“All the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted” (Ezekiel 3:7)

Because God’s no respecter of persons (Romans 2:1), most of the Scriptures that apply to Israel, apply to all of us. If even the best of us are impudent and hard-hearted, the rest must really be bad! Yes, this is the way God sees even the best of sinners. The first charge is impudence, or hardness of the forehead; a stubbornness born of self-righteousness, and a lack of self-awareness.

Before my conversion, I could sin without shame, and despite the guilt of my conscience, remain unhumbled, and even if I confessed my sin, I felt no inward humiliation on account of it. For a sinner to go to God's house and pretend to pray to Him and praise Him reveals an insolent pride of the worst kind! But even now, after I’ve been saved, and have the power to repent, I’m sometimes guilty of the same thing!

I used to run to Christ when I stumbled, but now, I sometimes rationalize things I used to be ashamed of. Occasionally, when I worship, I become aware of my hypocrisy, and know I should repent, and if I don’t, worship becomes a reluctant duty, and I move further from God. When I don’t repent, my forehead gets harder. Woe is me!  I’m like the impudent house of Israel.

The second charge is hardheartedness, and I plead “guilty”. Before I was saved, I had a heart of stone, and no matter how hard I tried to not sin, it wasn’t long before I proved the Scripture: “A dog returns to his own vomit" (2 Peter 2:22). Now that God’s given me a New Heart, you’d think I’d be quick to repent. But I’m not a robot, (praise God), and I can choose to not repent.

I’m ashamed to say I sometimes forget why Christ died. Oh, that my heart would always be conscious of my Savior's sufferings and death. But bless the Lord, my disease isn’t incurable. The Savior's precious blood is the universal solvent, and I must cooperate with the Holy Spirit to soften my heart with His crimson flood.