The story of King Saul is a sad account of a man who hardened his heart to the Lord. 1 Samuel 15 describes how Saul failed to obey the explicit command of the Lord and subsequently refused to repent and soften his heart to the Lord. Saul’s life is an unfortunate reminder that few things are more devastating to the Christian life than a hardened heart toward God. Psalm 95:7-8 remind us, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
How can we believers protect ourselves from hardened hearts? Here are five causes of hardness to watch for in our lives.
- Indulging the Desires of the Flesh. The world today tells us that if it looks good, seems good, or sounds good we should do it! But Galatians 5:16-26 remind us that the desires of our flesh are in constant conflict with Holy Spirit residing within us. Each time we choose to give in to sinful desires as believers we are in turn hardening ourselves to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, and God’s Word is clear that gratifying the desires of our sinful nature will eventually harden ourselves to God and his truth (Romans 1:18-32). We maintain soft hearts before the Lord when we heed the convicting work of the Spirit and elect to not gratify the desires of our flesh.
- Indifference to the Needs of Others. 1 John 3:17 warns, “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” John’s words remind us that indifference to the needs of others within the church is in truth a hardness of heart toward God and all that he has given to us. We are to see needs within the body as an opportunity instead to demonstrate the love, kindness, and generosity that God has shown us through the provision of his Son Jesus Christ.
- Ignoring the Word of God. Revelation 2:1-7 warns that when we hear the Word of God but do not act upon it, we risk in turn becoming hardened to the transforming power of God’s truth. John describes similarly how many people who heard the message of Jesus were hardened by it because they refused to respond (John 12:37-43). John Piper encourages us, “Don’t be cavilier in the hearing of God’s Word week after week. If it is not softening and saving and healing and bearing fruit, then it is probably hardening and blinding and dulling” (“Take Care How You Listen”, Desiring God, 2012).
- Unresolved Anger. While the Word of God doesn’t tell us to never experience anger, it warns clearly against anger that remains unresolved (Ephesians 4:26-27). Anger left unaddressed opens us to spiritual attacks which result in bitterness, wrath, slander, malice, and many other sins (Ephesians 4:31). Paul exhorts instead, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). We guard our hearts from hardness when we remember the love and compassion and forgiveness that God has demonstrated to us, and when in turn we extend that same love and compassion and forgiveness unto others.
- Pride. Perhaps the most common cause of a hardened heart is simply pride. Proverbs 28:14 warns, “Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.” Pride causes us to see ourselves as better than we are, blinds us to the reality of our sinfulness, and ultimately hardens us toward God. Pride hardens our hearts by rendering us unable to admit wrongdoing or seek forgiveness from others, and in turn it hardens us to the discipline and correction of the Lord. We maintain soft hearts before the Lord when instead we humble ourselves before others in confession of sin and seeking of forgiveness, and when above all we remember the majesty and glory of the God we serve. Proverbs 1:7 reminds us powerfully, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…”
Jesus reminds us in Luke 6:45, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” We must monitor the actions of our individual lives each day and ask whether they point to soft or hardened hearts before the Lord. And where there is hardness my friends, may we heed the words of the Psalmist, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Psalm 95:7-8).
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