The heart is an area of one’s life that must be guarded from the various forms of defilement. One of the most subtle forms of defilement comes by way of lies. These are not necessarily the lies that someone else may tell you, but the lies that you tell yourself.
The reality of this fallen world in which the Christian finds himself is that there will be a struggle and fight to know what is true and to believe what is true. The truth can be thought of like a path. When someone knows what is true, he begins to know the path. As someone grows in his faith, and thus wisdom, he begins to walk the path that he has heard about and has come to know.
However, there is another path. It is called the broad path or the wide path in the Scriptures. This is a way that is traveled often and is well worn, but its end is destruction rather than eternal life. Sometimes people need to be reminded of the necessity to guard their hearts.
Sometimes, people also need to hear of a good reason as to why they need to guard their hearts. Often when people think of what constitutes “a good reason” as to why they should do something, they think of some type of way in which it will benefit them.
But the Bible does not speak in this way only. The Bible also talks about the way that the believer is to glorify God in His life and live for the sake of others. On the topic of guarding one’s heart, how about for the simple reason that God knows the heart? The presence of God and the knowledge of the Holy One are often dismissed. The result is that God’s grace is often abused, and people change their behaviors depending upon the particular scene in which they find themselves.
But the Bible makes it clear that God knows the heart. The Bible also makes it clear that God is searching the earth for those whose hearts are turned to Him.
The questioning heart
Scripture says, “But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why does this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:6-7). These scribes did not lack knowledge. They knew what the Old Testament said. They were the experts in the Law and were not ignorant concerning the prophecies.
In Matthew 2, when Herod had heard that the Messiah was born, he summoned the scribes to find out where the birth was to have taken place. They had the answer for Herod. They knew where the Messiah was to be born. But they didn’t much care. They stayed put and did not go rush to see the Savior. They merely prided themselves on having the right answer.
Knowledge to them was no different than knowledge to Satan. It merely brought about pride in their hearts. They did not apply saving faith to their knowledge, much like the demons who believe that God is one, but their works attest to their belief as dead.
In all of their knowledge, we can see that they had an uncanny ability to explain away the truth when it counted. Jesus was in front of their eyes; they could see His miracles; they could see His claims. This portion of Scripture tells us that they noticed Jesus’ claim that the paralytic’s sins were forgiven. They realized that only God could make such a claim. Thus, they affirmed Jesus’ claim to deity while denying its reality.
The danger that can be seen in the lives of these Pharisees is that they started to reason, or question, in their hearts. This is how lies start to root and fester in the heart. Lies seem simple enough at first to believe. They can seem rather harmless. Nevertheless, they are a deadly poison that, if allowed to ferment, will poison the heart and lead one astray.
They can start rather simply – such as someone knowing what the Bible says but beginning to believe that something else sounds like a better alternative. It can also come by way of someone starting to question the validity of a verse or a claim that is made in Scripture. It can also come by way of someone thinking that a certain verse does not apply to him but only to others. This can be seen when someone may think that the verse concerning a believer’s being a new creation does not apply to him because he does not see it in his life. He may notice that he is struggling in his life with sin, and therefore he doubts what God has told him about himself.
These scribes started to question Jesus in their hearts. As one follows the book of Mark, he will see that this questioning later led to hardness of heart, which then led to the murder of Jesus.
Jesus knows the heart
While the scribes were questioning in their hearts, Jesus perceived their questioning. Scripture says, “And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason these things in your hearts?” (Mark 2:8). The fact that Jesus knows the heart of man should bring about a holy conviction by way of the Spirit of God and the fear of God. This conviction should lead people to placing much concern on their interior walk with God.
Unfortunately, people are very concerned about appearing spiritual. This is not hard – even the unregenerate Pharisees appeared spiritual. They actually appeared the most spiritual, but in reality, they were whitewashed tombs. This outward conformity without an inward reality will have no reward on the Day of Judgment. The Pharisees were a people who honored God with their lips, but the Bible tells the sad truth that their hearts were far from God.
People often have the tendency to look at the faults of the disciples and take comfort because the disciples were close companions to Jesus. But how often do people take a good, long look at the Pharisees and come to the conclusion that they are like them, as well? They were judgmental, prideful, and loved the praise of man, and on the inside, they were far from loving God.
The interior life is not spoken of often anymore. Sometimes it seems like surface-level “Christianity” will suffice. The battle is on, but people are falling to the wayside and settling for conformity to the world rather than conformity to Christ. But Jesus knows the heart.
This must be in the forefront of the Christian’s mind. It does not matter how good a man can look in front of a crowd. It does not matter if, for a couple hours a day, a man can appear humble before his friends, all the while being judgmental and critical in his heart.
Jesus knows the heart, and anyone who recognizes that his heart needs to change must also recognize the One Who can change it.
Get up and walk
A man lay paralyzed before the feet of Jesus. What an illustration. The scribes were paralyzed, too; they just didn’t know it. Although they also needed help from the Lord to walk, they condemned Jesus in their hearts rather than embracing Him as Lord and Savior.
Jesus perceived their hearts and desired to display His deity in this moment. Scripture says, “…Why reason these things in your hearts? Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed and walk?… I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house” (Mark 2:9, 11). The obvious point in this is that it is much easier to simply say that someone’s sins are forgiven. But to say, “Get up and walk,” would then require proof.
Nevertheless, Jesus tells the man to get up and walk, and, sure enough, the man gets up and walks. The scribes needed this type of treatment. They needed Jesus to speak a word over them, but they turned from the Savior rather than turning to the Savior.
Does your heart need cleansing? Do you need help walking? Turn to Jesus today and hear Him say, “Get up and walk.”
Final prayer
Father, thank You for the mighty workings of Christ. Grant me the ability to walk this day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.