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Jeremiah 17:9

According to Calvinists, this means that the human heart can do nothing but evil, and even when we think we are doing good, we are only deceiving ourselves, for even that which our sees as good is actually wicked.

Once again, I generally agree with the Calvinistic interpretation of this passage about the general message it contains. Nearly all people know how easy it is to justify our own sinful actions and deceive ourselves into doing things that we normally would not do, or that we know to be wrong. But again, as with the other Calvinistic proof texts, I am just not sure we can extrapolate total inability from this text. It is true that the heart is deceitful, but this does not mean that we are unable to believe in Jesus for eternal life.

Calvinists will occasionally argue that a deceitful heart means that a person cannot even think reasonably about what is right and wrong. Yet I find it ironic that many Calvinists will then try to reason with unbelievers about how they need Jesus, and also reason with non-Calvinists about the rationality of Calvinism.

Regardless, even Jeremiah himself explains in the surrounding verses that a deceitful heart does not mean that people cannot do any good. Prior to verse 9, Jeremiah pronounces a curse upon those who trust in man and whose hearts depart from God (Jer 17:5). In other words, Jeremiah states that our hearts can choose whether to trust in men or God.

Immediate following verse 9, Jeremiah says that God searches the heart, and gives to every man according to his ways, that is, according to what he has done (Jer 17:10). So when the entire context is considered, what Jeremiah means is that we should choose to trust in God rather than men, but we often fail in this. When we do, nobody can fully understand the thoughts and intentions of their own hearts—let alone the heart of others!—except God Himself.

Far from being a text about the total inability of mankind, then, this is a text of encouragement. There is great hope in this text. After calling people to trust in God rather than men, Jeremiah admits that sometimes our hearts deceive us. But when we look around and realized that our hearts have led us astray, we can know that God searches our hearts, observes the intentions of our mind, understands what we were trying to do, and leads us in His ways.

John 3:3

According to Calvinists, when Jesus says that “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” this means that unbelievers are spiritually blind, and cannot even see the offer of the kingdom of God, or see their need for grace and everything else that comes with the kingdom of God, unless and until they are born again. In other words, according to Calvinists, one must be born again before he or she can see anything related to the kingdom of God, including the gospel, the forgiveness of sins, and God’s offer of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

From this statement alone, it would be difficult to know what Jesus meant. Certainly, He could mean that people cannot even observe their need of grace and forgiveness, or see anything at all related to spiritual matters. The Greek word for “see” (Gk., eidon) can refer to seeing, perceiving, or understanding something. Yet this is not the only way this Greek word can be understood. It can also refer to experiencing something (1 Pet 3:10; Luke 2:26; Heb 11:5), or of visiting a place or person (Luke 8:20; Acts 16:40, 1 Cor 16:7).⁰ With these various interpretations, how can we know what Jesus meant when He said that unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God? By looking in the context.

John 3:3 is found near the beginning of a conversation Jesus has with Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus about how to be born again. After Jesus makes the statement in John 3:3 about being born again, Nicodemus gets confused, and asks Jesus to clarify (John 3:4). So in John 3:5, Jesus rephrases His statement. He tells Nicodemus that there are two births, the first birth is physical, and consists of being born of water, that is, from a mother’s womb. The second birth is spiritual, which requires being born of the Spirit. We have physical life from our mother by being born of water, but we also need spiritual life by being born of the Spirit.

But Jesus does not stop with clarifying what it means to be born again. He also clarifies His statement about seeing the kingdom of God. Following this clarifying statement about being born again, Jesus says that unless one is born again, they cannot “enter the kingdom of God.” In this way, Jesus clarifies exactly what He meant earlier when He spoke of seeing the kingdom. He meant that only those who are born again may enter the kingdom.

In other words, John 3:3 is not a verse at all about humanity’s total inability to understand, comprehend, or even see anything related to the kingdom of God, but is rather a statement about humanity’s inability to enter into or experience the rule and reign of God in the life (which is what the kingdom of God is) unless they have first been born again.⁰ John 3:3 is not a verse which defends the Calvinistic teaching that regeneration precedes faith, but is rather a verse which teaches the biblical idea that regeneration precedes life in the kingdom of God. To enter into the kingdom of God, we must first be born of God. To experience the life of joy, fulfillment, satisfaction, and purpose that God wants for us, we must first be born of the Spirit so that God’s new life dwells within us. Jesus goes on to explain this very clearly to Nicodemus in John 3:15-18. Jesus does not say that unless a man is born again, he cannot believe in Jesus for eternal life.⁰ He says that unless a man is born again, he cannot “see the kingdom of God,” that is, he cannot enter into and experience the rule and reign of God in his life.

So there is nothing in John 3:3 about mankind’s inability to see or comprehend anything about the gospel or the kingdom of God unless they are first regenerated by God. To the contrary, as seen by Jesus’ own example with Nicodemus in this very text, the call of the gospel and the offer of life with God in His kingdom is one of the primary ways by which we can point unregenerate people to Jesus so that they might believe in Him and find life. It is because people can understand the hope, grace, love, and mercy found the gospel of Jesus Christ that so many people find the gospel compelling. It is because the biblical teaching about the kingdom of God promises joy, contentment, and significance to those who live under the rule and reign of God that the invitation to enter into the kingdom by faith in Jesus Christ has such persuasive power. When the gospel, the kingdom of God, and the offer of eternal life are rightly proclaimed, they have great drawing power to all who are unregenerate, for they contain the light and life that people have been searching for, but not finding.