You did not understand the Gospel earlier because hearing the message is not enough — God had to open your heart first.
In Acts 16, Lydia was a religious, God-worshipping woman, and she still did not understand until the Lord opened her heart. Les Feldick applies this to anyone who has struggled to grasp the gospel, and he connects it with 2 Corinthians 4, where the god of this world blinds the minds of the lost. No human teacher can remove that blindness; when God acts, understanding comes.
Acts 16:14 — This verse directly answers the question because it shows Lydia heard Paul's words but did not truly attend to them until the Lord opened her heart.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 — This passage explains why the gospel can be hidden from a listener: the god of this world blinds the minds of those who do not believe.
The Bible gives the example of Lydia in Acts 16. She was a seller of purple from Thyatira, and she worshipped God. Yet Acts 16:14 says she heard Paul's words, “whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.” The text shows that the Lord, not Paul, opened her heart. In 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 Paul writes that if the gospel is hid, it is hid to them that are lost, because “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” These verses show that a person may listen to the truth and still not receive it unless God works in the heart.
Les Feldick uses Lydia as the pattern for why people do not understand the Gospel, even when they sit under good teaching. She was religious, Jewish, and had some knowledge of God, but she was just as lost as anyone else. Les stresses that Paul did not open her heart, and Barnabas did not open it — the Lord did. Human words, even Paul's, are not enough; the Holy Spirit opens the heart so the person attends to what is spoken. Les also emphasizes that believers still have their part to do: they are to open the Scriptures and share what God says, but they cannot force belief or tear away the spiritual blindness that Satan puts on the lost. God uses human instruments, but the first move belongs to God.
Lydia was a seller of purple from Thyatira, which placed her in the upper echelons of society, and she was a Jewish woman who worshipped God. Yet Les Feldick says that in spite of her religion and her knowledge of God, she was “as lost as lost can be” and her eyes were blinded by Satan just like anyone else's. Religion and a general belief in God did not give her understanding of the Gospel. It took the Lord opening her heart.
Paul was the apostle preaching the message, but Les Feldick points out that it was not Paul's fancy preaching that got to Lydia. The Lord opened her heart, and then she attended to the things spoken of Paul. Les also says that you can talk yourself until you are blue in the face and that is not going to get anybody; the Holy Spirit opens the heart. This is why no teacher, preacher, or Bible study can guarantee that a listener will understand — God has to do the opening.
Les Feldick reads 2 Corinthians 4 and says the god of this world, the devil, blinds the minds of lost people so the light of the glorious gospel of Christ cannot shine to them. That is why it is so hard to convince the masses of their need. Unless God strips away that blindness, even the believer sharing the gospel is helpless. This blindness is the reason someone can hear the same gospel and still not understand it.
Les says God almost always uses one human instrument to lead another human to a knowledge of salvation. He encourages believers to get skilled in the Scriptures so that when they have an opportunity they can show someone what the Word really says. Our part is to share the Word; the part of opening the heart belongs to the Lord.
Lydia's Background at Philippi
Les introduces Lydia as a seller of purple from Thyatira, a wealthy woman who met Paul at a place of prayer by a riverside in Philippi. Her background shows that being respectable and religious did not make her understand the gospel on her own.
Satan Blinds the Minds of the Lost
Les uses 2 Corinthians 4:4 to explain why people struggle with the gospel: the devil has blinded them, and unless God strips away the blindness, even believers are helpless to convince them.
Lydia Was Religious but Lost
Les points out that Lydia was a well-to-do religious Jewish woman who still was lost, and her heart had to be opened by the Lord for her to attend to Paul's words.
Not With Wisdom of Words
Les ties Lydia's story to the principle that human wisdom cannot save: you can talk yourself blue in the face, but the Holy Spirit has to open the heart.
Who Opened Lydia's Heart? The Lord
Les makes the application direct: Paul didn't open Lydia's heart, Barnabas didn't, the Lord did. God has to open the spiritual heart.
The Lord Opened Her Heart
It wasn't Paul's fancy preaching that got to Lydia; the Lord opened her heart. When He did, she attended to what Paul said. God makes the first move.
God Uses Human Instruments
Even though only God opens the heart, God ordinarily uses one person to lead another to salvation. Les tells believers to get skilled in Scripture so they can share what the Word says.
The Gospel Is Hid to Them That Are Lost
Les explains that the gospel is hidden to lost people because the god of this world blinds their minds, and only God can overcome that.
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.
Lydia heard Paul and only attended to his words after the Lord opened her heart — explaining why hearing alone doesn't produce understanding.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Paul explains that the gospel is hidden from the lost because the god of this world blinds their minds, so the light of the gospel cannot shine to them.
No. Les Feldick points out that Lydia was religious, worshipped God, and was still lost. Hearing the truth and having some knowledge of God is not the same as the Lord opening the heart.
No. Les says you can talk until you are blue in the face and it won't get anybody. The Holy Spirit has to open the heart. Even Paul's words did not open Lydia's heart; the Lord did.
Scripture says the gospel is hid to them that are lost, and the god of this world, Satan, has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. Unless God strips away that blindness, the light of the gospel cannot shine.
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