Are men’s hearts deceitful and desperately wicked after salvation? Having been converted for over 30 years, is my wife married to a man who has an untrustworthy, tricky heart? Scripture teaches that we should be self-doubtful.
“A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth.” G. K. Chesterton
Confessing our sin is like sweeping the floor: there is probably more dust down there, but I can’t see it clearly. And even though there is still some dirt left on the floor, it is still important to sweep up what we can see.
- David could not see that he was the man who had taken the poor man’s sheep (2 Sam. 12:5). Even after years of walking with God, the best believers can “understand” Biblical teachings, but still not see their own sin.
- Solomon said, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool” (Pro. 28:26). If you have searched your heart and found no sin, don’t trust your heart’s view of yourself.
- Jesus describes the regenerate heart as one that is poor in spirit and weeping over sin (Matt. 5:3-4). A man with the blessing of salvation always sees himself as a spiritual beggar in need of weeping over his sin.
- Peter thought he was at a certain level spiritually, but he was wrong about his own self-evaluation (John 13:37-38).
- Jesus called the believers on the road to Emmaus fools for their spiritual blindness (Luke 24:25, 31). True Christians are in danger of spiritual blindness.
- Paul could not be confident that he had found all his sin even after examining himself (1 Cor. 4:3-4). Even after we have searched our hearts, there is still sin there.
- After 25 years of conversion and planting 14 churches Paul called himself the least of the apostles (1 Cor. 15:9). After 30 years of salvation he called himself the least of all the saints (Eph. 3:8). And at the end of his life, he believed himself to be the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). A godly man will see more of his sin as his spiritual experience increases.
- Paul prays that God would open the eyes of believers to see spiritual things they could not see (Eph. 1:18). We commonly miss obvious spiritual realities.
- Thomas a Kempis: “I deserve nothing but to be scourged and punished, in that I have grievously and often offended thee, and in many things have sinned greatly. … I remember not that I have done any good, but have been always prone to sin, and slow to amendment.”
- John Bunyan in The Holy War: “I see dirt in mine own tears [of repentance], and filthiness in the bottom of my prayers.”
We are safe when we assume that there are in our own hearts, hidden from our view, sinful motives, hidden agendas, and stains of sin even on our best works. This is why Paul’s voice seems to shout from Romans 7, “Oh wretched man that I am!”
