Evil Hearts of Unbelief
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;” (Hebrews 3:12 NKJV)
““of sin, because they do not believe in Me;” (John 16:9 NKJV)
““He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 NKJV)
Is God Fair and Righteous?
I have people question the goodness of God because He condemns people simply on the basis of their unbelief. I am going to tell you how I handle this in my own mind. And, yes, I think God is fair and righteous in doing this.
What is the definition of Unbelief?
When we think of unbelief, we tend to think of people who have not had the opportunity to believe. The Bible does not condemn those who have not had opportunity to believe but it condemns those who have had the opportunity but who have rejected the truth. For example, I think it is clear that babies who die go to heaven. I believe that for the following reasons.
First, It appears that King David’s baby that died in infancy went to heaven. David said, “But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me (2 Samuel 12:23 NKJV).” One could believe David was only referring to the grave here if it hadn’t been for his lamentation over his adult rebellious son Absalom when he said, “O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son (2 Samuel 18:33 NKJV)!” The Lord also reminds us, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God (Luke 18:16 NKJV).” I believe all need to be saved once they are old enough to understand the truth, but children are “safe” (not saved) and are part of the Kingdom while they are still innocent. Another reason that I believe that only those who can reject the truth are condemned is because of Abraham’s question in trying to save Sodom where his nephew Lot and his family lived. He asked the question, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right (Genesis 18:25 NKJV)?” Abraham didn’t think God would slay the righteous with the wicked.
God’s Love
I believe that you have to be able to reject the truth in order to be condemned. I also believe that God does love the world and that He will do right when He judges. Should there be those who have never heard the Gospel, I would suspect that they would be “safe” even though they are not saved. However, having said that, I personally believe that everyone who wants to know who the living God is that created all things will miraculously through the agency of the Holy Spirit be sent the message of the Gospel. Either they will have a Bible put in their hands or they will be sent a missionary or both. In Acts 8, the Ethiopian eunuch was sent both. No doubt he had heard about the Jewish God who was worshiped in Jerusalem and made a journey from “darkest Africa” to worship Him. However, He was given a manuscript of the prophet Isaiah and he was sent a missionary by the name of Philip to explain the manuscript. Instead of becoming a Jew he became a Christian. Yes, God loves individuals that much. He not only died for them but he finds means to reach them with the message if they “seek” Him. The Ethiopian eunuch didn’t just believe the facts, He trusted the person that the facts told him about. He believed with all his heart. (You will have to read the NKJV or the KJV to get that important point. Translations based on manuscripts that no one died to translate or preserve leave that important point out.) Earlier in the chapter Simon the Sorcerer had believed but not with all his heart. He believed in the power of the Gospel but not in the person of the Lord Jesus.
Conclusion
Everyone reading this meditation and understanding it, has a responsibility to not only believe but to believe in or believe on or believe with all your heart. Believing is not enough. The demons believe but they are not saved. Many people I talk to say, “I believe!” But are they saved? When the word believe is used in the New Testament verses that we use to explain the Gospel, a modifier is often added that implies something more than believing the facts. The modifiers make it evident that the Holy Spirit uses the word of God to bring about saving faith or TRUST in the Lord Jesus.
If you are reading this and are rejecting the Lord because you believe that many people in the world cannot believe because they have not heard the truth, you are on shaky ground. You are assuming that because God is dealing unfairly (in your mind) with others, you can’t trust HIm. But you have the message and you can believe in the Lord Jesus. So please don’t make the mistake of assuming that God is unfair and that therefore you do not need to trust HIm to have your own sins forgiven.
That would be a costly mistake!
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of November 7, 2021