Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Romans. Tonight is study #6 of Romans 2, and we are going to read Romans 2:5-9:

But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

We are continuing to go, verse by verse, through the book of Romans, and we have come to a very important verse, as far as God’s end-time program is concerned. It is a very important passage that lays out some interesting information for us, and we will get to that, but first we want to look at the first part of Romans 2:5:

But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath…

The Greek word translated as “hardness,” Strong’s #4643, is only found here in this verse. It is from #4642, which is used a few times. We will just look at one place, in Jude 1:15:

To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

So we can sense that this is not a good thing to have a “hard heart.” Again, this is #4642, which our word in Romans 2:5 is derived from, but there is another word, #4645, which is also translated as “hard” or “harden,” in a few places, and I want to spend more time on that. So let us go to Acts 19:8-9:

And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.

Here, the Lord mentioned that divers people, or various people, were hardened, and it is tied to “unbelief,” and we will see this connection in some other places, too. Let us turn to Romans 9, where God lays out His election program. He begins by discussing Jacob and Esau, and how before either were born, He loved Jacob and hated Esau. And then it transitions to say in Romans 9:15:

For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

God is saying that He is sovereign. He will bestow grace and mercy upon whom He will bestow grace and mercy. He is sovereign God. The whole idea that presidents or governors can issue “pardons” for criminals, even somebody on death row, comes from the Bible. It comes from the fact that God reserves the right to Himself to pardon sinners. Of course, God’s pardon is far more just than pardons granted by men in power and authority in the world. In order for God’s pardon to be granted and for Him to have mercy upon whom He will have mercy, He himself had to take their sins and pay for them in order to satisfy His Law’s demand for justice. Nonetheless, the Lord has the right, the authority, and the power to forgive the sins of one that He will forgive, and not to forgive the sins of another. That is His point: “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” Then it goes on to explain in Romans 9:16:

So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

It is a very clear explanation that salvation is of the Lord, and the whole idea of man exercising his own will to get himself saved is phony. It is deceitful, and it is completely wrong. “It is not of him that willeth,” and it says the same thing in John 1, and I will turn there because this is an extremely important truth that the Bible presents, again, and again, and one which God would certainly have His people to know. It says in John 1:12-13:

But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born…

Obviously, it is referring to being “born again” through salvation. Again, it says in John 1:13:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

How much plainer can it get? How much clearer can God say that we are born not of the will of man? So it is not your decision or my decision (or any human being’s decision) to “accept Christ” and become saved. That is a false gospel, and it does not matter how many believe it or who believes it. It is still a false gospel that goes contrary to the Bible and the true Gospel that God declares in His Word because, again, God says, “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth.” And “running” refers to running the way of God’s commandments. So what is really being said is that it is not of someone who accepts Christ by exercising his will, and it is not of someone who seeks to get right with God and become saved through the keeping of the commandments (running the way of the commandments). But it is “of God that sheweth mercy,” exactly as it says in John 1:13: “nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Again, “…but of God.” These are wonderful, glorious words, because without those words, there would be no salvation. There would be no forgiveness of sins. There would be no eternal life. But it is of God, as we read in Matthew 19:25: “…with men this is impossible, but…” And there is that word “but,” once again, as we read in Matthew 19:25:

When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

And what is the word “this” referring to? It is referring to salvation. “This” is impossible, but with God all things are possible: salvation is of the Lord. It is His, and it belongs to Him. He has done it all. He has taken the sins of certain individuals whom He had selected: “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” Or, as He said, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” He did not love Esau, and that is God’s sovereign right.

And that is God’s point, as it goes on to say in Romans 9:17-18:

For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

And it is interesting that Pharaoh is mentioned here because in Exodus the Lord every specifically said that He hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Let us look at the wording of that in Exodus 7:3:

And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

So God says that He hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and the only thing that would be necessary to do that would be to lift the restraining hand of the Holy Spirit that restrains the naturally hard hearts of men. And in restraining man’s desperately wicked and hard hearts full of sin, it allowed man to live according to basic moral principles that were written upon men’s hearts. But when God lifts His restraining hand, it allows the desperately ugly nature of man to come to the surface. As a result, we see what a horrible thing it is that man rebelled against God and that man’s soul and heart are in this condition.

Again, it said, “Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.” So the “hardening” is also according to the will of God. On one man, He shows mercy, and another man He “hardens.” So not only are some not the recipients of God’s grace and mercy in salvation, but their sins are still upon them, and they are also “hardened” in that spiritually dead condition. And this is in according to the operation of the will of God.

Then we read in Romans 9:19:

Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

We could just stay here (in Romans 9), as this is such an interesting passage that reveals a great deal of truth about God’s magnificent salvation program. Lord willing, sometime in the future, according to the will of God, we will get to Romans 9, and we will be able to spend plenty of time here. But, right now, we are in Romans 2:5:

But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath…

God hardens (people), and, yet, that is not God’s fault. That is the true nature and condition of the “dead heart.” It is the hard heart of unbelief. “All men have not faith,” the Bible says, and that is because of the natural situation with their hearts.

If we go to Hebrews 3, we will find this word translated as “harden” or “hardeneth” three times. Let us read Hebrew 3:8-12:

Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

Again, we can see that connection. God speaks of how the Israelites in the wilderness hardened their hearts, and then He warns, “Take heed, brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,” and your heart be hardened, “in departing from the living God.” That is a good way of looking at a “hardening of the heart.” It is someone who is going away from God, not toward Him. When that happens, what they are doing is treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. The wrath is just piling up.

Let us continue in Hebrews 3:13-14:

But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

This reminds us of Matthew 24:13, which says, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Then it says in Hebrews 3:15-19:

While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Then in chapter 4, the Lord likens what happened to Israel, even further, to us, because He says in Hebrews 4:2:

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

So it is a very strong example that God has given concerning Israel’s 40 years (the “day of temptation”), which God calls a period of His wrath. It was a time of judgment. And there was 40-year period from when they came out of Egypt until they entered the Promised Land. We have talked about this before regarding the comparison to the 40 years beginning in 1994, a Jubilee Year, and a Jubilee is a time when the captives are delivered, until 2033, inclusively, and it is all a period of God’s wrath, starting in 1994 with the official judgment on the churches and transitioning in 2011 to judgment on the whole world. So this entire period is a time of wrath. There are many similarities. The manna fed Israel throughout that period, and at the time of the end God has opened the Scriptures to feed His people throughout this prolonged period of wrath. It was also a time when Israel dwelt in “booths” (tabernacles), and 1994 began the time of fulfilment of the Feast of Tabernacles, which can be understood to be the “feast of the Bible,” as the doctrines coming forth from the Word of God are protection against the “hot sun” of the wrath of God as we sojourn, day after day, headed toward the Promised Land. And that is another similarity, because at the completion of 40 years, Israel crossed the river Jordan and entered into the promised land of Canaan. And, finally, after the completion of our 40-year period, according to Biblical evidence, will be our crossing over into the new heaven and new earth, which the land of Canaan represented. And we will receive the fulfilment of the promise to Abraham and his seed that we would receive the land of Canaan for an “everlasting possession.” So there are numerous parallels and similarities.

Also, it says, “…if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end,” and that means we have to endure to the end. Those are the ones who will be saved, God says.

So I suppose we can understand this “hardening of the heart,” especially as it relates to this 40-year period, to those that have “turned back.” They are like the ones whose carcases fell into the wilderness. They did not enter into God’s rest, and it had to do with the hardness of their hearts, the deceitfulness of sin, and not holding steadfast their confidence unto the end.

Let us look at just one more thing in the Old Testament. We saw that God says He hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but we also see in Deuteronomy 2 where another king’s heart (or spirit) was said to be hardened. It says in Deuteronomy 2:30-34:

But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for JEHOVAH thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. And JEHOVAH said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. And JEHOVAH our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

It was a total judgment on Sihon, the king of Heshbon. It happened after God had hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate. He made a very bad decision and, yet, it was according to the will of God, just as was the case with Pharaoh. Pharaoh made extremely poor decisions, even though after a while he could see that God was fighting for Israel and that God was destroying Egypt with plagues. If anyone were reasonable and had even the “common sense” that the world talks about, you would think he could see it, even as his advisors began to see it. You would think he would relate and not continue to harden his heart and take such a strong stance against what God through Moses was demanding, “Let my people go.” He was to let them go in order to save himself and his nation, but God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to the intent of destroying him and Egypt and the idols of Egypt.

“Hardness of heart” comes through sin. It is an act of rebellion against God. But as it continues in the face of the wrath of God, it is actually self-destruction. It was largely through Pharaoh’s “hardness of heart” that God destroyed Egypt. Again, if at an earlier point Pharaoh would have said, “I have had enough. Let them all go. That is it, and I will not resist any longer.” But even after he finally let the people go and after Egypt had been practically destroyed, his heart was still hardened further. Then he gathered his army and pursued after them, to his utter destruction, resulting in the death of his army and Pharaoh’s own death.

And, likewise, with Sihon, God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate for the purpose of what we read in Deuteronomy 2:30: “…that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.” This makes us consider our present world. Look at the hard hearts of men today. There is no talk of repentance as the world is being smitten with hard blow, after hard blow, coming from God with this virus and with the division that is happening everywhere. There is chaos in the streets and, yet, there is no thought of saying, “We have offended God. We have gone too far. We have done enough (evil). Let us back off and humble ourselves.” But there is no thought whatsoever of doing this because God is hardening the hearts of men across the face of the earth, to the point where they will destroy themselves, their cities, their nations, and the world. Actually, it is God carrying out the world’s destruction through them and the hardening of their hearts.

We do not have time to get into this, but the word “impenitent” follows along with this whole idea. It is a compound word that is used only once, in our verse in Romans 2:5. It is the word for “repent,” which is #3240 in the concordance. It is the word “repent” and it is negated with the alpha prefix. And when you attach the “alpha” (the first letter of the Greek alphabet) to a word, it negates the meaning of the word. So if you put it in front of “pistos,” the word for “belief,” it becomes “unbelief” or “no faith.” If you put it in front of “repent,” it means “no repentance,” or “unrepentant.” And that is what we find here in Romans 2:5:

But after thy hardness and impenitent heart…

They will not repent – not in the churches when God’s judgment came upon them, and not in the world now that the wrath of God has come upon the entire world.