: Body leading to heart
- New Testament: Heart leading to your body
- New Testament: Heart chooses to obey the Born-again Spirit
- New Testament: Renew mind
In order to understand Jesus’ words, note that as beings created in God’s image it is our very nature to love.
And love’s dynamic is to seek its object and cling to it with binding force.
Thus it is our very nature to continually seek out and join to ourselves what we really value or treasure.
What Jesus is telling us therefore is that the treasure we choose to love and store up will finally control us—our heart will be where our treasure is.