Hard Hearts

Introduction

Was on my wish list for my daughter. Now that list was long, and understandably many of the things on that list had to do with spiritual concerns about who they would marry. But I just want to share two things that I shared with my daughter that needed to be in the man that she was going to marry. Just two things with you this morning. One, I told my daughter, he has to be able to beat you in arm wrestling.

And two.

And about that second one. You want somebody who has the ability to be touched, to be able to be moved emotionally.

The things that you’re going through.

And we don’t need those type of people in our lives.

That they have a hard heart. It’s a very descriptive term, and we want to talk about that term this morning and those people who can be described by that term. Turn with me, if you will, if you have your old testaments to the book of Ezekiel, chapter 3. Ezekiel was one of those prophets that God sent to his people. Now, usually, in fact, almost always, when God would send a prophet to his people, there was a reason to send that prophet, and that reason had to do largely with the condition of those people, and largely to do with the condition of the heart of those people. And so God sends Ezekiel to a rebellious Israel. And before he sends Ezekiel with a message for these rebellious people, he prepares Ezekiel and says, Ezekiel, I want you to remember who these people are and the condition of their spiritual life.

1. A Language Barrier Is Easier Than a Hard Heart

Begin with me in the reading, will you? In Ezekiel 3, verse 1, where he says, Moreover, he said to me, that is God speaking to the prophet Ezekiel, Son of Man, eat what you find. Eat this scroll. And go speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth and he calls me to eat that scroll. And he said to me, Son of man, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you. So I ate it, and then it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness. Now, I take that scroll to be the message, the word of God. And so he says, consume it. Make it a part of you. And Ezekiel says, I did, and like the word of God, it was sweet.

But he said to me, verse 4, Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. In other words, the words that you’ve eaten, speak them to those people. For you’re not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel. In other words, I’m sending you to a people who speak the same language. I’m not sending you to somebody with whom they would be a language barrier. I’m not sending you to a country that speaks a language that you can’t speak and cannot understand the language that you do speak. Verse 6, not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely had I sent them to you, they would have listened to you.

That took a hard turn.

Because if I went there, they wouldn’t be able to understand me. At least I’m going to people who speak my kind of language. They can understand me, but God says, No, you’d have been better off going to a foreign country. They would have an easier time understanding an unintelligible language than my own people will.

Verse 7, but to the house of Israel. And that house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to me. For all the house of Israel are impudent and hard hearted. God says Ezekiel, a language barrier, is easier to overcome than a hard heart. And so I’ve got good news and bad news, God says, Ezekiel. The good news is the word is sweet. The bad news is the people won’t listen. Not because they can’t understand the words, but because they’re hard-hearted. And so let’s talk about this tragic condition of having a hard heart. Let’s talk about that condition and what it means. As we’ve already said, the term itself is fairly descriptive in getting us to an understanding of what is meant by it.

2. The Tragic Condition of a Hard Heart

We understand the heart in biblical language to be the metaphoric seat of really who we are. It’s the seed of our intellect. It’s that part of us that allows us to understand and grasp concepts and meanings.

It’s that part of us that we can make decisions and choices in our lives. And it’s also the seed of emotion. It’s that allows us to feel and to be moved in that feeling. It’s that part of man that’s able to be reached and touched and moved by the word of God. And a hard heart describes one who is unwilling and therefore unable to be moved and touched and reached by the word of God. Its synonyms would involve words like obstinate, stubborn, insensitive, immovable. And these recalcitrant people resist God’s moving word. Look with me, if you will, in the New Testament in Matthew chapter 12, or Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13, Jesus talks about these type of people who were hard of heart and how therefore unreachable they had become.

In Matthew chapter 13, you’ll be familiar with this text. Jesus says, of the people in his day that were rejecting his message and him, he says in Matthew 13, verse 14, and in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, Hearing you will hear and shall not understand. And seeing you shall see and not perceive, for the hearts of this people have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear where their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them. They, Jesus said, of those people in his day, they are unreachable, they’re untouchable, because they’ve become so obstinate and stubborn to the truth that they will not.

But turn over to John’s gospel in John chapter 12, and notice what it says about those same people. In John chapter 12 and in verse 40. Notice the similarity of language. Matthew’s account, Matthew says, they’ve done this, they’ve closed their eyes, closed their hearts, and dulled their hearts.

How that those people in Jesus’ day had closed their own eyes and ears to the truth, and how, in the same motion, literally, God had closed their eyes and their ears. In Hebrews chapter 4, the Hebrew writer is warning his listeners that they always live in accordance with the word of God. And that they are moved by the word of God. Look in Hebrews chapter 4. And let’s start in verse 7. It says, and he designates, Hebrews 4, verse 7. He designates a certain day, saying in David, today, after such a long time as it has been said, today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your heart. So there’s our language again. Don’t harden your hearts. So again, the activity of the possessor of the heart.

Well, then how can it be said that God is involved in the hardening of that heart? Skip down to verse 12 in Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 12 says, For the word of God, the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and is the discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart.

Not just some historical document that is so obsolete and outdated. He says it’s living in that, it can do something. What can it do? It can discern my thoughts and my heart.

When the word of God is preached, my heart and the condition of my heart is revealed. If I have what Jesus would describe in the parable of the sower, a good and honest heart, then that’s revealed, isn’t it? Because I’ll be moved by it and I’ll respond to that gospel. But if my heart is resistant, my ears and my eyes are closed, then that’ll be revealed. By what? By the living and active word of God. It’s a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. I think that’s the way in which it can be said, the dual nature of me hardening my own heart and God hardening my heart. Because it’s the word of God that reveals the condition of my heart. That exposes it and shows it to be, it’s the discerner of my heart.

It is that spiritual MRI that shows who I really am.

3. Pharaoh and the Unbelievers Hardened Their Hearts

Who are these people who the Bible would describe as hard hearted? Sadly, the list is long, isn’t it? Throughout history and in the present day, there is an increasingly long list of people who are unwilling and therefore unable to be moved to obedience by the word of God. Maybe one of the most famous characters in all of biblical history, at least, would be O Pharaoh.

If my math is correct, ten times it is stated that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. And ten other times it is stated that God hardened his heart. And then a few other times it’s just mentioned that his heart was hardened without attributing it to either Pharaoh or to God. And when we read through the account of Moses’ interaction with Pharaoh in the plagues, in the first five plagues, it is stated that Pharaoh hardened his heart. It’s not until the sixth plague that it’s stated that God hardened his heart. There may be some clues in there into what it means when it says Pharaoh hardened his heart, and yet God hardened his heart. What we just talked about in Hebrews chapter 4, of what the word, the truth of God’s word will do in exposing the condition of the heart, may be further clues into what it means when it says, Pharaoh did the hardening, but God hardened his heart.

In other words, God made demands upon Pharaoh that were not in accordance with his own stubborn will. And so in that sense, God hardened his heart. The New Testament describes people. Look with me in the book of Romans, chapter 1. We have a vivid description of those people whom the scriptures and we would have to echo that sentiment, these who would be described as infidels and unbelievers. A large number of them have hardened their heart. And the truth of God’s word has exposed that hardened heart. Look what it says in Romans chapter 1, beginning in verse 18 for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.

In other words, he says there’s evidence, ample evidence that God is, but they have suppressed it from their own mind. 4, verse 20, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they’re without excuse. Because although they knew God, although the evidence was there, the truth of God’s existence was there, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened, professing to be wise, they became fools. And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore, God gave them up to uncleanness, into the lust of their bodies to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever.

4. Can Believers Be Hard of Heart?

Amen. Those are the hard-hearted individuals who have resisted the very idea of God. And God’s just given them up and allowed their hearts to be hardened. So no doubt the infidel can reject God and reject the truth of his word to the point that they can only be described as being hard of heart. But what about believers? Is it possible for those who believe in God to be hard of heart? To that, Ezekiel in the back of the auditorium raises his hand and says, I would like a moment, and says, Yes, they can. God sent me to his covenant people and described them as hard-hearted. Isaiah’s prophecy that we read there in Matthew chapter 13 was speaking of Israel. People who believed in Jehovah, and to one way or another, one degree or another, one fashion or another, were serving Jehovah.

They were described as people who had closed their ears, their eyes, and even their hearts to the truth of God’s word. They were so hard-hearted to the truth, to the prophecy and the fulfillment of the Messiah. In fact, sometimes we offer this rhetorical question, what could Jesus have done to convince those religious, God believing people that he really was the Son of God? What could he have done to change their minds? Maybe if he walked on water, oh wait. Maybe if he fed five and six thousand people at once with just a piddling amount of, oh, he did that. What if he healed people and raised them from the dead? What if he himself was raised from the dead? And so we’re left with the answer, there was nothing that for some of them at least was ever going to move the needle of their heart.

And if I may be so brash, we might compare that to religious people today who reject the clear teaching of Scripture in regard to the necessity of baptism. It’s in the Great Commission Jesus gave his apostles. It’s in every count of a conversion in the book of Acts. Be baptized for the remission of your sin. You’re baptized into his death, the apostles would later say. And in baptism you put on Christ. And if Peter thought we needed any more help and understanding, he says, you’re saved in baptism. But yet religious people today who claim a love for God, a love for Jesus and a belief in him, can I say it? Have just become hard-hearted to the truth. They’ve closed their ears and their eyes and even their hearts.

5. Even His Disciples Were Hard of Heart

Even his disciples, look with me in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 6. It’s not just the infidels. It’s not just the hard headed, so wrong religious people, but even his disciples. Look in Mark chapter 6 and in verse 52 of what Jesus Himself encountered. Ephesians 6 and verse 2. For they had not understood about the loaves, what Jesus had said about the loaves and feeding them. They did not understand that. Why? Because their heart was hardened. Look over in chapter 8, stay in the book of Mark. Mark chapter 8, verse 17 says, but Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? And so to even his disciples, his followers, Jesus at times had to describe them of hard of heart.

And so there’s the warning to us. We too can allow ourselves to be callous to the truth and to the needs of our fellow man. Remember the story of the Good Samaritan? It was the priest and the Levite who passed by on the other side, unmoved by the plight of their fellow man.

6. Is Our Heart Open to the Truth?

Is our heart open? To the truth, whatever the truth is and wherever it may lead us. Even if the truth God is trying to declare to us through His Word is different from what we’ve always heard and believed, are we willing to be moved by it? Many times in our announcements or maybe before a sermon, we’ll stand in this very building, in this very pulpit, and say, if you see anything that we do in our worship, if you hear anything in our Bible class or sermons or our teaching that’s not in accordance with the will of God, you would be our friend to point that out to us. And we’d love to study with you to see what the truth is. We say that a lot, or something like that a lot, don’t we?

But do we really mean it? If somebody said this morning, I don’t believe what you just said.

Would we just scoff and laugh? Or would we really mean what we say and say, okay, well then let’s see? Let’s just open up the Bible and open up our hearts at the same time. And let’s see. If it says different, then we’ll change. Or is that just a platitude? Spoken to camouflage a hard heart. Do me a favor. No, do me two favors. Go online and find a way to watch old yeller. Have some tissues handy. Spoiler alert, the dog dies. And you’re going to cry. Are you better? I hope you can be moved by that story. But I hope more importantly, you can be moved by the story of the gospel and by the truth of the gospel. And don’t just say you have an open mind and an open heart and you’re willing to investigate, but truly open up God’s word and say, Lord, speak to me for your servant heareth.

Conclusion

And pray the prayer of the psalmist. Oh God, create in me a new heart. May God help us to be soft of heart. And may God’s word chisel through those of us who were hard hearted and create in us a new heart. Would you respond to the gospel? Would your heart be moved by the truth of God’s word? Are you receptive? Will you hear it and see the truth of God’s word before you and obey it this morning? Can you be moved by that word of God? Will you hear, believe, repent, and be baptized this very morning, confessing your faith before men and angels? Would you do that right now as together we stand and as we sing?

Holding up this hand in the greatest.