What if the Truth is Rejected?

Лосенко Антон Павлович (?). Десять заповедей Моисея (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

QUESTION:

My son, a bright educated person, knows the truth of Jesus but rejects it. What is in store for him?

Scripture makes it clear that it is not enough simply to know the gospel. The gospel must be believed and obeyed. 2 Peter 2:20-22 is a warning to those who know the way of salvation and still reject it. The only hope for anyone is that they embrace God's commands and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It appears that there are degrees of punishment for the lost. (see Matthew 13:11-14) Those who reject the gospel are accountable for more than those who never knew and so never consciously rejected it. (see Matthew 25:16-28) Yet, those who never heard the gospel are judged because they don't live up to what little they know through nature and their own conscience. (see Romans 1:18-20 & 2:12-15) It appears that judgment will be less severe if a person rejects God out of ignorance than out of rebellion. In any event remember that God has a perfect plan and perfect timing. Don't give up on your son. Keep praying.

RELEVANT SCRIPTURE:

If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and they are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.

2 Peter 2:20-21

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