What Happens When God Gives You Over To A Reprobate Mind
The concept of a reprobate mind referenced in the Bible invokes fear in many Christians. What fate awaits those whom God deems beyond saving?
Delving into the Scriptures provides insight into the spiritual standing of the reprobate and God’s reasons for withdrawing His grace.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: According to Scripture, a reprobate is someone who persistently rejects God and ignores His commandments. As a result, God withdraws His grace and gives them over to their sinful desires.
The reprobate’s mind becomes warped and their conscience seared, leaving them incapable of repentance.
Defining a Reprobate Mind
A reprobate mind refers to a mind that is hardened against God and refuses to repent. It involves someone who persistently ignores God’s truth and follows their own corrupt desires instead.
Let’s explore this troubling spiritual condition further.
Meaning of Reprobate
The word “reprobate” comes from the Latin word “reprobatus” which means not standing the test or rejected.
A reprobate person is someone who is morally unprincipled, corrupt, and perverted in their thoughts and behavior. They have little regard for God or godly living.
Several verses in Scripture describe individuals with reprobate minds (Romans 1:28-32, Titus 1:16, 2 Timothy 3:8, etc). These people have seared consciences and stubbornly reject God’s principles. They are habitual sinners unwilling to change.
Hardened Hearts and Seared Consciences
A reprobate mind involves a hardened heart and seared conscience. When we consistently resist the Holy Spirit and God’s convicting voice, our hearts get hardened.
Our conscience becomes desensitized to sin and deaf to God’s voice through repeated disobedience.
This searing of conscience makes us insensitive to righteousness. We start viewing wickedness as normal and even defend sinful practices.
This gradual hardening of heart can lead to a “point of no return” where we become incapable of repentance.
Persistently Ignoring God’s Truth
A key characteristic of a reprobate mind is that one persists in immoral behavior despite knowing God’s truth. Such people have access to biblical truth and the Gospel but repeatedly suppress truth to follow their lusts instead.
Their twisted thinking leads them to call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). Although they know God’s decree against sin, they disregard it and even take pleasure in others’ wickedness (Romans 1:32).
A reprobate person has no fear of God and continues in blatant immorality despite the divine consequences. Their conscience does not feel guilt or urgency to repent.
Bible Verses Describing the Reprobate
Romans 1:18-32
This passage in Romans describes how God gives people over to a “reprobate mind” as a consequence of idolatry and sin.
It states that although people knew God, they did not honor Him or give thanks to Him, but became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened.
God therefore gave them up to impurity, dishonorable passions, and debased minds, filled with all manner of wickedness.
Their foolish hearts were also darkened and they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, worshipping created things rather than the Creator.
As a result, God gave them over to their dishonorable passions and debased minds, to do what ought not to be done. The passage gives a detailed list of the sinful acts and corrupted mindset of those whom God has given over to a reprobate mind.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
In this passage, Paul writes about the coming of the lawless one, who will come with the power of Satan and perform false signs and wonders.
Those who are perishing will be deceived by the lawless one because they refused to love the truth and be saved.
Therefore God will send them a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
This illustrates how those with reprobate minds are given over to deception and falsehood as a judgment for not loving truth.
Hebrews 6:4-8
This sobering passage in Hebrews addresses those who have tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, and tasted God’s good word and powers of the age to come, yet have fallen away.
The author says it is impossible to restore such people again to repentance, because they are “crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”
He compares this to land drinking rain often falling on it but yielding thorns and thistles instead of crops – it is worthless and near being cursed, and its end is being burned. This illustrates an irreversible reprobate mind.
Titus 1:10-16
In his letter to Titus, Paul describes some people who are detestable, disobedient and unfit for any good work. He calls them rebellious people, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party.
He says their mouths must be stopped because they are upsetting whole families by teaching things they should not for the sake of dishonest gain.
He states that one of their own prophets said “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
Therefore Paul tells Titus to rebuke them sharply so they may become sound in the faith and not pay attention to Jewish myths or the commands of people who reject the truth. This illustrates characteristics of a reprobate mind.
How Does One Develop a Reprobate Mind?
Continual Rejection of God
According to Scripture, continually rejecting God’s truth and moral laws can lead to a “reprobate mind” (Romans 1:28).
When people willfully turn away from God’s principles and instead embrace sinful behaviors and worldviews, their minds and consciences can become dull and insensitive over time.
As people persist in rebellion, their hearts are hardened and their understanding darkened. They lose discernment between good and evil, right and wrong.
This downward spiral into moral confusion is evidence of a mind given over to its own corrupt desires.
Embracing Sin
Embracing and celebrating sin is a clear sign of a reprobate mindset. When immorality such as greed, lust, pride, dishonesty, or violence is justified and downplayed as normal or acceptable behavior, that shows the person’s conscience is defiled (Titus 1:15).
The reprobate person may even take “pleasure in wickedness” and encourage others in sin (2 Thessalonians 2:12).
They have convinced themselves that evil is good and good is evil – a clear marker of a depraved mind.
Repeating Sinful Patterns
Habitually returning to sin, despite experiencing negative consequences, demonstrates that the sin has entangled and enslaved the person.
Like a dog returning to its vomit (Proverbs 26:11), the person repeating damaging behaviors is acting out of compulsion rather than reason.
Even when relationships are destroyed, reputations ruined, jobs lost due to sin, they persist in their wrongdoing.
This stubborn pattern gives evidence that the heart has become hardened and the conscience seared as if branded with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:2).
The capacity to feel sorrow and turn from sin has been burnt out of them – sure symptoms of a reprobate mindset.
Can a Reprobate Be Saved?
The Point of No Return
Some believe that it is possible for a reprobate person to cross a point of no return, where their heart becomes so hardened that they can never repent and turn to God.
This is a sobering concept, as it suggests that continual unrepentant sin can permanently separate someone from God’s grace and salvation.
However, there is debate among Christians as to whether someone can unequivocally cross this point of no return.
Those who believe in the possibility of becoming a reprobate who cannot be saved often point to passages like Hebrews 6:4-6, which warns against falling away after tasting God’s goodness.
They argue that continually resisting the conviction of the Holy Spirit can permanently desensitize someone to God’s voice.
However, others argue that God’s grace and mercy endure forever, and He can still bring even the most hardened sinner to repentance.
God Still Desires Repentance
While the Bible warns about the dangers of hardening one’s heart, it also reveals God’s persistent desire for all people to repent and be reconciled to Him.
Verses like Ezekiel 33:11 remind us that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather desires that they turn from their sinful ways and live.
2 Peter 3:9 further clarifies that God is patient toward us, “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
Based on the character and promises of God, many Christians believe that He continues reaching out to reprobate people, hoping to penetrate even the hardest of hearts.
They point to testimonies of people who repented even after years of willful disobedience and rebellion.
No matter how far we stray, God’s grace is greater. There are likely no definitive “points of no return” when it comes to those who sincerely seek restoration.
Hope for the Backslider
For those worried that they have become irredeemable after backsliding from faith, the Bible offers hope. Passages like Hosea 14:4 speak beautifully of God’s commitment to heal the backsliding and love His people freely.
The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) portrays the immense compassion of God toward His wayward children who decide to come home after years in spiritual famine and filth.
While willful sin has consequences, God’s hands remain open to those who sincerely choose to return to Him. His grace is sufficient to overcome whatever darkness enshrouds the heart of a backslider.
As 1 John 1:9 assures, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Though the road back may be long, God promises to complete the good work He began in us (Philippians 1:6).
Turning from a Reprobate Mind
Confessing and Repenting
The first step to turning from a reprobate mind is confessing your sins and repenting. This means acknowledging where you have strayed from God’s ways and purposefully turning away from those behaviors, attitudes, and thought patterns.
An important part of repentance is asking God for forgiveness and humbly seeking to follow His will again (1 John 1:9).
As Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
Some practical ways to repent are praying prayers of confession, fasting, spending time reading Scripture, and separating yourself from bad influences or temptations.
It’s also wise to find an accountability partner or mentor who can support you in pursuing holiness again.
The good news is God is merciful and will “give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you” as you turn back to Him (Ezekiel 36:26).
Drawing Near to God
In tandem with confessing and repenting, it’s vital to draw near to God again in order to turn from a reprobate mindset.
This means making God a priority again through spiritual disciplines like prayer, Bible reading, worship, fasting, fellowship with other believers, and service.
Setting aside consistent time each day to seek God is so important, as is surrounding yourself with people, teaching, and environments that will encourage you in pursuing Him wholeheartedly.
As James 4:8 (NIV) reminds us, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” Pursuing closeness with God helps renew your thinking to be more aligned with His wise and loving ways.
Renewing Your Mind with Scripture
A reprobate mind is one that has strayed from God’s truth and adopted worldly, ungodly thought patterns.
The way to counteract that is by renewing your mind with Scripture. God’s Word helps transform us by revealing His perspective on issues and providing wisdom for how to live.
Regular Bible study, meditation, and memorization are powerful tools to reshape your thinking over time. As Romans 12:2 (NIV) says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Surrounding your mind with Scripture helps replace lies and sinful thought patterns with God’s uplifting truth.
Conclusion
While the reprobate mindset is a frightening concept, Scripture provides hope. As long as we draw breath, it is not too late to turn from wickedness and return to God.
He stands ready to forgive and transform all who sincerely seek Him. There is joy in heaven over even one sinner who repents.
May we persistently pursue holiness in thought, word and deed.
