Stubborness(obduracy)
Summary
A state of persistent willful resistance to God, characterized by hardness of heart and refusal to repent despite divine warnings.
☩The Nature of Hardness
Stubbornness in Scripture is often expressed as hardness of heart—a condition of moral incorrigibility. Jesus was grieved by 'the hardness of their hearts,' and Paul speaks of hardness happening to Israel in part. This state involves resistance to God's truth, a deadened conscience, and unwillingness to acknowledge sin or submit to divine authority.
☩Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
When Scripture speaks of God hardening hearts (as with Pharaoh), this must be understood as God permitting the consequences of willful rebellion. God's providences may be perverted by human willfulness, turning blessings into occasions for greater hardness. The hardening is not God's arbitrary action but the result of persistent human opposition to grace.
☩Warnings Against Stubbornness
Scripture urgently warns against hardening the heart: 'Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.' The writer of Hebrews uses Israel's wilderness rebellion as a cautionary example. One who is often reproved yet hardens his neck will suddenly be destroyed without remedy. The antediluvians, Sodomites, and rebellious Israelites all serve as warnings of judgment upon the obstinate.
☩The Danger of Final Hardness
By persistent opposition to God, sinners may so destroy or deaden their conscience as to be practically beyond hope of restoration. Paul speaks of those whose consciences are 'seared with a hot iron' and whom God gives over to a reprobate mind. This fearful condition results not from divine determination but from inveterate human perversity.
Related Verses12 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Judicial Blindness Or Hardness," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IX (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).