p. 707 | UNBELIEF

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Nov 24, 1887

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 13, No. 45.

UNBELIEF.

SOME professedly wise men make light of unbelief, and tell us that it has no moral bearing upon the character and destiny of man. They would have us to believe that man is not responsible for his faith or his non-faith. If he believes and trusts in God, well; if he does not believe in God, just as well. The teaching of the Bible, and the history of mankind in all lands and in every age, contradict such philosophy. They teach us that man is under obligation to trust in God; that unbelief is sin; that the want of faith and trust in him produces restlessness, distrust, alarm, and terror; that it provokes God to anger, and incurs his displeasure. It is our faith or unbelief that gives direction and character to our actions, and fixes our destiny. The Israelites' want of confidence in God's ability and willingness to lead them safely into Canaan, and their faith in the wisdom of a return to Egypt under the leadership of a chosen captain, caused them to rebel, and brought upon them the terrible defeat which they suffered in their battles with the Amalekites and Canaanites, and their wandering for thirty-eight years longer in the wilderness, and deprived the whole generation of the unbelieving Israelites of the privilege of entering into the land of promise.

Such is unbelief. It is a sin against God. It calls in question his existence, his power, his faithfulness, his truth and readiness to save, according to his promise. We are guilty of unbelief when, in trying circumstances, we feel our own weakness and yet knowing that God commands us to go forward fearlessly in the discharge of duty, we stagger at the promises, lose faith in God's presence and power to carry us safely through, and refuse positively to act. . . . Unbelief produces discontent and fear; it drives sleep from our pillow; converts the shadow of danger into reality; makes us too weak to stand before our foes, or even to press forward to a successful issue any great moral reform, even if we know that God has promised to give us the victory.

The Christian who has yielded to unbelief in God so far only as to foster doubts concerning his faithfulness, will gradually lose interest in his worship; his delight in prayer will fail him; the family altar will be neglected; earnest Christian work will become a burden, and will soon be abandoned, and especially so if God calls him to contend against any popular iniquity which has its stronghold in the customs and habits of society. He is ready then to cry out, "There are giants in the way," and to reflect on God and say, "How is it that thou requirest me to expose my business and my reputation to loss, and, perhaps, to ruin, by requiring me to attack a vice so dear to many of my best customers. I will not go up and fight." But such professors of the faith of Christ are not happy. They hear God saying to them, "Add to your faith courage," and that he cannot but be displeased with such unbelief, and their conscience is ill at ease. They know their duty but they do it not. . . .

It is "he that believeth," that shall be saved, and, according to the provisions of the gospel, he alone can be saved. Joshua and Caleb of all the generation of Israel entered into Canaan, because they believed and trusted God. Be ye Joshuas and Calebs, even if the faint-hearted be against you, and threaten to stone you. Canaan the bright and glorious, with other temple than Solomon's, and a life that shall never end, shall be the reward of your faith. There will not be Anakim giants enough to overcome you, and deprive you of your inheritance. The eternal God is your leader. He will provide you with the weapons of warfare, and give you strength and skill to use them. He will turn the councils of your enemies into confusion. "When a man loses confidence in God," writes Barnes, "he is on a shoreless ocean that is full of whirlpools, and rocks, and quicksands, and where it is impossible to find a secure anchorage. There is nothing to which he may moor his driven bark; and he will never find safety or peace till he comes back to God."—Methodist Recorder.