Intro: Would you condone idolatry? Have you ever known anyone to casually admit to idolatry? What if you were talking to a friend who is a Christian one day about character flaws and he said something like, “Well, I know I’ve got a problem with idolatry” or “I’ve been an idolater since I was a kid; I guess that’s just part of my make-up”? There’s no indication from your friend that any change is forthcoming, just an admission that “this is how I am.” Wouldn’t this disturb you?
• Would you tell your friend that idolaters have no inheritance in heaven? Ephesians 5:5 “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” Would you tell him that while idolaters cannot inherit the kingdom of God, that some of the Corinthian saints had been idolaters – but they repented and were washed, sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
• Would you tell your friend that other Christians should not associate with him until he repents? 1 Corinthians 5:11 “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.”
• Would you tell your friend to flee idolatry? 1 Corinthians 10:14 “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”
While you may never have had a friend casually admit to idolatry and treat it with a cavalier attitude, you probably have had friends admit to and be accepting of a sin that is just a bad. Maybe you’ve admitted to it yourself. The sin of stubbornness!
I) The sin of Saul (1 Samuel 15)
A. It is as bad as iniquity and idolatry. (15:23)
NOTE: I am stubborn = I am an idolater.
1. Does stubbornness know it’s stubborn? At a particular moment in time, a person may not seem to know they’re being stubborn, even though they admit they have a problem with it. But in their heart they know. It’s iniquity!
2. What is iniquity?
a. In Psalm 32:5, the psalmist says, “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”
b. In this one verse, “sin,” “iniquity,” and “transgression” are all mentioned. Basically, the three words communicate the same idea: evil and lawlessness, as defined by God (see1 John 3:4).
c. The word trespass is also often found in Scripture to describe sin.
d. These words are synonymous, but carry different connotations when it comes the egregiousness of the sin.
• Trespass = crossing the boundary, often without knowing it.
• Transgression = going beyond or going over, often refers to sinning with volition or knowing that you’ve sinned
• Iniquity = willingly sinning; planning sin, premeditation, self-willed sin.
3. God says stubbornness is iniquity, the most offensive and heinous of sins. Therefore, a stubborn person really does know he’s sinning but pretends he isn’t so he can feel self-justified and look good in the eyes of others.
B) In Saul’s case, stubbornness involved following his own interpretation of God’s command as if it were correct, pride in his accomplishment, and arguing with one in spiritual authority (Samuel) that he had done right!
1) Despite God’s clear command, Saul chose to do otherwise (15:3, 7, 9)
2) He is proud of his accomplishment
(a) He sets up a monument for himself! (15:12)
(b) He claims to have done God’s will (15:13)
3) He argues with Samuel, the judge of Israel and the prophet of God (cf.1 Samuel 7:6, 15)
(a) He shifts blame (15:15)
(b) He justifies his action as an avenue of sacrificing to God (15:15) (although God had not asked Him to do this).
(c) Even after it is pointed out by Samuel exactly where he missed it in obeying God, he still insists that he obeyed God! (15:16-20)
II) Stubbornness today.
A) According to 2 Timothy 3:4 in the perilous times of the last days men will be “traitors, headstrong, haughty”
1) Headstrong means “determined to have one's own way; willful; stubborn; obstinate” (Dictionary.com)
B) Stubbornness involves
1) A determination to walk in your self-determined way. Psalms 81:11-13 "But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. (12) So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels. (13) "Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!
2) A conviction that our assessments and judgments are invariably right.
(a) Job 12:2 "No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you!”
(b) Romans 12:16b “Do not be wise in your own opinion.”
(c) 1 Corinthians 8:1-2 “Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. (2) And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.”
3) Being unwilling to change. Isaiah 48:4 “Because I knew that you were obstinate, And your neck was an iron sinew, And your brow bronze”
(a) It is often excused or rationalized by claiming that a person must live according to his convictions. When you approach a stubborn person about his need to change his doctrine, practice or attitude, you’ll often hear something like this: “I can’t compromise my convictions!”
(b) Convictions can’t be compromised, but they may need to be changed!
(i) The Pharisees and Sadducees had convictions, but they needed to heed the rebukes of Jesus and change!
(ii) Sydney Harris once said, “I am tired of hearing about men with the “courage of their convictions.” Nero and Caligula and Attila and Hitler had the courage of their convictions—but not one had the courage to examine his convictions or to change them, which is the true test of character.” -- Bits and Pieces, Oct. 1991
(c) But to the stubborn person, changing his convictions is never considered as a viable option.
(i) It reminds me of a plaque I’ve seen in homes and novelty shops over the years: “O Lord, grant that we may always be right, for thou knowest we will never change our minds.”
(d) Wisdom will cause one to be willing to listen and change.
(i) Proverbs 12:15 “The way of a fool [a stubborn fool, sk] is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.”
(ii) James 3:17, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”
(iii) Proverbs 15:32 “He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.”
4) Thinking like a mule. (Psalm 32:8-9). Mules are stubborn because they think for themselves and they will not put themselves in what they perceive to be danger or unnecessary stress. The stubbornness is not giving in to the will of the owner.
(a) We are indeed stubborn, thinking that we know the right way.
(b) We are indeed stubborn in that we can’t acknowledge that God’s ways are greater than our ways and that somebody else might know more about God’s ways than we do!
(c) We resist because we feel that we know what is best for us.
(d) We resist because we are concerned that what God has for us isn’t what we really want or need.
(e) But mainly we resist because we think that what we know is all there is to know. That others don’t have any insights that would help us see truth more clearly and change.
(f) And so, because we believe we are so in tune with truth, and our version of reality is the only one that matters, we will listen to ourselves before anyone else.
(g) ILLUS: As a tennis coach I’ve run into stubbornness a lot. Tennis is not a game that comes naturally to most people. Good tennis strokes require precise fundamentals without which no player will be able to really excel. A player’s coach-ability determines their ability to make long term improvements, and it depends on their willingness to let go of doing it the way that seems right or easiest to them, and do what the coach says.
CONCUSION: What is stubbornness? Like King Saul,
It blames others for its own irresponsibility, it’s proud of its own achievements.
It doesn’t do what the one in authority says to do, but it thinks it does.
It argues the point. It tells those in authority what their job is and what their responsibility is; it acts as if it has authority over the one or ones who are in authority and that it can take their place (king Saul offered the sacrifice when he’d been told to wait – 1 Samuel 13).
It presents itself as I’m right, you’re wrong.
It doesn’t really listen because it has its own mind. Oh, it can seem agreeable and says it’s willing to listen and consider, but it always has an inner stiffness and hardness this is unwilling to change its mind.
It sets itself up as the judge of right and wrong.
Is this you?
Hebrews 4:7 "TODAY, IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS."
