Topical Bible: Heart: The Unregenerate is Impenitent

◄ Heart: The Unregenerate is Impenitent ►

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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, reflecting the true nature of a person. The unregenerate heart, in its natural state, is described as impenitent, resistant to God's will, and inclined towards sin.

Impenitence of the Unregenerate Heart

The unregenerate heart is characterized by its stubbornness and refusal to repent. Scripture frequently highlights the hardness of heart as a defining trait of those who have not experienced spiritual renewal. In Romans 2:5, the Apostle Paul warns, "But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed." This passage underscores the peril of an unrepentant heart, which remains obstinate in the face of divine truth and judgment.

Deceitfulness and Corruption

The unregenerate heart is also depicted as deceitful and corrupt. Jeremiah 17:9 states, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" This verse reveals the inherent deceitfulness and moral corruption of the heart apart from God's transformative work. The unregenerate heart is prone to self-deception, leading individuals away from the truth and into sin.

Resistance to God's Law

An unregenerate heart is naturally resistant to God's law and commands. In Romans 8:7, Paul explains, "The mind of the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so." This hostility is a hallmark of the unregenerate state, where the heart is set against God's righteous standards and is incapable of genuine submission without divine intervention.

Spiritual Blindness

The impenitent heart is also marked by spiritual blindness. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul describes how "the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." This blindness prevents the unregenerate from recognizing their need for repentance and the saving grace offered through Jesus Christ.

Need for Regeneration

The condition of the unregenerate heart highlights the necessity of spiritual regeneration. Ezekiel 36:26 promises, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." This divine promise points to the transformative work of God, who alone can replace the impenitent heart with one that is responsive and obedient to His will.

Conclusion

The biblical portrayal of the unregenerate heart as impenitent serves as a sobering reminder of humanity's need for divine grace and transformation. Without the intervention of the Holy Spirit, the heart remains hardened, deceitful, and resistant to God's truth.

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Romans 2:5
But after your hardness and impenitent heart treasure up to yourself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
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Library

Of the Incapacity of an Unregenerate Person for Relishing the ...
... no unregenerate person, ie no impenitent sinner, shall ... of God, is such, that an
unregenerate person would ... that unrenewed nature and unsanctified heart of yours ...
/.../practical discourses on regeneration/discourse v of the incapacity.htm

A Penitent Heart, the Best New Year's Gift
... soul; there must be a change in heart and life ... the unholy nature of carnal and
unregenerate men. ... with your present tempers, in your impenitent condition, heaven ...
/.../whitefield/selected sermons of george whitefield/a penitent heart the best.htm

Hopkinsians.
... they do nothing which is commanded; their impenitent doings are ... of salvation to the
doings of the unregenerate. ... is owing to a disaffection of heart, is evident ...
//christianbookshelf.org/hayward/the book of religions/hopkinsians.htm

The Christian Honoring God by his Dying Behavior.
... not dying in an unregenerate and impenitent state; but that thou didst graciously
awaken and convince me, that thou didst renew and sanctify my heart, and didst ...
/.../chapter xxx the christian honoring.htm

Earnest Expostulation
... me speak this morning to thee, O unregenerate, impenitent man, concerning ... you in
a temporal form, O impenitent man, but ... of the Spirit upon your heart that you ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 29 1883/earnest expostulation.htm

The Necessity of Regeneration, Argued from the Immutable ...
... God against sin, and against all impenitent sinners, come ... gall and wormwood, (ie
any unregenerate soul,) who ... curse, shall bless himself in his heart, saying, I ...
/.../practical discourses on regeneration/discourse iv the necessity of.htm

The Future State a Self-Conscious State.
... a sinner can look into his own wicked heart and be ... the desires of an immortal being,
but impenitent men do ... As a consequence, the unregenerate man knows but "in ...
/.../shedd/sermons to the natural man/the future state a self-conscious 2.htm

Confession of Sin Illustrated by the Cases of Dr. Pritchard and ...
... human nature when it makes its impenitent confessions ... So is it ever with unregenerate
humanity; though cognizant ... acknowledgments of a man whose heart is touched ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 11 1865/confession of sin illustrated by.htm

Meditations on the Hindrances which Keep Back a Sinner from the ...
... and cast into hell all hardened and impenitent sinners ... not thyself with that formal
religion which unregenerate men have ... walk, in the truth of his heart, in all ...
/.../bayly/the practice of piety/meditations on the hindrances which.htm

The Procession of Sorrow
... what Christ suffered for us, these unregenerate ones must ... The woes which broke the
Savior's heart must crush ... That impenitent thief went from the cross of his ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 9 1863/the procession of sorrow.htm