** This response is biblically sound, answers the question asked, provides scriptural support, gives clear explanations, and has an encouraging tone. **
Question: Would God ever look down at one of us and say “you’re a waste of my time. I’m not going to bother with you any longer. You’ve been that way X amount of years. What’s the point?
Profile: Male, North America, 46–60
Answered by: Brad Warren, who has been a volunteer with us since April 2006.
Answer: No, he would not. This is based on two things. One, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Therefore, if God were to take a posture of not wanting to “waste” his time then no one would be saved. Second, he receives more glory by showing us mercy and by remaining faithful to his promises – and this is a much more deeply theological discussion that we can summarize as follows:
All throughout Scripture, God’s people (not to mention those outside of God’s covenantal community), are described as stiff-necked and stubborn: see, for example, Exodus 33:3, Deuteronomy 9:13, Nehemiah 9:16, and Acts 7:51. But God never gives up on us, not because we deserve it but because he has committed himself to the complete redemption of his people in such a way that what becomes of us reflects on him. 1 Samuel 12:22 among many, many other places says: “For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has please the Lord to make you a people for himself.” In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we read that God has attached his name to us: “For my people, who are called by my name…”
We can be sure that God is jealous for the glory of his name because it is an extension and a direct reflection of his image. Even one of his names is “Jealous” (Exodus 34:14). This is why the first commandment says not to take his name in vain because to do so would be to lie about who he is. So, God, whose name fundamentally exhibits his glory, has through the sacrifice of his son adopted us into his family and thereby given us his name.
The linchpin for these promises is his own word and oath. In Genesis 15 he cut a covenant with Abraham in such a way that he removed Abraham’s requirements to uphold his end of the deal. Instead, God swore by himself (Hebrews 6:13) to see the promises through. And these promises are ultimately Gospel promises (see Galatians 3:29); they are promises given to Jesus (Galatians 3:16). Thus, Paul says the hope of salvation for all of us comes from God, who cannot lie (Titus 1:1-2) but promised before time began. The promise, once again, was a promise between the three members of the Trinity, particularly Jesus. That’s what Jesus means when he says in John 6:37, “All that the Father gives me will come to me.”
So, we stiff-necked people who have been chosen by God before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and given to the Son, are recipients of promises that God has ensured will be kept. This is the meaning behind 2 Timothy 2:11-13:
“If we died with him we will also live with him (Believers are said to be crucified with Christ and have died with him)
“If we endure we will also reign” (Our endurance is ensured by God who in Philippians 1:6 says “he who began a good work will be faithful to complete it, and we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies as seen in Ephesians 2:6)
“If we disown him he will also disown us” (Those, although made in his image who reject Christ will not inherit the promises)
“If we remain faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (When we mess up for the 1,000th time, God remains true to his word to keep us as his own, because, again, the promise was a promise to the Son that God swore by himself to uphold.)
