Since the Bible teaches that God hardened
Pharaoh’s heart by passively leaving him to his own sin, how does this actually
work? Do we have any biblical clues? I
think we do.
Let’s take for example the concept of “God’s common
grace.” Common grace are the benefits
from God to all people to enjoy, whether one is saved or unsaved, lost or
found, elect or non-elect.
For example,
the rain and sun that falls upon the earth, that refreshes the crops and gives
sunlight to the plants falls upon everyone – the just and unjust. The
passage that teaches this is found upon the lips of Jesus: “For God causes His
sun to rise on the evil and good, and sends rain on the righteous and
unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45).
You might say that the haters of God (unjust) do
not deserve such benefits, but God gives it to them anyway. So it is with the rainbow, wind, mountains,
oceans, canyons, and the air we all breathe.
God gives away some of His blessings to all people. This is why it is
referred to as “common grace.”
One of the most important elements of common
grace we enjoy and often take for granted is the restraint of evil in the
world. This restraint from God flows
from many sources – policemen, laws, public opinion, balance of power,
righteous people (the church), and the Holy Spirit.
While it is true that the world we live in is
filled with all sorts of wickedness, nevertheless, it is not as wicked as it
could be. God keeps evil in check. If evil would be left totally unchecked and
the devil could do as he pleases, then life on this planet would be impossible.
Therefore, all that God has to do to hardened
people’s hearts is to remove the restraints. He gives them a long leash. So rather than restricting their human
freedom, He increases it. He lets them have what they want. In a very real
sense, God gives to them just enough rope for them to hang themselves.
You see, it is not that God creates evil within a
person’s heart so they have no choice but to do it. Instead, God removes His
holy hand of restraint from certain people and lets them do their own will.
This is how God hardens hearts today and this is
how God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.
End of Part 5
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