Rejecting Good Advice

In 2 Chronicles, Chapter 10 Rehoboam becomes King after Solomon. The elders of Israel give him some wise counsel. They suggest that he ease up on the labourers to whom Solomon had been a hard taskmaster. But Rehoboam rejects this good advice. Instead, he takes the foolish counsel of his young friends who suggest that he tighten the screws even further. As a result, the kingdom is fractured. King Rehoboam with Judah and Benjamin make up the southern kingdom. King Jeroboam and the remaining tribes of Israel become the northern kingdom.

The first chapter of the book of Revelation tells us that when Christ returns, all those who have ignored the good advice of God, those who have rejected Jesus and His salvation, will mourn over guilt from their sins and their fear of judgement.

A call to repentence by Zephaniah in Chapter 2 is good advice to Judah. He says, "Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth who have upheld His justice, seek righteousness, seek humility, it may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger." He also warns that Assyria and Babylon are already slated for destruction because they have rejected the advice of God.

In Luke, Chapter 24 we receive some good advice related to the resurrection of Jesus:

a) When the women find the empty tomb they are told, "Do not look for the living among the dead!" This advice tells us to look for Jesus as fully risen and alive! Instead of being just a dead hero buried in the ground, Jesus is a victorious conquerer of sin and death in both the body and the spirit - total salvation!

b) As the risen Jesus walks with the two men on the road to Emmaus some advice can be drawn, from their conversation, for those who doubt Jesus' resurrection. We can suggest they search out the Biblical prophesies that speak of a servant who will suffer for all people and rise from the grave.

c) The final advice Jesus gives to His followers is to wait in Jerusalem for what He will send them. He says, "Behold, I will send the promise of My Father (the Holy Spirit) upon you, but stay in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." He is saying to everyone that we can do nothing without His Spirit inside our hearts - our Jerusalem. His Spirit comes to us by way of repentence and faith in Him.

Many have rejected Jesus and the advice concerning Him. God does not twist our arms. He has given us the free will to accept or reject His gracious advice. Hell, which is a place where God is not resident, is really a monument to God's respect for our free will. He is not sending anyone to hell. People are making their own free choice to go there if they reject Jesus who is the bridge to heaven.