As I made preparation this week to teach my Tuesday Men’s Breakfast, I saw something in the Greek New Testament I had not seen before.
I am teaching foundational principles for our men from Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Romans 1 tells us that the Gentiles are without excuse. God has made Himself known to all through natural revelation. Romans 2 tells us that though the Jews of Paul’s day thought of themselves as superior to the Gentiles, they too were without excuse. They should not judge the Gentiles.
All of this leads to Romans 3 which says we are all sinners and without excuse. We obviously need what only God can do for us.
In the midst of this discussion, Paul made two powerful corrections to the way people think. First, he told the Romans God is patient and forebearing in order to lead us to repentance. God does judge wickedness. He desires that we turn from our sin.
Second, Paul asserted “by your hard and impentent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:5). The Greek word for “hard” is the background for our word “arteriosclerosis,” referring to the dangerous condition of the hardening of the arteries.
A worse condition is the hardening of the heart. Our tendency to forget God and think only of ourselves (a spiritual scleroris), leads us unprepared for the day of the Lord’s return (the day of wrath). In that day He “will render to every man according to his works” (Romans 2:6). We are spending our lives storing up wrath for ourselves.
God wants us to “think heavenly,” to store up treasure in heaven. He wants our hearts to be soft and compliant, the very opposite of hard and resistant hearts.
Knowing the day is coming when all will be judged, we need to look closely at our hearts. Are we obedient to God, desiring to be open to every command of His? Or, do we pick and choose what we believe and how we behave?
To do the latter is to have a spiritual sclerosis which is far worse than the deadly arteriosclerosis. The writer of Hebrews saw the eternal danger of this position. Three times he quoted from Psalm 95:8 with the exhortation that the people not become like the Hebrews in the wilderness who hardened their hearts: “Today when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7).
Can anything be worse than a spiritual sclerosis?
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I stand continually amazed at what jewels are hidden in plain sight, until viewed in the Light of the Son.
Blessings
I WAS REMINDED THIS MORNING OF A MAN WHO CAME TO LIVE WITH HIS WIFE, TOGETHER, A LIFE FILLED WITH MAKING THE CASE FOR HUMAN INTERDEPENDENCE, WILL DURANT
11 Volumes with 12th unfinished
The Story of Civilization, Vol III: Caesar and Christ.
“The Christian evidence for Christ begins with the letters ascribed to Saint Paul. Some of these are of uncertain authorship; several, antedating A.D. 64, are almost universally accounted as substantially genuine. No one has questioned the existence of Paul, or his repeated meetings with Peter, James, and John; and Paul enviously admits that these men had known Christ in his flesh. The accepted epistles frequently refer to the Last Supper and the Crucifixion…. The contradictions are of minutiae, not substance; in essentials the synoptic gospels agree remarkably well, and form a consistent portrait of Christ. In the enthusiasm of its discoveries the Higher Criticism has applied to the New Testament tests of authenticity so severe that by them a hundred ancient worthies, for example Hammurabi, David, Socrates would fade into legend. Despite the prejudices and theological preconceptions of the evangelists, they record many incidents that mere inventors would have concealed the competition of the apostles for high places in the Kingdom, their flight after Jesus’ arrest, Peter’s denial, the failure of Christ to work miracles in Galilee, the references of some auditors to his possible insanity, his early uncertainty as to his mission, his confessions of ignorance as to the future, his moments of bitterness, his despairing cry on the cross; no one reading these scenes can doubt the reality of the figure behind them. That a few simple men should in one generation have invented so powerful and appealing a personality, so loft an ethic and so inspiring a vision of human brotherhood, would be a miracle far more incredible than any recorded in the Gospel. After two centuries of Higher Criticism the outlines of the life, character, and teaching of Christ, remain reasonably clear, and constitute the most fascinating feature of the history of Western man.”
THANK YOU!
This morning in men bible study group we looked at Daniel chapter 4 and discussed the issue of pride. How prideful King Nebuchadnezzar was and the year long opportunity he was given to humble himself before he became like cattle. When someone hardens their heart I see how the issue and sin of pride comes into existence. God let me see how pride and spiritual sclerosis is a barrier between man and God. I couldn’t help but think how hard it is in today’s world for God to find someone to use for his purposes and give the praise and glory to God instead of being prideful and trying to take credit. Thank you pastor.
No wonder pride is often called the greatest sin.