Question 1

What does rebellion against God mean?

Accepted Answer

Judges 2:11-14The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord.Jeremiah 1:16“I will pronounce judgment on my people for all their evil—for deserting me and burning incense to other gods. Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands!”Matthew 6:21“Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”Rebellion against God means turning away from him and his authority. We rebel against God whenever we give our greatest devotion to anything other than him. When this rebellion leads to false worship, our eternal future is in peril. Only God is deserving of our devotion and worship.Isaiah 59:2It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.1 John 3:4Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God.Rebellion against God means deciding not to obey him. When we do this, we cut ourselves off from our creator because we want to live our way and not his.1 Samuel 12:14-15“Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. But if you rebel against the Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.”Rebellion against God means refusing to listen to him.Ezekiel 20:13“But the people of Israel rebelled against me [the Lord], and they refused to obey my decrees there in the wilderness. They wouldn’t obey my regulations even though obedience would have given them life.”Sometimes, rebellion against God means being so stubborn that we refuse to obey even when obedience means saving our very lives.Hebrews 3:12Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.The ultimate rebellion against God is refusing to accept his gracious offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Question 2

Can I ever return to God if I have been rebellious in the past?

Accepted Answer

Hosea 11:8-11“No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy. For someday the people will follow me. I, the Lord, will roar like a lion. And when I roar, my people will return trembling from the west. Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt. Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria. And I will bring them home again,” says the Lord.No matter how far we stray from God and rebel against him, God still loves us with an everlasting love. He will gladly welcome anyone back into his presence who has a sincere change of heart and leaves their old way of living.

Question 3

Isn’t a certain amount of rebellion to be expected—for example, with teenagers?

Accepted Answer

2 Samuel 15:12While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum.Luke 15:11-13Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.”The story of Absalom and David in the Old Testament and Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son in the New Testament are classic, heartbreaking stories of the rebellion of sons against their fathers. Yes, rebellion is to be expected because every person has a sinful nature, but being a common occurrence doesn’t make it acceptable.Ephesians 6:1-4Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them.Authority without a loving relationship often provokes rebellion.

Question 4

When is rebellion good?

Accepted Answer

1 Peter 4:1-5Since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead.Rebellion is good when we push back against the pressure to participate in sinful activities and refuse to join in.Matthew 21:12-13Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”Rebellion is good when we, like Jesus, rebel against corrupt and false religion.

Question 5

How can I change my heart of rebellion to a heart God desires?

Accepted Answer

Ezekiel 18:31“Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel?”Ezekiel 36:26-27“I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”Matthew 22:37Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’”God will give us new hearts when we humble ourselves before him, turn away from sinful habits, and make a daily effort to connect with him. When we do this, our love for him will grow. He can change even the hardest heart of stone into an obedient and loving heart.Romans 3:24-25Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past.Faith is our lifeline to God. Sin breaks our relationship with God because it is rebellion against him. All who accept Jesus as Savior, repenting of sin and asking him for forgiveness are made righteous in God’s sight. In other words, God looks at them as though they had never sinned. We can live free from guilt and confident of eternal life.