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Hardening or Softening the Heart toward God’s Word

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Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

The word “blindness” is translated as “hardness” in other places.

Mark 3:5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Prime example we have of someone’s heart hardening is Pharaoh (Ex. 4:21;7:3,13-14,22;8:15,19,32;9:7,12,34-35,10:1,20,27;11:10;14:4,8,17)

Exodus 4:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

Pharaoh would not let the people of Israel go. God hardened his heart after every miracle that took place. Likewise, when we try to share the gospel with unbelievers most people will not receive the truth of the gospel. Instead, they reject it and therefore their hearts harden each time they are exposed to it and reject it. But then there are the few that will believe it.

While unbelievers’ hearts harden towards God and the gospel, their hearts soften towards the world and sin. While believers, on the other hand, soften their hearts towards God and the gospel, and harden their hearts towards sin (or at least they should). I’m talking here about believers not partaking of sinful behaviors like the rest of the world does. I’m not talking about hardening our hearts towards them in the sense that we don’t minister to them. We should of course minister to them. Some men’s hearts become like butter when exposed to heat (God’s Word, the truth, the gospel) and they start to melt or soften towards it. Others are like clay where they harden every time they are exposed to the truth.

Our job as ambassadors of Christ, is to keep preaching/teaching/sharing the gospel with the world. Paul tells the Corinthians that he didn’t come with excellence of speech or of wisdom. But, instead he determined not to know anything except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:1-2).

The preaching of the cross will be foolishness to the world. They will think of you as a fool. But, you and I know that it is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:18-25). For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes it (Rom. 1:16). So, don’t give up! Keep sharing the gospel! The more times we expose unbelievers to the truth, the more times they will hear it, and the more times they hear it, the greater the chance that they might open their heart to God’s Word and believe the gospel. Our job is to share. Let the Holy Spirit do His job by opening up their heart and saving them.

Romans 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Ephesians 6:10-20 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

God’s Righteous Standard

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Our God is righteous and holy. For he is perfect in His character and in all that He does. He loves righteousness, because He is right. He loves those that practice righteousness. It says in Pro. 16:13 that “righteous lips are the delight of kings.” And we know that Jesus Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:15).

Psalms 116:5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

To be allowed entrance into the presence of the Father, righteousness is the requirement. But, not just any righteousness. Our own self-righteousness will do nothing for us (Titus 3:5). Only having the righteousness of God will make us right in the Father’s eyes.

Righteousness has always been a requirement in every age and dispensation. We see in Zech. 3:3-4 that the angel of the LORD caused the filthy garments (representing Joshua’s iniquity) to pass from him and that the LORD clothed him with a change of raiment (NKJV says “rich robes”). In Matt. 22:1-14, we have the example of the servant that didn’t come to the wedding in the proper garments, which is again used to represent righteousness. His punishment was that he was cast into outer darkness. And today, the man who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is declared righteous (Rom. 4:3-5). We are clothed with Christ Himself (but, I’m getting ahead of myself).

How do we get the righteousness of God? Under the law, God said that a man is considered just (righteous) if he keeps His statutes and His judgments (Eze. 18:5-9). Under grace today, it is by faith in the finished work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Many people today, both Jews and Gentiles, still think that if they do good works, keep the law, etc. that they will get to Heaven on their own merit. This is what the Jews even in Paul’s day had trouble with. They tried to go about establishing their own righteousness. How? By keeping the law. They didn’t seek it by faith, but by the works of the law.

Romans 9:31-32 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

But, the Gentiles (it says in Rom. 9:30) who didn’t even follow after righteousness have attained to it. How? Because the Gentiles sought it by faith.

Now, why can’t we try to obtain righteousness by the works of the law? Because, by nature we are all sinners. We have all sinned against God. We have all fallen short, and will continue to come short of God’s glory. To obtain righteousness by the law, you would have to obey all of the law, all of the time. But, as James says in his epistle, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10).” None of us are perfect.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

But, there is good news! It comes from Jesus Christ our Lord. The only way to the Father is through the Son. For He is “the way, the truth, the light (John 14:6).” For Christ Jesus has done something for us on our behalf that is truly wonderful. Christ died on the cross for all of our sins, was buried (He buried all our sins away), and rose again the third day (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

He took the law, that which was against us, and nailed it to His cross (Col. 2:14). “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).” He took the very thing that we were in bondage to and delivered us from it, so that we could come to Him and be able to have a relationship with Him and serve Him in Heaven for eternity!

Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

In the previous verses, Paul uses the analogy of marriage to explain that once the husband dies, the wife is now free from the law of her husband (and vice versa), and is able to then marry again. Likewise, we become dead to the law through the body of Christ (through His death) so that we can be married or joined to another, specifically Christ Himself. Verse 6 continues to say that we are delivered from the law, the thing that we were held by so that we can be joined to Him and bear fruit unto God. Prior to the preaching of the cross, we were in bondage to the law, in that it condemned us (Rom. 3:19-20), and therefore we could only bear fruit unto death (Rom. 7:5; 6:23). But now, we are set free and are able to serve God, because we are joined to Christ, when we believed the gospel.

The moment you believe that Christ died for your sins and rose again, you are saved! You are joined to Christ, to His body. You are made the righteousness of God in Christ! You weren’t made the righteousness of God by the works of the law, but instead by the faith of Christ (His death, work on the cross). It was His work that saved us. We simply put our trust in Him to receive the gift of eternal life, the gift of the righteousness of God, which we have in Christ!

1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

Christ Jesus is our righteousness! There’s no falling short anymore, at least not in Christ, that is. We are complete in him (Col. 2:10)!

All Lives Matter – Christ Died For All

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Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

We are living in a world that is evil. This world or age in which we live is called in Scripture “this present evil world.” There are good people and there are bad people. There are good cops and there are bad cops. There is good and there is evil. But, even those who are considered good from man’s perspective those same people are still not perfect. We are all human beings. From God’s perspective, we are all sinners.

Romans 3:9-10 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

The Jews who had the law (Rom. 3:2), who were God’s chosen nation, proved by their own works that they could not keep the law, and therefore their circumcision became uncircumcision (Rom. 2:25). They as a whole became unprofitable. The Gentiles (everybody else) who didn’t have the law and yet still “by nature do the things in the law (Rom. 2:14),” are guilty of breaking the law just as much as the Jews. So, we conclude as does the Apostle Paul in Romans 3:10 that “there is none righteous, no, not one.”

Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

The law wasn’t given to make us holy, but instead it was given to prove to us that we are all sinners. “For we have all sinned, and come short [continue to come short] of the glory of God (3:23).” It was given so that “every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God (3:19).”

What do we all deserve because of our sin? The answer is death.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (the 2nd half is, of course, the good news for those who will believe)

So, how many lives are in danger during this time in which we live? Is it just black lives? No. Is it just white lives? No. Every single person, no matter the color of their skin, is in danger of spending eternity in the Lake of Fire separated from God. The devil wants to cause division amongst us so that we forget who our true enemy is. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12).” The devil, Satan, is our enemy.

But, the good news is that God does care for us! God loves all of us (John 3:16). He doesn’t see Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female (Gal. 3:28). And He also doesn’t see black or white either. We are all sinners, who deserve death, but by God’s grace He has provided a way out. God wants everybody to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4) (but sadly, not everyone will be). He has promised eternal life to all those who will believe on Him! If you believe that Christ died on the cross for you sins, was buried, and rose again the third day, then eternal life is given to you! Eternity in Heaven with the Lord is what we can look forward to if we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior!

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

The Lord Jesus Christ, died on the cross for all of our sins, while we were still enemies of God. 2 Corinthians 5:19 tells us that “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing (counting) their trespasses (sins) to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” Our ministry of reconciliation today concerns the entire world, not just a part of it. Christ died for all, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (in Christ) (2 Cor. 5:20).

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it (the gospel) is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein (in the gospel) is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

We are all the children of Adam the moment we are born into this world. In Romans 5:17, it reads that “by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)” The moment we believe in what Christ did for us on the cross, we are taken out of Adam and placed into Christ Himself and receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. This gift is offered to everyone, not just a few. But, you have to make the choice whether you believe it or not. Do you believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross and shed His own blood to pay the penalty for your sin, buried those sins away forever (completely forgiven), and has risen again the third day so that you can have eternal life in Him?

Your works will not save you. Christ’s work on the cross is what saves us. We are “justified freely by His grace (Rom. 3:24),” and “justified by His blood (Rom. 5:9).” But, you need to have faith in His work. God’s work is finished. Will you take God at His Word and believe?

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

If you are reading this, and are not saved, I hope that you will come to believe this gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4). For God loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die in your place, so that you might be made the righteousness of God in Him! God wants you to be a member of His (Christ’s) Body. And for those who have already believed, please continue to share the gospel with your friends and family, so that they can believe and enjoy what we have in Christ Jesus!

Preach the Cross!

The Gospel

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1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Here it is! The Gospel (good news). As plainly as one could state it, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that he was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” If we believe this gospel true, then we are given eternal life. But, sadly, many do not believe this. And it is our job as ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20) to preach the gospel (1 Cor. 1:18). It is the responsibility of each individual person to make the choice whether they will believe it or not. Faith is the only requirement to receive salvation and the gift of righteousness.

Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 

Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Romans 4:3-5 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Romans chapter 4 continues in verse 13 to say that the promise that was made with Abraham was not to him or his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith (Gal. 3:18). Later in Romans (Romans 9 and 10), Paul explains how Israel was not able to attain righteousness. It was because they sought for it by the works of the law and not by faith. They tried to establish their own righteousness, instead of submitting to the righteousness of God (10:3).

Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.

Before salvation, we are included with the rest of the world as being identified with Adam (the first man or the first Adam mentioned in chapter 5 of Romans and 1 Cor. 15). Since Adam’s fall, the whole human race is born with the old nature, which is sinful. Only sin can be produced through this old nature. We learn in Romans 5 that many died, death reigns, and therefore the sinner deserves judgment and condemnation. But, as we believe the gospel we are then placed into Christ Jesus Himself. And the results of being identified with Christ is eternal life and righteousness. We are made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) the moment we believe that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day!

First Adam (Adam)Last Adam (Christ)
By Adam’s sin, many died (Rom. 5:15)By the grace of Christ, the grace of God and the gift abounded to many (Rom. 5:15)
judgment resulting in condemnation (Rom. 5:16)But, the free gift results in justification (5:16)
death reigned (5:17; 6:23)those who receive abundance of grace and gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ (5:17)
judgment resulting in condemnation (5:18)free gift resulting in justification of life (5:18)
made sinners (5:19)made righteous (5:19)

Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Our old man is now crucified with him, so that we can now serve Him instead of sin. The death that Christ died, He died once for all, but the life that He lives, He lives unto God (God the Father). Likewise, we too are to reckon or count ourselves dead to sin or dead to that old man/nature, and instead count ourselves as alive unto God. (Rom. 6:10,11). So, we now have a new nature. We are now alive unto God. We are placed into Christ Himself. We are members of His Body (1 Cor. 12:12-13, 27; Eph. 2:16).

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

All of this happens (justification, etc.) to the one who simply has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. The person who believes that He died for their sins, took those sins away by the sacrifice of Himself, and rose again is made righteous in God’s sight.

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Salvation is not obtained by our own good works, but instead it is obtained by simply believing that Christ did all of the work necessary to pay for our sins. We are then found in Him, not having our own righteousness, but instead it is through the faith of Christ (through His work on the cross). That is the righteousness which is of God. And we obtain it simply, by faith. That is, by faith alone!

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31).”

Romans – Practical Living

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In chapter 12, we read that we are to present our bodies as “living sacrifices, holy, and acceptable to God (Rom. 12:1).” It is our reasonable service to serve the One who saved us. We do this by being transformed by the renewing of our mind (Rom. 12:2).

We also learned that we each have different offices or functions within the Body of Christ and that we are to use those gifts given to us to help edify the Body. We are to love another with brotherly love, rejoice in hope, bless those that persecute us and curse not, and other things as well (Rom. 12:9-16).

The Apostle Paul will continue on with the rest of Romans with our Christian walk in mind. He will discuss how we are to conduct ourselves with human government, and how we are to conduct ourselves with other members of the Body of Christ.

The Christian and Human Government

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

As a Christian, we are still subject to the laws of the government in which we happen to live under. If we resist their authority, then we are actually resisting the ordinance of God, and therefore will bring judgment upon ourselves (Rom. 13:2). They are God’s minister to us for good. Their two primary responsibilities are to punish the evildoers and to reward those who do good (Rom. 13:3,4). It is our responsibility to obey the government, even if we don’t happen to like their decisions. There is one exception to this, and that is if the government tells you to do something that would be going against what God has told us to do in His Word, then we are to obey God rather than men.

Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. (Acts 4:19,20; 23:5)

Since we are under certain governing authorities and are subject to them, we are instructed to pay taxes. We are to render “taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, and honor to whom honor (Rom. 13:6,7).”

Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

Paul is now transitioning from our responsibility to the government to our responsibility to our neighbor (both saved and unsaved). The only thing we should owe anyone is love. We can still get loans from the bank for business or personal reasons. However, when the time comes to pay your bills, then you need to pay them. It’s the same with taxes. But, the one debt that should go unpaid is love for one another.

The one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. All of the commandments can be summed up into two commandments.

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Paul focuses here in Romans 13 on the second greatest commandment, because here he is dealing with our relationship with fellow man. Our relationship with God isn’t based on how much we love Him, but instead based on how much He loved us. For He loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16). The Lord Jesus Christ came and died for all of our sins upon the cross. All we have to do is believe in His finished work. As we believe on Him, we are found not in ourselves having our own righteousness, but instead we are found in Him having the righteousness which is by the faith of Christ (Phil. 3:9). We are justified by faith apart from the law (Rom. 3:28).

The person who loves another fulfills the law, because as verse 10 says “love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” If you love another person, you won’t intentionally do harm to that person like stealing from them or committing adultery against them.

Paul then goes on to tell us that we should put off the works of darkness, and instead put on the armor of light. As believers, we are sons of the light and of the day. We are not of the night nor are we of the darkness. (1 Thess. 5:5) We are to walk properly by putting on the armor of light or as verse 14 says by putting “on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 13:12-14 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

The Christian and fellow believers

How does this affect our relationship with other members of the Body? As we put on the Lord Jesus Christ and love one another as we love ourselves, we are instructed to receive those who are weak in the faith (Rom. 14:1). Since you would not intentionally do harm to yourself, then you shouldn’t do any harm to another believer either, because they are of the same Body (the Body of Christ) as you. If you do harm another believer, then you would just be hurting yourself as well. For when one member rejoices, we rejoice with them and when one member suffers, we then all suffer with them (1 Cor. 12:26). Instead, we are to receive those weak in the faith, and we are to edify (or build up) one another.

  • One member believes he can eat all things and the weaker brother eats only vegetables (Rom. 14:2).
  • One esteems one day above another and the other esteems everyday alike (Rom. 14:5).
  • He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord. And He who doesn’t observe it, doesn’t observe it to the Lord (Rom. 14:6).

The stronger brother is to help edify the weaker brother. They are not to cause that brother to stumble or fall (Rom. 14:13). As the stronger brother in Christ, we are also to bear the infirmities of the weak, not to please ourselves (Rom. 15:1).

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Romans 14:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

Romans 15:1-3 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

So, just as Christ bore the reproaches of them that reproached you, you are to bear the infirmities of the weaker brother. Both of you are in Christ! Both of you are made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21)! So help each other and love one another. For we are members of the same Body, one Body, which Christ is the Head.

Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.