Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 0-187 (Theology)

Living Words of the New Testament, by Rev Dr Leon Morris

HARDNESS

The New Testament speaks of different kinds of hardness (and these days translations often use words other than ‘hard’ to tell us about them). Thus it is made clear that some things in the Bible are hard to understand (2 Pet.3:16) and Bible teachers find them hard to explain because some people are so slow to learn (Heb.5:11)! The great truths that God loves us and that Jesus died for us are plain enough, but we must not expect everything in the Bible to be easy. It is necessary for us to give time for real study of the Bible if we are to make progress in the faith.

A hardness of a different kind takes place when people harden their hearts against taking in the message of God. Even Jesus’ disciples fell into this trap and hard hearts stopped them from understanding the meaning of the miraculous feeding of the crowds (Mark 6:52; 8:17). And Jesus was moved with anger and grief when he found people’s hearts hardened (Mark 3:5).

This can take place not only because people know no better, but because they set themselves against the good they do know. Paul told King Agrippa that in his encounter with Christ on the Damascus road he heard a voice that said, ‘It is hard for you to kick against the goads’ (Acts 26:14). We must never reject the leading that God is giving us, but be obedient. And we must not forget that if we persist in hardness throughout our lives we will give account of this at the Day of Judgment (Rom. 2:5).

We will certainly meet with hardness of one sort or another as we go through life and it is well that we heed Paul’s advice to Timothy, ‘Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus’ (2 Tim.2:3). The Christian way can never be easy and it is important for us not to give way in the face of difficulties. Enduring hardship for Christ’s sake is part of the living out of the Christian life.

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Rev Dr Leon Morris is an internationally recognised New Testament scholar, theologian and author, from Melbourne Australia.

This feature series of ‘Living Words of the New Testament’ appeared in ‘Daily Notes’, published by Scripture Union.