Q & A with Tim Rowe, Author of "The Heart: The Key to Everything in the Christian Life"

By Gina Adams Apr 14, 2016 05:57 AM EDT

Attorney and author, Tim Rowe, is releasing his new book "The Heart: The Key to Everything in the Christian Life" on May 2. Rowe, who has a Doctorate of Jurisprudence as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Biblical Studies, History and Classics, says this generation of Christians is losing the most fundamental key to living out the faith. He says simply watching Christians during this election cycle is proof of that claim.

Q: What inspired you to write "The Heart: The Key to Everything in the Christian Life?"

A: I was inspired to write the book because God began to enlighten my understanding on the great truths concerning the heart in Scripture. I began a more detailed word study and was amazed at the importance of this topic throughout the Bible. Everything in our lives comes forth from the heart, therefore we cannot be lax concerning the condition of the heart. The heart must be guarded as the great treasure for God and we must not allow it to be molded after the pattern of the world. I feel Christians need to understand why life is truly a heart issue, and that God is the great transformer of the human heart. Jesus said religion can look so good on the outside and have all of the outward rules and regulations, but the heart can be a million miles away from God. I was inspired to once again bring these important biblical truths to the forefront of Christian thought.

Q: Name some main points that you hope readers will take away from this book.

A: First, we must be vitally concerned about the condition of our hearts every day. I want Christians to know what the heart is, and that it is the key to the depth of our worship, our faith, and our love for God. It is the key to producing fruit for the glory of God. We must guard and protect our hearts with all diligence so it does not become the dwelling place of an idol instead of reflecting the image of Christ. Secondly, I want readers to become aware of how our eyes, ears and thoughts mold our hearts. These are the three gateways to the heart, and what is pouring into the heart thru these gateways is what molds and shapes the heart into its image.

We must become keenly aware of what our eyes are fixed on, what our ears are listening to and what we are thinking if we ever want to have a pure heart, uncontaminated by the lusts of the world. Thirdly, I want Christians to know the four soils of the heart which Jesus discussed in the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, and how important it is to avoid the first three soils and develop the rich and productive fourth soil that produces a bumper crop of spiritual fruit for God. This Parable is the foundation of all parables that Jesus taught, and understanding it deeper is essential in walking worthy of our spiritual calling and being pleasing to the Lord in our lives.

Q: You talk about the eyes and the ears leading to the heart. What are some examples?

A: All sin begins with our eyes. Eve saw that the fruit was good and pleasant to the eyes as she believed the Devil's promise that her eyes would be opened to discern good and evil. David promised God that he would set no worthless thing before his eyes in Psalms after the disastrous sin with Bathsheba who he first saw with eyes that lead his heart to fall into adultery. The visual stimulation that we receive through the eye, often by means of television, movies and the internet, dramatically affects the spiritual health of our hearts. Our hearts are molded and shaped by the visual information flowing through the portal of the eye. Pornography has been a cancer in the human heart, even affecting the church at all levels, and it perfectly illustrates the danger of allowing these contaminating images into our hearts through the gateway of the eye. We cannot allow our eyes to turn after the worthless things of this age that bombard our hearts daily, but we must fix our eyes upon the Lord.

We must not only be careful what we look at, but we must be careful what we listen to. The Devil is called the Prince of the Power of the Air and he is broadcasting 24 hours a day. God is the greatest public speaker of all time and He is always speaking to us. Whose word are we listening to? Whose word has preeminence in our hearts? The spoken and written word have an enormous effect on the heart.

There has been a famine of hearing the words of the Lord in our generation, as we have allowed the noise of the world to drown out the life-giving words of Scripture. The root of the word "obey" means "to hear," and we must sanctify our ears for the Lord just like the priests were instructed to do in Leviticus. I have a whole chapter in the book dedicated to the importance of music to the composition of the heart. This includes a fascinating study of music from Scripture and its powerful ability to alter physical and emotional states. God is a described as a singer in Zephaniah, and Moses was a music composer as well as David, who even invented musical instruments. Lucifer was also a divine musician who had musical instruments built into his being, and he has twisted and distorted music to drive the heart away from God and put it into a state of agitation and confusion. Music is never neutral as it either drives your heart closer to God or farther away from Him.

Q: You mention that the concepts of this book have been lost to modern-day Christians. Why do you believe that is happening?

A: I think that many Christians have discarded the importance of the heart because they believe it is beyond redemption. This mindset has come into play with the wrong understanding of Jeremiah 17:9 which says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." Many people think the heart is a lost cause, and the transformation of the heart is impossible. This is not true. As Christians, we have a sin nature inherited from Adam called the flesh and a divine nature born within us at the time of the new birth. Both natures, the flesh and the spirit, can exert tremendous influence on the heart, but the heart is neither. We cannot change our sin nature, but we can change our hearts.

We are responsible for the state of our hearts and the duty of keeping the heart with utmost diligence is binding on all Christians at all times. Why would God tell us to guard the heart, purify the heart, harden not our hearts, love the Lord with all our heart, let the peace of God rule in our hearts, sanctify the Lord in our hearts, strengthen our hearts, to have a noble and good heart, and walk with perfect hearts, if the heart is a lost cause and hopelessly wicked? The great cry from the pulpit to the church should be "What is the condition of your hearts?" It is time for a restoration and revival of the heart so we can have the shepherd heart of David, the tender heart of Hezekiah, the meek heart of Moses, the wise heart of Solomon, the listening heart of Samuel, the courageous heart of Joshua, the obedient heart of Noah, the willing heart of Ruth, the stirred heart of Jeremiah, the fiery heart of Elijah, the faithful heart of Abraham, the devoted heart of Peter, the beloved heart of John and the lion heart of Jesus.

Q: You use the scripture of the Sower and the Seed extensively. Talk about that reference.

A: I have dedicated 150 pages to the study of what I believe is one of the greatest parables Jesus ever taught, the Parable of the Sower and the Seed. What happens to the seed of the Word of God when it is sown in the heart is the most critical event we will ever face in life. It has eternal implications. Will the seed live or die in our heart? Will it grow or wither away? Will it produce fruit or be choked and suffocated out of our hearts? I believe this book sets forth one of the most enlightening studies ever of this parable with great gems of truth like the five thorns that Jesus sets forth that choke the Word of God from the heart. Before Jesus taught the Parable he said "listen!" and "behold!" which shows that He is commanding the undivided attention of our ears and eyes when we study it.

Q: As a lawyer, how have you observed matters of the heart working for or against the legal system?

A: I see matters of the heart daily in my law practice. The law can protect people from an evil heart or it can help to provide an environment where the heart can be restored and thrive under the guidance and hand of God Almighty. Clients come to me often dominated by emotions or desires and a lawyer must have a steady heart, rooted in confidence, peace, and compassion to bring justice to the hearts of his clients. The Bible has helped me to better understand the heart and why it is important to have a compassionate and empathetic heart in the practice of law.