THE BLACKNESS OF THE HUMAN HEART

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Jeremiah 17:9

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

 

During the Nuremberg War Trials when various Nazi soldiers were being tried for crimes against humanity. One particular Jewish man had strong reasons to attend and see justice rendered. He had lost his whole family; wife, daughters and sons as well as parents in one of the horrible concentration camps. The commander who had been in charge of the camp was being tried for these horrible crimes and numerous others. At the elderly man’s side was a news reporter, desiring to gain insights into the man’s thoughts as the trial proceeded. The old man sat with a mixture of emotions: fear, anger, and anticipation as he watched the door in the courtroom where the German soldier would enter.

 

The door slowly opened and court‑appointed guards escorted the war criminal into the courtroom. The old man’s face began to quiver, tears formed in his eyes and then he began sobbing almost uncontrollably. The news reporter was caught off guard and waited for an opportune time to inquire from the old man what had caused his emotional outburst. As the old man gained some control of his emotions, the news reported asked, “Excuse me, but can you share with me why you are crying? Are you relieved that this man has been brought to justice?”

 

The old man could only shake his head from side to side in a negative response. The news reporter persistently said, “Is it because you are reliving the horrors that occurred to your family?”

 

The old man again could only shake his head no. The news reporter continued to prod and gently whispered, “I really want to know how you feel.”

 

The old man finally responded with a trembling raspy voice, “I could have done what he did.” The news reporter was taken aback. How could this old man have thought such a thing, he was the victim?

 

The old Jewish man had suddenly realized something that few if any of us ever consider; the blackness of the human heart. The old man had seen that while the commander and he came from different countries, races and professions, they shared a common trait. Both had the potential for horrible evil caused by the human heart and original sin which we are all born with.

 

Many of us often go through life taking pride in our community service, church involvement and service to our fellow man. We may even feel that God is lucky to have us on His side with the talents and gifts that we possess. The problem with these thoughts and feelings is that as we entertain them in our heart, we begin to glory in ourselves rather than our Lord. When we glory in the gift rather than the giver, when we worship the creature rather than the Creator we begin to walk down the path of self‑deception and sin.

 

Isaiah discussed this problem of self‑righteousness when he stated, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” (Isaiah 64:6) We forget how black the human heart is when we think such thoughts of self‑glorification.

 

There is a danger when we forget from where we came. Proverbs 16:18 talks about such pride when it says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

 

While we are not to live our Christian lives as defeated, depressed and downtrodden people, neither are we to glory in ourselves. Our worth, value and purpose rests in what God has made us.

 

When we trust in Christ as our Savior, God looks on our hearts with eyes of love, forgiveness and understanding. He then takes our black hearts and begins to change them into a pure white heart.

 

While we are forgiven for our sins by confessing them and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior; the process of changing our hearts and minds is a lifelong process. This process of sanctification is the pursuit of holiness in ALL areas of our lives. This pursuit to be holy is something we could never attempt in our past sinful state. The steps we take to be holy are as follows;

 

 

First: Accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and therefore receive God the Father’s forgiveness and receive the Holy Spirit, our Helper and Guide in our pursuit to glorify God.

 

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

 

Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

 

1 John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

 

 

Second: Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit who lives within us now and be sensitive to His leading us in the path of Holiness.

 

Galatians 5:16-17, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

 

Galatians 5:25, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

 

2 Corinthians 5:7, “for we walk by faith, not by sight”

 

Ephesians 5:8, “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light”

 

Colossians 1:10-11, “so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously”

 

Galatians 5:22-24. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

 

 

Thirdly: Continuously dedicate ourselves to reading the Holy Bible and obeying what it says.

 

Psalms 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.”

 

Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

 

Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

 

2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

 

Psalms 119:11, “Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”

 

Job 23:12, “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

 

 

Fourthly: Pray often; which involves worship (adoration) of God, (supplication) confession of sins, (thanks) thanksgiving for God’s blessings in your life and (petition) asking God’s help in issues you face in life. Remember: (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication = ACTS)

 

1 John 5:14, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

 

Ephesians 6:18, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,”

 

James 5:13, “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray.”

 

Romans 12:10-13 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.”

 

Psalms 145:18 “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.”

 

Proverbs 15:29, “The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.”

 

Romans 8:26-27, “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;”

 

Philippians 4:6-7,  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;”

 

1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray without ceasing”

 

James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

 

 

Fifthly: Seek to witness to others of your new life in Christ, for this is a ministry God calls all Christians to live out in their lives.

 

Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 

1 Peter 3:15, “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”

 

Mark 16:15, “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

 

Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

 

2 Corinthians 5:20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

 

Romans 10:14-15, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”

 

 

Remember that only by accepting God’s love and resting on Him alone can we ever attempt to live like Christ and keep in step with the Holy Spirit who lives in us to empower us to grow in grace, hope and love.

 

One last thing I should mention is that there is a danger in our Christian life, which I have already mentioned previously. Sometimes as we experience this new life in Christ, we forget the blackness from which we came. We forget how black our heart was before we accepted Christ. We sometimes can take for granted how we were changed by the ministry of Christ and fail to listen to the Holy Spirit whose ministry is to spur us on in our journey of holiness. When this occurs we spit on the cross and degrade the sacrifice that was given for us. Hebrews speaks of this in 10:26‑31,

 

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”