Tuesday, October 4, 2022

             As a missionary, Paul always maintained a passion for the Jewish people to know Jesus as their Messiah.  He preached often at synagogues and labored to show his listeners that Jesus was the Savior anticipated by the law and the prophets.  Near the end of Romans 10, Paul quoted from the prophet Isaiah as he addressed the sad plight of Israel.  “But concerning Israel he says, all day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people” (Romans 10:21).  The words disobedient and obstinate might speak to folks today as much or more than they did to biblical Israel.  Stubbornness is not a virtue to be celebrated or pursued.  It is not to be confused with perseverance or endurance which are spiritual virtues.  Stubbornness is a consistent dismissal or rejection of what is plainly right or true.  It is a state of contention with God.  Hearts can be stubborn when called to repent and to return to the Lord.  We can often prefer our sins to the freedom that God offers us in Christ. 
            To be obstinate is to live in contradiction to truth and goodness.  Obstinate living is a rejection of what God offers and a decision to remain in what is wrong and sinful.  We can all be obstinate.  Frankly, our obstinance was an original reason for our need for a Savior.  We could not save ourselves.  We had little, if any interest, in the things of the Lord and the new ways of life that God called us to embrace.  We needed a Savior to rescue us from our attraction to sin and our obstinate living apart from God.  We can often make light of things like stubbornness or living obstinately.  We can even subtly make these qualities sound virtuous, heroic or quaint.  We can smile and nod and even think such behavior is becoming or endearing. 
            Yet, Scripture takes a different view.  Stubbornness or resistance to God and His ways is not quaint, heroic or endearing.  It is sinful.  It is a vice that needs to be shattered and abandoned.  If we choose to hold on to ourselves or our sins more than the Lord then something is significantly and seriously wrong.  On more than one occasion, God saw Israel as a “stiff-necked” people.  Could the same be said about us today?  Are we more interested in being right or being righteous?  Would we rather win an argument with someone else or fight the good fight of faith and discipleship against the enemy?  God sent the law, prophets, John the Baptist and even His Son to break through the walls of stubbornness and obstinance but a stiff-necked people held on to their ways and their wishes.
            The solution to stubbornness is humility before the Lord and His Word.  Let Scripture read your life as you read it.  Listen to the conviction that the Holy Spirit may bring to you when He reveals your sinfulness or stubbornness.  Let the Lord examine your life as you worship Him.  Turn to a trusted and beloved fellow believer if you need help in the battle with stubbornness.  Ask for prayers from fellow believers that you can trust to lift you up to the Lord.  The ultimate act of stubbornness or defiance is making the terrible decision just to stay where you are.  You can change and the grace of God can set you free.  Have a good Tuesday!  Remember you can share our worship at youtube.com/FirstBaptistKannapolis.