• Jeremiah 17:9
    " The heart is deceitful above all things,
    And desperately wicked;
    Who can know it?

     
  • Genesis 6:5-8
    Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, 'I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.' But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
     
  • Matthew 15:18-19
    But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
     
  • Matthew 7:11
    If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
     
  • Mark 7:20-23
    And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man."
     


Related Scriptures

  • Ephesians 2:2
    in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
     
  • Genesis 1:31
    Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
     

For more scripture references, please see Bible verses for Heart, Evil


Resources

Evil Is Real (Part Three)

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Human nature at birth is a blank slate, but because we are clothed in flesh with its needs and desires, we lean toward self-satisfaction and selfishness. Childhood trains us to have our flesh fulfilled, so by the time we reason, human nature is already pulling us toward evil. Paul teaches that carnal people sell themselves to …


Are Humans Good or Evil?

'Ready Answer' by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

God has declared the state of the human heart in stark terms. In Genesis 6:5, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Even after the Flood, which wiped mankind almost completely from the planet, the human heart remained …


Evil Is Real (Part Four)

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The human heart, as the seat of man's intellect, emotions, attitudes, and inclinations, is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, as God declares in Jeremiah 17:9. This profound truth reveals that no one can fully know the depths of their own heart's corruption, for it deceives most of all the person who possesses …


Human Nature: Good or Evil?

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The human heart, in its natural state, is inclined toward evil, a condition that shapes the core of human nature. From the earliest accounts in Genesis, it is evident that after Adam and Eve's choice to disobey God by partaking of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, their nature shifted from being open to God to one of …


The Reality of Evil

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The heart's true nature is presented as a central biblical concern, one God addresses with striking frequency and bluntness. Old Testament Hebrew uses ra' to describe evil broadly—whether in words, thoughts, or actions—often depicting inner attitudes toward God and others, such as the idolatry that flowed from the …


The Heart's Self-Absorption

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

II Timothy 3:1-5 contains 19 characteristics of carnality. The common denominator is self-absorption and pride, placing the self above others.


Has Humanity Reached Total Depravity? (Part Two)

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Human nature is evil, and the Flood did not change it. In Genesis 6:5 God declared mankind altogether evil, yet after the Flood, in Genesis 8:21, He restates that the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. The Deluge only executed judgment on sinners and reduced humanity to eight people; it did nothing to improve …


Has Humanity Reached Total Depravity? (Part One)

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Before the Flood, God judged that every intent of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5), a total depravity in stark contrast to the "very good" creation of Genesis 1:31. Sin separates humanity from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), and over about sixteen centuries mankind steadily corroded from purity to …



For more resources, please see the library topic for Heart, Evil