The human heart is the most deceitful of all things and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? (Jeremiah 17:9, NLT).

I’ve seen this verse pulled out and quoted numerous times. So many people think we should not follow our hearts because it is evil and will lead us to no good. But this is not the entire picture of the state of the human heart. It is only one statement in the Old Testament.

The ways of the old

A few verses before Jeremiah made an interesting point:

“The sin of Judah is inscribed with an iron chisel — engraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts and on the corners of their altars.” (Jeremiah 17:1, NLT).

Notice — sin is inscribed on the stony heart. It is bad news because the heart is the core of the human. I am not speaking about the heart that beats during our lives and is responsible for blood circulation. From the point of view of the Bible, the heart is where every action starts (Matthew 15:19). Also, it is the innermost part of every human being.

If you look at the tree stump after it is cut, you can see raves growing out from the center. The center is the core. Everything flows out of it. If the tree is rotting, the corruption begins at the core, not from the outside.

If sin that brings death (Rom 6:23) is engraved at the very core of a human, life is on the way to perishing. Death becomes the ruling force over life (Proverbs 4:23). It is bad news because you cannot heal the heart.

The glory of a future hope — renewed heart

The state of the heart is so bad that it cannot be restored, only replaced. So God spoke through Ezekiel and revealed His plan.

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26, KJV).

Stony heart with the engravement of sin will be removed, and the heart of flesh will be given in its place. When will it happen? It is the promise that points at the new covenant between God and people.

“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31: 33–34, KJV, emphasis mine).

The flesh heart is not left blank. Instead of sin, God promised to write His standard on the hearts of the flesh. Because the heart cannot be healed, God decided to perform a replacement surgery.

The greatest treasure of all time

Those that once were sinners from their core become the keepers of God’s standard. Evil desires are changed into love, compassion, and selflessness.

“For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2, ESV).

If Jesus has redeemed us, we are no longer heading to perishing. The principle that was leading us toward destruction lost its power. The new core does the very opposite of peril — it gives us life.

And that’s not all! God of the universe dwells in the heart of a believer.

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith…” (Ephesians 3:17a, KJV).

Jesus chose the heart as the tabernacle of the New Covenant. He doesn’t dwell in the blood cells, nor the brain, nor the stomach. No, He came into the core center of the human — the heart.

Is the heart still desperately wicked?

The heart that once was evil now holds God Himself, who moved in with His love.

Jesus didn’t modify our behavior. He changed who we are at the core. It’s a much better solution. Good works naturally flow from a good heart.

“A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” (Luke 6:45, NLT)

Is the heart desperately wicked? No, in the New Covenant, the heart is brand new. It is cleansed and inhabited by God Himself. So even if you do not believe in Jesus, your heart is not hopelessly wicked. It will take only one step of faith to get a new heart.

Should you be led by your heart? No, you should follow Jesus. But, sure, He’s in your heart and can impact your desires. They follow the standards of love, and you want to do good without getting anything for it.

When you sit alone in your room, ask yourself: what is the deepest desire burning in your heart? Don’t be surprised when you hear the same passion God has — to love.

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