Unbelief

1
Unbelief
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Introduction

• Ours is an age of doubt, skepticism, and
  unbelief. Having rejected his Judeo-Christian
  heritage, modern man seeks meaning and purpose in
  Eastern religions, neo-paganism,
  environmentalism, and mesmerizing political
  messiahs.
• Thoughtful observers are herein reminded of the
  maxim, often attributed to Chesterton When a
  man stops believing in God he doesn¹t then
  believe in nothing, he believes anything.

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The Adjective

• The Greek adjective apistos, occurring 23x in the
  NT, a compound of the negative prefix and pistos
  faithful, reliable, refers to that which is
• unbelievable, incredible (cf. Acts 268), or
• without faith, disbelieving, unbelieving (cf.
  Titus 115).

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The Verb

• The verb apisteo, occurring 8x, means to
• disbelieve, refuse to believe (cf. Mark 1616),
  or
• be unfaithful of one lacking a sense of
  obligation (cf. 2 Tim. 213).

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The Noun

• The noun apistia, occurring 11x, signifies an
• unwillingness to commit oneself to another or
  respond positively to the others words or
  actions, lack of belief, unbelief (cf. Rom.
  420), or a
• lack of commitment to a relationship or pledge,
  unfaithfulness (cf. Rom. 33).

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Usage in the Gospels

• Eleven of the thirteen occurrences center around
  three events
• the unbelief of the inhabitants of Nazareth in
  rejecting the ministry of Jesus
• the unbelief of the disciples in their failure to
  cast out the demonic, and
• the unbelief of the disciples in rejecting the
  testimony of those who had seen the risen Savior.

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Self-Defeating

• The inhabitants of Nazareth reveal that unbelief
  is self-defeating (Matt. 1353-58 Mark 61-6).

8
Ineffective

• The failure of the disciples and the father of
  the demonic reveal that unbelief is ineffective
  (Matt. 1714-21 Mark 914-29 Luke 937-43).

9
Callous

• In rejecting the testimony of those who had seen
  the risen Savior, the disciples reveal that
  unbelief is callous and hard-hearted (Mark
  169-14 Luke 241-11, 36-49 John 2019-29).

10
Blindness

• Unbelief results in blindness (Acts 2823-31 2
  Cor. 41-6 John 1237-40).

11
Defilement

• Unbelief results in defilement (Titus 115-16
  cf. also Heb. 1215-16 Jude 5-8).

12
Instability

• Unbelief results in instability (Rom. 419-22 1
  Pet. 24-8 cf. also 2 Pet. 15-11).

13
Exclusion

• Unbelief results in exclusion, from Divine
  promises (Rom. 1117-24 Heb. 312-19), and also
  from Christian fellowship (1 Cor. 61-6 712-16
  1023-30 1420-25 2 Cor. 614-18).

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Destruction

• Unbelief results in destruction (Mark 1615-16
  Luke 1242-46 Rev. 215-8).

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Conclusion

• In his unbelief and disobedience, man is lost and
  undone (1 Tim. 112-16 53-8) however, Jesus
  Christ extends the promise of salvation to all
  those who believe and obey (Mark 1615-16 John
  336).
• Avoiding the instability of doubt and unbelief,
  let us grow up in all aspects into Him who is the
  head, even Christ (Eph. 411-16 James 15-8).