1. It Denies God’s Truthfulness
W S Plumer
In the Old Testament, God expresses His displeasure against unbelief. By Moses He says to Israel: “Ye did not believe the Lord your God”; “Ye rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and ye believed Him not, nor hearkened to His voice” (Deut 1:32, 9:23). Again, God complains of Israel: “They would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God” (2 Ki 17:14). By the psalmist, God says, “They believed not in God, and trusted not in His salvation” (Ps 78:22). By another prophet He thus threatens them: “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established” (Is 7:9).
The New Testament is no less clear. The great sin of the Jews under the
1Taken, with editing, from The Rock of Our Salvation.
ministry of John the Baptist was their unbelief (Mt 21:32). The Son of God marvelled at the unbelief of His own disciples, and sharply rebuked it (Mk 6:6; Lk 24:25). The Lord Jesus Himself expressly says: “He that believeth not is condemned already”; “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him” (Jn 3:18,36). Paul says that the natural branches were broken off by unbelief (Rom 11:20). Unbelief hinders prayer: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?” (Rom 10:14). “The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” (2 Cor 4:4). “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Th 2:11,12). “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Rev 21:8).
Unbelief may relate to any doctrine, or promise, or threatening of God. It commonly has special reference to the Person, work, offices and sufferings of the Saviour. Then it is a rejection of Him as He is offered in the gospel. He demands our affectionate confidence, and we withhold it.
Unbelievers are of two classes, speculative and practical. All speculative unbelievers are also practical unbelievers, but some practical unbelievers have no intellectual doubts about the truths of the Bible. Speculative unbelievers are of two sorts. Some rage and rail and blaspheme; others doubt, hesitate, are sceptical. This latter class alternately hope that the Bible is not true and fear that it is true. Meantime they live as if it were not true, and so are practical unbelievers. If they do not deny, they suspect. This is truly unbelief. Not to credit is to disbelieve. Not to receive is to reject. A refusal to obey the gospel is as truly dangerous as a scornful denial of its claims. The object of this chapter is to show the sin of unbelief. It is a great offence against God in many ways. It is very wicked and deserves God’s hot displeasure.
- Unbelief is a very heinous sin, because it is a challenge to God’s truthfulness. God’s word is His testimony. It is the highest testimony ever given. When a judge gives a decision or a jury gives a verdict contrary to good evidence, all right thinkers have just one opinion. We take the testimony of men. We act wisely in so doing. But “if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater” (1 Jn 5:9). Man is fallible; man is corrupt; man often deceives; man is often deceived. Yet, in some cases, man is and must be believed. Under certain circumstances everyone gives credit to the word of man.
Much more then should we believe God, who is infallible, who cannot lie. From the days of Moses until now the best governments on earth have held that two or three witnesses are sufficient to prove any fact. If so, shall we not
believe the Trinity of persons in the Godhead? Jesus adopts this kind of argument when He says, “I am not alone; but I and the Father that sent Me. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of Myself, and the Father that sent Me beareth witness of Me” (Jn 8:16-18).
The testimony of Christ confirming all the doctrines taught by the prophets and by Himself was open, clear, decisive. The very highest proofs of His knowledge, veracity and sincerity, were amply given. The testimony of His Father was given in an audible voice from heaven. It was repeated in the many stupendous miracles wrought by almighty power. In these the Third Person of the adorable Trinity also bore testimony in a manner both striking and convincing. In Hebrews 2:3,4, Paul argues thus: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, [that is, Christ,] and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him; God also [that is, the Father] bearing them witness both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost . . . ?” So the Three that bear record in heaven have given testimony upon earth. Their witness is harmonious, unequivocal, often repeated, and accompanied by infallible signs. He therefore who lives in unbelief discredits and impeaches the testimony of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. That this is a heinous sin cannot be doubted.
The Scriptures say that the believer “hath set to his seal that God is true”. They as distinctly say, “He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son” (1 Jn 5:10). This language is indeed awful, but it is just. God’s honour in regard to His veracity is dear to Him. He never will part with it. He says, “My glory will I not give to another”. The heavens and the earth shall pass away, but His word shall not pass away; every jot and tittle shall be fulfilled. Because God is perfect, He is jealous of the honour of His name. An evil being may be reckless of his reputation for veracity, but a good being never. To man you can offer no greater indignity than to say he lies. How dreadful then the sin of making God a liar!
Besides, God has made His Word the chief means by which to test the confidence of His creatures in His truth: “Thou hast exalted Thy word above all Thy name”; that is, above all which Thou hast made Thyself known by. And the chief message of God’s Word is redemption by His Son, together with histories, laws, doctrines, promises and threatenings. His Word is truth selected from the boundless field of omniscience. It is more precious than gold, than much fine gold. His words are fitly spoken. They are like apples of gold in a network of silver. They are more precious than rubies.
To disbelieve them is to trample pearls under our feet. It is to take the covenant of God and treat it with contempt. Unbelief has therefore the nature of sacrilege. It puts the holiest things to base uses. Moreover, God has not only pledged His Word, but He has added to it the awful solemnity of an oath. He who disbelieves His Word charges Him with falsehood. He who discredits His oath charges Him with perjury. A witness may give his testimony upon oath, and we may decide in the teeth of all he swears, but in so doing we declare our utter lack of confidence in his statements. If God is displeased at anything, it must be at this atrocious insult.
Nor is this all. To disbelieve God is to believe His enemies, and especially His great adversary, the father of lies. Eve believed the devil rather than her Maker. When Ahab rejected the testimony of the man of God, he was ready to believe the lying prophets of Baal. Chateaubriand2 says, “Men are ready to believe anything when they believe nothing. They have diviners when they cease to have prophets; witchcraft when they cease to have religious ceremonies; they open the caves of sorcery when they shut the temples of the Lord.” He who does not believe God surely believes the great deceiver. Such impiety is shocking to all right-minded persons. Its wickedness is manifest to all whose consciences are not seared as with a hot iron.