God, Rejecting

Rejecting God brings severe consequences, as He warns in Deuteronomy 30:15-20 that turning away from Him and His commands leads to death and destruction. In I Samuel 8:7, the people's demand for a king is a direct rejection of God's reign over them. Sinners openly reject His ways in Job 21:14-15, questioning the benefit of serving Him. The carnal mind resists God's holiness, often pushing away His truth to escape His presence. Scripture shows that such rejection, whether by nations or individuals, results in calamities like pestilence and plagues, as God sends these to chasten His people and call them to repentance, aligning with His sovereign purpose and warnings.

Does God Cause Pandemics?

'Prophecy Watch' by David C. Grabbe

In the midst of national crises and pandemics, the question of God's involvement often goes unasked. Yet, Scripture reveals that when His people reject Him, God Himself claims responsibility for sending pestilence, plagues, fevers, inflammation, and weakness as consequences. As foretold in Leviticus 26:16, He promises wasting disease and fever that consume not only the body but also the heart through sorrow for loved ones. Similarly, Leviticus 26:25 warns of pestilence among gathered cities, highlighting the devastating impact of contagious diseases as a direct result of disobedience. God's prophetic words in Zephaniah 1:12 and Psalm 10:4 reflect the attitude of nations that hold Him at arm's length, where even in places with access to His Word, He is often absent from thoughts and no longer the standard for truth. This rejection, as God declares, brings about the very curses He has warned of, regardless of the human agents or origins involved in their unfolding. Whether pestilence arises from natural causes or human actions, what matters is that it aligns with what He has said He will do when His commands are disregarded. Through prophets like Jeremiah, God reiterates pestilence as a response to national immorality, emphasizing a clear cause-and-effect principle. Habakkuk struggled with God's choice to use the fierce Chaldeans to punish His people, yet this reveals that God employs even the basest of men, as seen in Daniel 2:21 and 4:17, to fulfill His will. He raises leaders and nations, whether Hazael of Syria or Nebuchadnezzar, to chasten His rebellious children, showing that His means may not fit human expectations but serve His purpose. God's own words in Isaiah 45:7 affirm that He creates calamity, and Amos 3:6 questions whether calamity in a city is not of His doing. Despite this, nations often reject the notion of divine judgment, focusing on external causes rather than the root issue of sin and disobedience. The pattern in Amos 4:6-12 demonstrates God sending lesser calamities, including plagues, to call His people to repentance, underscoring that such events are not random but purposeful acts to awaken a wayward nation.

The Sovereignty of God (Part Six)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

In the context of God's sovereignty, rejecting Him is a central issue that has profound consequences for humanity. As seen in Deuteronomy 30:15-20, God sets before us life and good, death and evil, commanding us to love Him, walk in His ways, and keep His commandments to live and multiply with His blessing. However, if our hearts turn away, refusing to hear and instead worshipping other gods, God denounces that we shall surely perish and not prolong our days in the land He promised. He calls heaven and earth as witnesses, urging us to choose life by loving and obeying Him, for He is our life and the length of our days. This theme of rejection is further emphasized in I Samuel 8:7, where the Lord declares to Samuel that the people's demand for a king is not a rejection of Samuel, but of Him, that He should not reign over them. This act of rejecting God's direct rule reflects a fundamental failure to acknowledge His sovereignty, a failure that began with Adam and Eve and continues to challenge mankind. God is fully aware of such rejection and permits or orchestrates events according to His purpose, emphasizing that our faith must be in His overriding authority. Moreover, in Job 21:14-15, sinners openly reject God, saying, "Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of your ways," questioning the benefit of serving Him or praying to Him. Yet, God's sovereignty remains unchallenged, as He can intervene to change hearts and minds, demonstrating that even those who reject Him are subject to His will and purpose. Our actions and attitudes do not escape Him, and rejection of His rule will be judged in His time, underscoring the importance of submitting to His sovereign authority over all creation.

In The Beginning, God Created

Sermonette by Ryan McClure

The reprobate theories of Darwin have polluted all facets of society, conditioning proponents of this vile idea to reject the Designer of creation.

Holiness of God (Part 3)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The carnal mind is repelled by God's holiness and will often reject it, persecute it, or even seek to destroy it because it cannot endure the comparison with His transcendent purity. Sin wears a cloak of deception, and when confronted with the holiness of God, the natural response can be to push away the truth, to justify, or to outright reject it in order to escape His presence. Even among the converted, carnal thinking can lead to rejection of His holy standards, choosing instead to avoid the transformative power of His truth. Without the Holy Spirit, a person cannot truly appreciate or accept the beauty of God's holiness, often reacting with fear or a desire to flee from it, as seen in the responses of Isaiah and Peter when they encountered His sanctity.

God, Rejecting

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