Lydia's Heart

This is Tuesday February 14th. Happy Valentine’s Day. We love because God first loved us!!

This is Session #6 in our Theology of Evangelism. We are considering God’s work of redemption in the life of Lydia.

"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul." (Acts 16:14)  The NIV says: "The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message."  

First of all we note that Lydia did indeed "attend" or listen to the words of Paul.  She gladly heard and willingly believed his message.  As we have already shown, she had to do this in order to benefit from the gospel and be saved.  Lydia's attending," or hearing and believing, illustrates points One, Two, and Three above, and refutes hyper-Calvinism, (which says the elect will be saved regardless of whether they hear and believe the gospel or not).  Lydia did choose to believe, and she herself did it only because she wholeheartedly wanted to.  She did not do it "unwillingly" nor did God hear and believe for her.  It was her own response and it was a most willing response.  

Next, we notice exactly what God did.  We see here demonstrated what God must do before Lydia can be saved.  

(1) He provided a salvation of "by grace through faith" that could be preached.  Obviously "the things spoken" by Paul were the gospel facts concerning the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and surely this Lamb is God's gracious provision. 

(2) God also brought the message of His provision to Lydia.  He sent a preacher to tell her about this great plan of salvation. God went to a lot of trouble to provide such a gospel-He gave His only begotten Son up to death.  He went to great ends to provide such a preacher as Paul-read about it in Paul's testimony in Acts 22.  It is at this point that Arminianism departs from the Bible and proceeds to apply human logic. They tragically fail to look at the rest of the Biblical text and see that God must do something else.  

(3) God must open Lydia's heart (or give her spiritual life) so she will be able to believe.  Her natural mind is blind, her natural heart is averse to God, and her will is in bondage to sin and spiritual death.