Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of Romans, before we do that I wanted to tell you a story.
There were two children who were sitting together in a classroom at school one day. When one of the children got up to go ask the teacher a question, the other student reached over and took his friends pen off of his desk when he wasn’t looking. He used it for a few minutes but then he broke it. On his return the child realized what he had done and got very upset. Instead of apologizing, he said why are you so upset, it’s just a pen. He responded, no, it’s not just a pen, it is my favorite pen and very special to me because my dad gave it to me. Without any compassion in his heart the boy responded well it’s just a pen, get over it.
This is an example of not feeling sorry for hurting somebody else’s feelings. It may be a pen but it was very important to the other child. When somebody hurts you, rebuke them. Once they apologize you can forgive them. Refusing to apologize is caused by an impenitent heart.
Rom 2:5-6. 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:
Today we’re going to start by taking a look at the word impenitent. Impenitence is when you don’t feel any regret or sorrow about something that you have done wrong. If you hurt somebody else, you should feel sorry and apologize quickly to those that you have wronged. Those are the teachings of the Christian faith.
Someone who is in a state of impenitence will not apologize and admit guilt. They will not say I’m sorry or simply admit the fact that the fault is theres. Impenitent people do not have true sorrow inside of their heart that would cause them to think about the feelings of the person that they have wronged.
Impenitent and unrepentant are synonyms in the dictionary. They both have to do with not being capable of apologizing.
Somebody who is impentient will not repent of the sins that they have done wrong because they have no contrition. That is caused by a hard heart. Instead of confessing sin and admitting their faults, they simply put a wall up around her heart. Somebody who is impenitent does not feel any regret about a mistake that they have committed.
When you truly regret something, it means that you feel sad or sorry about something that you did or did not do. One last dictionary defines regret as the emotion of wishing you had made a different decision in the past because the consequences of the decision were not favorable.
I’ve said for many years that in order to be forgiven for our sins we have to apologize first. We have to be able to say I’m sorry to somebody else. It doesn’t matter how trivial it may seem to you. It was important enough to the offended party that they rebuked you for it.
You have to be able to apologize to God and confess so that you can be forgiven. God expects that you extend that same treatment to others whom you have wronged. He expects you to be reconciled to a brother to whom you have wronged in the church, even before you bring your offering.
If you have a hard heart it is incapable of being moved to pity or tenderness. It is completely unfeeling. When somebody is hard-hearted they are callous and cold and completely insensitive. An insensitive person shows or feels no concern for other people’s feelings. It’s like their heart is a lightswitch that they simply turn off. They really don’t care about the feelings of another person so they’re not going to apologize. Somebody who is insensitive does not show sympathy for someone else’s feelings.
Hebrews 3:8 – Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Nehemiah 9:16. But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
So you see, these things were going on in the Old Testament but in certain forms of modern Christianity they’re doing the very same thing today. Whether it’s the Old Testament or the New Testament, whether it’s in Judaism or Christianity, a refusal to not listen to the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ is caused by a hardened heart.
Jeremiah 7:26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
So these Old Testament scriptures are relevant today because they’re happening in modern forms of Christianity.
Rom 2:5-6. 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;
2 Chronicles 30:8 – Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.
A hard heart is caused by the deceitfulness of sin. It may feel like the right way to go but it’s actually the wrong way and that’s how It deceives you. That’s why we need to accept the scriptures as our absolute authority on truth in each of our lives. It needs to be our guide so that we are not let astray. Impenitent people do not apologize, they won’t admit guilt , they are callus and cold and don’t care about the feelings of others. Because of this they are storing up God’s Wrath.
Treasure is defined as something that is stored up or accumulated. When someone is impenitent day by day by day, it’s just like putting another coin into a ceramic bank that you have at home. Unrepentant sin keeps adding up each day when you refuse to apologize to God and to others, and someday that coin bank is going to be completely filled up.
The longer that somebody refuses to manifest any feelings of contrition, every day that passes without feeling regret towards others that they have hurt, is another day of perpetuated sin. That is why in that state of mind you are treasuring up wrath.
God extends to us an offer of his grace and wants us to come boldly to the throne of grace in time of need. Grace is available, the problem is that certain people don’t want to apologize to God and to others. Impenitence is caused by pride which is something that God hates.
Romans 1:18 – For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
This is what we were just discussing. They really believe a lie as if it’s true. They go completely against the teachings of scriptures and they really believe in their heart and their mind that it’s acceptable.
2 thess 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:”
If you’re going to take a trip through an area that you are unfamiliar with and then throw the map out the window, you’re going to get lost. If you’re going to take the compass when you’re out in the unknown wilderness throw it to the ground and smash it you’re going to get lost. When you turn away from Biblical teachings and the truth of Holy Scripture and wholeheartedly reject what it says, you’re going to get lost.
The worst part is when people turn away from the teachings of Christ they start to believe a lie.
2 Thess 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
These same people who turn away from Christ and what He taught will actually claim that they are happy or they are at peace. They turn away from biblical truth and start to live life the way that they want to live instead of Gods way. They have pleasure in unrighteousness, it is shown in their disobedience.
All they are doing is storing up for themselves wrath. God is going to render to every man according to his deeds. A deed is something that is performed, done or accomplished.
In the end, we either have deeds that show that show loyalty to Christ and the things that he taught, or we have the deeds of an impenitent disobedient heart. It’s going to be one or the other at judgment. Thank God for his grace so that we can become what he wants us to be.
Let’s think about those things for today and Lord willing I’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then bye-bye everybody. ♥️
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