By: Robert Serreyn

Question? In Acts 16, How did God open Lydia’s heart?

Answer:

The phrase in question is found in V14 of Acts Chp. 16 which states…

And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

As the verse indicates, Lydia was a religious person (worshipped God) who was unsaved, the same is true today, MOST PEOPLE are religious for they go to a church every sunday BUT they are lost for they KNOW NOT Jesus Christ as their personal saviour for they have believed a FALSE GOSPEL that their church has preached.

Lydia was in the same boat (So to speak) she worshipped God and more than likely “Very Sincerely” but yet she just like most people are sincerely wrong and was UNTIL she heard the “Right Gospel” message preached by the Apostle Paul.

V14 says that Lydia ATTENDED UNTO the things that were spoken by Paul.

The word ATTENDED is the Greek word PROSECHO and it means PAY ATTENTION TO, TAKE or GIVE HEED TO.

In other words Lydia was Paying Attention to THE THINGS (which was the Gospel – 1 Corinthians 15:1-4) that the Apostle Paul was preaching and through THE PREACHING of the Gospel Lydia BELIEVED on the Lord Jesus Christ – Acts 16:31. and that is what is meant by the words “whose heart the Lord opened” she OPENED her mind (heart) and believed the Gospel.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; (2) By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. (3) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (4) And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Now there is one FALSE TEACHING that I want to EXPOSE that some have FALSELY TAUGHT about this verse.

There are those that preach and say that the words “whose heart the Lord opened” means that God gave Lydia “The Faith” to believe with, This my friend is the False Doctrine known as Predestination, this is pure nonsense.

In Conclusion:

The one thing a person needs to remember about Predestination is that it is NEVER in connection with salvation or obtaining eternal life.

Predestination is a hell damning satanic doctrine that leaves the individual with the FALSE IMPRESSION that God saw something in them that he did not see in another and that alone gives a “False Sense of Security” that is based on lies instead of truth.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing to know IS Jesus Christ as savior, just simply believe that Jesus Christ went to the cross and DIED and shed his blood, was BURIED and three days later RESURRECTED from the dead to pay for your sins.

The moment that you do YOU HAVE (at that second and forever) Everlasting Life which WILL NEVER be taken away no matter what.

-Christ DIED for you – Romans 5:8

-Christ PAID your sins in full – 2 Corinthians 5:21,1 Peter 2:24

-BELIEVE (Trust In Completely) in Christ ALONE as the complete payment of sin for salvation – John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Ephesians 2:8,9

“For the wages(payment) of sin is death (eternal torment in hell); but the GIFT(salvation) of God is eternal life THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord”. Romans 6:23

IT IS THAT SIMPLE – THE GOSPEL TRUTH