The Oberlin Evangelist
HARDNESS OF HEART
January 3, 1844
Modernized by Cliff
Collins
“For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.” (Mark 6:52)
In this passage, Mark was saying that the disciples
did not understand about the miracle of the loaves. Let me tell you the events that led up to this passage. This event took place on the evening of the
day that our lord miraculously fed five thousand with twelve loaves of bread
and two fish. Christ walked out on the
water and met His disciples, who were crossing the sea in a boat. They were quite surprised and astonished to
see Him walking towards them on the water.
They had already forgotten about the wonderful miracle that was
performed before their eyes only a few hours before, and then they were amazed
beyond measure when they saw Christ walking on the water, Mark properly comments
that they had not understood about the loaves because their heart was hardened.
Later on, in the 8th chapter of Mark,
Jesus warned His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the
Sadducees. Now, His disciples thought
that Jesus alluded to the fact that they had set sail without bread. Jesus, perceiving their error, said to them,
“Why do you reason because you have no bread?
Do you not yet perceive nor understand?
Is your heart still hardened?”
(Mark 8:17) In other words, “the fact that you are so wrong about the
meaning of My instruction, is sufficient proof that your hearts are still very
hard.”
Again, Mark 16:14 says, “Afterward He appeared to
the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness
of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had
risen”. Without stopping to expound on
this passage, I will try to show,
I. WHAT IS A HARD HEART?
II. WHAT IS THE INFLUENCE THAT A HARD HEART HAS ON
OUR OPINIONS, JUDGMENTS, AND FEELINGS?
I. WHAT IS A HEARD HEART?
The passages I just read to you, as well as many
other passages that I could quote, show that a hard heart is the result of a
voluntary state of our mind. If it is a
voluntary, or a willful state, it must be because our will is committed to a
selfish choice; our will is committed, for the time being, to some form of
selfishness. The Bible uses the word
‘hardness’ appropriately, because when our heart is in this state, it is
stubborn, it is hard, and it will not yield to the truth. Our hardened heart prevents our mind and our
senses from perceiving, and being properly impressed by the truth. But, I must move rapidly forward and show,
II. THE INFLUENCE THAT A HARD HEART HAS ON OUR
OPINIONS, JUDGMENTS, AND FEELINGS.
1. We know by our consciousness, that our heart
controls the attention of our mind. In
other words, our mind is so completely under the control of our will, that our
will directs our action, or attention, in whatever direction our heart or our
will chooses to go.
2. We also know by our own consciousness, that our
attention affects our emotions. If we
direct our attention to a particular object, focusing on that object
automatically excites certain feelings.
If we draw our attention away from that object for any reason, we
immediately stop feeling for that object.
The kind, or nature, of our feelings, also depends on the view that our
mind takes of the object that we focus on.
If we view something in a particular way, we develop certain states of
feeling; and if we view it in another way, we exercise very different
feelings. These feelings then, depend
on what our mind perceives. Our will,
in turn, controls our mind, and as soon as our will commits itself to any object,
our mind will focus its attention on that object, and, as a result, that same
object will stir up or excite our feelings.
3. When our heart is hard, we do not consider the
truth like we would if our heart was tender and loving. This must be true; because, if our will is
committed to indulging in any form of selfishness, it certainly cannot pay a
calm and dispassionate attention to the truth.
That would be impossible. It
could never happen. Suppose, for
example, that we have committed our hearts and lives to making money for
selfish purposes. All our feelings will
automatically drift in that direction.
It would be absurd to say, that while our will is committed to making
money, we can give serious and candid attention to the great truths of religion.
4. When our heart is hard, we do not understand
truth. Why? Because, if we don’t pay attention to the truth, how can we
understand it? As a result, in the
parable of the sower, Christ represented unrepentant people as “hearing the
word of the kingdom, and not understanding it”. (See Luke 8:5-15) The fact is, wicked men do not think about the
truth. Therefore, they do not
understand the truth; they do not see it in their minds. Therefore, the truth does not move them; it
does not grab a hold of their feelings.
The truth does not sink down to the depths of their emotions, and rouse
them to action.
I would now like to illustrate this proposition, that
a hard heart affects the opinions and feelings of people, by using several
familiar examples. It seems to me, that
I need to illustrate this proposition rather than try to prove it. Therefore, let me begin by saying that I
will illustrate the truth of this proposition
(1.) I would like to use the situation I alluded to
in the first passage that I quoted. Now
the disciples of Christ were surrounded by many peculiar trials. The Holy Spirit had not yet descended on
them. They were comparatively ignorant
of all truth. Temptation severely
tested them, and their faith was very weak.
As a result, they had fallen into a state where their heart was
hard. Therefore, the miracle of the
loaves and fishes made very little impression on them. I’m sure you are familiar with what happened
that day; how that, when the disciples asked Christ to send the multitudes
away, so they could go somewhere to buy food, Jesus refused to send them away,
and wrought a miracle for the feeding of the large crowd who had gathered to
hear Him preach. But, as I said before,
the hearts of the disciples were so hard, that the miracle seemed to have made
very little impression on them.
That same night, as the disciples were rowing as
hard as they could on the storm-tossed Sea of Galilee, Christ came to them, walking
on the water. Mark says that the
disciples were amazed beyond measure when they saw Christ, coming to them,
walking on the water. This fact showed
that the miracle of the loaves and fished did not fix the truth of His divine
nature in their minds, as it should have done.
They should have remembered what happened earlier that day and realized
that Christ would have the power to walk on the water, especially if He
possessed sufficient creative power to feed five thousand miraculously. Instead of being surprised at Jesus walking
on the water, they should have viewed the event as something they could
expect. In fact, their hearts were so
hard, that they did not conclude from the miracle of the loaves, what they
should have concluded from it. They did
not understand that miracle as they should have understood it.
Now in the 8th chapter, the 17th verse, the same
truth is brought to light. Christ
warned His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the
Sadducees. Jesus said this because He
wanted His disciples to be on their guard against their peculiar doctrines,
because Jesus knew very well that these doctrines could easily prejudice their
minds against the truth of His teachings.
He warned them to beware of that leaven, which would spread a harmful
influence over all their opinions and feelings.
But the disciples, because their hearts were hard,
misunderstood the importance of Christ’s warning. And so, they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we
have no bread”. (Mark 8:16) “And Jesus, being aware of it, said to them,
‘Why do you reason because you have no bread?
Do you not yet perceive nor understand?
Is your heart still hardened?’”
(Mark 8:17) In other words, Jesus
is saying, “have you so mistaken the meaning of the miracle that I wrought
yesterday, that you still can’t understand the truth? Is it possible, that you have so misinterpreted my instructions
that you can’t understand the simplest truth that I make known to you?” Again, in the 16th chapter, 14th verse, we
have another remarkable example of the effect of hardness of heart on one’s
perception of truth. Here we are told
that Christ appeared to the eleven, as they sat at a table, and rebuked them
for their unbelief and their hard heart, because they did not believe those who
had seen Him after He was raised from the dead. The fact that they could even doubt the testimony of those who
had actually seen their risen Lord shows that their minds were not fixed and
grounded on the truth. What must have
been the state of their hearts?
Alas! This is another example of
the influence of a hard heart on the perception of truth.
(2.) The situation of the Jews, in general, provides
another stunning example of the blinding effect of a hard heart on the mind. Their hearts were so hard, that no evidence
that Christ could give them could convince them of His Messiahship.
(3.) The situations of careless sinners illustrate
the same truth. Their views and
feelings are a living illustration of the influence a hard heart on their minds
and emotions. Notice, if their hearts
were not hard, and if they had the same light that they now possess, they would
be filled with the bitterest agony instead of being cold and indifferent
concerning religious truth.
(4.) Controversies among brethren in the church
dramatically illustrate the influence of hard hearts on the opinions and
feelings of people. Many times,
brethren have had problems with each other, and have come to lay their
complaints before me, as their pastor, and I have thought to myself, “now the
only problem with these brethren is that their hearts are hard”. Why don’t they understand truth like those
around them? Why, the only reason they
don’t understand truth alike is because their hearts are hard. In other words, they are, for the time
being, so much under the influence of selfish motives, that each person looks
at the object of their controversy in a different light. Therefore, their opinions on the subject
really differ a lot, and they think that the other person is wrong. Often, I have heard opposing brethren, with
hard hearts and stubborn minds, say, about each other, “Why he is so completely
wrong, that he can’t be right. He knows
he is an arrant hypocrite, and he lies outrageously.”
Now such things often rise up between brethren in
the church, and you can usually trace the problem to the hard hearts of both of
the contending parties. The same
brethren will only see the subject of controversy in the same light if their
hearts have been softened. I have known
many problems that exit between brethren, where nothing could convince either
of the parties that they were wrong. In
fact, so great was the obstinate rebelliousness of the disputing parties that
the church would send committee after committee to them, to try to convince
them to come to a friendly resolution of their controversy. Nevertheless, all our efforts didn’t do any
good at all. They would quarrel in
spite of all that the church could do to prevent it. But, when we offer earnest, effective prayer for these brethren,
and the Spirit descends and softens their hearts, then the controversy between
them disappears. The one, who was at
fault, properly confesses, and each sees the subject in dispute, in the same
light as the other.
(5.) Situations often occur in everyday business
transactions that boldly illustrate the results of a hard heart on the mind and
in the senses. How often do people
adopt and employ principles in their business matters, which they would
completely condemn if it weren’t for their hard heart. Yes, they will do things in their business,
day after day, month after month, and even year after year, which they would
hate to do if their hearts were not hard.
(6.) The way in which we regard God’s providences
illustrates the same principle. When
our heart is hard, we don’t see God in His providences. No matter how striking these providences may
be, we look at God’s providences with a cold eye, and regard them as mere
common occurrences. But if our heart is
not hard, God’s providences make a deep impression us; they are regarded as
blessings sent from God. If our hearts
are hard, God’s providences don’t inspire praise; we do not look to or thank
God as the author of them.
Often, emotionally stirring providences occur. Friends, perhaps relatives, are torn apart,
but we don’t observe any evidence that the people who are afflicted feel
bereaved. It doesn’t seem like they realize
their loss. If they do, it is only to
complain about their misfortunes. Now
why does this happen? It is the fact
that, because their hearts are hard, they do not see the providential hand of
God in everything, as they would if their hearts were not hard.
(7.) Of course, the providence of God cannot move
their hearts to gratitude or repentance, when their hearts are hard.
(8.) Even miracles may not make much of an
impression, if the heart is hard. This
was true with the Jews. They stood up
against all the evidence of miracles that Christ could produce. This was especially true with the Scribes
and Pharisees, who were even more hard-hearted than most of the people in their
nation. As a result, the miracles of
Christ made little impression on them.
Christ could not convict them because of their unbelieving minds; and
nothing Jesus could do could break down their stubborn wills.
(9.) People in a hard-hearted state will justify the
most obvious wrongdoing. They will have
some excuse for their behavor. There
will be some reason, which, in their own eyes, requires them, as an act of
duty, to perform the wicked deed. Yes,
they will even imagine that they are doing God a service, when, in fact, they
are committing the most flagrant acts of wickedness. This was the situation with Saul of Tarsus. His heart was hard, and he truly thought he
was doing God a service when he hunted the disciples from place to place, and
delivered them over to judgment and death.
The same is also true, of the persecutors of the Church in every age;
they have thought that they were doing God a service. Yes, their hearts were so hard, that they really imagined that
God called and taught them to do their work of death and blood, even works of
hell. Nothing has been more common in
the Church than this state of mind. Why
has Papal Rome been so zealous in the cause of hell, that she has busily
persecuted and destroyed multitudes of those whom she regards as heretics? It is because her heart has been hard, and
she has been completely wrong concerning the nature of her zeal, and misled as
to the true means of promoting the glory of God.
(10.) Again, look at that slaveholder. See how religious he is. Perhaps he is a Church member, and it may
even be that he is a doctor of divinity, and yet he owns slaves. Oh!
But he owns slaves because he considers it his duty to own them; he does
it in the fear of God, and with due regard to the highest well being of the
slave. Yes, he will dare to justify
himself in his hellish business, and he will even call it God’s service. Now how can this be? I tell you it is because his heart is hard. How do you suppose he can think as he
does? How can he go to the communion
table? How can he pray with his family
while he continues in this extremely wicked business? I say again, it is because his heart is hard.
The murderers of Christ did the very same
thing. When Pilate took Jesus out from
his courtroom, and presented Jesus to the crowd, they cried out with one
accord, “His blood be on us and on our children”. “What” you say, “could they be guilty of so great wickedness and
blasphemy?” Yes, they were so certain
that Christ was an impostor, that they were ready to take the responsibility of
His murder on their own shoulders. They
did not hesitate to cry out “His blood be on us and on our children”. What higher evidence could they give of their
deep delusion, than this? Now what was
wrong with them? How could they seem to
loose all sense of right and justice?
Why, it is clearly because they were so hard-hearted, that all the
evidence which Christ could give them of His Messiahship, fell to the ground,
and they pursued their own course of wickedness, buried in the deepest darkness
of their own ignorance and self-delusion.
(See Matthew 27)
(11.) People whose hearts are hard, will often
embrace the grossest errors, and be very zealous in defending them. Not one form of error has ever been
preached, which has not found some zealous, and even some self-denying
advocates.
(12.) People whose hearts are hard, will often
mistake the bitterest, and even the most ferocious zeal, for true religion. This was true with the crusaders, and with
the Catholic Church in the middle ages.
Now how can it happen that people often make such serious mistakes? We often see people in such circumstances,
or in such a state of mind, as sincere as they can possibly be. They are willing to lay their lives down, to
accomplish the most infamous and wicked plans.
Yes, they are ready to become martyrs; they will rush headlong to the
stake to support their error, or to carry out their unholy plans, which they
call the work of God.
Now, I ask you, how can this happen? This can happen because their hearts are so
hard that they are really deceived, and they mistake what is nothing more than
bitter, ferocious zeal for true religion.
I have often been shocked with those “come outers”, as they are called,
who go around the country, railing at the law and the priesthood, and who
imagine they have a perfect right to stand up in churches, and disturb the
congregations while they are worshipping.
Now these people seem to be so certain that they are right, and that
they are doing God service, that they couldn’t be any more certain even if they
should receive a distinct revelation from Heaven. How does this happen?
Why, this happens because their hearts are hard. It is because of this, that they have fallen
into such a deep and strange delusion.
(13.) Hardhearted people, often mistake the spirit
of fanatical impudence for Christian faithfulness. They are offensively bold.
Sometimes they gossip. We often
we see people going around, talking to their neighbors and others in the most
outrageously offensive manner, and all under the pretense of being governed by
a spirit of Christian faithfulness.
(14.) People, who are in this state of mind, often
mistake the most shocking irreverence for true faith and boldness towards those
around them. We often observe this in
the prayers of such individuals, and in their conversations about God and holy
things.
(15.) Entertaining false hopes is another way that
the influence of a hard heart is demonstrated.
People often “indulge in a hope”, as they call it, when the very fact
that they can even entertain a hope under the circumstances, shows conclusively
that their hearts are very hard. There
probably isn’t one of you, who have not known many individuals who claim to
know Christ, whose lives have been such, that you have been awestruck, that
they can even dare to call themselves Christians. But, their hearts have probably been so hard, that they sincerely
believe that God accepts them, in spite of their foul deeds. This was the situation with the Scribes and
Pharisees who persecuted Jesus. They
thought that they were true saints.
Paul, while he was breathing the very spirit of hell, thought that he
was a real servant of God. The reason
why people make this mistake is because their hearts are so hard that they
don’t have a clue as to what true Christianity really is, they are completely
in the dark as to what the true spirit of religion consists in, and as to who
and what Christ is.
(16.) The influence of a hard heart is illustrated
by the great difficulty that these people have in overcoming false hopes. It is remarkable that the same people that I
have been talking about are the most difficult people in the world to convince
that they are not Christians. Christ,
in His parable of the wise and foolish virgins, alluded to these individuals,
when He said, “afterward the other virgins came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open up
for us’.” (See Matt 25:1-13) Yes, those same people who are influenced by
the spirit of the devil, will often imagine that they are influenced by the
Spirit of Christ; and they will not give up their delusion, but will someday
finally cry out in their blindness, “Lord, Lord open the door for us and let us
in”. Yes, they will not be put down by
preaching, nor by anything else; until Christ finally says to them, “Depart
from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels”. (Matt 25:41) Think about how hard their hearts must be. They will not give up their false hopes,
even if an angel from heaven should warn them so to do. They will cling to their false hopes until
Christ finally banishes them forever, into the lake of everlasting torment.
(17.) The remarkable delusion of many concerning
their spiritual state, illustrates the influence of their hard hearts. I will not dwell on this, however I will say
that
(18.) The fact that hardness of heart affects the
opinions and feelings of people is illustrated by the change of views and
feelings that every Christian experiences, when God thoroughly subdues his
heart. This transformation is often
remarkable! When the love of Christ
softens the heart, everything appears different. Our views are changed on every subject! This change extends to almost every duty, relationship, and act
of our lives. Why, let someone turn
from the service of self to the service of God. Let that person turn from a course in sin to holiness, and he
looks back on his past life with perfect horror. He sees that his past deeds have all been wrong, and he hates
those past deeds as much as he would if his past deeds had come from the
bottomless pit itself. Likewise, a
professing Christian often passes through a period of time when his heart is
hard, and when he comes out into the light and the liberty of the gospel, all
his views of what he has said and done changes. The influence that he has exerted changes; and the way he uses
the talents that God has given him changes.
(19.) We can see the influence of a hard heart in
the different results that the same truth produces on our mind at different
times. How striking is this
difference? Perhaps a truth that we
have heard a hundred times without any conscious effect, all of a sudden,
absorbs our whole soul; and why does this happen? It happens because our heart softens and so our attitude and
attention changes. Then, when the truth
focuses its blazing light upon our souls, the truth warms our soul, melts it,
and makes it as liquid as water.
(20.) We can find another illustration of the same
truth in the different views we take of the Bible at different times. If our heart is hard, we take little
interest in the Bible, unless we read it so we can criticize it, or maybe to
simply gather historical facts. Its
truths don’t affect us very much. Its
truths don’t interest us enough to make us want to devour them. But, let God soften our hearts, and immediately
the Bible seems to change. Why, its
truths strike us so powerfully, they contain so much light, and power, and
love, that they seem to set us afloat, and carry us with omnipotent energy
towards God and heaven. If a person’s
heart becomes thoroughly softened, he becomes so enamored of his Bible, that he
stays up late at night to read it: he carries it with him everywhere he goes,
and whether he is walking or riding, or engaged in business, he is always
pondering on its sacred truths. Yes,
when his heart is hard, his Bible has no hold on him; but when Christ comes,
and softens and subdues his proud spirit, then his Bible becomes a new book to
him. Immediately, it introduces him
into a new state of being, and makes the way of holiness light and clear before
him.
REMARKS.
1. People often attribute the blame of their wrong
doing to anything and anyone other than themselves. For example, you will hear them complaining that the Bible is a
very mysterious book, written in a very mysterious manner, in spite of the fact
that God has said that it is written so clearly that “Whoever walks the road,
although a fool, shall not go astray”. (Isaiah
35:8) “It is so mysterious”, they will
complain, “that I can’t understand it.
Why didn’t God make it so plain that I could easily understand it”? And so, they shove the fault of their
sinning off their shoulders, and place it on the Bible. Because their hearts are hard, they can’t
see how clearly the scriptures are revealed, especially the doctrinal portions
of them. The same is true of the way in
which they receive the preached word.
You will often hear people complaining about the preaching. The very preaching which at one time takes a
strong hold on them, and goes down to the very bottom of their souls, I say,
this same preaching, you will hear them complaining about, some other time, “as
being very dull, the same thing over and over, nothing new, out of place”, and
so forth. Now let the spirit of God
come and soften their hearts, and the preaching sounds entirely new to them; it
is, as it were, a divine unction to their souls every time they hear it. You will hear them say, “Ah that is just
what we needed. It was very
instructive. He said just the right
things at just the right time.”
2. A man may be very sincere in believing a lie, and
the harder his heart becomes the more sincerely he believes that lie. If his heart becomes very hard, he will lay
aside all impartiality, and he will settle down into believing his lie so
firmly that no evidence of any truth, no matter how well it is presented, will
move him from his falsehood. He can
easily believe any lie if it tickles his ear and suits his fancy; and he will
not only believe that lie, but he will turn himself completely over to its
control; and the harder his heart becomes, the more confidence he will have in
that lie, and the fewer misgivings he will have as to its truth.
3. When a person believes a lie, and gives himself
up to the influence of that lie, no matter how sincere his belief may be, he is
still without excuse because he creates his delusion by his own voluntary wickedness. No one forces that lie on him.
4. It is only when judgments or opinions are formed
in a right state of heart, that a person is justified in conforming to those
judgments or opinions. Many people seem
to think that a person is pursuing a virtuous course as long as he conforms to
his own opinions, whether they are right or wrong, as long as he is
sincere. Now sincerity may often be
evidence of great wickedness. A man
cannot be sincere in pursuing a wicked course of life, or in holding on to a
wrong feeling, if his heart is right.
Therefore, a man, who does wrong, is without excuse, no matter how
sincere he may be in the wrong he is doing.
5. The harder their hearts are, the more likely they
are to settle down and become confident in their wrong opinions and
actions. Perhaps when error first
passes through their minds, they have some misgivings about receiving it, but
as their hearts become harder, they become more firmly convinced of its truth,
until at last, they lay aside all doubt, and come to the place where they very
sincerely believe in that lie. We have a remarkable illustration of this truth in the case of
those people who persecuted Christ.
There is no doubt that when Christ first began to preach, the Scribes
and Pharisees had many more misgivings concerning the truth of His doctrine,
than they had at the time they put Him to death. At first they listened to Him attentively, but soon their hearts
grew harder, and they became bolder, until, at last, they, with the whole
Jewish nation, assumed an outrageous tone, denied the holy Jesus, and denied all
His claims to the Messiahship.
6. We often find the greatest confidence where there
is the most delusion. Of all the people
that I have ever met with, or heard about, I think the “come outers” that I
mentioned earlier, are the most self-confident. They seem to think that they are God’s special people, and that
wisdom will die with them. Now, perhaps
in the whole world, you can’t find seven men, who are as completely wrong in
all their principles of action, as these “come outers”. I have also often been amazed by the
assurance of many of the antinomian perfectionists. Why, you might as well question the fact of their existence as to
deny any of their positions. If you
attempt to reason with them, and lay the axe of truth to the root of the tree
of their faith, they will laugh in your face, and all your arguments will fall
to the ground. That is how blind their
delusion has made them.
7. People often become more confident in the belief
of a lie, as the evidence of their error thickens around them. This was the situation with the Jews. The more Christ heaped miracle upon miracle,
and the more Christ appealed to His works, to scripture, and to reason, in
order to prove His Messiahship, the more the Jews grew confident in their
belief that He was an impostor. Yes,
their hearts were so hard, that in spite of all the light that Christ brought
to bear on them, they became as hard as concrete, and, you could say that they
became case hardened against the truth, until at last, they became wrapped up
in a delusion as fatal as anyone can imagine.
8. There is no doubt that millions die every year with a hard heart and a firm hope of everlasting salvation. I remember in my early ministry, I visited a woman who was at the point of death. Although she had been a very abandoned woman, she still had the idea that she was a Christian. She believed that in her youthful days she had seen Christ in a dream, and that she gave herself to the Lord at that time. Her friends tried to convince her of her error, but it didn’t do any good. She insisted on declaring that God accepted her, and she insisted that that she enjoyed religion very much. Knowing all of this, I went to see her. I talked with her for quite a while, trying to tear her from her delusions, but all my efforts were worthless. My efforts were entirely unsuccessful. At last, I knelt down and prayed. I can’t say I was praying effectively, but at any rate, the Spirit of the Lord descended, and tore the veil from the wretched woman’s heart, and oh! What a wail of agony burst from her lips! So shrill and piercing was her cry that even the neighbors heard it. And she continued shrieking and screaming, and her last mortal breath was spent in screaming screams of unimaginable agony.
However, the most remarkable experience, of this kind, that I ever had, was something that happened in the city of New York, while I was preaching there. A man, whose name I can’t remember, came into the city, and married a lady who was one of my church members. She persuaded him to accompany her to Church. He appeared to be a serious man, and he appeared to listen to the truth, and before long, he was hopefully converted, and from what little I saw of him in inquiry meetings, I thought he appeared very well. I soon lost sight of him, and would occasionally ask his wife how he was doing spiritually. “Well, I don't know”, she would say, “He is a very mysterious man. He is so constantly engaged in writing, that I see very little of him, and therefore, I don’t know what to think of his religion.” “Why, what is he writing”? I asked. “Well, I don’t know”, she said, “he keeps his papers so closely locked up, that I hardly ever see them, but he says that he is writing a church history”. Things went on this way for two or three years. The man continued to profess religion, and as far as I knew, his outward walk was consistent with his profession of faith.
Finally, one day he was stricken with consumption, but he did not appear to be alarmed at all. In fact, he seemed to be happy at the fact that death was approaching. He asked his physician how long he thought he would live, and if there was a chance that he would live until a certain day. The physician, observing his calm and happy state of mind, did not hesitate to tell him that it was not likely that he would live until the day that he named. The man seemed to be happy when he heard that news. He apparently continued to enjoy religion, and as the day of his death drew near, he seemed to grow increasingly spiritual. His conversation soon came to savor so much of heaven, that many people visited him on purpose to enjoy it. He seemed to delight in prayer, and in singing praise to God. By the way, all this time, he was frequently asking if he would live to the day that he had mentioned to his physician.
At last, the morning of that day arrived, and it was clear that he was just on the edge of death. He called his friends around him, requested them to sing a hymn, bade them good-bye, telling them that he hoped to meet them in heaven, and then he died. Now listen, while he was lying there, his corpse still warm and quivering, the sheriff entered the house with a warrant for his arrest on the charge of forgery. The officer brought with him the most clear and convincing proof that the charge was well founded, indeed it was soon discovered that this very man who had just left earth to go, as he hoped, to heaven, had been engaged for years in a system of the most daring forgeries, which extended throughout this country, and even across Europe. As soon as the dreadful fact was announced, the horror stricken wife went to the bed side of her dead husband, and turning down the cloth from his cold and pallid face, she cried out in unutterable anguish of spirit, “You wretch, how could you deceive me in this manner”? Think of that, you who are wives. Think of looking on the marble face of your dead husband, and calling him a wretch. This was the most remarkable case of self-delusion that I had ever encountered, and it taught me this good lesson, to frequently ask whether my opinions were being formed under the influence of a hard heart.
9. Can you now see why confession always accompanies
a true revival? When people become
truly converted, and their hearts soften, they are ready to admit that they
have done wrong in the past. Also, when
professing Christians get their hearts softened, and they receive new views of
what they are supposed to do, they do not hesitate to make ample confession of
their past transgressions.
10. No one can be truly revived or converted without
feeling the spirit of confession. The
heart is not really softened if the person is not willing to honestly confess
all his past sins.
11. The way a person confesses their sins often
indicates the state of their heart. There are so many times in my ministry when I wanted to say to
those people that were attempting to vindicate and justify themselves, even
while they were pretending to confess, “Your hearts are not yet softened. Your hearts must be hard otherwise you would
not try to vindicate and justify yourselves this way.”
12. People are often wrong about the true sources of
their problems with religious matters.
They place the blame of their problems on every one but themselves. They look for the cause of their problems everywhere
else besides where they should look. If
their religion is at a standstill, they will probably look around and ask, “Who
is in the way of the work of the Lord”?
They forget that this is the question that they should ask “Is my heart hard? Am I indulging in wicked practices and feelings, which my hard
heart does not let me regard as wrong?"
13. Every one of you should ask yourselves, “Is my heart
hard”? This is the duty of the minister
of the gospel. He may see that religion
declining in his church, but before he looks around for the cause of the coldness,
let him ask himself, “is my heart hard”?
Let professing Christians do this!
Let each one ask himself, “is my heart hard”? Now, why don’t the precious truths of the gospel take a deep hold
of you? Why is it that your souls are
not all liquid and glowing with the love of Christ? Isn’t it because your hearts are hard?
Beloved, shall I not ask myself, “Is my heart hard”? And, will each of you ask yourself “is my heart hard”?