IN 1742 the parish of Cambuslang was blessed with a spiritual awakening. One of the striking features of that great work of God was the convicting of many people of the sin of unbelief especially. By unbelief we mean despising and rejecting Christ, the only Saviour, and refusing to “receive and rest upon Him alone” for the salvation of one’s soul.
The cases of those convicted of unbelief were attested by the local minister, William M’Culloch, and by some of the ministers who assisted him, such as George Whitefield, John Willison of Dundee, Alexander Webster of Edinburgh, John Hamilton of Glasgow, and William M’Knight of Irvine. Mr Willison said, “I found several in darkness and great distress about the condition of their souls, and with many tears bewailing their sins and original corruptions; and especially the sin of unbelief and slighting of precious Christ.” Mr M’Knight stated, “In conversing with some… I found that their convictions were deep touching the evil and demerit of sin, both original and actual, particularly that of unbelief.” Dr Webster noted that “they spoke under a painful sense of sin, not only as the ruin of the creature, but as dishonouring to a kind and loving Saviour. Unbelief in a particular manner cuts them to the very heart. They cannot bear the thought of having so long rejected the Son of God, and despised His endearing calls, as set forth in the gospel.”
The rarity of such cases today indicates that we live in a “day of small things” spiritually, when there is very little of the working of the Holy Spirit, who alone is able to convince sinners of “of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.” But the Scriptures give us reason to hope that the Holy Spirit will yet be poured out upon the church and upon the world, and that multitudes of sinners will be awakened from their spiritual death. They will be convicted of their sins, especially their sin of unbelief, as the prelude to their believing in Christ.
Today, some think that the particular sin which would weigh most heavily
upon the heart of a convicted sinner would be the sin to which he was most addicted, be it the sin of cursing and swearing, drunkenness, sexual immorality, Sabbath-breaking, theft, lying, or idolatry. Many awakened sinners have indeed been alarmed initially on account of being guilty of such sins, but it is true that in many other cases another sin caused most grief and distress — the sin of unbelief.
The Saviour informed His disciples that when the Holy Spirit would come to reprove or convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, that He would convince “of sin, because they believe not on me” (John 16: 8, 9). The commonest explanation of this phrase is that it is the Holy Ghost who convinces people that they are sinners, and that the sin they shall be particularly convinced of is their not believing in Christ.
The enormity of the sin of unbelief is shown by the warning of Christ: “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” The Saviour is teaching us that it is not so much the sins which are commonly thought of first – such as blasphemy, malice, uncleanness, cheating and thieving – so much as the sin of unbelief, which will seal the doom of a sinner and debar him from heaven. This is confirmed by that other saying of the Saviour, “He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God,” (John 3:18). It is proved also by these especially solemn words of Christ, “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him,” (John 3:36), and, “He that believeth not shall be damned,” (Mark 16:16). The inescapable conclusion surely is that unbelief, ultimately, is the most damning sin. Certainly, in the view of one convert after another at Cambuslang, no sin was more enormous and dreadful than the sin of unbelief. This is shown by the several following cases, and we do not apologise for multiplying them, for they are all instructive.
“One Sabbath in the spring of 1742,” said Margaret Borland, a young woman, who was fast asleep as to her sinful state, “I was at Cambuslang and heard Mr M’Culloch preach from John 3:36. ‘He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.’ From the marks of an unbelieving state given in this sermon, I saw that I was still in that state; and when he said, addressing himself to such, ‘The wrath of God is abiding on you whatever ye do, wherever ye go; and even now as ye sit on that brae it is hanging over you,’ I became deeply concerned.” A young man, Shearer to name, hearing the same sermon and Mr M’Culloch say that the wrath of God rested on as many as believed not, wherever they went or whatever they did, said, “This seemed to me to be very awful, and for a long time I felt as if this were my case. When hearing Mr Whitefield, the same words (John 3:36) struck me as if the sword of divine justice was hanging over me, and even hell seemed less than my iniquities deserved.”
Thirteen-year-old Catherine Anderson said that she was awakened when she heard Mr M’Culloch preach on John 3:18, “He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God.” She stated, “These words were often repeated in the sermon, and as they were repeated they came home to my heart with power. My sleeping conscience became awakened, and set before me my sins. The first sin of which I became convinced was that of unbelief.” Under the same sermon, Elizabeth Dykes, who was about sixteen, felt, for the first time, as she said, “the word coming home to me with power… I heard with much attention and was made very uneasy.” It was under another sermon on the same text, John 3:18, preached by a Mr Nasmith, that an unnamed young woman “was struck to the heart, and continued in great distress” for some time. Her relating this experience to Archibald Bell, a thirty-eight-year old tailor, brought him to see that “there was something in religion of which I was wholly ignorant. And so I fell into a state of great terror.”
Similar effects were produced by the Holy Spirit under another notable sermon by Mr M’Culloch, this time on 1 John 5:10, “He that believeth not God, hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” A certain Mr Barclay said that the minister “spoke much of the heinous nature of unbelief… He proceeded to show that if it gives great offence to an equal to be so treated, still more must it be to a superior; and still more to one who is a king; and greatly more to Him who is King of kings, infinitely exalted above all creatures; and that every unbeliever, in the very act of unbelief, gave God the lie.” These statements, said Barclay, had “more effect upon me than all the sermons I had ever heard,” That effect was deepened under another sermon and he was brought to confess, “Now I saw that I was indeed an unbeliever, which I could hardly admit on hearing the same minister before. I was now reduced to great confusion and distress.”
Under Mr M’Culloch’s sermon on 1 John 5:10, a Mrs Weir from Hamilton had her existing conviction of sin deepened. She said that “from this sermon I was made to see the great evil of unbelief, which I saw not before.” While listening to the same sermon, Daniel M’Larty, a twenty-one-year-old weaver, was “impressed and astonished” when the minister said that all the unregenerate were guilty, by their unbelief, of making God a liar. However, he rebelled against the statement that such are “guilty of a sin similar to that of crucifying Christ,” and decided not to go to hear Mr M’Culloch the next Sabbath. But on another Sabbath he went to Church and during the sermon came to feel that his unbelief was indeed most heinous, and he became distressed.
James Kirkland, another young man, was quite unconcerned about his future state until two days after he heard Mr M’Culloch preach on John 6:64, “There are some of you that believe not.” While thinking about the text he came under such a deep sense of his being an unbeliever that he was unfitted for work for some days. It was the very same sermon which increased the sense of sin in Archibald Bell (mentioned above). “Every word of that sermon came with power to my heart,” he confessed, “as if Jesus had said it, and to me alone. In
this way I got a deeper sense of my unbelief….” but immediately he adds, “and was enabled to cast myself at His feet for mercy, closing with Him on His own terms.”
He was not alone closing in with Christ. While there was indeed concern and distress in these people, it was the forerunner, in each case, of his or her receiving Christ offered in the gospel; turning to Him and trusting in Him alone for deliverance from guilt and condemnation; it was the prelude also to joy and peace, more or less, in believing in Him.
In each case there was the certainty that believing in Christ is a responsibility laid upon the sinner by God, and that unbelief is one’s great guilt. “Though outwardly blameless,” said Sarah Gilchrist, “I verily thought my heart to be more wicked than anyone else’s, especially in rejecting, through unbelief, the grace and favour of Christ, set forth in the gospel.” These people knew that if it were not an obligation to believe they would not be blameworthy in not believing.
At the same time there was the realisation in case after case of the inability of the sinner to believe (or do anything to the glory of God) apart from divine grace. Therefore they were all brought to fervent prayer and serious seeking. Dr Webster observed, “Sensible of their utter inability to believe, how earnestly do they pray.” “I was deeply affected,” said Elizabeth Jackson about her conviction of sin, “and my legs trembled even on my way home. I now looked to God for help, feeling my own inability.” Catherine Jackson, in her distress on account of sin, repeatedly said to her minister, who was seeking to help her, “Oh but I cannot believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that I may be saved.” “Will you not, then,” said he, “cry out with that poor man in the Gospel, ‘Lord, I believe,’ or, Lord, I would believe; help Thou mine unbelief.” As the minister prayed with her, light broke in upon her soul and her unbelief was conquered.
May we be delivered from unbelief. No unbeliever can enter into heaven, as surely as the generation of Israelites which left Egypt could not enter into the promised land “because of unbelief”. John Owen said, “No sin whereof men can be guilty in this world is of so horrible a nature, and so dreadful an aspect, as is unbelief, where a clear view of it is obtained in evangelical light.” Unbelief not only closes sinners out of heaven but also into hell. “Unbelief may truly be called the great damning sin,” said Matthew Henry, “because it leaves us under the guilt of all our other sins.”
It is a consolation to the Lord’s believing people that it is God who works in them, enabling them to believe, and that faith is the gift of God. Let us be asking that we may receive; for if we believe not we shall be damned. And if we have the hope that we have received, let us be praying, “Lord, increase our faith.” □