Why does God harden sinner's hearts against the truth?

marke View Post

[Why does God harden sinner's hearts against the truth?]

And I will harden Pharaoh’s hear, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt [Exod. 7:2–3].

"What does it mean to harden Pharaoh’s heart? Did God harden Pharaoh’s heart? Yes, but in this way: If Pharaoh were a tenderhearted, sweet fellow who desired to turn to God and was happy to have Moses deliver the children of Israel because Pharaoh wanted to do something for them, then it was mean of God to harden the heart of this wonderful Pharaoh. If that is the way you read it, friends, you are not reading it right. The hardening is a figurative word, which can mean twisting, as with a rope. It means God twisted the heart of Pharaoh. He was going to squeeze out what was in it. God forced him to do the thing he really wanted to do...." McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Law (Exodus 1-18) (electronic ed., Vol. 4, pp. 64–65). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

marke View Post

…[M]en have hardened their own hearts when God had no desire for their hearts to be hardened.

His grace has an expiration date.

…Because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned… 2 Thess 2: 10b-12a

The question I would like answered is why does God harden hearts in the first place, or allow men to harden their own hearts?

They get what they wanted—a life without God. It would have been preferable had Pharaoh repented. It would have been preferable had Judas repented. That didn’t happen.

They do not get their hearts hardened by God in spite of their response to the truth but because of their response to the truth.

Yes. They had no love for the truth. They preferred darkness to light because their deeds were evil (Jn 3:19).

Why does God harden sinner's hearts against the truth?