Acts 28:25-27
"So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: 'The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying, 'Go to this people and say: Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you will see, and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'' "
Whenever God speaks as the Spirit of truth, you can bet he will say something profound. The choice then is yours, whether to accept or reject what our Lord has to say. Will you hear and head or ignore and refuse to understand.
While imprisoned at Rome, Paul testified to the Jews who came to see him concerning Jesus Christ. While some were persuaded to believe, many others chose to reject the good news of Jesus Christ. Of course, things haven't changed much today. God still gives people the choice to accept or reject Christ, and still, most people choose to remain as lord over their own lives.
Isaiah likened this rejection of God as to not truly hearing, for if they really heard what God had to say, they would turn from their sins in repentance. It is one thing to hear the words with our ears, and it is another to internalize and accept the message as applying to ourselves.
While our God is sovereign, I don't think it is an accurate interpretation of this passage to accuse God of causing people to reject the message. Instead, God allows the hardness of our hearts to condemn our lives. When people turn away from testimony of the Spirit, God simply leaves them condemned in their sins.
Of course, the good news is available to all. Whenever we respond to the news of Jesus Christ and receive him as Savior, we're touched by the Spirit and changed into the image of the Son.
LORD JESUS
Lord, I thank you for the rightful testimony of your Spirit and pray that our community and throughout the world would come to accept the good news of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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