Are All Hearts Deceitful and Wicked? (video)

This video takes a careful, context-driven look at Jeremiah 17:9—a verse often quoted by Calvinists to support the doctrine of total depravity—and shows why it does not teach that everyone’s heart is universally “deceitful and desperately wicked.” Many non-Calvinists have also misunderstood this passage, but when we read Jeremiah 17 in context, it becomes clear that the prophet is addressing the sinful condition of Judah’s heart in 600 BC, not humanity as a whole. By examining the surrounding verses, contrasting the “cursed man” who trusts in the flesh with the “blessed man” who trusts in the Lord, and exploring why God “searches and tests the heart,” this video helps Christians understand what Jeremiah really meant—and why this verse cannot be used to defend Calvinism’s teaching on total depravity.