Friends,

Please read these sobering words from John 12:40 (a quotation from Isaiah 6:10):

“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”

John is quoting from Isaiah 6 to explain the unbelief of God's people who rejected Jesus as their rightful King. What’s striking is that this same passage is quoted in the first five books of the New Testament (Matt. 13:14-15; Mark 4:11-12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26-27). In addition to the repeated use of this text, Paul uses essentially the same language to explain unbelief in the first chapter of the sixth book (Romans). He writes, "Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts" (Rom. 1:24).

The temptation of the sinful heart may be to subtly accuse God of injustice (although often under the guise of compassion for our fellow man). The finite may stoop so low as to question the infinite God in an accusatory manner. The flesh might ask, "How can a benevolent God harden a man's heart and close his eyes to the truths of salvation?" I offer some responses to this accusatory question (though I give it no credence):

We are not God, and therefore, we cannot self-determine what is “fair.”
Because God alone defines justice, we must conclude that justice for all men under the curse of sin is His righteous indignation.
God's justice is displayed both in the outpouring of wrath upon Christ, who was crushed for our iniquity, and in the rightful condemnation of sinners.
If these questions arise in our hearts, we must tread lightly, considering what Isaiah later says in chapter 45: "Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker—A piece of pottery among the other earthenware pottery pieces! Will the clay say to the potter, 'What are you doing?' Or the thing you are making say, 'He has no hands'? Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you fathering?' Or to a woman, 'To what are you giving birth?'"
Ultimately, when the Lord hardens a man's heart, He is giving him what he wants. This is why Paul writes that they have been given over to "the lusts of their hearts" (Rom. 1:24). Who is man to craft idols in his heart and then accuse God of injustice when he is given over to the very idols he himself fashioned to replace his Creator?

Brothers and sisters, may we turn to the Lord in repentance with opened eyes and softened hearts.