Proverbs 15: 11 says, "Sheol (meaning Hell) and Abaddon (meaning Satan) lie open before the Lord, how much more the hearts of men." I read this verse and I think I've heard a few commentaries saying that this means that God sees what's in the heart or something along these lines. But I just wanted to share a thought I had when I read it today. When reading this verse, I thought about this, "God is in control of Hell and the Devil, how much more the hearts of men." This may not mean what I am saying, I am just sharing a thought I had. But God can do whatever he wants with Hell and the Devil, and he can do what he wants with men's hearts. It also made me think of how much we're in control of peoples hearts. That's one thing to think on when sharing the gospel. It doesn't matter if you don't present it right. Or if you don't know passages well enough to recite them. Nothing you can say is going to save them. Only Gods working in their heart can.
-Kole
P.S. Kade and I are going on another trip today and won't be back till Friday night, so don't expect us to post until Sat.
God Controls the Heart
Posted by
Kade
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
8 comments:
ve a safe trip guys!
Nick
It is so humbling to know that it isn't us who changes their hearts but it is God working through us.
-cj
Oh yeah, have a nice trip!
i think you overrate any power that you have over others. influence maybe, but power, no. If God has it, you don't. do we even have the power over our own heart?
Why do you think your interpretation is superior to that which is expressed in the commentaries, which were written by men who are older than you? I ask this question because I don't want to make the same mistake that Rehoboam made - he listened to the advise of his friends instead of the older, and wiser men who served his father.
I also ask this because I'm not sure how well your interpretation fits with what's actually said in that verse. The verse says that "Hell" and "Satan" lie open before the Lord. That seems to mean that God can see them. However, there's nothing there to suggest that the Lord controls them. Now I'm not saying that God doesn't have complete control over Satan and over men. I believe he does. But I'm not convinced that this is the meaning of this verse - I don't think that's what it's trying to say here.
Anonymous, I believe Kole meant was this: How much control do we have do we have over someone's heart? None. There's nothing we can do on our own to help someone become a Christian. Only God can do that. He may use us to tell someone about Him, but it it ultimately He who does the work.
One thing that bloging has made me realize is that I'm not very good at explaining things. My dad says I assume that people are always following my train of thought and I don't simplify well enough. Anyway, BlazingPretzel, you got what I meant in the post. I should have repharased what I meant when I probably did take this verse out of context, but I was just sharing a thought I had while reading this verse. I am not saying I disagree with them, I was just giving a thought I had. I'll rephrase that.
-Kole
Great thoughts.
What this portion of Scripture truly reveals is that there is nothing that can be hid from the eyes of God, especially man's thoughts. Hell and destruction and the hearts of men are very plainly viewed by God. He sees all and knows all! If even the things that are happening in hell... then more so God sees all in the hearts of men.
"...if, I say, with one glance God seeth death and seeth hell through, with all its bottomless depths, with all its boundlessness of misery, surely, then, he is quite able to behold all the actions of the little thing called man's heart... God knows the heart so well that he is said to "search" it... "Can any hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him? saith the Lord." His eye searches the heart, and looks into every part of it... This is what God does with men's hearts. They are often great, puffed-up, blown-out things, and people say, "What a great-hearted man that is!" But God does not judge by the appearance of a man's great heart nor the outside appearance of a good heart; but he puts it in the scales and weighs it—puts his own Word in one scale and the heart in the other. He knows the exact weight—knows whether we have grace in the heart, which makes us good weight, or only pretence in the heart, which makes us weigh light weight when put into the scale. He searches the heart in every possible way, he puts it into the fire, and then thrusts it into the balances. Oh, might not God say of many of you, "I have searched your heart, and I have found vanity therein? ... What is it that God sees in man's heart? God sees in man's heart a great deal more than we think of God sees, and has seen in out hearts, lust, and blasphemy, and murder, and adultery, and malice and wrath, and all uncharitableness. ...You have never committed murder, but yet you have had murder in your heart; you may never have stained your hands with lusts and the aspersions of uncleanness, but still it is in the heart... Oh! beloved, it is a sight that no human eye could endure: the sight of a heart really laid bare before one's own inspection would startle us almost into insanity: but God sees the heart in all its bestial sensuousness, in all its wanderings and rebellions, in all its high mindedness and pride; God has searched and knows it altogether... When does God see us? The answer is, he sees us everywhere and in every place. O foolish man, who thinks to hide himself from the Most High!... If God sees and knows everything, how this ought to make you tremble... you are shut in by the narrow walls of time, when ye eat, and when ye drink, when ye rise, and when ye lie upon your beds; when ye walk the streets, or when ye sit at home, that eye is always fixed upon you. Go home now and sin against God, if ye dare; go home now and break his laws to his face, and despise him, and set him at nought! Rush on your own destruction; dash yourselves against the buckler of Jehovah, and destroy your selves upon his own sword! Nay, rather, "turn ye, turn ye." Turn ye, ye that have followed the ways of sin, turn ye to Christ, and live; and then the same Omniscience which is now your horror, shall be your pleasure. Sinner! if thou now dost pray, he seeth thee; if thou now dost weep he seeth thee. "When he was yet a great way off his father saw him, and ran, and fell on his neck and kissed him." It shall be even so with thee, if now thou turnest to God and dost believe in his Son Jesus Christ."--C.H. Spurgeon
Knowing this, what hope do we have but that which is in Christ.
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