Subject Fifty-three

THE DECEITFULNESS OF THE HEART

Scripture: Jer. 17:9-10

1. The source of deceit
   1. At the beginning the heart was not deceitful, but honest and good, because it was made by God.
   2. The heart became deceitful later on.
   3. Because of man’s contact with Satan, the heart became deceitful. Hence, the source of man’s deceit is Satan. “When he speaks a lie, he speaks out of his own self; for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). To lie is to be deceitful.
2. The condition of deceit
   1. Man’s deceit is from deep inside the heart.
   2. Man was born with deceit; there is no need to learn to be deceitful.
   3. Use some practical examples of man’s deceitfulness to describe man’s actual condition: how people deceive their parents, wives, children, teachers, classmates, colleagues, and friends, etc.
      This is the most important section of this subject.
3. The extent of deceit
   1. The heart is more deceitful than anything else. Among all things, the heart is the most deceitful. All other things added together cannot be compared with the deceitfulness of man’s heart.
   2. The heart is exceedingly corrupt. In the original, the words “exceedingly corrupt” mean that the heart is so deceitful that it is beyond remedy and can never be cured. It is like a bad potato that begins rotting from the center until it reaches the outside and is beyond remedy.
   3. The heart is so corrupt that you cannot know it yourself. Only God knows it.
4. The result of deceit
   1. Every deceitful man is recompensed according to his deceit. The Bible says that God will deal perversely with the perverse. The one who deceives others eventually hurts himself. The result of being deceitful is to be recompensed with deceit. No one who has succeeded through deceit can last long; rather, the deceit will only destroy that one’s business and family.
   2. Deceit causes man to perish. The recompense of deceit is in this present age, whereas perishing is eternal. Revelation 21:8 says that all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire.
      Points such as this should be repeated.
5. How to put off deceit
   1. Good intentions are useless. It is useless to decide not to deceive.
   2. Self-improvement is useless. Trying to change yourself so that you are not deceitful is useless.
   3. Your life must be changed and replaced with a non-deceiving life.
6. How to receive this non-deceiving life
   Point to the way of salvation:
   1. The non-deceiving life is God’s life.
   2. To receive God’s life, you need to confess your sins, especially the sin of deceit, and repent.
   3. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and receive Him as your Savior, because God’s life is in Him.