Rejection from God versus Acceptance from People

About two months back, we looked at what it looked like to be rejected by people but accepted by God. The scary thing, however, is that the opposite can also be true. It could be that someone is accepted by the world but God rejects them. So, what does it look like to be accepted by people and not by God?

Reasons God will reject you

• Disobedience

  • "19 'Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?' 20 'But I did obey the Lord,' Saul said. 'I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.' 22 But Samuel replied:

    'Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king'" ( Samuel 15:19-23, NIV).

  • In this passage, Saul, who was King of the Israelites at the time, disobeyed God's instructions. Saul was instructed to attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them (1 Samuel 15:3). Instead of following this instruction, Saul brought back the Amalekite king, some of the animals, and some of the possessions to offer these things to God as a sacrifice. While Saul likely believed what he was doing was good and would be pleasing to God, ultimately, he still disobeyed. Sometimes, we can be like Saul in thinking we are doing what is best, but we are not listening to God. Following our own judgment at the cost of disobeying God is not worth it because, as we see in the case of Saul, it will lead to us losing something. For Saul, he lost his anointing as king of Israel; for a disobedient believer, it could be a relationship with God.

• Unbelief

  • 16 "Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, 'Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?' 17 'Why do you ask me about what is good?' Jesus replied. 'There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.' 18 'Which ones?' he inquired. Jesus replied, ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.' 20 'All these I have kept,' the young man said. 'What do I still lack?'

    21 Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God'” (Matthew 19:16-24, NIV).

  • In this passage, Jesus was not saying that we must become poor to gain eternal life; instead, he is referencing that it only takes one thing to block our relationship with God. Some people, like the young rich man, may be hindered spiritually because they depend on their possessions more than they trust in God. If we believe in God, it is important that we fully place our trust in him and surrender such things as fame, talent, good looks, and intellectualism to God.

• An unrepentant heart

  • 5 "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God 'will repay each person according to what they have done'" (Romans 2:5-6, NIV).

  • Just as Jesus was explaining how possessions can be the thing that can hinder us spiritually, our hearts can also be the thing that gets in the way of our spiritual growth. When you accept God into your life and invite him into your heart, you realize that you are imperfect and you need God. An unrepentant heart, however, does not see a problem with their heart and carries on doing what they feel is best rather than surrendering their will to God's will.

Following Christ is not easy. It is much easier to follow the world and to do what you want or what you believe is best. Jesus tells us in Matthew, "13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matthew 7:13-14, NIV). So, it may be easy to be accepted by the world, or it may feel nice to have that acceptance from people, but acceptance from the world is never worth it if it means rejection from God. The sad and scary thing is that as a believer, if you are not cognizant of your walk with Christ, you could feel you are doing everything right and still hear "I never knew you" when you get before God, because you were living a life that did not center your relationship with God (Matthew 7:21-3).