Part 59 | The Dangers of a Hard Heart

The focus of this lesson is on the fact that the Jews could not accept Gentile inclusion in the family of God. Centuries of strife and hatred with other nations had caused them to pervert God’s instruction about being separate from the Gentiles. The goal of this lesson is to help the listener see that when we hold onto offense, pride, and bitterness, our hearts begin to close. When we close our hearts towards some people, we will begin to reject what God Himself desires for them. When we do that, we begin to reject God Himself and cut ourselves off from His blessings. So there is a connection between being open-hearted towards people and receiving the Word and Gift of God, that we must not ignore. Following Jesus means being as open-hearted towards people as He would be in our exact situation.