Signs of Hardness series Archives

Signs of Hardness: Failing to Respond

In the Old Testament and New Testament, we are warned not to harden our hearts. In our current series, we’ve begun considering some cautionary signposts that mean we are on the road to a heart hardened toward God. So far, we’ve discussed disobedience, wealth, discontent, rejecting correction, and refusing to listen. We’ll wrap up with a consideration of a similar tactic, failing to respond.

What does it mean to fail to respond?

Simply put, when we are presented with clear, obvious truth and instruction and we know we should act but don’t, we are guilty of failing to respond. We know stories of people who were under conviction, and they knew it, but instead of yielding to the Holy Spirit, they steeled themselves and didn’t respond. Eventually the conviction dissipated, and God left them with the consequences of their decision.

In a less drastic case, I’ve heard men who were sure God was calling them to ministry and they refused the call. They were left with a lifetime of regret and questions of what might have been.

In Matthew 13:13, Jesus explained to His disciples why He taught in parables. He said, “Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Because the crowds refused to acknowledge Jesus’s true identity, choosing instead to see Him simply as a healer, a teacher, a foil for the self-righteous Pharisees, their hearts were hardened to the truth. The disciples, on the other hand, answered Jesus’s call and enjoyed an ever-deepening relationship with Christ.

Our indifference also damages our testimony. When nonbelievers see that our faith can easily be discarded, why would they want to embrace it?

How does it produce hardness?

Failing to respond trains us to ignore the voice of God. The only way we can do that is to harden our hearts against it. God made us for a relationship with Him. We damage the fellowship we enjoy when fail to respond. We show that God’s instructions are not compelling, that His kingdom is not a priority and that His favor is not valued.

How do you soften a heart hardened by a failure to respond?

Submission to the Spirit

Paul issued a quick admonition to the Thessalonians. Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19). The Holy Spirit is the very presence of God in our lives, a gift to guide us and keep us on track. He is tasked with conforming us to Christ’s image. Don’t ignore or interfere with what He is doing with us.

The writer of Hebrews in chapter 3 quotes Psalm 95:7-8.

Today, if you will hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness.”

The hardheartedness is rooted in rebellion rather that submission. It always is.

Faith

Jesus had a rebuke for His disciples after His resurrection.

Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.
Mark 16:14

Faith is Christ, belief in His word is the antidote for a hard heart.

As we wrap up, all hardness of the heart is the outworking of sin in our lives. The writer of Hebrews explains:

[B]ut exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13

We buy into lies and distance ourselves from God. We’ve been doing it since Eden.

Signs of Hardness: Refusing to Listen

By Paula Wiseman

In the Old Testament and New Testament, we are warned not to harden our hearts. In our current series, we’ve begun considering some cautionary signposts that mean we are on the road to a heart hardened toward God. So far we’ve discussed disobedience, wealth, discontent, and rejecting correction. Another sign is refusing to listen.

What does it mean to refuse to listen?

Of course, listening has nothing to do with our physical hearing. Rather, it is to heed, to take to heart, and in Biblical contexts to obey. So, refusing to listen is an insolent act of defiance toward God. The prophet Zechariah records God’s recounting of Israel’s hardness.

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. … “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.”
Zechariah 7:9-12,14

How does it produce hardness?

Listening is a spiritual skill. If we do strengthen our spiritual self, the natural self will step into the vacuum. We know that the natural self wants nothing to do with the things of God, and prefers to cater to its own desires. We have to harden our hearts in order to ignore God’s instructions, God’s correction, God’s voice and walk our own path. We can’t do it otherwise. It is a deliberate choice.

For generations, God sent prophets to His people to point out where they had strayed, where they had violated God’s standards. The prophets also instructed the people on the changes they needed to make and encouraged them to get back on track. The response to Jeremiah was typical

“As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you! But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done…”
Jeremiah 44:16-17

How do you soften a heart hardened by a refusal to listen?

Obedience

The Apostle John gives encourages us: Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 1 John 2:24

A relationship with Jesus is marked by listening to and living according the words of Jesus. If we are obedient to Christ, we will have a soft heart

Humility

Jesus told His disciples:

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

If we grasp that we can do nothing apart from Christ, we will realize how important it is to listen to His word.

Action

The proof that we have heard and understood is that we act. At the end of the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24

It is a mark of wisdom and stability to build our lives on the Word of God. It does no good to hear the words of Christ and walk away unchanged.

Let’s resolve to have a tender listening heart, ready to take whatever action necessary to be conformed to the image of Christ. We owe Him no less.

Next week, one more sign of hardness.

Signs of Hardness: Rejecting Correction

By Paula Wiseman

One of the memorable details in the Exodus is Pharaoh hardening his heart. Despite the miracles, the plagues, the pronouncements of Moses, he persisted, and the end result was God’s judgment on him and his nation. Pharaoh wasn’t the only one with a hard heart. Israel soon developed one in the wilderness. In the Old Testament and New Testament, we are warned not to harden our hearts. It doesn’t happen overnight though. It starts with an action or an attitude and before we know it, we are cold and indifferent to God and His word. We’ve begun considering some cautionary signposts that mean we are on the road to a heart hardened toward God. So far we’ve discussed disobedience, wealth, and discontent. Today, let’s look at rejecting correction.

What does it mean to reject correction?

A large portion of the Old Testament narrative details how God graciously warns His errant people. He sends prophets to tell them where they have gotten off track and what changes they need to make. Unfortunately, they categorically ignored all those warnings. They refused to change, and instead were settled in their hearts and minds that they were okay. The prophets were either misinformed, making a big deal out of nothing, or they were in fact false prophets they should not listen to.

Here’s one example from the time of King Joash. He was a good king who took a hard turn to apostasy later in life.

Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you.’ ” So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 24:19-21

Rejecting correction can lead to a rejection of God’s standards, even with shocking results.

Jesus also warned about the dangers of rejecting a clear message to repent.

The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
Luke 11:32

How does this produce hardness?

Rejecting correction is evidence that we believe we are right and God is wrong. It may not be so overt at first, but that is the foundation we build on. We have no need to change. We self-justify. Our own standards are the ones that matter and we have not violated them. We become arrogant. We don’t need to submit to God.

How do you soften a heart hardened by a rejection of correction?

David’s great psalm of confession and repentance, Psalm 51, serves as a blueprint.

He asks for forgiveness (v. 1-2).
He confesses his sins (v. 3-6).
He prays for cleansing from the sin (v. 7-12).
He recommits himself to God’s service (v. 13-17).
He ends the psalm by praying for his nation (v. 18-19).

Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.
Psalm 51:4

Note that David is not rejecting God’s correction but fully agrees with God and recognizes God’s right to correct him.

Another important thing to remember is that God only corrects His children. Correction is actually confirmation that He loves us and is doing a work in us.

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”
Hebrews 12:5-6

We don’t like to be corrected. It blows up our illusion that we are okay. But rejection of correction when it comes has far more dire consequences. Let’s keep our hearts soft.

Signs of Hardness: Discontent

By Paula Wiseman

One of the memorable details in the Exodus is Pharaoh hardening his heart. Despite the miracles, the plagues, the pronouncements of Moses, he persisted, and the end result was God’s judgment on him and his nation. Pharaoh wasn’t the only one with a hard heart. Israel soon developed one in the wilderness. In the Old Testament and New Testament, we are warned not to harden our hearts. Of course, we would never … It doesn’t happen overnight though. It starts with an action or an attitude and before we know it, we are cold and indifferent to God and His word. We’ve begun considering some cautionary signposts that mean we are on the road to a heart hardened toward God. So far, we’ve discussed disobedience and wealth. Today, let’s look at discontent.

What is discontent?

From the dictionary, discontent is a sense of grievance, a lack of satisfaction with one’s possessions, status, or situation. It is rampant in our culture. We are taught to constantly take inventory, to compare and even disparage those who have what we believe we should have. We manifest our discontent through complaining. We probably don’t think of ourselves as complainers, but we probably know someone who is. (That was tongue in cheek.) Consider your daily routine. The traffic was slow. The coffee has too much or not enough whatever in it. The order wasn’t quick enough. The internet is slow (I’m repenting as I type). That person doesn’t pull their weight. Those rules are useless. That costs too much. And on Sunday, the sermon was too long, too shallow, didn’t address my needs. The music was dull. Or too loud. And on and on and on.

How does complaining produce hardness?

Theologically, it is borne out of envy or covetousness. It is an accusation that God is not good, that He is not fair, that His provision for us is neither adequate nor appropriate. It teaches us that we are the ultimate arbiters of good and right and not Almighty God. Because we don;t want to give up our position, we harden our hearts toward the True God.

“How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about me? I have heard the Israelites’ complaints that they make against me.
Numbers 14:27

God does not tolerate any other gods.

How do you soften a heart hardened by discontent?

The New Testament has some advice for how to soften our hearts.

Service

“It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:26-28

Humility

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 2:3-5

Contentment

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,”
Hebrews 13:5

If your primary thought about others is how to love and serve them, there isn’t room for the envy that produces discontent. When we add to that the perspective that we have Christ’s presence with us, no material things can compare. Finally, our contentment is a powerful witness to the world around us. Paul explains:

Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.
Philippians 2:14-15

Signs of Hardness: Wealth

By Paula Wiseman

One of the memorable details in the Exodus is Pharaoh hardening his heart. Despite the miracles, the plagues, the pronouncements of Moses, he persisted, and the end result was God’s judgment on him and his nation. Pharaoh wasn’t the only one with a hard heart. Israel soon developed one in the wilderness. In the Old Testament and New Testament, we are warned not to harden our hearts. Of course, we would never … It doesn’t happen overnight though. It starts with an action or an attitude and before we know it, we are cold and indifferent to God and His word. We’ve begun considering some cautionary signposts that mean we are on the road to a heart hardened toward God. Last time we discussed disobedience. In this post, we’ll look at wealth.

What is wealth?

The dictionary defines wealth as an abundance of valuable material possessions or resources. We may not consider ourselves wealthy, but look at God’s warning in Deuteronomy.

“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Deuteronomy 8:11-14

Most of us have enough food, decent houses to live in and plenty of stuff, even if we don’t have multiplied silver and gold. God’s warning applies to us.

How does money produce hardness?

Jesus told a parable about a rich man whose harvest exceeded expectations. His response to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to hold all stuff. God called him a fool, and required his soul that very night. The farmer’s comment tips us off to three key ways hardness happens.

‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”‘
Luke 12:19

Self-sufficiency.
Laziness.
Selfishness.

The man had arrived. His hard work had paid off. He didn’t need anything from anyone and he didn’t see a need to be generous with his excess. There was no indication that he was thankful or that he recognized his blessings came from God. He embodies the warning God issued in Deuteronomy. He was proud and forgot God.

We can land in the same place. We can see our things as resulting from our savvy, hard work rather than as a blessing and stewardship entrusted to us from God. We get proud and forget God.

How do you soften a heart hardened by wealth?

Jesus gives us some direction here from the Sermon on the Mount.

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
Matthew 6:20

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Matthew 6:24

He says “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33

In each statement, Jesus challenges us to examine our priorities. Wealth is temporal and temporary. It is a useful tool but not a goal in itself. If acquisition distracts us from serving Chris, it is an idol.

Paul has similar instructions for Timothy

For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
1 Timothy 6:10-11

Wealth is temporal and temporary. It is a useful tool but not a goal in itself. If acquisition distracts us from serving Christ, it is an idol.

Signs of Hardness: Disobedience

By Paula Wiseman

One of the memorable details in the Exodus is Pharaoh hardening his heart. Despite the miracles, the plagues, the pronouncements of Moses, he persisted, and the end result was God’s judgment on him and his nation. Pharaoh wasn’t the only one with a hard heart. Israel soon developed one in the wilderness. In the Old Testament and New Testament, we are warned not to harden our hearts. Of course, we would never … It doesn’t happen overnight though. It starts with an action or an attitude and before we know it, we are cold and indifferent to God and His word. Over the next six posts, we’ll consider some cautionary signposts that mean we are on the road to a heart hardened toward God. We’ll start our discussion with disobedience.

What is disobedience?

It is an act of will. It is a refusal to follow, a refusal to acquiesce to God’s will. It is rebellion. And we are guilty. We know what God expects of us. We know the words Jesus. We know Paul’s exposition on those commands. And we choose not to do them. We can construct a host of excuses, explanations, and justifications, but we are disobedient children.

The first example of hardness

In Genesis 3, we read about Adam’s first sin. We also see in just a few moments how that sin introduced a hardness in his heart that damaged his relationship with God. In verse 10, Adam says, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” What had previously been an invitation to intimate communion with God now touched off a need to hide. Fear and shame overcame the love Adam had for God. And we are no different. When we disobey, we introduce distance into our relationship with God. We don’t want to see Him. We don’t want to hear from Him. We don’t even want to be around His people. We have a hardened heart.

How do we soften a heart hardened by disobedience?

Recognize that your heart is hardened. We have to understand we have a problem before we can take any measure to fix it. (1 John 1:9)

Repent. This is not simply feeling sorry for doing wrong. It must include a course correction. Our lives must change and there should evidence of it. (Acts 26:20)

Renew your relationship with God. The wonder in all of this is that God’s heart remains tender toward us. James gives us a model for restoring the relationship from our end.

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:7-8

Submission (that is, obey God)
Resistance (resist the temptation to disobey)
Draw near (it’s harder to disobey when we are in close communion with God)
Cleanse your hands (make sure our actions reflect our commitment to God)
Purify your hearts (Do all we can, but make room for the Holy Spirit to direct the operation)

Adam’s hardness happened quickly. Our hearts harden just as quickly, but then they continue to callous over time. The longer we let it go, the more difficult and even painful it can be to soften it again. Disobedience is not the only thing that can cause hardness. Next week, we’ll look at something else that can harden our hearts toward God.