Topical Bible: The Heart: should be Given to God

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The heart, in biblical terms, often represents the center of human emotion, will, and intellect. It is the seat of one's innermost thoughts and desires. Scripture frequently emphasizes the importance of the heart's orientation towards God, underscoring the necessity for believers to dedicate their hearts wholly to Him.

Biblical Exhortations to Give the Heart to God

The call to give one's heart to God is a recurring theme throughout the Bible. In Proverbs 23:26, the fatherly wisdom implores, "My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways." This verse highlights the importance of surrendering one's innermost being to God, aligning one's desires and actions with His will.

In Deuteronomy 6:5, the Shema, a central declaration of the Jewish faith, commands, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." This commandment underscores the comprehensive nature of devotion required by God, where the heart is the primary locus of love and commitment.

The Heart's Condition and Transformation

The Bible acknowledges the natural state of the human heart as flawed and prone to sin. 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 corruption of the human heart, necessitating divine intervention for transformation.

Ezekiel 36:26 offers a promise of renewal: "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 prophetic assurance points to God's transformative work in the believer, replacing a hardened heart with one that is responsive and obedient to Him.

The Role of the Heart in Worship and Obedience

True worship and obedience to God are matters of the heart. In 1 Samuel 16:7, the LORD reminds Samuel, "The LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." This verse emphasizes that God values the sincerity and purity of one's heart over external rituals or appearances.

Jesus reiterates this principle in Matthew 15:8-9, quoting Isaiah, "These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules." Here, Christ critiques superficial worship that lacks genuine heart devotion, highlighting the necessity for heartfelt allegiance to God.

The Heart's Role in Faith and Salvation

Faith and salvation are deeply connected to the heart's posture towards God. Romans 10:9-10 declares, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved." This passage underscores the heart's integral role in the process of salvation, where belief and confession are intertwined.

Guarding the Heart

Believers are admonished to guard their hearts diligently. Proverbs 4:23 advises, "Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life." This instruction highlights the heart's centrality in determining one's actions and life direction, necessitating vigilant protection against corrupting influences.

In summary, the biblical narrative consistently calls for the heart to be given to God, emphasizing its role in love, worship, obedience, and faith. The transformation of the heart is a divine work, essential for a life that honors and glorifies God.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Proverbs 23:26
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Manner of Covenanting.
... Hezekiah declared, "Now it is in mine heart to make a ... him, to serve him, and that
ye should minister unto ... at Jerusalem, appears from the account given of them ...
/.../cunningham/the ordinance of covenanting/chapter ii manner of covenanting.htm

Jesus and his Mother.
... was that another reminder of the glory of this child was given to the ... soul also."
This was a foretelling of the sorrow which should come to the heart of Mary ...
/.../miller/personal friendships of jesus/chapter ii jesus and his.htm

Should Reply be Made?
... world as meaning that the cause dear to the heart of God's ... It should be known to
all lovers of the truth that ... that stand for the Word of God as given by the ...
/.../concerning the assumptions of destructive criticism/ii should reply be made.htm

The Stony Heart Removed
... given their hearts to God's praise as they should. These duties which hearts of
stone trifle with and despise, hearts of flesh value and esteem. If the heart ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 8 1863/the stony heart removed.htm

The Heart's Desire Given to Help Mission Work in China.
... 1st, that address of Miss Paget's was given to me ... with some other Christian friend,
where I should not have ... you have begotten affection in the heart of this ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/muller/answers to prayer/the hearts desire given to.htm

The Law Anterior to Moses.
... definite and stated times He enjoined should be observed ... precepts which afterwards
sprouted forth when given through Moses ... thy God from thy whole heart and out ...
/.../tertullian/an answer to the jews/chapter ii the law anterior to.htm

The Imitation of Christ
... and Entire Resignation of Self to Obtain Freedom of Heart. ... The Thirty-Ninth Chapter:
A Man Should Not Be Unduly ... Third Chapter: God's Grace Is Not Given to the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kempis/the imitation of christ/

V. ...
... from the holy command that has been given them. ... purely and chastely, even though
you should secure yourself ... awhile conceal the mischief in your heart, yet at ...
/.../the epistles of st peter and st jude preached and explained/chapter ii v 2.htm

Secondly, to Assign Some Reasons Why Christians must Make this the ...
... the Lord God of Israel with his heart." The context ... and also of the great temporal
reward given him by ... his children, to the fourth generation, should sit upon ...
/.../flavel/on keeping the heart/secondly to assign some reasons.htm

For Though a Man Should be by no Means Greatly Advantaged by ...
... that a better manner of life was given to those ... it is proper that the righteous man
should not seem to be ... servant, and being thus stung in heart, have recourse ...
/.../a metaphrase of the book of ecclesiastes/chapter vii for though a.htm