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By Jimmy Swaggart
“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 doings” (Jer. 17:9-10).
the evil of the human heart
In fact, this evil of which we speak, the evil of the human heart, and brought about as a result of the Fall, is beyond healing and help, at least as it regards the ability of man. When the Holy Spirit uses the word “heart,” as it is used here in the Word of God, He is not speaking of such as a bodily organ. The idea is this:
As the heart is the central organ in the body, forming a focus for its vital action, it has come to stand for the center of its moral, spiritual, and intellectual life. In particular, the heart is the place in which the process of self-consciousness is carried out, in which the soul is at home with itself, and is conscious of all its doing and suffering as its own. Hence it is that men of “courage” are called “men of the heart”; that the Lord is said to speak “in His Heart” (Gen. 8:21); that men “know in their own heart” (Deut. 8:5); that “no one considereth in his heart” (Isa. 44:19).
“Heart,” in this connection, is sometimes rendered “mind,” as in Numbers 16:28, “of my own mind.”
God is represented, as stated, as “searching the heart” and “trying the reins” (Jer. 17:10). Thus, “heart” comes to stand for “conscience,” for which there is no word in Hebrew, as in Job 27:6, “My heart shall not reproach me,” or in I Samuel 24:5, “David’s heart smote him” (I Sam. 25:31).
From this it appears that the “heart,” in Scripture is variously used, sometimes for the mind and understanding, sometimes for the will, sometimes for the affections, sometimes for the conscience, sometimes for the whole soul.
Generally, I think it can be said that the “heart” denotes the soul and spirit of man and all the faculties of them, not necessarily absolutely, but as they are all one principle of moral operations, as they all concur in our doing of good and evil.
corruption
The radical corruption of human nature is clearly taught in Scripture and brought into connection with the heart. It is “uncircumcised” (Jer. 9:26; Ezek. 44:7; Acts 7:51); and “hardened” (Ex. 4:21); “wicked” (Prov. 26:23); “perverse” (Prov. 11:20); “Godless” (Job 36:13); “deceitful and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). It defiles the whole man (Mat. 15:19-20); resists, as in the case of Pharaoh, the repeated Call of God (Ex. 7:13).
There, and we continue to speak of the “heart,” however, the Law of God is written (Rom 2:15); there the work of Grace is wrought (Acts 15:9), for the “heart” may be “renewed” by Grace (Ezek. 36:26), because the “heart” is the seat of sin (Gen. 6:5; 8:21).
heart renewal
The process of heart-renewal is indicated in various ways. It is the removal of a “stony heart” (Ezek. 11:19). The heart becomes “clean” (Ps. 51:10); “fixed” (Ps. 112:7) through “the fear of the Lord” (Ps. 112:1); “with the heart man believes” (Rom. 10:10); on the “heart” the Power of God is exercised for renewal (Jer. 31:33). To God the bereaved Apostles pray as a “knower of the heart” (Acts 1:24 — a word not known to classical writers, found only here in the New Testament, and in Acts 15:8).
In the “heart” God’s Spirit dwells with might (Eph. 3:16), in the “heart” God’s love is poured forth (Rom. 5:5). The Spirit of His Son has been “sent forth into the heart” (Gal. 4:6); the “earnest of the Spirit” has been given “in the heart” (II Cor. 1:22). In the work of Grace, therefore, the heart occupies a position almost unique.
love and the heart
We might also refer here to the Command on which both the Old Testament and the New Testament Revelation of Love is based: “You shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might” (Deut. 6:5); where “heart” always takes the first place, and is the term which, in the New Testament rendering, remains unchanged (Mat. 22:37; Mk. 12:30-33; Lk. 10:27), where “heart” always takes precedence.
While the “heart,” as used in Scripture, is never a synonym for “soul” or “spirit,” still, in a sense, the manner in which the Holy Spirit uses the word incorporates all of these faculties of man, as stated, the moral center of the being. As the physical heart functions as the physical center of man, the Holy Spirit has also adopted the word to refer to the moral center of our being. As such, it would have to include every facet of our being, be it mind, soul, spirit, and intellect. So, it could be said to be a synonym in general terms, but not in absolute terms.
the changed heart and the cross
Paul wrote:
“That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.
“For with the heart man believes unto Righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation” (Rom. 10:9-10).
To “believe in the heart” is to believe with one’s entire being: soul, spirit, mind, intellect, and will.
Even then, God has to give the unregenerate heart the faith to believe, which is done upon that person hearing the Gospel. Within one’s self, the unredeemed person, dead in trespasses and sins, has no way or capacity to believe. In other words, unless the Lord would grant faith to believe to such a person, it would be impossible for them to do so on their own accord. And what is it that the believing sinner must believe?
He must, first of all, “confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus.” The term, “Lord,” stands for Deity; it means that Jesus is God. The unredeemed person must believe that.
The name “Jesus” means “Saviour,” which refers to what Jesus did for us on the Cross. As well, the unredeemed person must “believe in his heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead.”
If it is believed that Jesus is God, and that He died on the Cross, and was raised from the dead, and to do so with all of one’s heart, such a person “is saved.”
The idea is, the Holy Spirit, upon the preached Word of God, or by whatever means the “Word” comes, will impress upon the unredeemed soul who has heard that “Word” the three basics: that Jesus is Lord, that He died on the Cross for our sins, and that He was raised from the dead.
When a person so believes, he is “born again” (Jn. 3:3).
The human heart can only be changed by the Power of God. When this happens, the entire demeanor of the individual changes. The Scripture addresses this by saying: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, (which can be brought about only by virtue of the Cross), he is a new creature (a new creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things become new.
“And all things are of God, Who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (II Cor. 5:17-18).
the ministry of reconciliation
Man is reconciled to God only by and through what Jesus did for us at the Cross. The Scripture plainly tells us, “Who (God) has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ.” And then the Lord gave us this “Ministry of Reconciliation.”
This simply means that we are to “preach the Cross” (I Cor. 1:18, 21, 23).
Now, what we’ve just said may seem to be very simple, which it actually is; however, at the same time, it is most profound because it is the very heart of the Gospel — “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.”
If man attempts to be reconciled to God by any manner other than Faith in Christ and the Cross, He will be rejected by God, just as Cain was rejected. Cain believed in the Altar, and believed in the sacrifice, but not in the Sacrifice demanded by the Lord, which would symbolize the coming Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the price He would pay for our Redemption on the Cross. Cain offered the labor of his own hands, which God could not accept, and, in fact, cannot accept. But, tragically, that’s where most of the modern Church is presently.
The “Cross” is given little shift, if any at all, in the modern Church. Instead, if the problem is acute, the individual is encouraged to seek the help of a psychologist, and to enter into one of the twelve step programs.
In the “Pentecostal Evangel,” the weekly publication of the Assemblies of God, some years ago, and I read the account, those with problems were told to consult a psychologist, and to enter into a twelve step program.
The Assemblies of God is the largest Pentecostal Denomination in the world.
The Church of God of Cleveland, Tennessee, the second largest Pentecostal Denomination, equally, or even to a greater degree, if possible, strongly recommends the world of psychology. Their leading educational institution presents psychology as the throughway of all help, as it regards the training of its Ministers. And, in fact, the Assemblies of God does the same thing.
Pure and simple, this means that these particular Denominations, which were once among the leading thrust of the Spirit of God, have, for all practical purposes, abandoned the Holy Spirit. One cannot have the Cross and psychology at the same time. Either one cancels out the other. To abandon the Cross is to abandon the Holy Spirit; and, to be sure, the leadership of these two Denominations have abandoned the Cross of Christ.
the power of the Cross
Why has the majority of the Church world, which includes virtually every Denomination, abandoned the Cross?
While many factors may play a part in all of this, the underlying cause is “unbelief.” They simply do not believe that the Cross holds the power to set the captive free. So, they turn to the world of humanistic psychology.
So, the question must be asked, as to exactly how the Cross can bring about power in the heart and life of the individual, and, thereby, deliver that person from the bondages of darkness?
preach deliverance
Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me . . . to preach deliverance to the captives” (Lk. 4:18).
If it is to be noticed, the Lord didn’t say, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to deliver the captives,” but, rather, “to preach deliverance to the captives.” What did He mean by that?
He was speaking of deliverance from sin and its effects. The way He worded this statement tells us that one person cannot deliver another. In other words, Preachers, or anyone, for that matter, cannot lay hands on individuals and deliver them from particular bondages and habits of sin. Nothing like that is given to us in the Word of God. But yet, that’s what many Preachers, especially in the Pentecostal and Charismatic ranks, attempt to do.
While the “laying on of hands” is definitely Scriptural, it must be done in the Scriptural context. That context is for healing (Mk. 16:18; James 5:14) and blessing (Acts 13:2-3).
The answer to deliverance is “Truth.” Jesus said:
“You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free” (Jn. 8:32).
And what is the Truth?
The Truth is “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified” (I Cor. 1:23).
In other words, all deliverance is found in the Cross, and only in the Cross. The Cross dealt with sin, and in all of its aspects.
So, the reason that Jesus said that we must “preach deliverance to the captives” was in order that they might hear the Truth about the Cross, and, thereby, be delivered. That’s exactly what we’re doing in this Volume, giving you the Truth, which can effect deliverance from sin, and in every capacity.
(The above article was derived from the Jimmy Swaggart Bible Commentary, “Daniel”, Chapter 4.)
