A. Hardness of heart is a spiritual condition that afflicts many people and threatens all of us.
B. This condition is not defined by a single characteristic, but rather hardness of heart is a combination of traits. Let us consider some of those traits and then examine our own hearts.
II. WHAT ARE THE TRAITS OF A HARDENED HEART?
A. Stubbornness against God's word is one trait belonging to hardened hearts.
1. A hard-hearted person refuses to listen and yield to the word of God.
2. Consider two examples of the stubbornness of hard-hearted men.
a. The Pharaoh of Egypt in Moses' time is the most recognizable example in Scripture of a hard-hearted man who refused to yield to God's word.
i. The book of Exodus records many times when Pharaoh's heart was hardened (Ex. 4:21; 7:3, 13, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 12, 34, 35; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8).
ii. In some instances, the Scripture says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, and in others it says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. These all describe the same process, for it was God who sent the message that hardened Pharaoh's heart, and it was Pharaoh who refused to listen to God's word and hardened his own heart.
iii. The message was simple: "Let My people go." Pharaoh refused, and thus his heart was hardened.
b. Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, also hardened his heart. Consider his example in 2Chronicles 36:12-13:
12He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God; he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the LORD. 13He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. But he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel.
c. Both of these men heard the word of God, but they refused to submit themselves to it. Like clay that has hardened and cannot be molded, so also their hearts were hardened so that they would not be transformed by God's message.
3. Such stubborn hard-heartedness is present today in those who refuse to yield to the gospel of Christ.
a. For those who refuse to change their sinful ways, notice the message of Romans 2:5:
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
b. Just as Egypt suffered the ten plagues and destruction in the Red Sea and Zedekiah saw his kingdom destroyed by the Babylonians, so also those who are hard-hearted to the gospel of Christ will suffer "the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2Thess. 1:9).
B. Another set of characteristics belonging to hardened hearts is unbelief and ignorance.
1. Hardness of heart prevented many of the Jews from believing in Jesus.
a. Concerning the unbelieving Jews, notice John 12:37-40:
37But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. 38This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" 39For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40"He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them."
b. The unbelief of the Jews was not a matter of ignorance or lack of evidence. Instead, it was a stubborn condition of the heart that prevented them from seeing the obvious, which was that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
c. It was for this reason that Jesus spoke to them in parables. Notice Matthew 13:13-15:
13"Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; 15for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.'"
2. The Gentiles were also afflicted with a hardness of heart that prevented them from knowing God.
a. Paul explained what had happened to the Gentiles in Romans 1:21:
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
b. Like the Jews, the Gentiles' unbelief was due to a willful hardness of heart, for the evidence of God was abundant, but they chose to be ignorant and foolish (Rom. 1:19-20).
c. The hardness of the Gentiles' hearts led to their depravity. Notice Ephesians 4:17-19:
17So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
3. Even the Lord's disciples were sometimes hard of heart, and this hindered their belief in Him.
a. Once when the apostles were worried because they forgot to take bread with them, Jesus rebuked them for their hardness of heart. Notice Mark 8:17-21:
17And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? 18Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, 19when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?" They said to Him, "Twelve." 20"When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?" And they said to Him, "Seven." 21And He was saying to them, "Do you not yet understand?"
b. Later when the eleven apostles would not believe the reports of Christ's resurrection, He appeared to them "and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen" (Mark 16:14).
III. HOW TO AVOID A HARDENED HEART
A. King Josiah provides an excellent example of how to avoid having a hardened heart.
1. Consider God's words to Josiah in 2Kings 22:18-19:
18..."Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Regarding the words which you have heard,19because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,' declares the LORD."
2. Rather than showing hardness of heart by stubbornness and unbelief, Josiah showed the tenderness of his heart by his humility, his mourning, and his willingness to receive the word of God. Because of this, Josiah was spared from seeing the punishment God eventually brought on Judah.
B. Therefore, let us choose to follow the example of Josiah rather than the example of Pharaoh.
1. Make the decision to carefully consider the word of God in all respects. Be open to all of its messages. Set aside preconceived ideas as well as pride and selfishness. "Do not be unbelieving, but believing" (John 20:27).
2. If you are pierced to the heart (Acts 2:37) by any part of God's word, then yield to its message. If it is a matter of sin or error, then humble yourself, express godly sorrow, and change your ways to conform to the will of God.
3. If you refuse to yield to the will of God, then consider the question of 1Samuel 6:6 -- "Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts?" You know the outcome for Pharaoh and the Egyptians; why follow their steps?
IV. CONCLUSION
A. Put simply, a hardened heart is one that has become insensitive to the things of God.
B. Let us be careful to maintain tender, sensitive hearts so that we will always receive the word of God.
