Before meeting Paul, Lydia was religious and sincerely worshipped God, but she was still lost and unsaved.
Les Feldick repeatedly calls her 'religious, but lost' and says she was 'as lost as lost can be.' She had a concept of God and joined other Jewish women in Sabbath prayer, but she knew nothing of God's salvation. Scripture says the Lord opened her heart so she attended to Paul's words, showing that her prior devotion had not made her a believer.
Acts 16:14 — This verse directly describes Lydia's spiritual condition: she worshipped God, and the Lord opened her heart when she heard Paul.
Acts 16:13 — This verse explains the context: Lydia was at a Sabbath prayer gathering by the riverside before Paul spoke.
Acts 16:13-14 gives the biblical record of Lydia's condition before Paul's message took effect. Paul and his companions went 'out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made' on the Sabbath and spoke to the women who gathered there. Verse 14 says: '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.' The Scripture describes her as a worshipper of God, but it does not present her as already saved. Rather, her heart had to be opened by the Lord in connection with Paul's word before she 'attended unto' the things Paul spoke.
Les Feldick repeatedly emphasizes that Lydia was 'religious, but lost.' He says she had 'a certain amount of religion' and 'a certain amount of the knowledge of God' but was 'lost, just as lost as the ones we just read about in 2 Corinthians 4' (Clip 1). He also says she 'had a concept of God, but she knew nothing of God's salvation' (Clip 3). She was a distinguished businesswoman from Thyatira who sold purple, and she was part of a group of Jewish women meeting by the riverside for a devotional on the Sabbath (Clips 2, 4). Yet her religion, prayer, and devotion did not save her; she was 'as lost as lost can be' (Clip 5). The turning point was not Paul's preaching skill but the sovereign work of God: 'The Lord opened her heart' so that she attended to the things Paul spoke (Clips 5, 6, 7).
No. Les emphasizes that Lydia 'worshipped God' and 'believed in God,' yet she was 'religious, but lost' and 'as lost as lost can be.' Her devotion and prayer by the riverside did not save her; she still needed the Lord to open her heart.
The Bible says 'whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul' (Acts 16:14). Les underscores that Paul did not open it and Barnabas did not open it; the Lord did. God made the first move in her salvation.
According to Les, Lydia had 'a concept of God' and 'a certain amount of the knowledge of God,' but she knew nothing of God's salvation. He compares her to Cornelius and the Ethiopian eunuch—people who knew about God but did not yet know Him savingly.
Les says the women meeting by the riverside were Jewish women, and Lydia was Jewish. She was part of what he calls a 'synagogue type devotional' on the Sabbath and had 'a certain amount of religion' as a result.
What Must I Do to Be Saved? Acts 16 Explained
of Acts. We'll have to go on into our next taping. It's just not going to happen. So anyway, for those of you in television, again, this is just the informal Bible study, and we just trust that you're taking your Bibles and following the references, and I trust you all understand that by now I don't ever lift a verse out of the text and just comment on one verse.
Religious But Lost
Les says Lydia had religion and some knowledge of God, but she was lost and blinded by Satan just like everyone else until the Lord opened her spiritual understanding.
Worshipping God but Lost
Les describes Lydia as a wealthy seller of purple who worshipped God, yet she was 'religious, but lost' and 'as lost as lost can be' before Paul arrived.
Concept of God Without Salvation
Les says Lydia had a concept of God but knew nothing of God's salvation, likening her to Cornelius and the Ethiopian eunuch.
Gathering With Jewish Women for Prayer
Les sets the scene: Lydia was a distinguished businesswoman at a riverside devotional with a few Jewish women on the Sabbath.
Religious but Still Lost
Les says the women believed in God but were lost, and he stresses that Paul and Barnabas did not open Lydia's heart—the Lord did.
The Lord Opened Her Heart
Les emphasizes that the Lord, not Paul's preaching, opened Lydia's heart, and God made the first move in her salvation.
Sovereign God Brought Paul to Lydia
Les teaches that God sovereignly arranged for Paul to meet Lydia at that riverside on that Sabbath; otherwise she would never have heard the Word.
Acts 16:13: 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.
Shows the Sabbath setting where Lydia was among the women gathered for prayer before Paul spoke.
Acts 16:14: 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.
This is the key verse on Lydia's spiritual condition: she worshipped God, and the Lord opened her heart to attend to Paul's words.
She believed in God and worshipped Him, but Les Feldick teaches she was still lost. Being religious or believing in God is not the same as saving faith; the Lord had to open her heart before she attended to Paul's message.
No. She was a seller of expensive purple cloth and probably well-to-do, but Les says that did not change her spiritual condition. She was just as lost as anyone else until the Lord opened her heart.
Les explains that Lydia, like everyone else, was spiritually blinded by Satan. Religious devotion did not give her saving understanding, so God had to open her spiritual heart to respond to the gospel Paul preached.
It means she listened and responded to Paul's gospel message. The Bible says she did this after the Lord opened her heart, and Les points out that God made the first move.
Watch the Teaching: What Must I Do to Be Saved? Acts 16 Explained