Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
Acts 16:14

Why did Lydia believe? Why does anyone believe? Because the Holy Spirit “opens the heart.” Without this supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, no one would ever believe. Why? Because we are all born with sinful hearts, that keep us from understanding, much less believing and embracing Christ and the Gospel. Consider some key verses on this subject:

Romans 3:10-11 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.”

The natural state of human beings, ever since Adam and Eve sinned is that we are unrighteous, we do not understand God, nor de we seek Him. True, people are nearly universally “religious.” Being religious is not seeking God. It is seeking to justify ourselves with good works, morality, and/or by practicing rituals. These get no one to God, but are an offense to Him as we insist that we are “good,” in spite of what God’s Word says.

This was not a new concept introduced by Paul in Romans. He was quoting from the Old Testament, including from Psalm 14, which we’ll consider next time…