THE HIGH PRICE OF UNBELIEF

One of my personal regrets is that in the past, I harbored (held on to) unbelief.

You might ask, How? Primarily by not trusting all the promises of God to be true!

I want to help you understand how costly it is for a believer to harbor unbelief.

Let me say up front that I am talking about unbelief as it relates to God, His Word, how He relates to us and how we relate to Him. I still harbor lack of belief in things natural, such as the media and the government, and I don’t see that lack going away anytime soon.

In Luke 24 we drop in on a rather confusing time for the disciples. Right to the end, the disciples thought that Jesus the Messiah was going to redeem Israel as a nation (v. 21). And then there was the inglorious end when Jesus was crucified like a common criminal. Then the body of Jesus was put in a tomb with the entrance sealed, followed by word that His body had disappeared. Talk about frustration and confusion!

Two of Jesus’ followers were on the road to Emmaus talking over these confusing events. As they talked and walked, they were joined by Jesus Himself—but they didn’t recognize Him. Unbelief will do that!

Jesus asked them, “What kind of conversation are you having? You guys are looking really sad” (v. 17).

One of the men responded, “Are you the only person in town who doesn’t know what has just taken place?” (v. 18). Jesus asked, “What are you talking about?” And so they spoke to Him about His life, His ministry and His death. They went on to tell the stranger that their hopes had been smashed because all along they thought Jesus was going to stage a revolution and take Israel away from the Romans and all foreign domination.

The conversation went on until finally Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” The Lord went on and explained to them what the Scriptures had to say about Him. Later over supper, suddenly their eyes were opened and they understood that the Man they were talking to was Jesus (v. 31).

How many times have I cried out to the Lord, “Where are You in all this I am facing? Are You not hearing my prayer?” I didn’t realize that He was right there shepherding everything but I just could not see it. Unbelief does things like that.

When the two men realized it was Jesus Himself they had been travelling with, talking with and eating with, they immediately rushed back to Jerusalem, found the disciples and exclaimed, “He’s alive! The Lord is risen!” (v. 34).

While they were talking to all the disciples, Jesus appeared in the midst of them and said, “Peace to you” (v. 36). I am glad He said that because if I’d been there, I would have died of fright.

Jesus went on, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?” (v. 38). He asked them plainly, “Why is there such confusion and lack of faith among you?” But unbelief will do that!

In verse 41 the Word says that even though the disciples marveled and were joyous at what they were seeing, still they did not believe. This moment was very much like an expression we use today: “I see it but I still don’t believe it.”

There is a price to be paid for not dealing with unbelief. One is that we become spiritually blind and do not see or understand when God is working on our behalf, when He is shepherding even the smallest details of our lives.

Another is that we question the truth of God’s promises. Is the Word of God really true? Or do we take the position that parts of the Word, the parts we don’t like, are culturally irrelevant to our age? The cessationists say that miracles and the manifestations of the Holy Spirit were ended at the time of the apostles. In other words, God turned off the power because (they say) it is no longer needed. That kind of thinking is blatant unbelief.

A third price is that we question the power of the gospel to change lives. Segments of today’s church are embarrassed by the claims of the gospel to change a life, so they rarely talk about it straightforwardly. Unbelief does things like that.

The hold of unbelief was broken for the two on the road to Emmaus when they had fellowship with Him. The hold of unbelief is broken for us when we invite Him to come in and commune with us. “They had recognized Him as He was breaking the bread” (Like 24:35, NLT).

Understanding that all the disciples were confused and blinded by unbelief, Jesus said to them in verse 41, “Let’s eat together.” The picture is clear: He wanted to commune with His disciples and so, too, He wants to commune with us. The intimacy of communion with Him will break the stranglehold of unbelief!

My final conversation with my friend of 45 years, David Wilkerson, is forever etched in my memory. I was deep into my valley of cancer treatment, I wasn’t feeling well, and I was struggling to maintain a balanced and positive outlook. Brother Dave and I spent a few minutes talking on the phone and I think he sensed my struggle because his final words to me were, “You can trust His promises, David. You can trust all of them!”

There is a price that believers pay for unbelief and often it is higher than we think. We end up not enjoying the benefits of His Word and His presence as we should — and that is a higher price than I want to pay!