I occasionally post theology and Bible questions that get sent in by readers. Here is a question that was recently sent in about Acts 16 where it says that the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to heed the things spoken by Paul:
I was just wondering as someone who has moved away from Calvinism how you would handle this passage about Lydia:
On the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. 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. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us. . . . So they went out of the prison [Paul and Silas] and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed. Acts 16:13-15, 40, NKJV
I’m really trying to get my mind outside of Calvinism. But this passage always troubles me particularly the part about God opening her heart. I know there’s another passage of scripture that refers to Satan blinding us lest we believe and be saved.
I have no idea how to understand these since it sounds like God must unblind the unbeliever thus causing them to automatically believe. Of course, if he wants all to come to the saving truth then why doesn’t he do this for everyone?
Any help with understanding this would be awesome.
Here is my attempt at an answer about what this means.
The Lord Opened Her Heart
Great question. You have hit upon one of the key texts which many Calvinists use to defend the fourth point of TULIP: Irresistible Grace. The way this passage is often taught is that prior to God opening Lydia’s heart, she was closed to God and Jesus Christ, closed to salvation, closed to the gospel, and closed to the message of eternal life. It is often pointed out that there were many women along the banks of the river in Philippi that day, but only one believed—the one whose heart was opened by God.