Knock Yourself Out预览

Day 1: A Reprobate Mind

“There is a time , we know not when, a point, we know not where,

That marks the destiny of men to glory or despair;

There is a line, by us unseen, that crosses every path,

The hidden boundary between God’s patience and His wrath.”

This excerpt from a hymn written by Joseph Addison Alexander highlights a key principle for us as Christians to know; there is a point at which God will stop pursuing a person. It comes after the person continuously rejects God’s reaching out to them. Exactly when that is, or after exactly how many attempts, is unknown. But we do know that God’s Spirit will not always strive #with man.

If you are fearful you fall into this category don’t worry. Just the mere fact you are concerned about it proves God has not stopped pursuing you. People in this category have no concern for God at all. They usually have disdain for Him or they are numb to the things of God.

Being a Christian by its very definition means God has not stopped pursing you, and He will never leave you or forsake you. However, it is important for us to be aware there are such people who live in this state of being because it helps explain their behavior and how we should respond.

The only reason any of us believe in Jesus is because at some point we responded to the Holy Spirit’s tug on our heart. If a person continuously rejects that tug, eventually God grants their request and leaves them alone. Despite His best efforts to prevent it, God will allow us to "knock ourselves out" if we choose to.

This is a sad and dark state to be in. God gives them over to a reprobate, debased, foolish, corrupted, and depraved mind. Once God leaves due to their rejection, the enemy comes in and fills the void. They become blinded so that they cannot see the truth no matter how obvious it is.

Do you remember when the soldiers and religious officials came with Judas to arrest Jesus? When they asked who he was and He said, “I Am He,” it was so powerful they all fell on the ground! Then Peter cut off the ear of high priest’s servant and Jesus healed it in front of everyone. Those two miracles happened right in that moment and yet they STILL arrested Him and took Him anyway.

You would have to be completely Spiritually blind to miss that happening in front of your face and that is what they were. There are many people like this in our world today and we have to know who we are dealing with when we interact with people.