Divine Sovereignty and the Transformation of Hard Hearts
Devotional
Sermon Summary
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Sermon Clips
"There is no hardness in the human heart against God, either from God's decree or from human depravity, which is so hard that God himself cannot overcome it and save the hardest sinner. This is the very heart of the new covenant promise of Ezekiel 11:19. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. Nothing is too hard for the Lord Jeremiah 32:17." [00:01:46]
"Thousands of people listening have friends and family who have been resistant to the gospel for years, and how easy it is to despair that they could ever be saved. They're just too hard, so our hearts tempt us to believe. But what I want to stress here at the outset is that it is the very omnipotence, the very sovereignty and freedom of God who says I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will harden whom I harden." [00:02:34]
"Paul traces the condition of Gentiles—that's virtually all of us, and he's going to say in a minute that includes the Jewish people as well—he traces our condition back through futile minds, through darkened understandings, through alienation from God, through ignorance, and finally at the bottom, to hardness of heart. That's the root problem, and Paul makes plain that this hard spiritual deadness is universal for Jew and Gentile, not just Gentiles." [00:04:36]
"This is the condition of every human being. We are by nature sons of disobedience, verse two. That is, by nature we disobey. It's our nature to disobey. By nature we rebel. By nature we are selfish and God-ignoring, God-belittling, and therefore by nature we deserve God's wrath." [00:06:56]
"Paul's answer in Romans 5 is that Adam's sin has infected his race. That is, the punishment that fell on Adam fell on all who are part of Adam as his descendants. Here's how Paul puts it in Romans 5:18. One trespass led to condemnation for all. By one man's disobedience, the many were appointed sinners." [00:07:21]
"Paul traces the deliverance from hardness back to the election of grace, which happened before the foundation of the world. He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1:4. So from the beginning, that is the very beginning of God's eternal planning before creation, from the beginning he chose to save his people through Christ from this condition of hardness." [00:09:49]
"We should be very, very thankful that our eyes are open to the truth and beauty of Christ and that our heart of stone has been taken out because we did not bring this about ourselves. This rescue from hardness was a sovereign work of God who chose us before the foundation of the world to be his soft, believing children." [00:10:14]
"It is naive to look at culture sinking deeper and deeper into sin, which I believe ours is, and to say only that this culture is ripening for judgment. Well, that's true, but it conceals another more fundamental truth, namely, the sinking deeper and deeper into the bondage of sin itself is God's judgment." [00:11:15]
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. That suppression is the handing over of God, which is a manifestation of his judgment and his wrath. So the sinking of individuals and the sinking of cultures, even the disappearance of cultures into more and more blatant sin, is always owing both to our natural hardness of heart against God and to God's giving us over to that hardness." [00:11:39]
"There is one hope through the gospel because God promises in the new covenant, which is a gospel promise in Ezekiel 11:19, I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. That's our prayer, that's our cry for ourselves, our friends, our family, and whole cultures that God would take out the heart of stone." [00:12:42]
"Such an important dynamic to understand in scripture and then to see applied in broader culture today. Thank you, Pastor John, and thanks for listening. If you want new episodes of this podcast delivered to you, subscribe to Ask Pastor John in your favorite podcast app and Spotify or by subscribing to DG's YouTube channel." [00:13:15]
"To find other episodes in our archive or to submit a question to us like Nate did today, do that online at desiringgod.org forward slash ask pastor John. On Monday, we hear from a listener to the podcast who recently sought after a prostitute and is now devastated at this decision. Even in seeking a prostitute, has he crossed a line for which he cannot return? Pastor John will address that when we return on Monday next week." [00:13:20]
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"Thousands of people listening have friends and family who have been resistant to the gospel for years, and how easy it is to despair that they could ever be saved. They're just too hard, so our hearts tempt us to believe. But what I want to stress here at the outset is that it is the very omnipotence, the very sovereignty and freedom of God who says I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will harden whom I harden." [00:02:34]
"Paul traces the condition of Gentiles—that's virtually all of us, and he's going to say in a minute that includes the Jewish people as well—he traces our condition back through futile minds, through darkened understandings, through alienation from God, through ignorance, and finally at the bottom, to hardness of heart. That's the root problem, and Paul makes plain that this hard spiritual deadness is universal for Jew and Gentile, not just Gentiles." [00:04:36]
"This is the condition of every human being. We are by nature sons of disobedience, verse two. That is, by nature we disobey. It's our nature to disobey. By nature we rebel. By nature we are selfish and God-ignoring, God-belittling, and therefore by nature we deserve God's wrath." [00:06:56]
"Paul's answer in Romans 5 is that Adam's sin has infected his race. That is, the punishment that fell on Adam fell on all who are part of Adam as his descendants. Here's how Paul puts it in Romans 5:18. One trespass led to condemnation for all. By one man's disobedience, the many were appointed sinners." [00:07:21]
"Paul traces the deliverance from hardness back to the election of grace, which happened before the foundation of the world. He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1:4. So from the beginning, that is the very beginning of God's eternal planning before creation, from the beginning he chose to save his people through Christ from this condition of hardness." [00:09:49]
"We should be very, very thankful that our eyes are open to the truth and beauty of Christ and that our heart of stone has been taken out because we did not bring this about ourselves. This rescue from hardness was a sovereign work of God who chose us before the foundation of the world to be his soft, believing children." [00:10:14]
"It is naive to look at culture sinking deeper and deeper into sin, which I believe ours is, and to say only that this culture is ripening for judgment. Well, that's true, but it conceals another more fundamental truth, namely, the sinking deeper and deeper into the bondage of sin itself is God's judgment." [00:11:15]
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. That suppression is the handing over of God, which is a manifestation of his judgment and his wrath. So the sinking of individuals and the sinking of cultures, even the disappearance of cultures into more and more blatant sin, is always owing both to our natural hardness of heart against God and to God's giving us over to that hardness." [00:11:39]
"There is one hope through the gospel because God promises in the new covenant, which is a gospel promise in Ezekiel 11:19, I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. That's our prayer, that's our cry for ourselves, our friends, our family, and whole cultures that God would take out the heart of stone." [00:12:42]
"Such an important dynamic to understand in scripture and then to see applied in broader culture today. Thank you, Pastor John, and thanks for listening. If you want new episodes of this podcast delivered to you, subscribe to Ask Pastor John in your favorite podcast app and Spotify or by subscribing to DG's YouTube channel." [00:13:15]
"To find other episodes in our archive or to submit a question to us like Nate did today, do that online at desiringgod.org forward slash ask pastor John. On Monday, we hear from a listener to the podcast who recently sought after a prostitute and is now devastated at this decision. Even in seeking a prostitute, has he crossed a line for which he cannot return? Pastor John will address that when we return on Monday next week." [00:13:20]
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