Topical Bible: Heart: The Unregenerate is Foolish

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In biblical theology, the heart is often seen as the center of human will, emotion, and intellect. It is the seat of moral and spiritual life, influencing one's actions and decisions. The unregenerate heart, which refers to a heart not transformed by the grace of God, is frequently described in Scripture as foolish. This foolishness is not merely a lack of intelligence but a moral and spiritual deficiency that leads one away from God.

The foolishness of the unregenerate heart is highlighted in several passages throughout the Bible. In Psalm 14:1 , it is written, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good." This verse underscores the folly of denying God's existence, a decision stemming from a corrupt heart. The denial of God is not an intellectual conclusion but a moral rebellion against divine authority.

Proverbs further elaborates on the nature of the foolish heart. Proverbs 28:26 states, "He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe." The unregenerate heart is characterized by self-reliance and pride, rejecting the wisdom that comes from fearing the Lord. This self-trust leads to spiritual peril, as it blinds individuals to their need for divine guidance and redemption.

Jeremiah 17:9 provides a profound insight into the condition of the unregenerate heart: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" This verse reveals the inherent deceitfulness and incurability of the heart apart from God's intervention. The unregenerate heart is prone to self-deception, leading individuals to justify their sinful actions and reject the truth of God's Word.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul addresses the foolishness of the unregenerate heart in Romans 1:21-22 : "For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools." Here, Paul describes how the rejection of God leads to futile thinking and a darkened heart, resulting in a false sense of wisdom that is, in reality, foolishness.

The unregenerate heart's foolishness is also evident in its resistance to the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 2:14 , Paul writes, "The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." The unregenerate heart is incapable of comprehending spiritual truths, viewing them as foolishness due to its lack of spiritual discernment.

Throughout Scripture, the unregenerate heart is depicted as foolish, not because of a lack of knowledge, but due to its moral and spiritual rebellion against God. This foolishness manifests in the denial of God's existence, self-reliance, deceitfulness, and resistance to spiritual truths. The Bible consistently calls for a transformation of the heart through the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit, leading individuals from foolishness to wisdom in Christ.

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Proverbs 12:23
A prudent man conceals knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.
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Proverbs 22:15
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
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Ecclesiastes 9:3
This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yes, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
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Library

Of the Character of the Unregenerate.
... Ezekiel 13:10-14;) "Wo to the foolish prophets"because ... iv.7. A heart, thus alienated
from God, was never ... reason to consider itself as in an unregenerate state ...
/.../doddridge/practical discourses on regeneration/discourse i of the character.htm

Of the Incapacity of an Unregenerate Person for Relishing the ...
... that while you continue in an unregenerate state, under ... all the workers of iniquity;
the foolish therefore shall ... of prevailing wickedness in the heart, my soul ...
/.../practical discourses on regeneration/discourse v of the incapacity.htm

On the Free Will of Man and Its Powers
... done, and besides having turned in mind and heart towards an ... as well as the life
itself of an unregenerate man ... by the epithets of "vain" and "foolish;" and men ...
/.../arminius/the works of james arminius vol 1/disputation 11 on the free.htm

On Temptation
... I do not mean in its unregenerate state; while it ... have still the remains of an evil
heart, ever prone to ... the seeds of pride, of anger, of foolish desire; indeed ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 82 on temptation.htm

God's Curse on Sin.
... of faculty, death of hope?" It is foolish to blink ... on sin sends a chill through the
heart, and we ... away from it, because of our own unregenerate life, because ...
//christianbookshelf.org/percival/sermons at rugby/xiv gods curse on sin.htm

Peace
... up the work of grace in the heart, from whence ... Peace flows from sanctification, but
they being unregenerate, have nothing ... How confident were the foolish virgins ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/7 peace.htm

Sown among Thorns
... that you were born in sin and shapen in iniquity, and your unregenerate heart is
deceitful ... twenty, forty, or sixty years, I hope you are not so foolish as to ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 34 1888/sown among thorns.htm

Israel's Hope; Or, the Centre of the Target
... of the truth of what he says." This would be a foolish and futile ... There is nothing,
I believe, more deceiving than the notion of the unregenerate heart that it ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 37 1891/israels hope or the centre.htm

The Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of the Serpent
... Alas, what a foolish attempt was this? ... "And I did eat." But thus it is with an unhumbled,
unregenerate heart; It will be laying the fault upon the dearest ...
/.../whitefield/selected sermons of george whitefield/the seed of the woman.htm

Concerning the Condition of Man in the Fall.
... just, be expected from that nature which is corrupt, fallen, and unregenerate. ... by
the light of Christ in their heart, came to ... [216] Some are so foolish as to ...
/.../proposition iv concerning the condition.htm