One of the greatest sins that man can commit is unbelief. It is the one sin that cannot be forgiven as long as it is practiced, or as long as it is walked therein.
It is the only thing that ever stopped Jesus. Persecution did nothing to stop Him. All manner of opposition never slowed Him down. Death? The grave? No, none of these stopped Jesus. But unbelief did. Nothing else could.
Jesus came to His home country after being away. He preached and taught in the synagogues to the point that the people were astonished at His wisdom and mighty works.
Instead of believing and accepting Him as the Son of God, they reasoned:
“…Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?…” (John 6:42).
The people were offended. They did not want to believe what they were seeing. Jesus quit doing mighty works because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:58). It has always astonished me that unbelief (often called a lack of faith) could stop Jesus.
Unbelief is exactly the opposite of faith. And there is nothing that is as important to God as faith. Without faith (which is another way of saying unbelief), it is impossible to please God. Jesus asked this question one time:
“…Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:9).
Faith in God will bring obedience. Unbelief will take away the power to obey and to walk with God.
Jesus marveled at some people’s faith. He also marveled at some people’s unbelief, meaning He was greatly disappointed at their unbelief.
Unbelief has no place in a believer’s life. The very word I used (believer) will bear witness to that. We cannot be a believer and then not believe. We “…must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Diligently seek Him. Yes, there is the secret to faith. Seek God with all your heart. And believe Him. We cannot understand God at times, but there is no time when we cannot believe Him.
Have faith in God. Believe Him. Trust Him. Be as Job:
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him…” (Job 13:15).
And never, ever give room for the UNBELIEVABLE SIN OF UNBELIEF.