Several weeks ago in conjunction with a sermon I preached on Acts 28 someone sent me a text message asking about the concept of God hardening the hearts of people. Because Paul blasts many of the Pharisees that came to visit him in Rome with these words from Isaiah 6:9 & 10
9 He said, "Go and tell this people: " 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."
And when we hear this we bridle. When we read these words we bristle at the thought that God would harden the hearts of the people He loves. But we gotta be very careful here as readers and doers of God’s word. Because to take this text in Isaiah or Acts or when it is found in Romans out of context you have the possibility of missing out on how God deals richly with us. You also have a possibility of unraveling in a really bad way some key truths about God and His way.
The words translated as hardened in the Bible relate to a series of medical concepts that mean to be made impervious to liquid, to be calloused, or to be or be made insensitive. And that can happen to a person’s heart spiritually.
And in the Bible we read of God hardening the hearts of people. He actively and purpose allows the hardening process to occur and on occasion has been seen to facilitate the hardening process. Now at first this hardening was only seen in people who were not connected to Him in any way. God actually flat out tells Moses in Ex. 4 and 7 and 14 that He would harden the heart of Pharaoh. Later in chapter 14 God let’s Moses know that He would harden the hearts of the Egyptians. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. The Egyptian’s hearts were hardened. The Canaanite’s hearts were hardened as they fought against the children of Israel. This was a condition exclusive to those not connected to a prescribed relationship with God. But later on in the Old Testament and further in the New, the hardening of heart became solely a condition found in the Jewish people themselves and later to some Christians.
But to gain a greater understanding of God’s role of hardening hearts, especially in Isaiah 6 we have to look at what precedes this passage by looking at Isaiah 5. This chapter begins with a song about a vineyard and sings of a loving God doing everything He could possibly do as the owner of a vineyard to yield a harvest. He found a great plot of land, freed it from stones, planted the best vines and yet it did not produce one grape. And God’s response:
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it." 7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
This is not a vengeful God arbitrarily making people calloused; condemning them to oblivion. The concept of a hardened heart begins with a loving God doing everything He could possibly do to draw the best out of people only to find that there was not a willingness to yield what was to be yielded from them. As a matter of fact, what God finds is not only are people unwilling to produce fruit in keeping with His loving tending; they choose to yield that which is contrary to what love demands.
But the question dogs us. Can one rebound from this hardening of heart? And as we look at scriptural precedence it looks as if people can. While there were Jews whose hearts were hardened we see many finding their way to faith in Jesus. While even the Apostles where marked by Jesus Himself as hardened hearts and stiff necked they found a way to deeper relationship with Christ and His truths. We must never arrest the gift of choice and freewill from God’s equation. Because if you think about it “good and bad” as concepts do not exist if there is no opportunity for disobedience or obedience. For good or bad to exist there has to be human choice in following the good or following that which is bad. Without choice neither one exists.
Yes, God allows and sometimes fosters hearts to be hardened. This is not done arbitrarily or quickly. From scripture it seems as if God out of absolute love for everyone does everything He can to redeem and reconcile people into deep relationship with Him. It is at the point that we out rightly reject His advances and begin behaving in ways that are absolutely contrary to His attempts at loving us that He allows callousness and insensitivity to overcome people’s lives. Is there a way to overcome this callousness and hardheartedness? Absolutely! For scripture tells us in I John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 29, 2009
Commitment of the Heart As Well As the Hands
Pow! Luke doesn't pull any punches when it comes to what John the Baptizer preached. It's amazing how so many Jewish people came from so many far away communities to go in the wilderness to hear John; only to have him theologically blast them out of the water. John calls them a brood of vipers. Seems to question their intelligences by asking, "who warned you of the coming wrath." As if to say, you couldn't have come up with this on your own. Someone must have warned you! But that's not the upper cut to their doctrinal chins.
John then says to them in so many words, group affiliation does not guarantee your salvation. If you get a chance look at what John says in Luke 3:8, 9. He paints a picture of God literally taking an ax to the notion that group or family affiliation was enough. Graphic enough for you? I can imagine how hard it was for them to hear that. The thing I relied on for my salvation from the coming wrath (my ethnic identity as a child of Abraham) is not adequate enough to save my soul. I imagine it was hard for our church to hear that as well, yesterday. Because many of us believe group affiliation in the "right" church is good enough to warrant eternity with God. But John emphatically states it is more than just being connected to the right group.
We can see throughout the Old and New Testaments people in the right group doing the wrong thing and forced to deal with the natural consequences of that wrong behavior. And I'm so glad John boldly proclaimed this truth. Because if group affiliation is all that is needed then our commitment to Christ can be merely mental assent instead of incarnational living. Think about it. If being connected to the right group was enough, the only thing I would need to do is the minimum requirements to stay connected to the group. My commitment could stay on the heart level and would never really have to move to the hand level; that level of taking my beliefs and enfleshing them in healthy behavior--thus incarnational living.
Commitment in the heart naturally leads to commitment of the hands (behavior, service, action); if in fact there was a commitment made. In truth, it really is not so much about doing a lot of stuff. It's more about owning a belief system so much so that the natural response of that belief is the outpouring of behavior in keeping with that system. It is owning this Christian belief system to such a degree that our very character is changed and that change prompts Christlikeness.
This reliance on group affiliation gets in the way of this type of transformative living. Does this mean any and every group is sound in their teaching and practice and we no longer have to be mindful of those sorts of thing? Not at all. But that discussion tends to distract us from the transformative process. Let us focus on commitment in sound truth to such a degree that it leads to us living out that truth in sound ways.
John then says to them in so many words, group affiliation does not guarantee your salvation. If you get a chance look at what John says in Luke 3:8, 9. He paints a picture of God literally taking an ax to the notion that group or family affiliation was enough. Graphic enough for you? I can imagine how hard it was for them to hear that. The thing I relied on for my salvation from the coming wrath (my ethnic identity as a child of Abraham) is not adequate enough to save my soul. I imagine it was hard for our church to hear that as well, yesterday. Because many of us believe group affiliation in the "right" church is good enough to warrant eternity with God. But John emphatically states it is more than just being connected to the right group.
We can see throughout the Old and New Testaments people in the right group doing the wrong thing and forced to deal with the natural consequences of that wrong behavior. And I'm so glad John boldly proclaimed this truth. Because if group affiliation is all that is needed then our commitment to Christ can be merely mental assent instead of incarnational living. Think about it. If being connected to the right group was enough, the only thing I would need to do is the minimum requirements to stay connected to the group. My commitment could stay on the heart level and would never really have to move to the hand level; that level of taking my beliefs and enfleshing them in healthy behavior--thus incarnational living.
Commitment in the heart naturally leads to commitment of the hands (behavior, service, action); if in fact there was a commitment made. In truth, it really is not so much about doing a lot of stuff. It's more about owning a belief system so much so that the natural response of that belief is the outpouring of behavior in keeping with that system. It is owning this Christian belief system to such a degree that our very character is changed and that change prompts Christlikeness.
This reliance on group affiliation gets in the way of this type of transformative living. Does this mean any and every group is sound in their teaching and practice and we no longer have to be mindful of those sorts of thing? Not at all. But that discussion tends to distract us from the transformative process. Let us focus on commitment in sound truth to such a degree that it leads to us living out that truth in sound ways.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Where do you look first?
In Luke 2:41-50 we have this very interesting moment in Mary and Joseph's life. After spending time in Jerusalem celebrating the Passover, Mary and Joseph head back to their hometown unaware that Jesus stays behind to spend time in the Temple discussing the things of His Father with the teachers of the Law. After a day of travel Mary and Joseph discover their 12 year old son is not with them or anyone else in the group heading home. Scripture says they spend three days searching for Jesus. Finally they look for Jesus in the Temple and find Him.
The question was asked: Why didn't they look in the Temple first? I think that is such a good question. I think it is a question that goes to the heart of who we are as a people. I think the image of a searching Mary and Joseph is Luke's depiction of a truly human condition. Why didn't they look for Jesus at the Temple first? I think it is the same reason we look for wholeness and contentment everywhere else first before we find it in Christ. Jesus' parents discovered they have lost something along their journey. And so often that happens to us along our way. And at the point we discover something is missing we look almost everywhere before we look upward. We will look to our jobs; our families; our possessions only to find out they are insufficient surrogates to Christ.
It's really hard to go to Christ first. We seem to think running to Christ first will require much of us. It seems as if it will be a lot of ripping, breaking, and wounding. When in truth it only takes one thing: Our willingness to be absolutely loved & taking that love to it's natural conclusion. But often we will look everywhere else before we move couragously toward love.
For believers, Christ is in the temple of our being. The indwelling of the very Spirit of Christ; the Holy Spirit resides in our being. And Christ stands open armed in the sacred space of our inner life waiting for us to find Him there. Find Him in a place where we can be accepted wholely in the divine.
Where will you go first?
The question was asked: Why didn't they look in the Temple first? I think that is such a good question. I think it is a question that goes to the heart of who we are as a people. I think the image of a searching Mary and Joseph is Luke's depiction of a truly human condition. Why didn't they look for Jesus at the Temple first? I think it is the same reason we look for wholeness and contentment everywhere else first before we find it in Christ. Jesus' parents discovered they have lost something along their journey. And so often that happens to us along our way. And at the point we discover something is missing we look almost everywhere before we look upward. We will look to our jobs; our families; our possessions only to find out they are insufficient surrogates to Christ.
It's really hard to go to Christ first. We seem to think running to Christ first will require much of us. It seems as if it will be a lot of ripping, breaking, and wounding. When in truth it only takes one thing: Our willingness to be absolutely loved & taking that love to it's natural conclusion. But often we will look everywhere else before we move couragously toward love.
For believers, Christ is in the temple of our being. The indwelling of the very Spirit of Christ; the Holy Spirit resides in our being. And Christ stands open armed in the sacred space of our inner life waiting for us to find Him there. Find Him in a place where we can be accepted wholely in the divine.
Where will you go first?
Monday, June 8, 2009
How Much Does God Have To Do?
You know I'm looking over Luke 1 again after the sermon I preached yesterday. And it's really incredible. To me Luke makes it pretty clear in the first 4 verses that his writing is to help make certain the teachings of our faith. He then leads off his account with a depiction of a man, Zechariah, who's first response to an encounter with the divine is uncertainty. And I know that's who I am as well. In these last seven years of ministry I have run across the hand prints of God over so many peoples lives. And when I encounter the traces of God in peoples' stuff I'm astounded. How much does God have to do to convince me that He is as active today in peoples' lives as He was in the time of scripture. I'll tell you what it took for Zechariah. With the odds against him he was chosen to serve in the temple. Which sounds like it would be an easy thing but it wasn't. An angel is sent. (Now that in itself should be enough, if you think about it). But not only is an angel sent but an angel is sent with the greatest news! "Zechariah not only is your aged and barren wife going to have a son but your son will have the honor of paving the way for the messiah to come." And Zechariah's response? "How can I be sure its going to happen. We are too old." Wow! Instead of looking at the angel with good news before him, Zechariah is looking at all of the reasons this thing can't work! What more could God have done to convince Zechariah? What more does God have to do to convince me? To convince you? I guess it takes all of us to get struck dumb to be convinced. It seemed to help Zechariah. It finally takes being silenced and stilled enough in order to convince and make certain. Maybe it's true: we learn from being burned by the fire instead of being enlightened by the flame. I'm just grateful God was gracious enough to do what ever it took to get Zechariah to believe. There is hope for us all.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Do We Trust The Story?
This is the key question I asked of everyone yesterday in the message. Do we trust the story of suffering spelled out in scripture. Not that we go out looking for opportunities for persecution. But, are we able to handle the natural suffering that is a part of life and handle it in such a way that brings glory to God. I never thought that was the case you know. I always thought everything eventually works out and that everyone inevitably lives happily ever after. But after seven years of ministry I have found that sometimes the baby doesn't make it. Sometime the boss doesn't rise to the occasion and gets better. The boyfriend doesn't kick that heroin addiction. And the relationship doesn't bounce back. Sometimes the blessed happens and when it does we shout it from the mountain tops and praise God. But when the miraculous does not occur can we live in faith knowing God is sovereign over it all (in times of plenty and in famine; in times of certainty and times of desert wandering). Can we trust the story of the way of the cross. The story of suffering for the purpose of growth and death begetting life. Its a thought easily written but awfully hard to live.
Monday, May 18, 2009
What are our doubts?
I'm finishing up preparations for this new sermon series I'm starting in June on the Gospel of Luke. In this book Luke is parading in front of us 100s of "eyewitnesses" to affirm our faith. Then I began asking the question what doubts do each of these eyewitnesses address. Because that is the function of a witness, isn't it? There is a doubt about the truthfulness of an event. Then someone presents witnesses to clear up doubts so we can rely on the truthfulness of the event in question. So what are our doubts about faith? I want to collect as many comments as I can so that I can factor them into my further sermon preparation. So let me know: What are some doubts and uncertainties that people have about faith? What are the uncertainties we find ourselves living with as Christians?
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Harder Lesson
I thought I would share a communication that I had with a member.
He writes:
Eric, To whom is it harder to get THE LESSON across? Someone just hearing of God's love or someone that has turned their backs on their first love and Savior? I hesitated about sending you this note until today. My brother-in-law and sister will be with us on Sunday, the Lord willing. He was my roommate at Freed-Hardeman Jr. College and has been my best friend since the 7th grade. Somewhere along the line, he has given up on the Lord. Probably the most intelligent person I've known my whole life but simply doesn't believe anymore. We remain best friends but do not discuss God. I pray for you and your family constantly. Your work and words mean so much to us. We come home, feeling refreshed and ready to tackle another week from our drive to Columbia on Sunday mornings. Keep on keeping on. God bless.
I wrote:
God bless you for your words of encouragement. I praise God that you are fed and filled by your sacrificial drive to and from. You will never know what that means to me. But to answer your question I tend to believe it works on a case by case basis. There are those who have never known Christ that have had so many wounds that they can’t believe anyone especially God would love them while others who never knew Christ fall head over heels immediately upon the meeting. Now with those who have turned from Christ I tend to believe they turn not from God but their misconceptions about God. I think all of us have a tendency to create for ourselves a idea of God pieced together by fragments of scripture, pop cultural fallacy, ideas that come from our own experiences, etc. And that idea of God sometimes is vastly different than the God in the Bible ( It’s hard to even realize the fact that God is so much bigger than what we find in the Bible. He has only revealed that which humanity can understand of Him. But He is infinitely bigger than what our minds can conceive of. We can’t grasp that because we have a hard time understanding the little bit He has given us.) So it is quite natural to come up with grave misconceptions and when the mistaken God doesn’t function like the real God we tend to turn away. So some people begin seeing God for who He is vs. who they thought He was and fall head over heels immediately while others refuse to believe God could be anything other than what they can conceive of with their petty consciousness and get stuck. But what we do is pray harder than we have ever before and allow God to use us all to love your friend into deeper relationship and deeper truth. If it’s God’s will I look forward to meeting them and I pray God has His way with him this weekend.
Your Brother,
Eric
He writes:
Eric, To whom is it harder to get THE LESSON across? Someone just hearing of God's love or someone that has turned their backs on their first love and Savior? I hesitated about sending you this note until today. My brother-in-law and sister will be with us on Sunday, the Lord willing. He was my roommate at Freed-Hardeman Jr. College and has been my best friend since the 7th grade. Somewhere along the line, he has given up on the Lord. Probably the most intelligent person I've known my whole life but simply doesn't believe anymore. We remain best friends but do not discuss God. I pray for you and your family constantly. Your work and words mean so much to us. We come home, feeling refreshed and ready to tackle another week from our drive to Columbia on Sunday mornings. Keep on keeping on. God bless.
I wrote:
God bless you for your words of encouragement. I praise God that you are fed and filled by your sacrificial drive to and from. You will never know what that means to me. But to answer your question I tend to believe it works on a case by case basis. There are those who have never known Christ that have had so many wounds that they can’t believe anyone especially God would love them while others who never knew Christ fall head over heels immediately upon the meeting. Now with those who have turned from Christ I tend to believe they turn not from God but their misconceptions about God. I think all of us have a tendency to create for ourselves a idea of God pieced together by fragments of scripture, pop cultural fallacy, ideas that come from our own experiences, etc. And that idea of God sometimes is vastly different than the God in the Bible ( It’s hard to even realize the fact that God is so much bigger than what we find in the Bible. He has only revealed that which humanity can understand of Him. But He is infinitely bigger than what our minds can conceive of. We can’t grasp that because we have a hard time understanding the little bit He has given us.) So it is quite natural to come up with grave misconceptions and when the mistaken God doesn’t function like the real God we tend to turn away. So some people begin seeing God for who He is vs. who they thought He was and fall head over heels immediately while others refuse to believe God could be anything other than what they can conceive of with their petty consciousness and get stuck. But what we do is pray harder than we have ever before and allow God to use us all to love your friend into deeper relationship and deeper truth. If it’s God’s will I look forward to meeting them and I pray God has His way with him this weekend.
Your Brother,
Eric
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