We are warned in Hebrews not to harden our hearts, not to let the precious truth of God drift away, realizing that we have been called with a high calling.

Some scholars hold that none of the words denoting rebellion are used in Jeremiah 17:9, but instead it means the heart is vulnerable and easily deceived.

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

It is the core of our heart that must be cleansed before we can have a pure heart, enabling us to see God as He is.

Purity before God is far more than just being clean. To Jesus, being pure in heart, described in the Beatitudes, touches on the very holiness of God.

Philosophy debates whether human beings are by nature good or evil, but the Bible is consistent—and perhaps surprising—in its description of man's nature.

Vanquish the sins at their point of origin—the human heart—and our deeds will be clean before God.

A terrible, corrupt enemy lurks within us, poised to bring disaster on us if we allow it. It is the human heart, which God calls 'desperately wicked.'

God gave Adam and Eve a neutral spirit and free moral agency; they chose the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, predisposing their offspring to sin.

Just as a dead person does no works, so a faith that does not include works is also dead. A person in whom living, saving faith exists will produce works.

It is natural, as age increases, for a person to feel the end creeping up on him or her, and we begin asking how, when, where, and what is to be our end.

The story of Job reveals a man whom God forced to see himself as he really was, and his true self-image paved the way to a leap forward in spiritual growth.

All of us are influenced by the culture of the world, guided and inspired by the prince of the power of the air. Satan has deceived the whole world.

God's mysteries have been in plain sight from the beginning of time, but carnality has obscured them from mankind.

God demands that we love, do justice, and walk humbly, assuming the role of a servant rather than a tyrant, after the manner of the Gentiles.

Sin and human nature affect everyone in society—from king to commoner—but God has covered sin from every angle in the sacrifice of His Son, fulfilling Leviticus 4-5.

God wants us to walk—live our lives—by faith, but our pride and vanity frequently get in the way. Critically, pride causes us to reject God and His Word.

The tendency to point fingers at others is hard-wired into human nature. Mistakes are the portals of discovery if we admit them and learn from them.

Keeping God's Law brings bountiful blessings, harmony, and profound peace (Psalm 119:165), while the 'cheap' grace brings guilt, anxiety, and pain.

God the Father does not take the minimization of His Son's sacrifice lightly, as some Protestant theologians imply with their cheap grace doctrine.

We are continually in danger of being deceived by our carnal nature, a nature which distracts us from following God, even though we go through the motions.

Though relatively neutral at its inception, human nature is subject to a deadly magnetic pull toward self-centeredness, deceit, and sin.

We must take a closer look at ourselves, inviting God into the vetting process, recognizing the difference between what we are and how we present ourselves.

Two tests to reveal the presence of pride are the way we treat others (especially our own family) and the way we receive instruction or correction.

Israel's trek was not only a physical journey, but a mental wandering caused by rejecting God's leadership. The potential to sin is a test of resolve.

Repentance involves incorporating God's values, alien to our human nature—ones that will unify us with God and with others who accept His value system.

We are open to invisible communication from the spirit world—communication designed to conform us to the course of this world. Recognizing it is vital.

It is foolish and pointless to use the same charm, social skills, and duplicity toward God as we use to deceive others and, sadly, even ourselves.

We are so close to our sins that we cannot see the proverbial forest for the trees. We miss glaring faults in our character because of familiarity.