The Heart's True Worth Cannot Be Separated From Its Works

The heart of the wicked is little worth.—A dangerous modern confusion divorces the inner heart from outward actions, suggesting a man may deviate continually from morality and religion while maintaining "a good heart at bottom." This notion, supported by irreligious literature that measures all action by the ambiguous standard of "sensibility," fundamentally corrupts moral reasoning.

Yet Scripture is unambiguous: the heart (leb in Hebrew, the seat of will and intention) cannot be good while its practice remains evil. As our Lord declared, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he"—his actions necessarily follow his inner state. The heart, in moral sense, is the vital principle from which all good and evil proceed, the fruitful parent of both virtue and vice.

Young folly often becomes the foundation of deliberate sin; infidelity frequently its superstructure. The heart is undoubtedly where both originate and flourish. If we imagine the heart "good" while actions remain wicked, we have inverted virtue and vice, made religion consist of "total disregard for all serious impression and absolute forgetfulness of Almighty God."

Not every momentary evil corrupts the heart—all stumble at times. But whoever thinks he may practice much evil without corrupting his heart is grievously mistaken. Sustained wickedness in action inevitably reveals and deepens corruption within. The heart's worth is inseparable from its visible fruit.