The ancient resistance and our struggle to yield …

Imagine trying to steer a stubborn mule that plants its feet and refuses to budge, no matter how hard you pull the reins. That image captures the essence of a problem as old as humanity’s relationship with its Creator: the tendency toward stubbornness and rebellion. It’s more than just simple disagreement; it’s a deep, internal resistance to the will of the only One who truly knows the way forward.

The stiff neck of the Old Covenant
In the Old Testament, God often described His people, Israel, with a vivid, visceral metaphor: they were “stiff-necked.” This term was used repeatedly, symbolizing a refusal to accept the spiritual “yoke” of obedience and guidance. A perfect illustration comes after the disastrous golden calf incident at Mount Sinai. God’s patience was severely tested, and He described the people to Moses in the most telling terms.

In Exodus 33:3, God declares His reluctance to travel with them personally, saying, “Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.”

This combination of stubbornness (obstinate, unyielding will) and rebellion (the act of direct defiance) was more than a momentary lapse; it was a deeply rooted sin that led to tragedy. When the people finally arrived at the Promised Land, they refused to trust God’s ability to conquer their enemies. This cycle of resistance became the tragic narrative of Israel for centuries. The prophet Jeremiah later lamented this very characteristic, using a striking picture of the people refusing even to hear God’s commands. In Jeremiah 17:23, he writes, “but they did not listen or obey. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or accept my discipline.” Jeremiah often depicted this resistance as the people actively choosing to be stubborn until they could not even hear the message, turning away completely from the Lord’s instructions.

The hardened heart in the New Testament
When the Messiah, Jesus, arrived, He confronted the same inner issue, but He spoke of it in even deeper terms: hardness of heart (sklērokardia).

In Mark 10:5, Jesus addresses the Pharisees’ questions about divorce by saying, “But Jesus responded, ‘He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts.'”

Jesus identified that the legal exception was not God’s ideal design, but rather a concession to their inherent, unyielding obstinacy. A hard heart is a stubborn heart — a heart that is closed off, unwilling to bend, and resistant to the transformative power of God’s grace.

The ultimate confrontation with this ingrained resistance came during the martyrdom of Stephen. Before the highest court, Stephen laid out the entire history of Israel’s disobedience, concluding his speech with a powerful accusation that directly echoed the Exodus language. In Acts 7:51, Stephen cries out, “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!”

The Greek phrase Stephen used was “stiff-necked” (sklērotrachēlos), bringing the ancient charge directly into the New Covenant era. Stephen wasn’t speaking of simple mistakes; he was indicting their internal, perpetual choice to resist the Holy Spirit, the ultimate act of rebellion and stubbornness.

The subtle resistance today
The ancient problem of stubbornness and rebellion can persist even when a person becomes a follower of Christ. The struggle remains, but its battleground shifts to the internal conflict between the flesh and the Holy Spirit who dwells within.

This subtle resistance manifests today in two primary ways, both warned against by the Apostle Paul:

• • Resisting internal obedience (grieving the Holy Spirit): This form of rebellion occurs when we cling to the destructive habits and bitter attitudes that the Holy Spirit is actively seeking to remove. Paul warns in Ephesians 4:30, “And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.” When a believer maintains bitterness, unforgiveness, or deceit, they are choosing the desires of the flesh over the Spirit’s direction, effectively grieving the divine presence. The stubborn impulse of the flesh refuses to yield ground in its private life.
  • Resisting external mission and power (quenching the Holy Spirit): While grieving is passive sorrow caused by sin, quenching is an active dismissal of the Spirit’s prompting. Paul instructs in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.” This resistance is seen when believers actively suppress the Spirit’s work, such as by refusing to share the gospel, ignoring clear calls to service, or allowing comfort and fear to override a known command from God. The willful refusal to follow the Spirit’s leading prioritizes self-interest over the divine agenda.

The choice of self-will — the essence of the rebellion — is what causes the internal conflict between the flesh and the Spirit, resulting in both grieving and quenching. This struggle demonstrates that the choice of self-will, whether it results in minor neglect or major error, places us in the single category of needing God’s sovereign mercy, as Paul writes: “For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone,” Romans 11:32.

The question for self-examination, therefore, is not if the internal conflict exists — for Paul teaches it as the battle of the flesh against the Spirit — but where we are currently refusing to yield to the Spirit. Are we digging in our heels against the divine guidance meant to lead us toward life and peace?

The path through humility and ongoing change
The solution to the stiff neck is found in God’s provision of a new heart and the daily choice to yield to its direction:

• • God’s provision: The prophets pointed toward a time when God himself would intervene to solve the problem of the unresponsive will. God promised through Ezekiel that he would perform a spiritual heart transplant on his people: he would remove the cold, unresponsive heart of stone and replace it with one that could truly follow Him. This divine work of regeneration establishes the New Covenant and enables obedience.
  • Man’s responsibility: The Christian no longer struggles with the heart of stone, but the active opposition of the flesh against the Spirit remains. Overcoming the “stiff neck”—our refusal to submit—is now addressed through the daily, active choice to walk by the Spirit.

The act of yielding is choosing the posture of humility. This is the key to cooperating with God’s ongoing change. James offers a powerful counterpoint to the pride that causes rebellion: “And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble,'” James 4:6.

To be humble is to relax the “stiff neck,” choosing to submit our will to God. This submission is the necessary step for receiving the generous grace that covers our shared tendency to rebel and enables the deep, internal change that only God can accomplish.

Scotty