Biblical Assurance for Those Who Fear God’s Rejection

JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com
Biblical Assurance for Those Who Fear God’s Rejection

A few years ago, a reader reached out to me, terrified God had rejected her. Due to all her past sins, which she described as extensive, she worried that she’d spend eternity separated from Him. This wasn’t the first or last time I heard someone express such fear. Sometimes this stemmed from deep hurts someone received in childhood that created toxic shame. Others endured decades of false messages from legalistic leaders that tainted their understanding of God’s love and grace.

Ever alert to human weakness, the devil capitalized on their struggle by feeding their doubts with lies. This is his main strategy and can create overwhelming anxiety revealed in one of two ways. I’ve watched people become enslaved in their efforts to please the Lord and alleviate their guilt. Others withdrew from God to avoid the rejection they felt sure they’d receive.

Perhaps you can relate. If so, may the biblical truths discussed here bring you assurance and anchor you deeper in God’s grace.

Jesus’ Unchanging Promise

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 satiates. He added, “Whoever comes to Me I will never drive away” (John 6:37b, emphasis added). 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” (emphasis added). 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.

We Turn Our Backs on Him

In the passage surrounding one of the most frequently quoted verses in Scripture, the Lord reveals His heart for all mankind. After proclaiming God’s love for the world, as evidenced by the gift of His Son (John 3:16), Jesus said, “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.

He is always pursuing us and tenderly wooing us to Himself. We are the ones to turn from Him. 

As Jesus stated in John 3:19-21:

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God” (emphasis added).

God makes His light available to all. Some, however, aren’t willing to turn from their sinful lifestyle. They choose instead to remain in spiritual darkness. This was how the Pharisees responded.

Notice what we read in John 3:1-2:

“Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.’”

Based on Nicodemus’s description in verse one, it appears by “we,” he meant the other religious leaders. This was early in Jesus’ ministry, and but one chapter after His first recorded miracle. While the Pharisees didn’t understand His divinity, at this point they were convinced that He came from – and therefore was working on behalf of – God the Father.

Yet, a short time later, they wanted to kill Him (John 5:9-15). Why? Because Jesus challenged their way of life. To accept His message, they would have to abandon many of the rules by which they defined and elevated themselves. They instead chose spiritual blindness over healing, transformative life.

This is made clear in Jesus’ words to them in John 5:39-40:

“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”

In pride, they wanted to earn their salvation by following “the law” and to prove that they did so better than everyone else. To accept a Savior meant acknowledging their inability to “save themselves,” something they weren’t willing to do.

Confusing Passages

The woman I mentioned at the beginning of this article experienced significant anxiety from Hebrews 6:4-6. This passage states:

“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.”

She feared this meant someone’s sin could negate God’s grace. However, the historical and literary context surrounding this passage suggest a different meaning. I discuss this more fully in a podcast episode titled “For Those Who Fear They’ve Out-sinned God’s Grace.” In short, the author was addressing the Hebrews who wanted to return to Judaism to avoid persecution. They wanted to live according to the “law.” This would result in deliberately rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit and the truth they knew of Christ.

Expanding on this, Wayne Grudem, author of Bible Doctrine, wrote, “In such cases, the hardness of heart would be so great that ordinary means of bringing a sinner to repentance would already have been rejected.” These people had “tasted,” knew, and had been convicted by the truth but deliberately chose to deny it.

This aligns with Jesus’ words regarding people choosing to remain enshrouded in darkness. They reject God’s gift of grace and close their spiritual ears to His voice.

No matter how badly we’ve sinned or might sin in the future, so long as we are pursuing the light and pursuing God, we can trust He is moving toward us. He will never withdraw from us, nor will He ever turn us away.

Examples of Extreme Grace

When I struggle to receive God’s unconditional love, I gain encouragement from His interaction with the ancient Israelites. Despite His continual care, they consistently rebelled against Him generation after generation. During the time known as the period of Judges, His people repeated a sad pattern; they rejected God to worship idols. Refusing to bless their wickedness, the Lord removed His protective hand, and the Israelites became conquered by more powerful people groups. But whenever they cried out to God for mercy, He immediately came to their rescue. He’d raise up a warrior judge to overthrow their oppressors and lead them into a time of peace.

The people remained faithful to God, throughout that judge’s life. As soon as he died, however, they returned to their wicked ways, and the cycle repeated. But here is what I find beautiful. No matter how many times they rebelled, God never withheld His forgiveness.

We see this again in the period that followed. Once kings began to reign, wickedness pervaded the land once again. While some rulers followed God, most of them rebelled against Him in cruel and evil ways. Some even sacrificed their children “in the fire” of the Canaanite god called Molech. Scholars suggest they did this to deal with unwanted pregnancies that arose from the pagan practice of temple prostitution.

While this deeply grieved God, His heart remained for His people. He urged them, for centuries, to return to Him. During this time, He spoke some of the most beautiful words in Scripture, including His promise in Jeremiah 29:13 to reveal Himself to those who seek Him.

Notice the tenderness He expressed in Isaiah 43, spoken through His prophet at the height of ancient Israel’s rebellion:

"But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life."

Whenever I read God’s promise to give people in exchange for our lives, I’m reminded of Christ’s crucifixion. Through His death and resurrection, God the Son offered His life in exchange for ours, as did the Father — redeeming us through His beloved.

No other sacrifice could demonstrate just how precious, as verse 4 states, we are to God. The same Lord who expressed His love to ancient Israel, while they were actively rejecting Him, speaks these words to us as well:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3).

The next time wounds from our past or lies from the enemy tell us that God has rejected us, may we remind ourselves 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. 

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Nadia Bormotova

Jennifer Slattery is a writer and speaker who co-hosts the Faith Over Fear podcast and, along with a team of 6, the Your Daily Bible Verse podcast. She’s addressed women’s groups, Bible studies, and taught at writers conferences across the nation. She’s the author of Building a Family and numerous other titles and maintains a devotional blog at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com.

She’s passionate about helping people experience Christ’s freedom in all areas of their lives. Visit her online to learn more about her speaking or to book her for your next women’s event, and sign up for her free quarterly newsletter HERE and make sure to connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and GodTube.