Nothing is more unknown to man than himself. (Thomas Adam, Private Thoughts on Religion)
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
While it is true that nothing is more unknown to man than himself and that because his heart is deceitful and desperately sick, the Scripture does set out ways by which we can know more of our own hearts. A great book on this subject is A Treatise of Sin: The Deceitfulness of Sin Unmasked by Anthony Burgess. While most of modern humanity appears to be in a mad dash to fulfill themselves at any expense, Burgess’ volume teaches us something about our hearts that is very important. However, it is brutally honest and it will lead to people becoming sick of themselves as they begin to see what lurks in the corners and crevices of their own hearts. In other words, while it will never be a best seller, it will still be one of the best things for a person to do.
When the heart is said to be more deceitful than all else and then desperately sick or wicked (KJV), we should not just look at that verse as a collection of propositions and because we can understand something about it in our brain just go on. Until this verse and its truth has sunk into the depths of our own soul and we begin to see that truly we don’t know our own hearts to a small degree as to its corruption and wickedness, we will not even begin to understand this verse. Burgess says that this verse implies a depth in the soul that we cannot discern or discover, but also many secret recesses and hidden cavities in those depths. As Hebrews 4:12 puts it, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” It takes the word of God in the hands of the Spirit to pierce into the depths of the soul. If a person really wants to understand his or her heart, that person must go to God with the Scriptures crying out for understanding. It is beyond the natural power of any human being to understand the things of God which includes the things of God concerning our own hearts.
Burgess says another reason that the heart is so deceitful is because it is so inconstant and mutable. It will love what it once hated and hate what it once loved and may do that rather quickly. Romans 3:4 says that every man is a liar, but that may not mean that all men are bold in their lying. It can also include those whose hearts are deceitful and so they lie to themselves in order to avoid what they don’t want to see. If we are to believe Jeremiah 17:9 and Romans 3:4, then we cannot avoid the conclusion that each one of us has to deal with a compulsive liar each moment of the day. It is our own heart. Our own hearts will lie to us about what is good or evil and can change the lie depending on the moment. Our hearts will lie to us about the need to have our own hearts exposed to the light. Our hearts will lie to us about our pride and our self-centeredness. Our hearts will lie to us about our sin and will tell us that we were right when in fact we were wickedly wrong.
Scripture tells us that several things are needed to happen in a heart before it can be converted. It must be convicted of sin and it must repent. It must be born again and it must believe. It must be turned and a person become like a child before s/he can enter the kingdom. But a lying and deceptive heart will deceive a person as to whether those things have happened or not. A lying and deceptive heart that is full of self and pride will not want to be discovered and so will fight to keep the light out of its lying and deceptive corners. It will lie to people about what regeneration is and about the nature of true faith. It will lie to people in order to get them to think that they are in fact believers and beloved of God. This is to say it is utterly vital that a person takes time and effort to discover his or her own heart or it will deceive him or her all the way to eternal hell. While the pains of self-discovery may be immense, they are nothing compared to the pains of hell.
God Loves... Himself 
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