The scriptural and contextual reading of Lydia's heart

"Lydia was a God-fearing woman, that is, she was a Jewish proselyte, she believed in and reverenced the God of the Jews, whose worship had been taught her. She listened carefully to the entire discourse, and the Lord opened her heart fully to attend to the matters which were explained by Paul, the news that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah" TPC

Calvinist use Lydia, from Acts of the Apostles 16:14, as an example of God opening someone’s heart and causing them to believe. But look at the text for yourself. It does NOT say that God opened her heart to believe. “To believe” is an assumption, added by Calvinists. What it does say is that she already worshiped G4576 God. But this unregenerated unbeliever was worshipping God all on her own, before God “opened her heart.” As we also see with Cornelius. Acts of the Apostles 10:1-2

 

Lydia was regenerated in order to here spiritually, the ones of John 6:45 the same, they heard and learned spiritually.

 

Pure conjecture. Hearing is for believing (Romans 10:17).

 

While I can definitely admit that I do not know nearly what I would like to understand about this meeting at this time and under these circumstances of the ministry of Paul to the gentiles, I certainly do not agree that God intends it to be ambiguous. I say that for the following reasons.

Paul’s ministry lasted for about 25 years with three missionary campaigns to the gentiles during which he won many souls and established many churches. Relatively speaking there are few records of his personal ministry encounters during these years, especially when God is personal to the extent that he includes names. This seems important that God decided to include this encounter as one that he wants in the Biblical record and makes it scripture and gives us the name of Lydia, where she was from, and what was her occupation along with some other tidbits of information. For instance, why did we need to know this event took place by the river.

The scripture states that all scripture is profitable for doctrine and instruction and so by including this God wants us to learn something that is important. One can ask questions of the text. It is healthy to do so. And he can ask God to enlighten his mind.

I was interested to read that God miraculously directed Paul to Europe and this is the first recorded incident on this continent. Just before this God had forbidden Paul to preach the gospel in Asia. This is not the continent of Asia in this context, but the province of Asia in which is the city of Thyatira where Lydia was from, as well as all 7 of the cities mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3.

This story being included by God just seems odd if all he wants us to learn from this story that God opened her heart.

So, In review, God forbade Paul to preach in Asia while he was in Asia Minor. Paul did preach in Asia later but not until after he went to Europe, where his first meeting is with a person from Asia. Surely, I reason, God wants us to learn some deeper spiritual truth than that which is immediately apparent.

At this point I am seeking more of what God wants me to know from this text.

 

Its pure truth

 

Calvin spent a great deal of time on the idea that Paul, after receiving a vision, made haste to make the journey and probably would have expected large numbers of men waiting to hear the gospel. Instead, they had trouble finding anyone, and ended up with basically only one woman and her household. He said "But the Lord doth thus bring to pass his works under a base and weak kind, that his power may shine more clearly at length; and it was most meet that the beginnings of the kingdom of Christ should be so ordered, that they might taste of the humility of the cross". That would be a good lesson unless you believe this was all random chance, based on the free will of Lydia. In that case, it's just a story. In any case, Calvin spent considerable ink on this passage, from opening of her heart, to the providential things leading to meeting with Lydia, to the humble beginnings of the converts there, to the absolute necessity of the actual preaching of the word in order for salvation to occur.

 

Assertions repeated without biblical support do not move the ball.

 

I cant help if you dont see it in the scripture.

 

Reading into scripture what is not in scripture indicates that you do not trust the author of scripture, the Holy Spirit.

 

One needs to be regenerate of God to hear Jesus said Jn 8:47

47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

Paul was preaching Gods words to Lydia !

 

I do not know why Calvin would have thought that gentiles in Europe would have an expectation that the gospel and salvation would be preached to them. Very little of OT history unfolded in the West. Europeans had not been prepared for the gospel and knew little about Jews and their Law. It seems likely that God in his providence had shielded the West from this religious influence so that they will be a more fertile field for the gospel of God after he eventually would open the door of faith to gentiles through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, his only begotten son, who died for the whole world and rose again three days later, the first and only man to ever walk out of the grave on his own power and still lives today.

It seems far more likely that God providentially set this scenario up at this time because of the manner in which he made the gospel known to men all during the apostolic era of the beginning of the church of Jesus Christ when it's foundation was laid, first in Jesus Christ as the chief corner stone and then his Jewish apostles and prophets, the foundation stones, according to Ephesians 2. It was crucial that the gospel first go to the Jews seeing as how they maintained the status as a nation, a people separate and apart the other nations of the world, and having particular covenant relations with God that no other nation had. Salvation, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, "is of the Jews," a loaded and crucial statement and worthy of study and meditation and awe if I have ever heard a statement that is. The New Covenant itself is a Jewish national covenant with spiritual applications that must first be realized and given to the Jews. This explains why there was yet a nation of these people when Jesus Came to the earth as a man. He must keep all the Law of Moses as he had commanded this nation, both moral, (the ten commandments), the civil, and the ceremonial. He did that.

So, with that in mind, consider what Paul said and what his "manner" was all during his ministry.

Ro 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Ro 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
Ro 2:10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

Ac 17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

God did not make covenants with gentiles that he was bound by an oath to keep as he did with the Jews but he had by grace opened the door to gentiles that they may be partakers with them of the spiritual blessings of their covenant, which is forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit, which is eternal life and sonship in the family of God and an inheritance with them in heaven.

I am out of time this morning to finish these thoughts but I am going somewhere with this and I will come back in my next post and make the connection with Lydia in all of this. It is about time for church now.

 

BF you are just twisting the words again. The Jews could hear and understand what Christ Jesus said, they just did not want to accept them and thus were responsible for their rejection of them. Under your view the Jews could not be held responsible for rejecting His words as God had not made it possible for them to understand them.

 

Yes Calvin did spend a considerable amount of ink on this:
"By the word heart, the Scripture meaneth sometimes the mind, as when Moses saith, “God hath not given thee hitherto a heart to understand.” So likewise in this place, Luke doth not only signify unto us that Lydia was brought by the inspiration of the Spirit, with affection of heart to embrace the gospel, but that her mind was lightened, that she might understand it. By this let us learn that such is the blockishness, such is the blindness of men, that in seeing they see not, in hearing they hear not, until such time as God doth give them new eyes and new ears. But we must note the speech, that the heart of Lydia was opened was opened that she might give ear to the external voice of the teacher. For as preaching alone is nothing else but the dead letter, so we must beware lest a false imagination, or a show of secret illumination, lead us away from the word whereupon faith dependeth, and wherein it resteth."

By Calvin's own deterministic view, it is God that makes man blind and deaf. Such is the box that Augustine and Calvin constructed.

But if you follow the logic of Calvin you come to the end that says that only those that God desires to give new eyes and new ears will be able to understand the gospel message. But Calvin's words stand at odds with the clearly stated desire of God
1Ti 2:3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
1Ti 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

So since this is the stated desire of God and only God can open one's heart to understand the Gospel [as per Calvin] then would not all be saved? Why would God not fulfill His desire and give everyone new eyes and new ears? I find that many on this board overlook or in many cases ignore the attributes of God, especially His omniscience. God knows all that will happen, such as Lydia using her God given free will to believe the gospel message just as those that reject the gospel message use their God given free will to do so.

 

No. You are. Blatantly.

You are blatantly contradicting Christ's own words. John 8:43-44. 'That generation' of Jews was the very seed of the serpent that fulfilled Genesis 3:15, "the germ of all prophecy"

 

Well you just proved my point KY. The Jews could hear and understand but refused to do so. Just as you can read my words and refuse to accept them. Are you unable to read and comprehend the meaning of the words? Of course you can, but you do not accept what I have written, that is a free will choice on your part. Just as the Jews made a free will choice to reject what Christ Jesus said.

 

43 Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word. Jn 8

The only point being proved here is your blatant twisting of scripture.

 

So once again you prove my point KY. The fact that you disagree with what I have written proves what I have pointed out to you. You are ignoring the truth that is right in front of you.

 

Thank you for actually reading Calvin on this. I think you are the only other person on here, after all the comments, that actually looked up what Calvin said. That's the same portion I was reading also. Calvin was certainly not shy about stating that men are such blockheads that if their hearts are not opened they will not truly understand or respond to the gospel. Whether he meant actual regeneration is more of a question though because sometimes he puts faith before and sometimes faith after regeneration.

Yes you do. Maybe he was wrong, but if you follow the logic you use, with the idea that it is somehow more fair you still have the same problems. Was it in any way providential that Lydia heard Paul or random chance? If providential then why didn't others in the town get an equal "chance" to hear. Did God send Paul in that direction as opposed to the East where he had planned or was that chance. If God sent him then what about the folks in the East? Did God love them less? Wasn't it his will that they all be saved too? The fact is none of those things are our concern. The teaching that we are natural "blockheads" is soundly in scripture and any appeals by man to "why God have you done it this way" are always rebuked. So you have to keep those things in mind, Calvinist or not.

 

Acts 16 KJV

14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

she is what is know as a God fearer in the NT ie she was then converted under the preaching of Paul.

She was ultimately worshipping a God she didn’t fully know until his preaching. She was obviously familiar with the OT, the Law etc but was obviously not converted until this point.

 

...though not widely accepted (probably due mostly to the damage done by Dispensationalism) there were more children of God among the Gentiles than there were the Jews:

1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith Jehovah. Isa 54 Galatians 4:26-27