Hardness

"Hardness" - Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13-15 Jesus spoke these words; He remembered three cities of Galilee that had had far greater privilege than any other. They had seen Him perform His mighty miracles in their streets. They had heard His gracious teaching. But they had rejected Him outright.

I. If the miracles that had been done in Korazin and Bethsaida.

A. They would have been made in ancient Tyre and Sidon.

1. Those coastal cities would have sunk (bring down, sink) in the deepest regret.

2. Since the cities of Galilee were "not moved" by the works of Jesus, their judgment would be more severe than that of Tyre and Sidon.

3. To be clear, Korazin and Bethsaida were the cities of miracles; miracles of the loaves and fishes, walked on water, restored sight to a blind man; the apostles Peter and Andrew were born there.

4. Capernaum, where Jesus went to live, became base during His ministry.

5. That city was raised in privilege to the heavens.

6. But they belittled their most notable "Citizen" and missed their chance.

7. Therefore, "even Hades" will be "shot down" in judgment.

8. (Proverbs 28:14) Blessed is the man who "always fears" God.

9. Blessed is the man who is afraid; But "he who hardens his heart will fall into evil."

10. Brother by fear we must understand, the fear of sin and "the consequences of sin"; by "hardening the heart" is meant casting off this fear, belittling God's punishment, and committing sin in full conscience.

11. When one sins, the punishment of separation from God comes upon one.

12. And woe to one, how badly we can go!

13. One understands by "fear" prudence in the face of danger; by "hardening the heart" is a reckless audacity; dangerous action with courage and imprudence. (Proverbs 28:26) He who trusts in his own heart is a fool.

14. (Proverbs 29:1) He who continues in his sin despite repeated warnings will "suddenly be broken, and there will be" no hope of more opportunity.

15. Care must be taken when death occurs!

16. Noah was calling the people for years, but they refused to listen to Noah.

17. "The flood came, and they were destroyed."

18. Someone asks him about someone who had been praying for him: Don't you think it's time to surrender to the Lord?

19. He answers, "And what has He done for me?"

20. That weekend his life was extinguished in misfortune.

21. (Romans 2:5) We learn about God's judgment being graded according to the accumulation of guilt.

22. Paul presents hardened, unrepentant sinners hoarding "wrath" for themselves, as if they were accumulating "a fortune of gold and silver."

23. (Revelation 20:11-15) What a fortune it will be on the day when God's "wrath" is finally revealed at the Great White Throne "judgment"!

24. Then we are introduced to the judgment of the "great white throne."

25. It is "great" for the issues involved and white for the perfection and purity of the sentences pronounced.

26. The one who sits as Judge is the Lord Jesus (John 5:22-27).

27. The expression "from before whom the earth and heaven fled" indicates that this judgment takes place in eternity, after the destruction of the present creation (2 Peter 3:10).

28. "The dead, great and small," are standing before God.

29. The book of life contains the names of all those redeemed (Revelation 20:15) by the precious blood of Christ.

30. The other books contain a detailed record of the "works" of the lost.

31. None of those who appear in this trial are recorded in the "book of life."

32. The fact that their name is "not" there "condemns" them, but the record of their evil deeds determines the "degree" of their punishment.

33. The (Revelation 20:13) sea will deliver the bodies of those who have been buried in its womb.

34. The graves that is Death are to deliver the bodies of the unsaved who have been buried.

35. Hades will give the souls of all who "died in incredulity."

36. The bodies of souls will be gathered to stand before the Judge.

37. There will be degrees of punishment as degrees of rewards.

38. (Revelation 20:14) When we read that Death and Hades are cast into the lake of fire, this refers to the integrity of the person: spirit, soul, and body.

39. This is the "second death" explains the text; The Lake of Fire.

40. Difference between Hades and hell.

41. The unsaved who have died, Hades is a state that lacks a body of conscious punishment.

42. It is a kind of punishment cell, an intermediate condition where they await the Great White Throne Judgment.

43. For believers who have died, Hades is a state of bliss (lacking a body) in heaven, awaiting resurrection and glorification of the body.

44. (Luke 23:43) When Jesus died, He went to Paradise, which Paul identifies with the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2, 4), the dwelling place of God.

45. Hell is the ultimate prison for the evil dead.

46. It is the same as the lake of fire and the second death.

47. The deciding factor in this judgment is whether one's name is "written in the book of life."

48. In fact, if the name of the accused had been written on it, it would have already been part of the first resurrection.

49. So, this verse applies only to those who stand before the Great White Throne.

50. (Hebrews 3:13) It is exhorted today that none of you should be hardened by the deception of sin.

51. Do not leave Christ for religions that cannot deal with sin effectively.

52. To recoil means to be hardened "by the deception of sin." Amen