When people reject the gospel, remember this

I want to encourage you to read a post at a blog I catch somewhat regularly. You can find the link here.

In this article, author Dan Phillips relates the account of the prophet Jeremiah and King Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 36). The king is priveleged to receive a message directly from God throught the prophet. The words were intended to motivate repentance (“perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the calamity which I plan to bring on them, in order that every man will turn from his evil way; then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin” [Jeremiah 36:3]). Rather than humbly receiving the message, he does the unthinkable. Despite urgings from members of his court, he actually chops the scroll in pieces and burns it.

It is a sad picture of the deceived and depraved hearts of men, who despite the privilege of receiving a message that they might be delivered from the wrath to come, instead despise both the message and the God who gives it.

Most of us have experienced the painful experience of having someone reject God and the gospel in the face of what seems like an irresistable message of grace and peace. How are we to think about such rejections. This article provides some helpful thoughts on the topic, and I commend it to you.