In my last post, I talked about how it is common in the gentile church to let the written Word of God take second place to the so-called promptings of the Holy Spirit…
…which if the truth be told are usually nothing more than our overly active imaginations going hog wild out of control.
This reminds me of one of the most common pieces of mistaken advice doled out today among both believers and unbelievers.
I’m talking about this idea that we should just “follow our hearts“.
We’re told that when we’re feeling confused or not exactly sure which path to take when we come to a fork in the road in our lives, all we need to do is “follow our hearts” and all will be okay.
We’re taught that within our hearts lie the truth.
But is that really true?
What does the Scripture have to say about this?
Before we take a look at a couple of verses, I remind you that in the Biblical era, the “heart” was not considered to be the organ where our emotions resided.
Rather it was the seat of our analytical conscious thought and our intellect.
In other words, in Bible times, the heart played the same role as how we know the mind functions today.
So with that in mind (no pun intended), let’s take a look at a couple of key verses concerning what the Bible says about us relying on our “hearts” (really our minds) for wisdom.
I’ve just changed the word word “heart” to “mind” to reflect what the verses really meant in the Biblical era.
So here goes with the first verse.
“The mind is deceitful
above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?”
-Jeremiah 17:9
Wow!!
Our minds are deceitful above all things!!!
And beyond cure!!!
For example, what if I told you that there’s this guy I know who is deceitful above all things and beyond cure?
Would you trust such a person for advice?
Of course you wouldn’t.
You’d stay far the hell away, wouldn’t you?
Now how about this verse?
“Trust in the Lord with all your mind
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
The Scriptural position is crystal clear.
We are to submit our minds to the Lord IN ALL THINGS!!!
Did you get that?
Not just some things…not just the so-called “big” decisions in our life but in all things.
Another misunderstanding I sometimes encounter among believers is this false idea that the evil inclination lying resident in our minds was somehow destroyed once we accepted Yeshua and were born again.
Are you kidding me?
I’m sure you will all agree that even now, most likely on a daily basis, we still struggle with evil thoughts and desires warring within us.
Listen to what the Apostle Paul had to say on the matter:
“I do not understand what I do.
For what I want to do I do not do,
but what I hate I do.
And if I do what I do not want to do,
I agree that the law is good.”
-Romans 7:15-17
It is precisely because the evil inclination still resides inside us that we should never listen to the promptings of our hearts or minds.
I can’t count how many evangelists, preachers and teachers have stumbled and taken great falls because they listened to some “word from the Lord” that just didn’t align with the written word.
They made the fatal error of believing that what was in their hearts was somehow superior to God’s Written Word.
It’s a mistake that’s continually made today…especially with regards to how the Torah is viewed.
Modern believers assume the Torah is an old and antiquated book that Yeshua did away with.
Big mistake.
I don’t care how strong a prompting in your heart and mind happens to be.
If it runs counter to what’s written in Scripture, you’ve got to discard it, period.
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