Having Ears To Hear They Hear Not

“ And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him” Acts 28:23-31.

Here Paul quotes from the prophet Isaiah 6:9-10. Isaiah speaks of the rebellious heart of his people Israel. Paul speaks of the disobedient heart of those he taught in Rome (Those he is speaking about were probably Jews based on the statement “salvation is sent unto the Gentiles and they will hear it). The fact that the problem they were having was a heart condition is evident from verse 27 “for the heart of this people has waxed gross.” The word gross means “to thicken, fatten, to render callous.” As a result, they did not see, hear nor understand because of the condition of their hearts (minds). We see this in people every day in religion, politics and everyday life. A person of a particular religious belief, which they have been taught all their life refuses to be open minded about the truth of the bible. Hebrews 6:4-6 has reference to the person who has left the faith and developed such a condition of heart that he can no longer be reached.

It is one thing for people in denominationalism and the world to have such an attitude, it is bad enough, but when God’s own people have such an attitude that is even more tragic. The Christians are the ones who are to let their light shine before men that their heavenly father can be glorified Matthew 5:16. When they have the attitude expressed by Isaiah and Paul they do extensive harm to the cause of Christ and his body the church. The fact that members of the church also have this attitude of obstinacy is very observable by the fruit that is produced. You can tell a tree by the fruit it bears, can we not Luke 6:43-45? This attitude is not only in the world but also in the church. It not only exists among members, but elders, deacons, preachers, bible class teachers, etc. What happened to the attitude of the Bereans or Cornelius Acts 17:11 and Acts 10:31?

One can preach, or teach on any number of subjects: marriage and divorce and remarriage, the importance of assembling with the saints in bible class and worship assembly, forgiveness, prayer, study, kindness, women’s role in the church, the danger of denominationalism, and liberalism and there is the attitude of indifference or rebellion. They have ears to hear but they don’t hear, they have eyes to see and they see not, neither do they understand. Why? Because their hearts are thickened, they are calloused and no longer are sensitive to the power of the gospel.

What type of heart do we have? Are our minds closed to anything we do not want to accept? Do we turn a deaf ear to truth because we do not like the person who delivers it or the way he delivers it? Do I have my mind so set that no matter what is said or the proof given that I refuse to consider it? Where is the good soil? What kind of soil are you?

Bill Cantrell