What Happens When People Reject the Gospel?

And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. - Acts 28:23-29

    'When they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging.' It is not at all uncommon for preachers to go to jails and prisons to preach the gospel of Christ to the inmates. But here are men, religious men and their leaders, who were summoned by a prisoner that he might preach the gospel to them!

    'To whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.' Paul explained to these men, from the Scriptures and his own heart's experience, the nature of God's kingdom. He showed them that, contrary to what they had always been taught, the kingdom of God is not an outward, physical, earthly empire in which Jews rule the world, but an inward, spiritual, heavenly dominion of hearts and lives by the Lord Jesus Christ. Entrance into the kingdom of God is not by birth, but by the new birth (John 3:3-7). The kingdom of God is not a kingdom of pomp and ceremony, but of purity and conversion.

    Paul also persuaded these men that Jesus is the Christ. Appealing to the Scriptures, his own experience and reason, he gave irrefutable proof that the crucified man of Nazareth is indeed the Christ, the Son of God. He told them of the Saviour's eternal deity, his incarnation and life of obedience, his death as the sinner's substitute, and his resurrection, ascension and exaltation as Lord of all. He carefully explained to them the glorious gospel doctrine of salvation by grace through Christ, the sinner's substitute. He showed them how that the Son of God brought in everlasting righteousness by his obedience to God asa man and made atonement for chosen sinners by his death upon the cursed tree. He told them of Christ's dominion as a Priest upon the throne, his heavenly intercession and his glorious second advent.

    Paul urged these men, his kinsmen, to repent, to trust Christ and be saved by his grace. But, as we saw in the previous chapter, when the sermon was over, 'Some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.' Christ is set for the fall of some and the rising again of others. To some he is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence. To others he is the sure foundation stone and the rock of salvation. Our Lord Jesus came not to bring peace but a sword (Matt. 10:34). This is the sword of division that he brings. Some believe the gospel when they hear it and some blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. The light is set before them, but they shut their eyes. The truth is proclaimed to them, but they stop their ears. The love, mercy, grace and glory of God in Jesus Christ are affectionately preached to them, but they harden their hearts.

    'And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word.’ These men could not agree among themselves, but they had had enough of Paul's doctrine. As they were getting up to leave in disgust and anger, Paul seems to have said, 'Hold on, I have one more thing to tell you before you go. I must tell you what the result of your obstinate unbelief will be.' Then we read, 'Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: for the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.' Because these Jews despised the light of the gospel and rejected the claims of Christ, God withdrew the light of the gospel from them and fixed it so that they could not come to Christ and be saved. Though they were still alive, these men were eternally damned! The lessons we are taught in this passage are of immense importance.

    1. The cause of reprobation is willful unbelief, the willful rejection of revealed truth (28:25-27)

    The gospel promises, 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved' (Mark 16:16); 'Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved' (Rom. 10:13). But whenever men and women hear the gospel preached in the power of the Holy Spirit and do not believe it, they are courting eternal reprobation (Luke 13:23-30). Reprobation is the judgement of God that falls upon men and women because of their willful rejection of the gospel (Prov. 1:23-33; 29:1; Hosea 4:17; Matt. 21:28-46; 23:37-38).

    Like Pharaoh of old, these Jews hardened their hearts against the gospel of Christ. Therefore God hardened their hearts in unbelief, as he said he would (Isa. 6:9-1O; Rom. 11:8). Prophet after prophet had been sent to them from one generation to another. At last, God sent one more apostle to preach Christ to them. But 'The heart of this people . . . waxed gross!'

    Hardening their hearts against the message of free-grace salvation through a crucified substitute, they refused to hear. 'Their ears [were] dull of hearing.' Being convinced of the truthfulness of Paul's message, but full of enmity towards God, they refused to bow to the claims of Christ.

    Proud, self-righteous men who will not deny their own merits and seek to be saved by trusting the merits of Christ, wilfully shut their eyes to the glory of God in the face of Christ. 'Their eyes have they closed' (28:27; Rom. 9:31-33).

    Because these men wilfully despised the gospel and rejected the claims of Christ in it, God left them alone. They would not believe. So God fixed it so that they could not believe. God will not trifle with those who trifle with his Son (Jer. 7:16). Man's condemnation is the result of willful unbelief. Matthew Henry was exactly right when he warned, 'Let all that hear the gospel, and do not heed it, tremble at this doom; for, when once they are given up to hardness of heart, they are already in the suburbs of hell!' Judicial reprobation is the just response of God to man's willful suppression and rejection of undeniable, revealed truth (Rom. 1:18-28; 2 Thess. 2:10-12).

    2. God' s method of grace is always the same (28:27)

    Even as Paul announced terrible judgement upon the reprobate, he tells us plainly what God's method of grace is. When God saves sinners, it is necessary that 'they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them'. God never deviates from his ordained means of grace.

    1. The Lord God causes every sinner whom he intends to save to hear the gospel of Christ. God does not save his elect apart from the preaching of the gospel. Faith is not a leap in the dark. It is the response of the heart to the Word of God. By one means or another, God will cause the chosen to be instructed in the gospel. Yes, God could save his people without the use of human instrumentality. There is no question about that. But he has chosen not to do so (Rom. 10:17; 1 Cor. 1:23; James 1:18; 1Peter 1:23-25).

    2. Through the preaching of the Word, by the power of his Holy Spirit, God causes chosen sinners to 'see with their eyes,' to see the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation comes by divine revelation (Gal. 1:15-16). None will trust Christ until they see him, until he is revealed in them by the power and grace of God the Holy Spirit. And all who see him are irresistibly drawn to him (Zech. 12:10; 13:1).

    3. God saves sinners by giving them understanding hearts. By his Spirit, God teaches his elect all things necessary to life and faith in Christ (John 6:44-45; 1 John 2:20,27).

    4. When God saves a sinner by his grace, he converts him. The grace of God that brings salvation causes rebels to bow before his throne as willing servants. Grace conquers the will, subdues the passions and reconciles the heart to God (1Thess. 1:4-10).

    5. When God saves sinners, he heals them of the deadly plague of their hearts—that is to say, he causes the dead to live, delivering them from the bondage, dominion and death of sin (Ezek. 16:8).

    3. God’s purpose of grace is immutable (28:28)

    We grieve to see multitudes perish by their own obstinence and willful unbelief. But we rejoice to know that man's unbelief does not defeat or in any way alter the purpose of God (Rom. 3:3-4). 'The foundation of God standeth sure!' Though he withdraws his good ness from the unbelieving reprobate, there is an elect people in this world to whom the gospel must be sent. And they will believe on Christ (Isa. 56:8; John 10:16). All the Israel of God must be saved (Rom. 11:26). Frequently, the unbelief of some is the instrumental cause of faith in others by the wise arrangement of God's sovereign providence (Rom. 11:11,25-26, 33-36). All who were chosen by God the Father in eternity were redeemed by God the Son at Calvary and will be called by God the Spirit at the appointed time of love.