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We believe God speaks to us from His Word, the Bible. Its message is as relevant today as 2,000 years ago.

"The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked - who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doing."
Jeremiah 17: 9-10

Normally the word heart refers to the emotions or the organ that pumps the blood. But here, the word heart stands for the innermost being of men. God is especially interested in the heart because it is the birthplace of sin: "the cradle of wickedness", the seat of all trouble. To try to improve society by looking to education and environment only, is to put the cart before the horse.

What does God think about the heart? He says it is ‘deceitful above all things’

How true that is! The world is full of flatterers, tricksters and false witnesses. So often we are different from what we appear to be, wearing a mask to suit the occasion. The poet well knew this when he said, "A man may smile and smile and be a villain." There are many things that deceive, from the desert mirage to the apparently harmless-looking animal. But God accuses us of being deceitful above all things.

Also the heart is ‘desperately wicked’

The word ‘desperate’ points to the need of divine help. It is a criminologist’s term suggesting we are beyond human help; or a physician's description that only a miracle can save us. Jesus said, "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies." The seed of all sin is there, although not always manifested. Not all eggs give birth to a chicken but the potential is there.

It is a criminologist’s term suggesting we are beyond human help; or a physician's description that only a miracle can save us. Jesus said, "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies." The seed of all sin is there, although not always manifested. Not all eggs give birth to a chicken but the potential is there.

But there's more: Our hearts are unsearchably wicked. God says, "who can know it?"

Most people are strangers to their hearts; thinking of themselves more highly than they ought to think. They are blinded by self love, or the flatteries of others or because they measure themselves by the worst. How quick they are to affirm "I'm as good as those who go to Church" … an empty boast in the light of what God says about us all. This is a faithful portrayal of the state of a man's heart.

How does God know my heart is deceitful and wicked? "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins"

God has the ability to explore the depths of a man's being and he does so. He can see into our hearts, he can read our minds like an open book. Nothing is hidden from him. He is a spectator of all that goes on inside of a man. Like the astronomer using a telescope, he can see things unseen to the natural eye; Or like the Nimrod's radar scanner he can plumb the unseen depths. Men look on the outward appearance but God looks at the heart and weighs the spirit. You may deceive your neighbour, your boss, your life's partner but you cannot deceive God.

Why does God search the heart and try the reins? "So he can give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."

One day he is going to judge mankind and he examines the heart so he can justly reward or punish men at the last day. He will judge a man for what he is and not for what he appears to be. He is interested in thoughts and feelings and motives, character and not reputation.

Many a good deed is applauded by man but is hateful to God because the motive is wrong. The important thing then will not only be what we have done but why we have done it. The only person and action which will be acceptable to him at that day will be those who believe in the Lord Jesus and who have lived for his honour and glory.

Dear friend, who can stand before such a God as this and hope to be acquitted at the last day? No-one except those who repent of their sin and confess their need to God of new hearts, and seek forgiveness through the sacrificial death of Jesus. who died that we might be forgiven.

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