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The Heart


“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
       What does God say about the heart? Why do people ask Jesus into their heart? What makes the heart just an emotion factory? Today we will take a journey in scripture to see what God says about the heart. We will answer these question in our study. Let us be fair-minded and search the scriptures (Acts 17:11).

 
The Most Important Question

        When we read scripture we have the opportunity to understand things the way God meant for them to be understood. So let’s look for a minute at this question, “What does God say the heart is?” This is a very serious question into day’s idea of Christianity. As we have questioned in our introduction many would say the heart of man is the pinnacle of religion. If it is we must know what the heart is.

 
What Man Say’s

         There are three major definitions for the heart today. One, is that the heart is an organ in your chest that pumps blood through your veins and arteries. It is an organ, but is that what God’s word is referring to when it refers to the heart?  Another definition is that the heart is the front part of your chest. The third definition is that the heart is thought of as the place where emotions are felt.  Modern Christianity express the heart and emotions as one. So many would say the third definition is the biblical one. What makes us say that?  There is one definition that is not used much.  We will discuss that final definition in just a minute.          
 

 
God & The Heart

   God say’s the heart has several different characteristics. Seven attributes of the heart show up in His word. Let’s look at these attributes and see if they really line up with today’s definition of the heart. Let’s look at how God sees man’s heart.
The Heart Has Intent, Or Imagination
(Gen 6:5; Heb. 4:12)

     The Heart Can Understand
 (Matt. 13:15; Isaiah 6:9-10)

     Man Reasons With His Heart
(Mark 2:8)

    The Heart Has Thoughts; It Thinks
(Luke 9:47)

    The Heart Believes
 (Romans 10:9)
 
     You Can Love With A Pure Heart
 (1 Pet. 1:22)

    The Heart Can Purpose
(Acts 11:23)

 
The Conundrum

        Now with these seven attributes that God gives to the heart we have a conundrum. We can’t line up the common and well used definitions of the heart with these attributes.  In fact, these attributes align with the mind. That’s huge. That’s a game changer.  The heart as used in the word is not an emotional factory or mystical place. It’s man’s mind, the most center and vital part of man. We can easily make this conclusion because of how God characterizes the heart.  If the heart is the inner most man; the mind, and If the heart is factual and not emotional then what does that mean for the corporate religious world? What does that mean for many of us who base Christianity on feeling?


The Forgotten Definition

      Oh, by the way, that inner most part or core of something is a definition of the heart. It’s the one I left out earlier. Let’s quickly look at it now.  The sixth, forgotten, definition of the heart is, “The central or innermost part, the essential or most vital part of something” Webster Dictionary. This would then line up with what Paul said in Romans 7:22 “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man” God is saying the heart is the core; the inner most part of man; his mind.
 
 If the heart is the mind does this understanding comply with the rest of scripture? 
Importantly does it line up with Christianity?
Why does understanding the heart in scripture matter?
What can understanding the heart, according to God, change?
How can I change my understanding of the heart?

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