Sharing the Gospel with the Rejected and Unrepentant
The New Testament consistently presents the gospel as a message to be proclaimed universally, even to those who reject it or remain unrepentant. Paul, for instance, understood his mission as preaching the gospel to the "uncircumcised," just as Peter was entrusted with the gospel for the "circumcised" [2]. This indicates a broad scope for evangelism, extending beyond any particular group. The content of this message is "the unsearchable riches of Christ" [3].
However, the biblical texts also acknowledge that this message will not always be received positively. The Apostle Paul speaks of those who "do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus," indicating a category of people who actively reject the message [1]. John Gill notes that the Jews, in their rejection of the gospel, became "enemies to God and Christ, to the Gospel, and the ministers of it" [8]. This enmity was so strong that they would forbid the apostles from speaking to the Gentiles, "that they might be saved" [11]. The world's hatred of those who preach God's word is attributed to the word itself, which is "not of men, nor agreeably to carnal reason" [13].
Despite this anticipated rejection, the command to preach the gospel remains. The parable of the great supper in Luke 14 illustrates this tension: when the initially invited guests make excuses and refuse to come, the master of the house becomes angry and instructs his servant to invite others from the streets and lanes [9]. This suggests that even in the face of rejection, the invitation to the gospel feast is to be extended.
The concept of "rejection" can manifest in various ways. Some individuals may simply "not believe" [7], while others may actively oppose the message and its bearers. Adam Clarke, commenting on Romans 11:28, describes the "unbelieving Jews" as "enemies to God, and aliens from his kingdom" due to their rejection of the gospel and its implications for Gentile inclusion [10]. This rejection, however, does not negate God's "original purpose of election" for them, suggesting a future hope even for those currently in opposition [10].
The act of sharing the gospel with the unrepentant is not without its challenges. Ministers may experience "grief" when their message is met with impenitence and unbelief [9]. Yet, the purpose of preaching remains consistent: to declare the "good news" of Christ [4]. The outcome of this preaching, whether acceptance or rejection, ultimately serves to glorify God. When the poor saints in Jerusalem received aid from the Gentile churches, they "glorify God... for your professed subjection to the Gospel of Christ" [12].
The distinction between "the precious and the vile" is a recurring theme, particularly in prophetic literature like Isaiah, which Matthew Henry interprets as looking forward to the "new world which the gospel dispensation should bring in, and the separation that should by it be made" [6]. This separation is a consequence of how individuals respond to the gospel message. Those who reject it may ultimately face "shame and dishonor" [5]. Nevertheless, the gospel is to be preached, offering the opportunity for salvation to all, even those who initially resist or are hostile to its message.
Sources
- 2 Thessalonians “2 Thessalonians 1:8 (NASB) — dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”
- Galatians “Galatians 2:7 (BSB) — On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.”
- King James Version “[KJV] Ephesians 3:8 — Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;”
- 2 Corinthians “For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or if you receive a different spirit, which you did not receive, or a different “good news”, which you did not accept, you put up with that well enough. -- 2 Corinthians 11:4”
- Psalms “Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me. -- Psalms 35:26”
- Isaiah (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Isaiah 65 (introduction): We are now drawing towards the conclusion of this evangelical prophecy, the last two chapters of which direct us to look as far forward as the new heavens and the new earth, the new world which the gospel dispensation should bring in, and the separation that should by it be made between the precious and the vile. "For judgment" (says Christ) "have I come into this world." And why should it seem absurd that the prophet here should speak of that to which all the prophets bore witness? Pe1 1:10, Pe1 1:11. The rejection of the Jews, and the calling in of ”
- Romans (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Romans 15:31: That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea,.... By whom some think are meant such, who, though they believed in Jesus as the Messiah, yet were violently set against the apostle for preaching down the ceremonial law; and from whom he foresaw he should be in much danger when he came to Jerusalem, and therefore desires the church at Rome to pray for his deliverance from them; though rather such who did not believe in Jesus Christ at all are designed; and who were enemies to the Gospel, and to all Gospel ministers, but especially to the Apostle Paul, ”
- Romans (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Romans 11:28: As concerning the Gospel,.... Whereas it might be objected to the call and conversion of the Jews, their implacable enmity to the Gospel, the apostle replies, by granting, that with respect to that, they were enemies to God and Christ, to the Gospel, and the ministers of it, and particularly to the apostle: for your sakes; the Gentiles, to whom it was preached, and by whom it was received, and which greatly irritated and provoked the Jews; or the sense is, that they were suffered to reject the Gospel, and treat it with hatred and virulence, that by this means it ”
- Luke (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Luke 14:20: So that servant came and showed his Lord these things,.... The several excuses which those that were bidden to the supper made. So the ministers of the Gospel come to God and Christ, and give an account of the success of their ministry, which is often with grief, and not with joy: then the master of the house being angry; as well he might, at their ingratitude to him, their slighting of his kindness, and the contempt they poured upon his entertainment. Christ resented the impenitence and unbelief of the Jews, who were favoured with his ministry and miracles; and look”
- Romans (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Romans 11:28: As concerning the Gospel - The unbelieving Jews, with regard to the Gospel which they have rejected, are at present enemies to God, and aliens from his kingdom, under his Son Jesus Christ, on account of that extensive grace which has overturned their peculiarity, by admitting the Gentiles into his Church and family: but with regard to the original purpose of election, whereby they were chosen and separated from all the people of the earth to be the peculiar people of God, they are beloved for the fathers' sake; he has still favor in store for them on account of the”
- 1 Thessalonians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Thessalonians 2:16: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be saved,.... Speaking or preaching the Gospel is the ordinary means of saving souls, or of acquainting them with the way of salvation, the necessity of it, and of the application of it to them, and with this end and view it is preached: now though the Jews disbelieved the Gospel, and despised the ministry of it, and disavowed any such use and end of it, yet such was their envy at the Gentiles, and their hatred of them, that could they have believed it to be the means of salvation, they would have forbid”
- 2 Corinthians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 2 Corinthians 9:13: Whiles by the experiment of this ministration,.... That is, the poor saints at Jerusalem having a specimen, a proof, an experience of the liberality of the Gentile churches ministered to them by the apostles, first, they glorify God; by giving thanks unto him, acknowledging him to be the author of all the grace and goodness which they, and others, were partakers of; particularly for your professed subjection to the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel of Christ is the doctrine of grace, life, and salvation by Christ, of which he is the author, as God, the subject m”
- John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on John 17:14: I have given them thy word,.... The Gospel, and a commission and abilities to preach it, and which is a reason of what follows, namely, the world's hatred of them; because this word is not of men, nor agreeably to carnal reason; it magnifies the grace of God, and destroys boasting in men; it is against the carnal interest, worldly views and lusts of men: and the world hath hated them; the inhabitants of the world, worldly men, such as are what they were when they first came into the world; are under the influence of the god of the world, and led by the spirit of it, ”