And even
if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age [Satan] has blinded the minds of
unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the
glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4).
Have you ever wondered why God hardened Pharaoh’s heart then punished him for it? That doesn’t seem very fair of God, you are probably thinking, and you would be right. But it was not God who hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but Pharaoh that allowed the god of this age to harden it first (Exodus 7:14). God only fortified the king’s choice so that His power and glory might be established over the gods of Egypt. God is not willing that any should perish in their sin, but that all should come to repentance (2nd Peter 3:9).
I still have
close friends, and even family members, who have chosen to ignore the good news
of the freedom found in Christ’s redemptive work and are blinded by the god of
this age. I have a cousin who refused an obvious call to follow Christ at 16. In
refusing he said, “I’ll accept him as Lord when I’m old.” He’ll turn 70 this
year and remains steadfast in his refusal. He’s had an additional 50+ years for
his heart to harden, and he remains an angry and inflexible old
man, still blinded from the healing and freedom only the Son of God could have
given him in those years (John 8:36). God is still speaking, but
he has ceased listening.
I’m not
offering these words to any pharaohs whose hearts have hardened beyond God’s
help, but to those of you who might be seriously searching for that freedom
that only the Son of God, Christ Jesus, can give. Scripture says to believe in
Him and repent. To believe means to accept that He, and He alone, is the ONLY
way to God (John 14:6). To repent means to turn to God in
obedience (Acts 3:19).
I am
speaking to those of you who’ve been mixing a life of anger and bitterness into
a heart-hardening rock of resistance. I am also addressing this to believers
who are longing to renew and refresh the faith they once experienced. For all,
the hour has already come for you to wake from your slumber, because your liberation
and restoration is nearer now than when you first believed (Romans 13:11).
Pharaoh chose
to harden his heart to the point God could no longer deal with it. God will
never violate a person’s free will. All souls are eternal, as they live on
after death; some to everlasting peace with God, and some to everlasting separation
and contempt. If Pharaoh didn’t know then, he certainly knows now.
This is your
time and your year. Christ has paid it all to introduce you to His Heavenly
Father into a new and better life. Awake from your slumber, and blindness. See
the light of the gospel. If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1st
John 1:9).
Your
salvation is indeed nearer than you believed. Why not trust Jesus to give it to
you? What have you got to lose?
God is
speaking. Are you listening?
With Love,
Ken
