Rejection. We’ve all experienced it but none of us like it. I can tell stories of when I experienced it. So can you. Perhaps you experienced rejection from a parent, friend, boyfriend or girlfriend, even a mate. If it happened once it can happen again. None of us ever want it to happen again. We do all we can to prevent the hurt that comes from it. Sometimes doing that keeps us from being close to those whom we feel may reject us. This can undermine relationships, especially marriage. The worse, though, is when we fear God’s rejection. Why wouldn’t He reject us? He knows our sins and failures better than anyone. Who can blame Him for rejecting us? Why shouldn’t He? We make promises to be faithful, we recommit, we turn from sin, yet before we know it we are back in sin again. The more we grow spiritually the more we become aware of His holiness and our sin.
Perhaps you can relate. If so, the biblical truths discussed here can bring you assurance and anchor you deeper in God’s grace. John 6 tells us of a time when Jesus miraculously fed a large crowd of hungry men and women. That night, He and His disciples crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Once the crowd realized He’d left, they climbed into boats and went searching for Him. After they reached Him, a conversation followed in which He declared Himself the bread of life that forever satisfies. He added, “Whoever comes to Me I will never drive away” (John 6:37b). We read a similar promise is Hebrews 13:5, where the author quotes God saying, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”. He provided additional assurance in Jeremiah 29:13, which reads, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” In other words, when we truly pursue God, He will reveal Himself to us. We will find the God we seek.
Jesus didn’t leave heaven and come to earth just to reject us. “For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:17). Our loving, merciful Father longs for everyone to come to a saving knowledge of His truth. Why do we have such a hard time believing this?
We can believe it for everyone else, but for ourselves it isn’t as easy. Is it because we feel our sin is worse than that of others, that we have done too much for God to forgive? Those are blasphemous thoughts. They insult God and all He has done for us. They are lies straight from the pit, and that’s where they come from: Satan himself.
Satan is good at taking God’s Word and misquoting it, applying it in a way God never intended. He did that with Eve in Eden and it worked. He tried it with Jesus when he tempted Him in the wilderness, but Jesus knew God’s word well and wasn’t misled by Satan’s misapplications.
One passage Satan sometimes uses to make us feel rejected is Hebrews 6:4-6: “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
Some incorrectly say this means sin can negate God’s grace, but the historical and literary context surrounding this passage do not support this meaning. The author was addressing the Hebrews who wanted to return to Judaism to avoid persecution. They wanted to live according to the “law” as they did before they heard of Jesus. But doing this would result in deliberately rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit and the truth they knew about Christ. They wanted to go back to the time before they knew the truth about Jesus. They “tasted,” they understood, but they rejected. They had never accepted God’s free gift of salvation in Jesus, even though they understood it clearly. They “tasted” but didn’t fully eat of it. They were never saved in the first place. This hardening of heart was their final free will choice. They are like the seed that sprouts up but since there is no root it soon withers before maturity.
I have spoken to numerous believers who were afraid they lost their salvation because of this passage. But that’s not what the passage says. They have nothing to fear from this Scripture. Plus, only those who have God’s Spirit living in them care about having salvation. If a person doesn’t have salvation, they wouldn’t care because God’s Spirit wouldn’t be present convicting them. So, if you are afraid you have lost your salvation, that in itself is proof you haven’t. If you had you wouldn’t care!
Throughout the Bible we see God’s people rejecting Him but He never rejects them. That was true during the time of the judges, the kings, even when they went into captivity. God used Hosea as an example of unconditional love and acceptance no matter what. When Hosea’s wife Gomer was unfaithful to him, had children with other men, turned to prostitution and was put into slavery, Hosea found her and paid the price to buy her back and restore her as his wife. God used his life to show that is what God was doing for them (Jeremiah 29:13, Psalm 43). He doesn’t reject; He rescues.
The next time guilt from your past or lies from the enemy tell you that God has rejected us, remind yourselves of the promises, character, and faithfulness God displayed to His unfaithful people for centuries. Thankfully, His faithfulness is not dependent upon ours and His love is perfect, unconditional, and never-ending. At each moment, when we’re at our best and at our worst, He is tenderly, persistently drawing us close, into His Fatherly embrace. He will never reject or abandon us.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
What do you do when you are tempted to doubt God’s love for you? What would you tell someone who felt God had rejected them?
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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