Emotion. Feeling. Acceptance. Inner goodness. These are words that people today typically associate with Christianity. And with that perspective of Christianity comes the idea that it matters not what one does or says, as long as they have a good heart then that is ultimately all that matters.
This extreme, and very wrong perspective has lead others to go to a far different extreme and claim that the heart and emotions have nothing to do with Christianity. One side claims that Christianity is all about the heart to the exclusion of action, the other side claims that Christianity is all about action to the exclusion of the heart. Which one is right?
The answer, likely unsurprising to most, is neither. Christianity isn’t all about the heart to the exclusion of action, nor is it all about action to the exclusion of the heart. But Christianity is all about the heart. Now I know what you’re thinking. I just contradicted myself, right? No, and let me explain why.
In Matt. 12:34-35 you might remember that Jesus said that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” In Jesus’ own words our deeds are connected to our hearts. Our lives are a natural outflow of what is in our hearts. We are not one thing outwardly and something entirely different inwardly. What we are inwardly is who we are outwardly. It is that connection to our works that makes our hearts so important. Whoever we are we are because of who we are inside.
Good hearts develop good lives. Evil hearts develop evil lives. A person cannot have a good heart and yet live an evil life, no more than a person can have an evil heart and live a good life. Christianity is all about the heart in that the heart dictates the reality of our lives. After all, wasn’t it the heart that lead the 3,000 at Pentecost to obey (Acts 2:37)? And when they were pricked in their hearts, convicted to belief they allowed what they then felt in their hearts to change their lives. It redefined them. It lead them to become Christians. When we open our hearts and let the gospel in it will make us the same thing – Christians (Matt. 13:23). Christianity in that way, and only in that way, is all about the heart.
-Andy Brewer