photo #5905749

HEARING AND UNDERSTANDING TRUTH"Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word." (John 8:41-43)Jesus very clearly told His audience that He had come from God. He told them that they were enslaved to sin, but if they received His words, they could be free (John 8:31-32). The people insisted that they were descendants of Abraham and were free. Then they started getting really nasty and were accusing Jesus of being born from an illegitimate relationship. Jesus bluntly told them that their father was the devil. Jesus leveled with them in an attempt to get them to see their true condition. In return, they slandered Him. Jesus clarified the situation in verse 43, but they couldn't understand what He was offering them because they could not bear to hear the truth about themselves.As Christians, we face the same struggle today when we try to communicate with unbelievers. If we tell unbelievers that they need to repent of their sins and receive Jesus' gracious gift of forgiveness, they suddenly can't understand us. On the one hand they will admit they have done things they knew were wrong. On the other hand, they often will not acknowledge their need for forgiveness from a Holy God to whom they are accountable. Like the Jewish audience with whom Jesus was speaking, they can't bear to hear our words. That is why they can't understand the simple and clear message of the gospel.Most people will readily admit they see decline in the American culture from the point in time when the Bible and prayer were taken out of schools. If we try to point out the connection, however, suddenly they can't understand our words. The unbeliever interprets man-made statistics and other frivolous information in a way that is disconnected from any spiritual meaning. Why is that? Because they can't bear to hear the truth because it teaches their need to submit to God.Friends, I can't save anyone, and neither can you. Only the Holy Spirit can break through to a heart that refuses to hear and understand God's Word. And by all means, prayer must accompany our verbal witness if we are to proclaim Biblical truth that the lost will hear and understand.