II. RENDER THEIR HEARTS INSENSITIVE, THEIR EARS DULL
A. It has always been God’s design that some would hear and understand the gospel while others would hear and never understand.
1. We know that salvation comes through faith (Eph. 2:8) and that faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17). However, hearing God’s word does not always lead to faith and salvation.
2. To demonstrate the point, consider the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:1-23).
a. This old story describes how the word of God is received by four different persons. They all hear the same message, but the effects are very different in each person.
i. One has the word of God snatched out of his heart by the evil one, Satan. Such a person trades God’s words for Satan’s words of deception (see Gen. 3:1-5).
ii. Another one falls away from God’s word when affliction and persecution arises. This person ceases to follow God’s teachings when the world makes it difficult.
iii. A third one has the word choked out of him by the worries and riches of the world. Whereas the previous person was affected by outside forces, this person forfeited God’s word by his own internal weakness.
iv. The last one hears the word, understands it, and bears fruit. This one lives by the teachings of the word and does good works by it.
b. At first, Jesus did not teach this truth directly, but instead he taught it in the form of a symbolic parable. The reason for this is given in verses 10-17.
i. When Christ’s apostles asked Him why He taught in parables, He said that it was "granted” for some to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but not for others. (We will consider how this is granted later.)
ii. In His answer, Christ quoted from Isaiah 6:9-10, saying, "In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.’”
3. Evidence of God’s design is seen in the New Testament accounts of gospel preaching.
a. During the Lord’s ministry on earth, many people heard Him teach, but only a few were committed to His message.
i. Multitudes of people followed Jesus wherever He preached, but very few were truly converted to Him.
ii. Eventually, even many of His disciples turned away from Him (John 6:66).
b. After Christ ascended to heaven, the apostles spread the gospel through the world, but most hearers rejected them and their message (see the book of Acts).
B. Why has God designed the gospel in this way?
1. God has not arbitrarily chosen who will receive the gospel and who will not. Rather, He has chosen to make the truth available to those who truly want it and seek it.
2. Those who truly want the truth and seek for it are those to whom it is granted (Matt. 13:11).
a. Notice Christ’s teaching in Matthew 7:7-11 – "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”
b. A similar message is found in James 1:5-7 – "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,”
3. Thus, we understand that no one will obtain faith unto salvation without diligently seeking for it. Those who give half-hearted efforts to find the truth will never have full understanding.
a. It is not God’s will that anyone would be lost (2Pet. 3:9), but He does not grant truth, understanding, faith, and salvation to those who do not seek it.
b. The apostle Paul explained why most of the Jews had not profited from hearing the gospel when he wrote, "However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘LORD, who has believed our report?’” (Rom. 10:16)
c. This is why God has designed the gospel in this way. Those who want to understand can do so by diligently listening and reading (Eph. 3:4; 5:17), but those who do not seek the truth will perish (Rom. 1:18-32; 2Thess. 2:10-12).
III. ARE YOU LISTENING?
A. Have you tuned your heart to hear the full message of God?
1. If you are truly seeking the truth, then you must open your heart to the whole message of God’s word. Do not simply comply with the parts of God’s word that agree with you.
2. Be aware of God, His word, and His providence at all times. See the evidence of God all around you. Notice Psalm 19:1-3 – "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.”
3. Do not merely learn the word of God, but also put it into practice in your own life. "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (Jas. 1:22).
B. Because you heard the old story of Christ so many times, have you become tired of listening to it?
1. In the passage Jesus quoted from Isaiah (Matt. 13:10-17; Isa. 6:9-11), God told Isaiah to preach His word until the people’s hearts became insensitive, their ears became dull, and their eyes became dim. Are your heart, ears, and eyes also tired of God’s word?
2. In truth, the gospel is meant to be heard over and over again. Notice 2Peter 1:12-15 – "Therefore, I shall always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. And I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you may be able to call these things to mind.”
3. It is the charge of every gospel preacher to constantly repeat the gospel truth just as Paul instructed both Timothy and Titus to remind the brethren of the truth (2Tim. 2:14; Titus 3:1).
4. Children of God ought to love to hear the old story of the Bible every time they hear it. To Christians, it is the nourishment that feeds our souls. We need that constant reminder of God’s love and God’s will for us. Without it, our spirits would starve, and we would fall into danger: "For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Heb. 2:1)
C. Is something preventing you from listening to the gospel truth?
1. Perhaps something in this world (sin, greed, self-centeredness, indifference, laziness, etc.) has come between you and the love of God’s word. Notice Psalm 119:70 – "Their heart is covered with fat, but I delight in Your law.”
2. Do not let anyone or anything take the love of God and His word away from you. Do not be "the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns…who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Matt. 13:22)He
