Acts 16:14—“[Lydia] … whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul”

 

And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days. And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. 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. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. (Acts 16:12-15).

Q. “Lydia, in Acts 16:14, is often appealed to as an example of ‘regeneration preceding faith’ ... Many claim that the very ‘opening of her heart’ prior to her hearing Paul’s preaching was the time when she was regenerated (aka, when she was first saved) ... But the text says that, prior to her heart being opened, she was ‘a worshipper of God’ ... How do we account for her being a ‘worshipper of God’ prior to her being ‘regenerated’? (that is, if she was indeed ‘unregenerate’ back then?) ... for the unregenerate oppose God, and hate Him, and run away from Him (Romans 3:11, 18). How could she possibly be a worshipper of God therefore?”

 

 

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Prof. David J. Engelsma

 

Lydia was a worshipper of God according to the relatively limited truth of Him among the Jews, that is, according to the knowledge of God as revealed in the OT.  She and the other women did not know the gospel of the fulfillment of the OT in Jesus Christ.

As a (true) worshipper of God, she was saved, but did not enjoy the fulness of salvation in Jesus Christ.  So, she had been born again before Paul preached to her.  No one can worship God in any truth whatever unless she has been regenerated.

The opening of her heart by the Lord was the spiritual work of Jesus Christ within her to enable her to receive and believe the gospel of Jesus as the fulfillment of the OT.  Without this inner, spiritual opening she would not have positively attended to the things of Jesus spoken to her by the apostle. Faith in Jesus Christ required a prior, inner, saving work of the Spirit within her.

And this is the truth, grounded upon this passage rightly, that for initial faith in Christ today, regeneration by the Spirit is required.  What was true relatively of that Jewish worshipper then is true absolutely of all converts to Christ out of unbelief.  There must be an opening of the heart, if one is to attend to the gospel with a true faith.  No one can believe in Jesus Christ unless the Spirit has opened his hard heart.  Regeneration precedes faith. (DJE, 18/02/2021)

 

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More to come! (DV)