Guy Duininck: Your Heart May Condemn You
Your Heart May Condemn You
- from "Must We Confess Our Sins?"
In his first epistle, the apostle John wrote these enlightening words about the role of believers’ hearts in notifying them if things were out of order in their lives,
“For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. I John 3:20-22
The English word “condemn” in these verses is translated from the Greek word kataginōskō. Kataginōskō most commonly means, “to find fault, to blame, to show that something is wrong.” It comes from the prefix kata which means, “according to, or from,” and ginōskō which means, “to learn, to know, to gain a knowledge of, to perceive, or to feel.” The word kataginōskō suggests the communication of knowledge or information that comes from another source. This meaning of kataginōskō and how it is used in the context of John’s words suggests that when a believer’s heart “condemns” them, information is being transmitted from their heart—from their conscience, from their inner man—to their thinking mind. This message from the heart indicates that something wrong has been thought, something wrong has been said, or something wrong has been done. This message that reveals something wrong has been done causes a sense of guilt or a feeling of remorse.
The beautiful truth John revealed in I John 3:20-21 was that a believer’s own heart could notify them when they had thought wrong, spoken wrong, or done wrong. When a believer’s heart condemned them, it meant that their inner man, their new heart and their righteous spirit, was alerting them that something was not right in their walk with God. They were out of alignment, were not living as they should, and were sinning. John indicated that this message from a believer’s heart to their thinking mind—this kataginōskō—could negatively impact their confidence toward God; especially in the area of asking and receiving from Him.
It could also be, however, according to John, that a believer’s heart did not condemn them. If a believer’s heart did not condemn them, it meant that their inner man—their born again spirit; their renewed conscience—had no negative message to send to their thinking mind, informing them that they were out of alignment with God, living unrighteously, walking in darkness, or sinning. When a believer was thinking right, behaving righteously, walking in the light, and living in agreement with God’s Word, there would be no alerting message from their heart, no sense of being out of alignment with the Father, and no sense of guilt about how they were living. According to John, the believer whose heart did not condemn them had, “confidence toward God.” In other words, they had a confidence to approach God, to ask for things in prayer, and to receive the things they asked for because they knew in their heart that they were living in a way that pleased God.
John’s enlightening words in I John 3:20-22 reveal that true believers can know from their own conscience if they are thinking, speaking, or living in ways that are not in agreement with God’s will. They can know from the witness of their own hearts if they are not pleasing their heavenly Father. John’s words also reveal, however, that true believers can know from their hearts, from their inner man, from their own conscience, that they are walking righteously, living in agreement with the will of God, and pleasing their heavenly Father. Interestingly, Paul used the Greek word kataginōskō in his letter to the Galatians when referring to a situation that occurred where he publicly “condemned” Peter. He wrote,
“But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed (kataginōskō).” Galatians 2:11
During a visit to Antioch, the apostle Peter had apparently happily fellowshipped with Gentile believers; even eating meals with them. But when Jewish believers connected to James came to visit, Peter became concerned about what they might think of him associating with the Gentile believers and drew back from fellowshipping with them. Others, including Barnabas, followed Peter’s example. Paul publicly rebuked Peter for his hypocrisy and reported the event in his epistle to the Galatians when he wrote, “I withstood him (Peter) to the face, because he was to be blamed (kataginōskō).”
What was it that Paul did when he “blamed” (kataginōskō) Peter? He communicated a message to Peter showing him that his thinking was wrong and how he had acted was wrong. When Paul “blamed” Peter, he didn’t tell him that he was a terrible person, say that there was no hope for him, or inform him that he was damned and would be punished for his hypocrisy. He simply notified Peter that what he had done was wrong. This kataginōskō from Paul to Peter—this revealing and corrective message— afforded Peter an opportunity make a correction in his thinking and a change in the way he behaved toward Gentile believers.
The “condemning” (kataginōskō) that a believer’s heart might do is not intended to produce feelings of overwhelming guilt, but to reveal wrong thinking, wrong speaking, or wrong acting so that believers can make important corrections in their lives. The purpose of the kataginōskō is to notify believers that something is out of order in their life and that changes should be made.
There is a beautiful and powerful statement in I John 3:20-22 that I want to point your attention to. John wrote,
“For if our heart condemn (kataginōskō) us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” I John 3:20
The apostle John expressed a glorious truth in I John 3:20. He said that even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. What does that mean? It means that God is not going to refuse your requests, ignore your cries, and turn His back on you until you have everything perfectly in order in your life. Our Father God is not like that. He is very sympathetic. He knows that we are human and that we have weaknesses. He knows that we will not always do things perfectly. Your Father God is greater than your heart. He is not going to deal with you according to your failures or according to your sins, but according to His own divine nature and according to the New Covenant He made with you through Jesus Christ.
Always remember that even if your heart “condemns you”—if your heart is informing you that you have sinned and things are out of order in your life—you should not fall into a funk or into depression and imagine that everything is ruined in your relationship with God, that He is finished with you, and that He is going to refuse your prayers, punish you, or reject you. Your heart might be informing you that you are out of alignment with God and what your heart is telling you may be absolutely true. But God is greater than your heart! And He knows everything. He is faithful and true. He is your Father. So if you are lacking confidence because you know that you have missed the mark and sinned, remember that God is greater than your “lacking confidence” heart and He understands everything.
Just trust His love, rest steadfast in faith in the better New Covenant, make necessary corrections in your life, and remember that your confidence should always be in God and in His Word, not in your own performance.
