Opinion : “The Danger of Unbelief and the Life of Faith from John 1:10-13” Part 2

Last time, I sought to make this point: there is a greater danger to you and to me than any super-human villain, razor-toothed sea monster or control-freak tyrant in the universe. That danger is unbelief - refusing to believe in the God-Man, Jesus Christ, who holds the keys of death and hell in his hands.

Now I admit- unbelief doesn’t sound dangerous. But then again, the electrical socket I touched when I was a five-year-old didn’t sound dangerous either, until it was too late. But unbelief isn’t like electricity where we can test it and form theories about it. Unbelief is true (and dangerous) because the One who warned of unbelief is true (and dangerous- at least to those who walk in unbelief).

The Apostle John describes the world’s unbelief this way: “He [Jesus Christ] came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him” John 1:10-11. The unbelief of the world AND the the unbelief of God’s chosen people, Israel, is established history. Together, they crucified the Lord because they thought he was an impostor, an illegitimate child, and worse. I suppose that Christ’s unbelieving murderers would have won the argument has not Jesus risen from the dead. But he did, and that’s the truth- as supported by hundreds of witnesses both inside and outside the New Testament.

Yes, unbelief is real- as real as the sunlight that drives away the darkness from the night before. So, what is unbelief? Is it a lack of faith or trust? Is a state of mind or a state of heart?

Unbelief is the default condition of every human being. It’s one of those universal commonalities shared by all humanity- like death, sorrow and sadness. Unbelief is like spiritual blindness, a disability of the soul to see what is true as the truth. Every human being walks in spiritual darkness- in sin and unbelief, denying the truth. Each of us demonstrate this whenever we sin- when we violate God’s Law. So, to walk in unbelief is to walk in a way that is contrary to the truth. Walking in spiritual darkness is stumbling over the undesirable consequences of our own sins, tripping over our own wickedness and self-centeredness and the sorrow-inducing outcomes they inevitably produce. And sooner or later, we’ll either continue the endless tripping and stumbling or we’ll recognize that we’re not going anywhere and seek the truth.

Unbelief is universal. John says the world did not recognize their Creator in verse 10. Even though Jesus Christ made the entire universe, the people he created didn’t recognize him. The Scriptures declare that God makes, forms, fashions every human being in a mothers womb into someone who resembles God’s own image. Though this is the undeniable and most reasonable explanation for human existence, the world still denies their Creator!

Further, John also says that Israel didn’t recognize her Messiah in verse 11. Even though Israel had the Law, the prophets and the Messiah, they still did not believe! The entire Old Testament Scriptures pointed to Jesus Christ, yet they could not see - they were spiritually blind! So, because of their unbelief, they crucified him- they put him to death on a cruel Roman cross.

Unbelief is dangerous not only because it denies the obvious truth, but also because it opposes the truth in every thought and deed. Their unbelief led them to hate, oppose, envy, scorn and finally crucify their Creator, Messiah, and Lord!

Life is like a race, filled with many who believe and many who do not. The race before them starts with the starting line, where every person must begin, and continues towards the finishing line where Christ is, shouting at everyone, to hurry because there’s not much time left to finish the race. Those who are spiritually blind start off strong, but because they cannot see, they stumble, fall, run in every wrong direction, get separated from one another, and normally end up quitting the race. But those who can see are those who have spiritual life, ability to see clearly, they see the finish line and their coach beckoning them on. They rush by the world, occasionally stumbling, sometimes falling, but ever rising to their feet again and continue. They have trained their eyes to focus upon the finish line- they have disciplined their lives to finish strong.

Though unbelief is the default condition of every human being, it still remains a personal choice- whether to continue in unbelief or to accept the truth as truth and live by it. The choice is our to make.

Next time in ‘Part 3’, we’ll look at what accepting the truth as truth really looks like. It’s a life of faith that the Apostle John describes in verses 12 and 13.