Jeremiah 17:9 is frequently used by Calvinists to defend the idea of Total Depravity.
The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9).
According to Calvinists, this means that the human heart can do nothing but evil, and even when we think we are doing good, we are only deceiving ourselves, for even that which our sees as good is actually wicked.
Once again, I generally agree with the Calvinistic interpretation of this passage about the general message it contains. Nearly all people know how easy it is to justify our own sinful actions and deceive ourselves into doing things that we normally would not do, or that we know to be wrong. But again, as with the other Calvinistic proof texts, I am just not sure we can extrapolate total inability from this text. It is true that the heart is deceitful, but this does not mean that we are unable to believe in Jesus for eternal life.
Calvinists will occasionally argue that a deceitful heart means that a person cannot even think reasonably about what is right and wrong. Yet I find it ironic that many Calvinists will then try to reason with unbelievers about how they need Jesus, and also reason with non-Calvinists about the rationality of Calvinism.
Regardless, even Jeremiah himself explains in the surrounding verses that a deceitful heart does not mean that people cannot do any good. Prior to Jeremiah 17:9, Jeremiah pronounces a curse upon those who trust in man and whose hearts depart from God (Jeremiah 17:5). In other words, Jeremiah states that our hearts can choose whether to trust in men or God.
Immediate following Jeremiah 17:9, Jeremiah says that God searches the heart, and gives to every man according to his ways, that is, according to what he has done (Jeremiah 17:10). So when the entire context is considered, what Jeremiah means is that we should choose to trust in God rather than men, but we often fail in this. When we do, nobody can fully understand the thoughts and intentions of their own hearts—let alone the heart of others!—except God Himself.
Far from being a text about the total inability of mankind, Jeremiah 17:9 is a text of encouragement.
There is great hope in this text.
After calling people to trust in God rather than men, Jeremiah admits that sometimes our hearts deceive us. But when we look around and realized that our hearts have led us astray, we can know that God searches our hearts, observes the intentions of our mind, understands what we were trying to do, and leads us in His ways.
If you want to read more about Calvinism, check out other posts in this blog series: Words of Calvinism and the Word of God.
Jeremy Myers, you are full of either lies or misunderstanding. You claim to know Calvinism but everything I have ever read from you has clearly demonstrated that you do not..
“According to Calvinists, this means that the human heart can do nothing but evil, and even when we think we are doing good, we are only deceiving ourselves, for even that which our sees as good is actually wicked.”- FALSE
That is found no where in Calvinism. STOP MISREPRESENTING CALVINISM. Total depravity means that there is no part of man that sin has not tainted and skewed. This does not mean that we are as bad as we could possibly be, but that every part of us is effected by sin.
Please do 5 minutes of research and stop misrepresenting Calvinism with everything you write.
Sunny,
As I mentioned on your other comment, this is a rude comment. It is this sort of attitude that gives Calvinists a bad name. If you want to disagree or ask questions, there are gracious ways of doing so.
As for my research, I have spent nearly two decades researching this topic. However, it seems you come on to my blog, and without spending more than a few minutes reading what I believe, accuse me of failing to adequately read what Calvinists teach.
For example, did you know that I used to be a 5-point Calvinist and when I was, taught the very thing you say that Calvinists never teach? I wrote about this in a previous post.
You say that no Calvinist ever teaches what I say they teach. Did you know that I already quoted some who do? Here is a post where I list them: https://redeeminggod.com/total-depravity-calvinists/
Also, you might want to read the quote from the Calvinistic author Edwin Palmer on this page: https://redeeminggod.com/only-evil-continually-calvinism-genesis-6_5/
In addition to my two decades of research on this topic, I engaged in an additional 5 minutes of research and found these quotes:
Regarding this verse, R. C. Sproul writes: “We do not, apart from Christ, love the truth. We rationalize the irrational and defend the indefensible. We harbor malice, lust, covetousness, and all manner of secret sins.” http://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/deceitful-human-heart/
In the end, it appears that it is not me, but you, who has failed to do 5 minutes of research…
I dont see why v9 is an encouragement to believe in God. Does not v5 support the Calvinist case? If a man trusts in his own flesh to fulfil God’s law he will fail because of his wicked heart so we must trust in the Lord. Our inability drives us to trust in God.
Brian,
Great questions. I guess I would argue that Jeremiah 17 is not about eternal life at all. We tend to read such passages through the rose-colored glasses of how to receive eternal life, when in reality, most of the Bible is not about this.
The passage is about trusting in man vs. trusting in God for how to live life.
2 Cor 3:15-16 are other verses that annihilate total inability.
Thanks for pointing that out!