How could someone reject God after they've received his grace?

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NowHereThis

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As I understand it (and feel free to correct me, especially with links to sources), God gives everyone grace sufficient to overcome the stain of sin on their wills. This makes it possible for them to accept the offer of forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So once grace is applied, sin is no longer an obstacle, and the way to fully embracing the love of God is open.

So if all that is the case, why would anyone reject God? Sin can’t be the answer, can it, since God’s grace nullifies that? It seems like anyone who isn’t insane would accept infinite love if it is offered to them. And if a large portion of the human race is insane, even after the application of grace, aren’t we incapable of wielding free will? It’s like letting a child drive your car and acting stunned when they crash it repeatedly.

Does God just not give some people enough grace to fully remove the stain from their wills (or perhaps some get no grace at all)? God would know through his omniscience how much grace was needed, and so if not enough grace was given, that can only mean that God didn’t really want that person to be saved.

How can this state of affairs be explained?
 
Grace raises man’s fallen nature from a state of futility into one in which he/she can properly choose God. However, God dignifies man and gives man freedom of will. In freedom is the capacity to choose against God even if God has given the invitation of grace to that soul. The world, the flesh, and the devil still retain certain effects of the fall, such as what Catholics call concupiscence, which is an effect of the fall that tugs at man to sin during this earthly pilgrimage. Even those who believe in once-saved-always-saved admit that there still exists sin in their lives.

That man can make shipwreck of grace is certainly something evidenced in Scripture as well. For example, Paul exhorts the Corinthians to “not accept the grace of God in vain.” (2 Cor. 6:1) The context is Paul teaching them to be reconciled with God, pertinent to salvation.
 
Interesting question! I don’t understand it either, I can’t just stop believing in God one day. 🤷 When you know that He’s real how can you just stop believing? But one thing I can sort of understand is when someone might become angry with God because they lost a loved one or something and they may have those feelings of anger or sadness, but I think even then the person deep down still believes in God and still knows He’s real, they just have to work through the sadness or anger.🤷 Like a dark night of the soul maybe? That’s the only thing I can halfway understand but even then the person is not totally turning away are they? Because deep down they still know and believe? I don’t think a person who really has known God in their heart can turn away completely and permanently or become an atheist or something. It’s like believing the earth is flat after humanity has learned that the earth is round and have pictures of a round earth. How can you go back to believing it’s flat? 🤷
 
Matthew 13:

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart; this is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.[c] 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
 
NowHereThis said:
As I understand it (and feel free to correct me, especially with links to sources), God gives everyone grace sufficient to overcome the stain of sin on their wills. This makes it possible for them to accept the offer of forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So once grace is applied, sin is no longer an obstacle, and the way to fully embracing the love of God is open.

So if all that is the case, why would anyone reject God? Sin can’t be the answer, can it, since God’s grace nullifies that? It seems like anyone who isn’t insane would accept infinite love if it is offered to them. And if a large portion of the human race is insane, even after the application of grace, aren’t we incapable of wielding free will? It’s like letting a child drive your car and acting stunned when they crash it repeatedly.

Does God just not give some people enough grace to fully remove the stain from their wills (or perhaps some get no grace at all)? God would know through his omniscience how much grace was needed, and so if not enough grace was given, that can only mean that God didn’t really want that person to be saved.

How can this state of affairs be explained?
Click to expand...
By free will. Because by the same token, Adam was insane, rejecting the grace/love that he had to know immediately to one degree or another simply by virtue of being in Gods presence. Sin is insane. In fact, a definition of evil always includes the sheer unreasonableness of it ; there’s simply nothing sane about disobedience of God.
 
God gives each person enough grace to overcome sin and get into heaven, but people have free will and can choose to reject God. Many people lead unGodly lives full of purposeful and unrepentant sin, and would not be happy in heaven because they’d rather follow their own will than God’s will. They go to hell by their own choice; God doesn’t “send” anyone to hell, although He does wish for everyone to go to heaven. He wants us to follow Him but is not going to force anyone.

And do not be fooled; sin is always going to be an obstacle during this life. Nobody automatically becomes incapable of or no longer tempted by sin just because he or she was baptized. We are all tempted by sin and do sin from time to time. That is why Catholics have the sacrament of Confession/Reconciliation. But praying helps to avoid sin, as does spiritual reading, spiritual direction, and avoiding temptation to sin.
 
I beleive Psalm 50 helps me understand this. Some sin/sins are so deeply imbedded in us. I am lead to believe that in some cases it could take generations of working with and allowing God’s Geaces to uproot and perfect us. So I do not see it so much as rejecting God and His Love but more like some of us have so much more to overcome. Hope that makes some sense.
 
NowHereThis said:
As I understand it (and feel free to correct me, especially with links to sources), God gives everyone grace sufficient to overcome the stain of sin on their wills. This makes it possible for them to accept the offer of forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So once grace is applied, sin is no longer an obstacle, and the way to fully embracing the love of God is open.

So if all that is the case, why would anyone reject God?
Click to expand...
Every time someone sins they are turning their back on God, that’s what sin is.
Judas certainly demonstrates that you can.
 
It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 2 Peter 2:21
 
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