In today’s society, we have come to a point of replacing righteousness with people being good to their fellow man. Doing good works (ie giving to the poor, helping someone when they need it, being nice) is always a good thing. Even Joel Olsteen (a false doctrine teacher)and many other mainline modern churches (especially mega churches) say, at their heart people are good. That they are not bad, just make bad decisions.

But is that what scripture says? This article will use only scripture to to understand the human mind and the human heart. According to the Holy Scriptures, we are told the opposite. We will look at Old and New Testament scriptures that show the modern version of the human heart and mind are not what the writers of the Holy Scriptures (through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) say.

Genesis 3:6-13 tells us of the willful choosing to not follow the one command in the Garden of Eden. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.   And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.   And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.   And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?   And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.   And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?   And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.”

As we move onto the flood, Genesis 6:1-8 tells us why God decided to kill all but 8 people. “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,   That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.   And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.   There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 
   And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.   And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.   And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.   But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”

As Noah and his family started the new life of earth after the flood, sin was still in the hearts of man. In Genesis 9:20-24 we are told about the first sin after the flood. “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:   And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.   And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.   And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.   And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.” In this passage, we see one sin (drunkenness) led to the second sin (looking on his father’s nakedness). So even Noah, who was found righteous and was saved, still had sinful heart and mind.

Before the people were spread to all the earth, man held the same position of pride as did Lucifer before his fall from grace as Satan. “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.   And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.   And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.  And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:1-4)

Even Abram (Abraham), who is in the book of Hebrews hall of fame of Faith, sinned twice by lying (bearing false witness). “And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.   And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:   Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.  Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee”. (Genesis 12:10-13). And “But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?  Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.   And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.   Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.   Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.   Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.   And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?   And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.   And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.   And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.” (Genesis 20:7-13)

He also committed adultery because he did not believe God in giving him a child and listened to Sarai (Sarah), his wife. “Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.   And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.   And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived:” (Genesis 16:1-4a)

During this time period, we see the evil of Sodom and Gommorah. “And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;   I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.” (Genesis 18:20-21) “But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:   And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.” (Genesis 19:4-5) The knowing them means to have homosexual relations. Sodom is the root for our term of Sodomy (male homosexual relations).

And after Lot left with his wife and two daughters, we see the two daughters causing Lot to sin and then sinning by committing incest, which is two sins (seeing their fathers nakedness and having sexual relations with someone not their husband). “And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:   Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.  And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.   And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.  And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.   Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.” (Genesis 19:31-36).

In Exodus we see that sin was in the hearts and minds of those that were just removed from slavery. “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.   And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.   And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.   And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.   And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it;” (Exodus 32:1-5a)

We can go through each book of the Old Testament and the New Testament and find examples of the depravity of man’s heart and mind. King David, many of the kings from his lineage. Samson the Judge. The Pharisees. Judas Iscariot, Those who sough the deaths of the Christians.

Now let us view statements in both the Old and New Testaments about man’s hearts and minds.

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

The heart is deceitful above all things,and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;   Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:   Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.             (Ephesians 2:1-3)

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are a folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.               (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.           (Psalm 51:5)

For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.    (Psalm 58:3)

As it is written: “None is righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. (Romans 3:10-11)

Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.   For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.   For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.   If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.   Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.   For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.   For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. (Romans 7:13-19)

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because All sinned. (Romans 5:12)

ALL have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. (Romans 3:12)

Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.        (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

We are all born totally depraved because of the stain of original sin. Scripture tells us that no man seeks for God. This is become of the depravity of the heart and mind. So when looking at verses that tell us to seek God and seek and you shall find him. These verses have to be understood with the idea, that it has to be the Holy Spirit that draws us. We can’t do it on our own since anything Holy and of God is alien to the human mind an heart without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We are told, all throughout scripture, that we are the ones that are sought. That’s the meaning of the parable of the 99 v 1 sheep. We cannot come to God through Christ without being drawn first. If we hear an altar call and have the push to repent, that is the Holy Spirit, not us. We do not make that decision. The only decision we make is AFTER the conviction of the Holy Spirit. This leads to 2 things we then do. The first is to repent and the second is the public affirmation.

Can you deny that prompting?  Yes, It’s called grieving the Holy Spirit.

The a few things we need to remember are this: 1) before Christ is our Lord and King, our hearts and minds are totally depraved with the results of original sin. 2)  Only God, through the Holy Spirit can call us to Christ through repentance. 3) And we will still sin after being saved, because it is our human nature. 4) We need to repent as often as the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. May you hear the call of God, come to Christ, and repent.