The Deceptive Heart

THE DECEPTIVE HEART

Read Jeremiah 17:1-13

Read Jeremiah 17:1-13

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9

American Evangelicalism is uniquely known for its emphasis on individual faith. It was the American evangelical who invented the idea of “a personal relationship with Christ.” There is, you know, no such phrase in the Bible. I will be foolishly bold to insinuate that, indeed, there is really no such concept in Scripture.

Certainly, our faith must be more than the rubrics and rituals of a formal religion. Going to Church does not make a true Christian. But the converse is true as well. God does not make true Christians who don’t go to Church. Our idolatrous lust for independence, our resentment of both authority and structure, and our fear of conformity––all crass American traits––have combined to create a spiritual anomaly: A “born again” Christian with a personal relationship with Christ but no religion, who is baptized but not a Church member, or a Church member but not “active.” Can this be so? Can we really be one with Christ and not His church? Can the Holy Spirit really live in us but our faith be inactive? Can we be born again, baptized but not belong to a congregation of saints? The answer is “yes” in American Evangelicalism, but “no” in the Bible.

Jeremiah addresses this very issue. He locates the problem in the human heart. And he states that we indeed can be personally spiritual but spiritually lost at the same time. You see, our penchant for “Just Jesus and Me” is dangerously deceptive. Why? Because the heart––that place Jesus is supposed to live when we “ask Him into our heart”––cannot be relied upon to adequately guide us in our Life with God.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (17:9). Because that is obviously so, “asking Jesus into our hearts” doesn’t do a whole lot of good, does it? No, what is needed is to become engrafted into the people of God, the Church. I am not speaking about the Invisible Church, that doctrine all evangelicals believe. I am speaking about a visible, real, local body of professing believers who gather in a building on a street corner somewhere to worship, work and witness together. I’m talking about the Tenth Presbyterian Church on Spruce Street in Philadelphia PA, or the New Zion Lutheran Episcopal Church on High Street in Columbus Ohio, or the Saint Phillips Episcopal Church on Church Street in Charleston SC.

You see, it’s the flesh-and-blood people in such local churches who keep our deceitful hearts honest. How so? When our heart says to us, “You’re really a committed Christian,” one of the elders from Tenth Presbyterian will call to see why you haven’t been in worship services in the last six months. No one from the Invisible Church is going to do that. When our heart tells us, “You really are a loving person,” a postcard from New Zion will show up in the mail reminding you of your turn to keep the two-year-old nursery this coming Sunday. Jesus doesn’t send out postcards. And when your heart tells you, “You’re really a very giving person,” one of the vestry members at St. Phillips’ will send you a reminder that you’re behind on your pledge to the Church this year. The Holy Spirit doesn’t send out notices.

Yep, a personal relationship with Jesus is really quite easy. It’s so nice to have Jesus in our deceptive, inscrutable little hearts. What’s tough is to live among other saints who know that your heart is as rotten as theirs, and perhaps worse apart from the communion of the saints. Life in the local church keeps the heart honest. And for that we are both resentful and thankful, but always needy.

PRAYING FOR THE PCA

CEP: Pray for the annual Leadership Training Conference and the General Assembly programs and seminars to be rooted in the Gospel and to encourage and strengthen PCA women.

CC: Pray for our alumni in their many and varied walks of life, that they will seek first thepriorities of Christ and His Kingdom and use the gifts God has given them to serve His Church with excellence and passion. Please pray for the Alumni Executive Committee as they engage the alumni community in prayer, admissions and fundraising opportunities for Covenant.

MNA: Pray for MNA Ministry to State Director Chuck Garriott, and that the weekly and monthly gatherings in Washington DC and in other state capitols will be used to bring many to Christ.

PCAF: Pray for God to encourage the staff to think outside the box to see ways to advance God’s Kingdom.

RH: Pray that PCA churches have a renewed vision for the expansion of Ridge Haven, and that we may meet the great need for Presbyterian and Reformed camp and conference resources throughout the country. Such a vision will allow us to complete Ridge Haven Southeast and possibly begin work on Ridge Havens Northeast, Central and West.