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Unbelief

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. (John 3:18 NIV)

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:36 NIV)

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12 NIV)

Unbelief is a great sin. It applies to

1. Those who have heard the gospel and not believed,
2. Those who have not heard the gospel, and
3. Those who heard, believed and in a believing state do not believe God.

The latter applies to many real Christians. It is possible to understand unbelief in those who have not heard (even though is it still inexcusable—see Romans 1:20) because it is the gospel that causes belief. It is very difficult to understand unbelief in believers. For example:

But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. (2 Peter 1:9 NIV)

They do not remember how they were saved.

Another explanation (but that is all it is) may be that they are not reading their Bible; consequently, the world is their major source for beliefs. It is a bad source.


(An excerpt from On Being a Christian, p.208-209)

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