The Conversion of Lydia (pt 2)
Many will look at Lydia’s conversion as a direct operation of God upon her heart to save her, owing to the fact that the Lord is said to have opened her heart so that she could attend unto the things spoken of by Paul. Many hold the Calvanistic line in the case of Lydia’s conversion. Calvinists would assert that Lydia was born totally depraved (total hereditary depravity—inheriting the sin of Adam), so she then needed a direct operation of the Holy Spirit upon her heart in order for her to even desire salvation. God then acted upon her to open her heart so she could receive the word and obey it. The trouble with this is two-fold. First, Calvinism is false from its very outset, basing an entire system of doctrine on the assertion that all men and women inherit the sins of Adam. God’s word makes clear that each person will answer for his/her own sin, not the sins of others (Eze.18:20). Sin is a matter of choice, not a matter of heredity! Second, the assertion that God had to act upon the heart of Lydia so that she might attend unto the things of salvation does not mesh with the fact that she was already devoutly religious, longing to hear and know about the Messiah. If she were so wicked and depraved, why would inspiration describe her as one who worshipped God? What, then, are we to understand about the Lord opening the heart of Lydia? Did God act in some miraculous way apart from the instrumentality of His word in order to cause Lydia to attune her heart to the gospel? Or is it more likely that Lydia already had prepared her heart to receive the message of the Messiah, and so when she heard the gospel proclaimed by Paul, the good news caused her to open her heart even more to receive the fullness of truth? God put the power in the gospel message (Rom.1:16). Why would God then act apart from that message when He put the power unto salvation in that message? Because all Scripture originates with God (2 Tim.3:16-17), and because that God-breathed message was preached to Lydia and her household, it is easy to see why the opening of her heart is attributed to the Lord.
The conversion of Lydia follows the same pattern that has been obeyed from the very inception of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. Any time men or women with good and honest hearts hear the gospel (Rom.10:17), are touched by the message to such an extent that it produces faith in them in the promises of God and the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins (Heb.11:1, 6), are convicted of their own sins and determine to turn away from them in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), make the good confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Rom.10:9-10), and are baptized into Christ in order to be saved (Mark 16:16), the gospel in all of its purity, its power, and its simplicity is obeyed from the heart (Rom.6:17). Lydia obeyed the gospel in this way, and if any will be saved even today, they, too, will obey after the same fashion! Open your heart to the truth of God’s word and allow the engrafted word to save your soul (James 1:21) as you respond in loving, humble obedience to heaven’s offer of grace, mercy, and forgiveness!
- Patrick Morrison
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