Broadcast
Lessons for Today - Part 3
Exodus 8:19
03/06/2024
19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, ``This is the
finger of God.'' But Pharaoh's heart was
hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the
LORD had said. (ESV)
One of the constant themes in the story of the Ten Plagues
as recorded in Exodus is Pharaoh's hardened heart.
Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, ``This is the
finger of God.'' But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and
he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
The LORD does not cause some people to reject His grace,
love, and mercy, but He allows them to have their desires.
Pharaoh, like many people today, simply had no desire to
acknowledge God's power and majesty, in spite of the evidence.
His trusted advisors, the scientists of the day, confessed that
they were powerless to do the works which God performed.
Today, where the First Amendment promises the freedom of
religion, that freedom is narrowly defined as the ability to
worship as you please. But you cannot bring your religion into
the workplace, as we have seen as various merchants and artists
are sued for refusing to go against their convictions concerning
marriage. What good is religious freedom if you cannot live
according to your beliefs?
Science and academia will not even allow the idea of
intelligent design, of traditional marriage, and a higher power
to be discussed. The basics of religion are not only ridiculed,
they are suppressed. Can we not debate the ideas which go
against the modern narrative? That is the same hardness of heart
expressed by Pharaoh.
We believe, teach, and confess that all who are redeemed
from sin and death by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
are given that salvation only by God's work. We also confess
that all who are condemned are condemned because they rejected
God's gift of forgiveness.
May our Lord grant us hearts willing to hear and trust in
Him alone. Amen.