THE CURE FOR A STUBBORN HEART!!!
By Bibleman
Ever wonder where the old saying “He is as stubborn as a mule” ever came from? Possibly from Psalms 32:9. A stubborn person according to the Bible is someone who is disobedient and who refuses to listen to God’s moral laws but chooses rather to walk by the councils and imaginations of his own evil heart being self-willed and obstinate in doing only what he wants to do (Jer. 7:24, 11:8). Stubborn attitudes hinder the blessings of peacefulness and righteousness in our lives (Is.48:18; Jer. 5:23-25). Stubbornness not only hinders us from receiving good things, but also produces many painful hardships and grievous troubles (Ps. 107:11,12; Pr. 17:11; Is. 48:4-10). Because the nation of Israel was a stubborn and obstinate people they had to often be refined in the furnace of affliction (Is. 48:4-10; Ez. 2:3). Find out how you can avoid their mistakes and hardships (2 Chr. 30:8,9)!
DANGEROUS CHARACTERISTICS!
The prophet Samuel revealed that rebellion is as bad as witchcraft and stubbornness is equally as bad as iniquity and idolatry (1 Sam. 15:23). Psalm 78 describes a stubborn and rebellious person as one who: 1. is not obedient to God’s moral laws (7,10) 2. does not put his trust in God (7,22) 3. does not have a heart that is right with God (8,37) 4. does not have a spirit that is steadfast with God (8, 37) 5. refuses to walk by God’s righteous standards (10) 6. does not have enough faith in God (22, 32) 7. complains about reproof and correction (19) 8. is often unfaithful and deceitful (8,36,57) 9. is very sinful and unholy (17) Stubborn and rebellious people can be very dangerous at times. Often they seek to discredit, revile, mock, and persecute God’s servants because they don’t want to be warned of their sinful condition (Mt. 23:30-37). Jesus called the religious hypocrites of His day “serpents and vipers” who were headed for damnation in hell (Mt. 23:33). These stubborn religious pretenders were guilty of murdering God’s prophets who were sent to warn them of their hypocrisy. These dangerous men also instigated the murder of Jesus Himself!
CHRISTIANS ARE REPROVERS
There are three groups of stubborn people that Christians must deal with. It is a Christian’s biblical duty to persuade unbelievers to repent and turn from their iniquity and warn them of the consequences if they don’t. It is also our duty to warn and rebuke any believer who walks in sin (Jer. 3:18-21). God requires obedience to His moral laws and righteous conduct from all believers. So the first group are the wicked unsaved who resist salvation and godly living (Jer. 3:18,19) The second group is the religious hypocrites and those who fall into error and resist the right way, disregard biblical truth and persist in their erroneous ways. These we must rebuke with all authority and warn them of their false ways (Mt. 23; 2 Tim. 4:2; Tit. 2:15). The last group to be reproved are the righteous saved who turn from living right to commit sin (Jer. 3:20). For this reason Christians should exhort each other on a daily basis “lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.” (Heb. 3:13,14) It is extremely important that we warn believers who think that grace is a guaranteed gift certificate into heaven. The Bible plainly teaches that grace is God’s gift of salvation to those who obey His laws and live righteously. This free gift of grace can be revoked if any believer decides to turn from the righteous conduct that God requires to a life of sin (Ez. 3:20; Rev. 3:2-5). We must not fail to warn, persuade and correct these people when we have the opportunity or we could be held accountable to God. How they choose to respond when we warn them and rebuke them will then be their responsibility (Jer. 3:18-21).
UNHOLY LIFESTYLES
The Bible tells us some of the spiritually rotten behaviors that stubborn and obstinate people can have. Because many obstinate people will not accept or even hear the truth about God’s moral laws and holy standards they reject them by joining dead and lifeless churches that have ministers who will preach smooth and easy things that their itching ears want to hear (Pr. 29:1; Jer. 17:23;Mt. 13:15; 2 Tim. 4:3). These types of churches and pastors allow sinful and rebellious people to continue to resist the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51), divorce and remarry as often as they want (Mt. 19:8-10), have hearts and minds that are puffed-up and hardened in pride (Dan. 5:20), remain spiritually blind and impenitent (Mk. 8:17,18; Rom. 2:5), disobey and despise God’s word, His commandments, His moral laws and His will (Ex. 20:16; Num. 20:24, 27:14; Deut. 1:26,43), prosper through crooked and dishonest practices (Jer. 5:24), and sin willfully leading unholy, self-willed, lifestyles. Avoid these ungodly behaviors by yielding yourselves to Christ and His righteousness (Mt. 6:33; Col. 3:1-10)!
GOD’S ATTITUDE
How do stubborn attitudes affect God? The Bible says that a complaining and obstinate attitude displeases the Lord (Num. 11:1). Stubborn attitudes vex His Holy Spirit and grieve Him (Is. 63:10; Mk. 3:5). God withholds blessings from those who are stubborn and rebellious (Ps. 68:6). Those who continue to be contrary and self-willed after many attempts have been made to correct them, risk angering and infuriating the Lord (Deut. 31:27-29; Ez. 20:21). God fights against all who rebel against Him and reject His laws becoming their enemy. So, if you don’t
want God for an enemy then you better shape up! If you persist in doing what is wrong and continue to disregard God’s moral laws and commandments you could provoke Him to wrath (Ex. 32:10-12). If we stubbornly reject the word of God—God will also reject us and cancel out all the blessings that He intended to give us. The stubborn, self-willed, King Saul is a perfect example of this (1 Sam. 15:26-28). Rebelliousness will not only hinder blessings but cause many hardships in our life leading to desolation and destruction, if the Lord is unable to reprove us (Deut. 9:27; 2 Chr. 30:7; Jud. 2:19-23, 21:18-21; Pr. 29:1). “Because I have called and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded; but ye have set at naught all my council; and ye would have none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish come upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer…They would none of my council: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices (Prov. 1:24-31).”
A SERIOUS OFFENSE
Rebellious attitudes are a serious offense against God and His righteous standards. I believe that the Jewish Holocaust was a direct consequence of the stubbornness and sinfulness of the nation of Israel throughout the centuries (Dan. 9:10,11), according to the prophecy in Deut. 31:29. Another result of the stubbornness of the Jewish people is their present state of spiritual blindness and the reason they will only accept the Old Testament. Only when they finally turn to Christ will this dark veil be taken away from their heart (2 Cor. 3:13-16). God “will render to every man according to his deeds (Rom. 2:6).” Those who stubbornly rebel and resist to the end will receive eternal damnation (Rom. 13:2; 2 Thes. 1:8,9).
THE SOLUTION!
Christ is the answer for all who have a stubborn heart like adamant stone (Is. 1:18-20; Zech. 7:11,12; Heb. 4:7). Only true repentance and conversion can bring healing from spiritual blindness, stubbornness and hardness of heart (Mt. 13:15; Jn. 12:40; Acts 28:27; 2 Cor. 3:13-18). God says “Why should you be stricken anymore? Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil (Is. 1:5,16).” Let God be your Father (2 Cor. 6:1) who lovingly disciplines, corrects, and blesses (Pr. 3:12) your Potter who molds you into the person He wants you to be (Is. 64:8) your Lord and Savior who provides, teaches, cleanses and saves (Mt. 8:19,23:8; Lk. 8:24; Jn. 13:10-13; Col. 4:1). “Obey my voice and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk in all the ways I have commanded you, that it may be well with you (Jer. 7:23).”
