Predestination, Free Will, and the Hardening of the Heart

Cooper’s Buddy Tommy – What do you think about Predestination?

We had a good conversation…and as I got to my message, I thought, how appropriate.

You see, today, as we wrestle with the text, we are going to see the unsearchable ways of God…and we will look at topics such as Predestination, Providence, and Personal Choice.

Now, before we dig into the text, let’s define each of those terms:

Definition of Terms

• Predestination -- God’s eternal decision and purpose—what will ultimately come to pass.
• Providence -- God’s ongoing direction of all things toward His purpose.
• Personal Choice -- Humanity’s real ability to make moral choices and be accountable for them.

When we see these terms laid out like this, it creates tension within us because we struggle to reconcile what will ultimately come to pass and our ability to make free choices.

Understanding the Tension

The Bible never portrays God’s sovereignty and human freedom as enemies—it presents them as dance partners.

Scripture gives us both truths without apology:
A. God is sovereign over all things.
Proverbs 19:21 (ESV)
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”
Isaiah 46:10 (ESV)
“My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.”
Nothing happens outside of His control.

B. Humans are genuinely responsible.
Deuteronomy 30:19 (ESV)
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.”
Romans 2:6 (ESV)
“He will render to each one according to his works.”

Our choices are not illusions—they are real.

So, the tension isn’t between truth and error—it’s between two truths that coexist beyond our full comprehension.
 
Now, let’s dig into the story and see all of these in motion and on display.
 
Today, we see…

• Resetting the Stage: From Failure to Formation

In Exodus 5, Moses hits rock bottom.

• He obeys God and walks into Pharaoh’s palace—only to make things worse. We talked last week how that when we obey, opposition often follows.
• Pharaoh doubles Israel’s workload, and the people turn on Moses: “You have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh.” (5:21)
• Then Moses turns on God. Look at how Exodus 5 closes.

Exodus 5:22-23
Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”

This is Moses at his weakest moment—discouraged, doubting, defensive.

And he is blaming God for Pharaoh’s actions.

This is what we saw last week. He felt like a FAILURE!

But Exodus 6 is a turning point. God meets Moses’ weakness with a renewed revelation.

Exodus 6:1
But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

Notice the shift:

• Moses’ words in Exodus 5 focus on “I” — “Why did you send me?” “I can’t.” “You haven’t.”
• God’s words in Exodus 6 focus on “I AM.” — “I will bring you out... I will deliver you... I will redeem you... I will take you... I will bring you in.” (6:6–8)

In other words:
“Moses, this doesn’t depend on your strength. It depends on my Sovereign Plan.

Now, notice something with me in Exodus 6.
 
Chapter 6 is actually setting the stage for the gospel of Jesus – the Sovereign Plan of God to Redeem all of mankind. You see, so much of the Old Testament is a picture of what God the Father will accomplish through God the Son through his obedient act of dying on the cross to redeem mankind from their sins.

Notice how Exodus 6, and Israel’s Salvation Story, points to the Greater Salvation Story.

Exodus 6:6-8
Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’”

What do we see here?

We see God saying, “Take this message of Good News to Israel.”

Here is the Good News:

• V. 6 – I will bring you out from under burdens of the Egyptians
• V. 6 – I will deliver you from slavery
• V. 6 – I will redeem you – I will purchase you out of slavery
• V. 6 – I will redeem you through great acts of judgment
• V. 7 – I will take you to be my people – I will know you and you will know me…I will be your God
• V. 8 – I have a new home for you…a new land that is from the covenant promise.

This mirrors the gospel.

The Gospel of Jesus says:

• I was a slave to Sin – Romans 6:6
• Christ died to set us free from sin – Romans 6:7
• Christ Redeemed us from sin through a GREAT ACT of JUDGMENT.

Galatians 3:13-14
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

• The Gospel Declares that we will know Him and He will know us – as He puts His Spirit in our hearts.
• The Gospel Declares that He has prepared a place for us and we will enter into a new holy city and be with Him for all eternity.

So, I love that in Exodus 6, after Moses asks God, “Where did you go and why did bad things happen to us,” God declares his salvation is coming, and it isn’t dependent upon Moses, it is dependent upon Him. That’s His first Purpose.
 
Now, the rest of Exodus 6 is God putting a charge into Moses’ heart, because more than just delivering Israel from Slavery, God is also going to confront Pharaoh and leave it absolutely clear that His power is greater than Pharaoh.

Notice what becomes the struggle between two kingdoms.

Today, we see…

• Resetting the Stage: From Failure to Formation
• The Struggle of Two Kingdoms

Exodus 7:1-7
And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” 6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

As we look at this struggle, notice two things:

• Moses will be as God to Pharoah – verse 1
• God has expressed his second purpose – verse 5 – the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord…

Let me address these in reverse order.

• The Egyptians knowing that Yahweh is the Lord: You see, God is not going to share his glory. We saw what Pharoah said to Moses in Exodus 5:2…

Exodus 5:2
But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”
 
You see, Pharaoh isn’t just ignorant of Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, but more than that, Pharaoh sees himself as the son of the sun god, Ra, and it is his job to hold the world in order.

Let me show you what I mean:
In the ancient Egyptian worldview, Pharaoh was not just a ruler. He was considered divine — the son of the sun god, Ra; the embodiment of a god on earth; the appointed guardian of cosmic stability.

Egypt believed the universe was held together by something called Maʿat (M-A-A-T).

Maʿat means truth, balance, justice, harmony, order; everything in it’s right place.

• If Maʿat held, the Nile flooded on time, crops grew, the sun rose, people were fed, Egypt was strong.
• If Maʿat failed, chaos (which they called isfet) would break loose — famine, rebellion, darkness, death.

Pharaoh’s #1 job was to maintain Maʿat.

One Egyptologist, Jan Assmann, writes:
“Maʿat is constantly threatened by isfet — by chaos — and it is Pharaoh’s role to dispel it and maintain order.”

So, Pharaoh didn’t just see himself as a man. He saw himself as the hinge of the universe.

 He believed: “If I lose control, the world falls apart.”

 That is Pharaoh’s theology.

 Now — why does that matter for our understanding of Exodus?

 Because in Pharaoh’s worldview:

• His rule equals order.
• stability.
• survival.
• safety.

 So, any challenge to his rule is, in his mind, a threat to creation itself. This is Pharaoh’s Kingdom.

 Now as we watch Moses and Aaron walk into that throne room and say:
“The LORD, the God of Israel, says ‘Let My people go.’”…Understand what Pharaoh hears.

• He doesn’t hear, “We’d like a long weekend.”
• He hears, “We’re removing several hundred thousand laborers from your control to go worship a God you don’t recognize.”

 And Pharaoh responds in verse 2:

Exodus 5:2
But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”

That is not ignorance.

That is defiance.

That is Pharaoh saying, “There is no name higher than mine inside Egypt.”

 Pharaoh is basically saying:
 “Your God is not part of my order. Your God is not over me. Your God is not God here.”

 But God is not going to share his glory, and clearly, Pharoah doesn’t hold the entire world together. So, God is going to bring disruption to Pharoah’s order through the plagues.

Today, we see…

• Resetting the Stage: From Failure to Formation
• The Struggle of Two Kingdoms
• The Process of the Hardening Heart

Now, why Moses will be as God to Pharaoh.  What is going on here?

 This has to do with the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart.

In medicine, cardiac calcification occurs when calcium builds up in the arteries over years, narrowing blood flow and hardening the heart’s function.

Doctors will tell you:

• It’s often silent for a long time.
• It’s worsened by poor diet and neglect.
• And once hardened, it’s very difficult to reverse—except by surgical intervention.

 Notice now Exodus 7:3-4.

Exodus 7:3-4
But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.

 Notice three things: A predestined plan along with providential action. And, Personal Choice -- Pharoah’s will, that he will not listen to you.

 This is both divine sovereignty and human responsibility at work, intertwined like two sides of the same coin -- Few themes in Scripture raise more questions than this one.

 Let’s see what we can learn here:

 There are three kinds of statements in Exodus about Pharaoh’s heart:
 

1. Pharaoh hardened his own heart. (Ex. 8:15, 8:32, 9:34)

Exodus 8:15
 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
 

2. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. (Ex. 9:12, 10:20, 10:27, 11:10)

Exodus 9:12
  But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
 

3. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. (Passive form, Ex. 7:13, 7:22, 8:19)

Exodus 7:13
  Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
  In essence, the PASSIVE FORM is observing what happened to Pharoah’s heart as a result of the actions happening in the palace.

  The pattern shows a progression:

• Pharaoh first resists willingly. – That’s Personal Choice or Free Will…
• God then confirms him judicially. – That’s God’s providence to confirm his pre-determined plan -- God governing the choices of men to accomplish His purpose, without being the author of sin.

Think of it like the sun:

• The same sunlight that melts wax also hardens clay.
• The difference isn’t in the sun—it’s in the substance it touches.

 God’s glory doesn’t change, but people’s responses do. Pharaoh’s pride caused the same divine power that could have softened him to instead harden him.

 Paul interprets this in Romans 9:17–18.

Romans 9:17-18
  For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

 This is providence on display.

God is not reacting to Pharaoh’s will—He is ruling over it.

 But within that Providence, Pharaoh’s choices are still real and consequential.

That’s the paradox: God’s Providence doesn’t cancel human responsibility; it reveals it.

 Now, you may be saying, “Ok, great. But you still haven’t answered why Moses would be as God to Pharoah.”

 Notice again, Exodus 7:1-2.

Exodus 7:1-2
 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land.

 What is it that we see here?

• I will make you like God to Pharoah – So, if Pharoah is interacting with your words, he is interacting with the proclaimed word of God.
• Aaron will be the prophet – God uses the prophet to bring the word of the Lord.
• So, we have this Progression –
• God speaks to Moses,
• Moses speaks God’s word to the prophet
• The prophet proclaims the word of the Lord,
• the recipient has a choice – what he or she does with the word of the Lord that is proclaimed.

 Now a moment ago, I spoke of cardiac calcification. The word “calcify” literally means to harden by accumulating calcium deposits.

 When used figuratively—as Scripture does—it means to become resistant, unresponsive, and unyielding to truth or conviction.

 Spiritually, a calcified heart is a heart that once had sensitivity to God’s voice but, over time, through repeated rejection of that voice, becomes rigid and unmoved.

Hebrews 3:13
 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

 Sin deceives—and repetition desensitizes. The longer we say no to God, the harder it becomes to say yes.

Pharaoh’s heart didn’t turn to stone overnight. It calcified in layers.

 So, why was Moses as God to Pharaoh?

 I believe it is because of the Spoken Word of God that Moses Carried to Aaron and Aaron carried to Pharaoh.

 Each act of resistance to God’s word added another layer of hardness.

 Here’s the pattern we see in Exodus of a Hard Heart:
 

Stage	Pharaoh’s Action	Divine Response	Result
1	Pharaoh dismisses God’s command (Ex 5:2 — “Who is the LORD that I should obey?”)	God begins to display His power through signs	Pride becomes his default posture.
2	He witnesses miracles (staffs, blood, frogs) but refuses to submit	God allows his heart to harden (Ex 7:13; 8:15)	His heart grows calloused to truth.
3	He pleads for relief, then reneges (Ex 8:28–32)	God judicially hardens his heart (Ex 9:12)	His will becomes sealed in rebellion.

It’s like layers of spiritual plaque—each refusal adds residue until the arteries of the soul are blocked.

Today, we see…

• Resetting the Stage: From Failure to Formation
• The Struggle of Two Kingdoms
• The Process of the Hardening Heart
• The Dynamics Behind a Hard Heart

 Why consider all of this today?

• You and I aren’t the ones who will influence God’s Predestined Plan.
• You and I will feel the hand of Providence, as God works out his plan through history.
• But you and I certainly can harden our hearts and really miss out on what God’s plan is for our lives. Our free will can and does affect how our lives play out.

Hebrews 3:7-8
 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
 “Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness…

 What leads to the hardening of our hearts?
 A. Pride
Exodus 5:2
 “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice?”

 Pride is always the root of hardness. Pharaoh didn’t deny God’s existence—he denied God’s authority. He saw himself as divine. Pride makes a heart impermeable to conviction.

 B. Repetition of Sin
Exodus 8:15
 “When Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart…”

 Temporary obedience without transformation leads to deeper hardness. Pharaoh wanted relief, not repentance.

 C. Refusal to Listen
Exodus 7:13
 “Pharaoh would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.”
 
 When truth keeps knocking and we stop opening the door, our hearts lose elasticity. Spiritual hearing loss sets in.

 D. Judgment from God
 Eventually, hardness stops being just self-inflicted—it becomes divinely confirmed.

Exodus 9:12
 “But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh.”
 
 This is judicial hardening. God solidifies the condition Pharaoh has chosen—like God saying, “You’ve chosen your posture; now I’ll use it for My purpose.”

Imagine a massive river flowing toward the ocean.
That’s God’s sovereign will—it’s headed exactly where He intends.

Now imagine you’re in a small boat on that river with a rudder.
You can steer—turning right or left—making real choices that affect your path.

But you cannot reverse the current or stop its destination.
 That’s human choice within divine providence.

Your choices matter; your steering affects your story—but the current ensures God’s plan is fulfilled.

 Pharaoh used his rudder to resist; Moses used his to obey.

But the current of God’s sovereignty carried history to the Red Sea—and beyond—to the cross.

  Why This Matters Pastorally

• It humbles us — because salvation and history are God’s story, not ours.
• It encourages us — because nothing can thwart His plan, not even our failures.
• It motivates us — because our obedience still matters in that plan.

God’s sovereignty gives purpose to our choices, not futility.

So, the question is:
Will we resist the sovereignty of God—or rest in it? May we choose to rest in it!
 

This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025 from our CityRise Church West U Baptist campus. Check out the full message below!