I have been trying to preach
the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ for
nearly thirty-two years, since I was seventeen years old. And I tremble more right now
at the prospect of speaking to you in God's name in Christ's
stead than I ever have. I am beginning to understand
something of what the old prophets used to talk about when they
talked about the burden of the Word of the Lord. The wise man said, Death and
life are in the power of the tongue. Now, I know that I'm nothing.
I know I'm a empty, useless thing. I'm more convinced of that than
I can possibly utter to you. And yet I'm fully convinced of
this too. If God speaks by me to you, you
will not leave here unaffected. The Word of God will be to you
either a savor of life unto life. or of death unto death. It'll either be that which brings you to the knowledge
of the Son of God, or it'll be that which in the day of judgment
will add to your terror and your condemnation. One of the two. One of the two. If fellows ever get a hold of
some understanding of that, let nobody be too anxious to preach.
That's an awesome responsibility. And tonight I want to speak to
you about the most difficult thing
I deal with in myself. The thing in myself that troubles
me more than anything else. The thing that bothers me. more
about myself than anything else. And I pray God will be our teacher.
I want to talk to you this evening about unbelief. One of the first corruptions
of the human race was the horrible sin of unbelief. It is recorded in Genesis chapter
3 that our mother Eve being beguiled by the serpent was persuaded
to unbelief. Our father Adam was not deceived,
he was. She was beguiled, and she was
persuaded by the serpent to believe the devil's lie without any reason,
without any foundation, without any basis, and not to believe
God whom she had every reason to believe." Isn't that amazing? She believed the devil's lie
without any reason, and didn't believe God, whom she had every
reason to believe. Such is the natural wickedness
of the human heart to this day, that we are all naturally inclined
to believe the devil's lie regarding all things. without the slightest
justification for doing so. And we are naturally inclined
not to believe God when we have every reason for doing so. Unbelief
is the original universal corruption of all men. It is the deepest
seed of all corruptions. And it is at once the worst of
all, and the father of all other corruptions. If pride is the
mother of all sin, unbelief is the father. Yes, I did say, unbelief
is the worst of all the corruptions of fallen humanity. It's the
very worst. Nothing so highly dishonors God
as not believing him. Nothing. Nothing. There's nothing my daughter could
possibly do that would more offend me, more dishonor me, and more
shame me. Not before men. Lots of things
that, you know, we've got proud faces and we don't want to be
ashamed before men, but there's nothing that will bring me more
inner shame than for my daughter to look at me when I spoke to
her about anything and say, I don't believe you. Nothing. Than for her to consider me a
liar. Nothing. Nothing so dishonors
God. Nothing so vilely, vilely dishonors
Him as unbelief. And yet this horrible offense
is the sin that we most easily and readily excuse in rebels,
and most easily justify in ourselves. I tell you all the time, you
hear it from these other men who preach to you, that no man
can by nature believe. I'm fully aware of that. I know
that faith in Jesus Christ is the gift of God. I'm fully aware
of that. But I know this, if you would believe him, you could.
And it's your responsibility to believe him. He said, well,
how can that be? You can argue about it until
you go to hell if you want to, but I'm telling you, this book
teaches both. It is your responsibility to believe God. And in the day
of judgment, you will stand condemned forever and perish in your sins
because you believe not me. That's what the book says. The
Israelites perished in the wilderness. They didn't perish because of
their adultery. They didn't perish because of
their fornication. They didn't perish because of
their idolatry. They didn't perish because of
all the vile things they did. They perished because they didn't
believe. They didn't believe God. That's
what the book says. Read it in Hebrews chapter 4.
Tonight, I want by the word, power, and grace of God the Holy
Spirit to do what I can to unmask this devil who resides in us
all, to expose its ugly face, and inspire our hearts to oppose
unbelief in ourselves. With that in mind, let's read
Luke chapter 1. I'll show you an example of unbelief. Luke chapter 1, beginning at
verse 18. Here is Zacharias, a man of great
faith and faithfulness. A man who truly was a believer,
a worshiper of God. He's in the temple, a priest,
serving in the house of God, faithfully doing what God appointed
him to do. But he gets a message from God.
The angel of God is sent to him to declare to him that his wife,
Elizabeth, an old woman whose womb was withered and dried,
was about to bear a son who would be the forerunner of the Messiah,
the last prophet. the last of the prophets, that
one who comes in the spirit and power of Elijah. And this is
how Zacharias responded, verse 18, And Zacharias said unto the
angel, Whereby shall I know this? Now, that question is asked many
times when God sends his word Sometimes it's asking in unbelief,
and sometimes it's asking faith. Mary asked the same thing of
the angel who said she would bear a son, but she believed
God. She was just asking, Lord, how
are you going to do this? She wasn't saying, Lord, you can't
do that. And then what Zacharias is saying, that can't be. That
can't be. Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife
is well stricken and yearned. And the angel answering said
unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God,
and am sent to speak unto you, and to show you these things,
these glad tidings. And behold, thou shalt be dumb,
and not be able to speak, until the day that these things shall
be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be
fulfilled in their season." And the people waited for Zacharias
and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when
he came out, he could not speak unto them. And they perceived
that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned unto
them and remained speechless. And it came to pass that as soon
as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed
to his own house. And after those days, his wife
Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked
on me, to take away my reproach from among men." Here is the first thing. It almost goes without saying,
but unbelief is found in the hearts of the very strongest
believers upon this earth. Zacharias was a believer. He was a truly remarkable man.
This man believed God when very few people believed God. He worshipped
God in the spirit when almost everyone around him was entirely
given over to ceremonialism. And yet when Gabriel told him
that his wife would soon bear him a son, this faithful old
man responded this way, Oh no, you must be mistaken. Not my
wife. I'm too old and she is too. No,
it can't be. How can this be? Why is it that
Zacharias didn't believe the angel's message? I'll tell you
why. It was totally contrary. to human
reason, totally contrary to human experience, totally contrary
to everything that he could look at, and see, and feel, and touch,
and reason with, everything. It was totally contrary to all
science and all philosophy, totally contrary to it. You see, the
basis of faith is divine revelation, and that's all. That's all. The basis of faith
is not reason. The basis of faith is not logic. The basis of faith is not philosophy. The basis of faith is not history. The basis of faith is not the
creeds and confessions. The basis of faith is the revelation
of God alone. Where reason begins, faith ends. Did you get that? Where reason
begins, Faith is. Now, faith is the most reasonable
thing on this earth. Not just any faith, but faith
in Christ, faith in the living God, faith in the Word of God.
Faith in Christ our Redeemer is the most reasonable thing
on this earth, but it is in no way based upon reason. Had not
this well-instructed high priest in Israel read the book of God? Was he not aware of Abraham and
Sarah and their boy Isaac? Was he not aware of Manoah, and
his wife, and their boy Samson? Had this man never heard about
Hannah, and how God answered prayer for Hannah? Had this man
not known how that the Lord God wrought wondrous things in days
gone by? Yes, he was instructed in the
world better than you and me. He knew better than we did. He
knew the history of the Old Testament like the back of his hand. But
what was wrong? He knew that God Almighty, the
Lord God, is the sovereign, omnipotent monarch of the universe? If you'd
sit down and ask him, Zacharias, is it possible for God Almighty
to make the sun go backwards by ten degrees? He'd say, yes,
sir. Yes, sir. Is it possible for God Almighty
to make all things out of nothing by the word of His mouth? Yes,
sir. With God, nothing is impossible.
You see, the problem wasn't with Zacharias' doctrine. That wasn't
a problem. And probably my problem was not
with my doctrine. The problem was with his heart.
And my problem was with my heart. And your problem is with your
heart. When it came to the personal, practical application of divine
truth to his own life and his own experience, this man of great
faith, Zacharias, was just utterly overcome with unbelief. But we
mustn't be too hard on old Zacharias. His fault is the common fault
of us all. All of God's people on this earth
are plagued with unbelief. Rex read about Isaiah back in
the office a little bit ago, what a fit reading, in preparation
for this message. The Lord was with him until he
was strong. Until he was strong. And I want
to tell you something, folks, I'm You just think you're strong
in faith. God is with you while you walk
before Him, depending on Him. When you start leaning on your
own faith, you hang on. God lets you know what you're
made of. I promise you He will. The histories of Abraham and
Lot, Moses and Peter, all stand as beacons to warn us and make
us aware of this monstrous devil that resides in human flesh called
unbelief. We might well pray like that
poor, distraught father who brought his son to the Lord Jesus in
Mark 9. You remember the story. He brought
his son to the Master, and he said, Lord, I brought him to
your disciples, and they couldn't cast him out. And the Lord said
to him, what's wrong with him? He said, he's possessed of the
devil. He said, how long has he been
in this shape? He said, since he was a child. And the devil often
throws him and tears him. And the master said, bring him
to me. And as he brought him to him, as he was coming straightway,
the devil threw him down and teared him and he foamed at the
mouth. Mad, mad, mad with unbelief. And the Lord Jesus looked that
father in the eye, and he said, Can you believe? If thou canst believe, all things
are possible to him that believeth. And the father of the child with
broken heart said, Lord, I do believe. Oh, help thou mine
unbelief. Oh Lord, I do believe, but I'm
such an unbeliever, so full of unbelief. How our
unbelief must shock the angels of God. The Lord never did for them what
he's done for us. Oh, he chose those elect angels
and he held them from fall when Satan had led one-third of the
heavenly host and rebelled against his throne. But he never redeemed
them. He never brought them out of
bondage into liberty. He never saved them from the
gall of sin like he's done for us. The angels of God must look
at us with astonishment when we don't believe him. This same angel, Gabriel, 490
years before this, came to Daniel the prophet, when Daniel was
a captive in Babylon, and spoke to this man when he was a prisoner
in Babylon, without one shred of external evidence. He said
to Daniel, Messiah the Prince is coming, and he's going to
put an end to sin, and he's going to bring in righteousness, and
he'll be cut off for you, and he's going to bring liberty to
the captive. And without one shred of evidence. You know what
Daniel did, buddy? He believed God. He believed God. It was contrary
to all reason. Conjured all expectation. How
on this earth is God's prophecy going to be fulfilled when we
the Jews are here in bondage and captivity to this pagan king
and he's so powerful he won't possibly let us go back to our
own land. How is it possible that this
prophecy then is going to be fulfilled? Daniel believed God. They believed God. Oh God give
us that kind of faith. God give me that kind of thing.
But here's Zacharias, who virtually lived in the temple,
who had all the entire Old Testament, with all its recorded miracles,
wrought by God before him. And when that same angel spoke
to him, he turned his heart not toward God and his word and his
power, but toward himself. and his withered body, and his
wife and her withered body, and his experiences, and he said
it can't be. How much like Zacharias we are. Now God no longer speaks to men
by angels. Hebrews 1 says that plainly. But they were frequently his
messengers of mercy in days gone by. Yet the Lord does still have
his angels, by whom he speaks his word upon this earth to his
people, and shows them his wonders. The Lord God has established
in his church pastors whom he calls angels of his churches.
who were sent of God with a message. And I'm telling you that if a
man is truly a pastor placed by God, he doesn't just feel
the time, he doesn't just work out something and present it
to you, he's sent from God with a message for your soul to declare
God's wonder. to declare his wonders among
the heathen, the wonders of his word, his works, to declare his
will and his way, to show you what wonderful things God's accomplished
in creation, in providence, in redemption, in grace, what wondrous
things are revealed in his word. But our unbelief puts a heavy,
dark, thick veil over the word of God. Unbelief is like trying to read
the Word of God like this. That's what it is. It's because of unbelief more
we can't see and understand. It's because of unbelief we don't
perceive the things revealed in the book. It's because of
unbelief that we don't see the glory of God. If thou wouldest
believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God, our Master said. Unbelief holds back the blessings
of God from us. Our Lord says, Oh, that thou
hast hearkened to my commandments. Oh, that you had believed me. Then had thy peace been like
a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea, thy
seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels
like the gravel thereof, his name should not have been cut
off, nor destroyed from before me." We sometimes wonder why God does
so little amongst us and with us. And we figure every reason under
the sun. Let's not be doing something right, let's do things differently.
Let's not be so strict, let's not be so precise, let's start
this, let's start that, let's entertain folks. Now, I understand In God's providence
we are in a generation under the judgment of God, and part
of the problems with us lie. Our Lord could not do many wonderful
works in Capernaum because of their unbelief. Oh, I wonder, Rex, what God might
do with us if we just believed. Wonder what God might do for
us if we just believed him. Wonder what wonders he might
yet work in our midst if we just believed him. No sin, secondly, is more vile,
reprehensible, and dishonoring to God than unbelief. Nothing so honors God as faith
in Christ, and nothing so dishonors Him as unbelief, and nothing
provokes Him to act in judgment like unbelief. I referred to
it earlier, but in Hebrews chapter The Lord speaks and says today,
if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. How does a man provoke God? Provoke God? Man, that takes
doing, to provoke God. But what was the provocation?
When they had heard, they did provoke! Howbeit not all that
came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved
forty years? Was it not with them that had
sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom
sware he that they should not enter into rest, but to them
that believed not? So we see they could not enter
in because of unbelief. The word which they heard Moses
speak didn't profit them. I'm talking to you, Bob, to this
congregation. If the word profits this man
and this man doesn't profit another man, there's one reason. For one believes and another
doesn't. It's just that simple. Just that simple. The word was
heard by Moses, who spoke for God! But nobody paid any attention,
and therefore the word they heard from the hand of God profited
nothing." Oh, unbelief. What a horrible crime it is. Unbelief is a denial of God's
power. It's denial of his word. It's
denial of his veracity and truthfulness. He that believeth not God, the
scripture says, has made him a liar. And unbelief robs us of rest
and peace. How come you can't enter into
rest? Unbelief. It's just that simple. Thirdly, unbelief, more than
anything else, brings down our Heavenly Father's rod of correction
upon us. God never punishes His people
for sin. He punished our sin in His Son,
but He is a loving, gracious Father. And because he is a loving,
gracious father, he chastens his children with the rod of
correction to see to it that their sin is corrected. Zacharias'
unbelief brought the Father's rod heavily upon him. He was stricken deaf and dumb
by the hand of God for at least nine long months. Let me tell you two things about
that. Divine chastisements often last a long, long time. For nine months he couldn't hear
and he couldn't speak. I'll tell you something else
about it. Our Father's chastisements are always suitable to the thing
that caused them. Always. The ear that would not
hear God's word couldn't hear any word for nine months until
it learned to hear what God said. The tongue that would not speak
God's praise could not speak anything until it learned to
speak God's praise. I speak plainly to you, my friends,
my brothers and God's chastisements are sure to his unbelieving people. His chastisements are sometimes
law, and his chastisements are always suitable. I've said all that concerning
us who are believers. If all this is true concerning
us whose sins are forgiven, through the blood of Christ, who are
accepted of God through the imputation of Christ's righteousness, and
all this is true of us who believe. What about you who yet believe
not? Your unbelief is going to bring
you to hell. It's going to take you to hell. I know, as I said, faith is the
gift of God. And no man can believe except
God grant him faith, yet unbelief is the deliberate, willful choice
of rebels. You who walk out those doors
this night without faith in Christ, walk out those doors because
right now you choose deliberately in the face of God's Word, in
the teeth of God's revelation, to lift your fist in God's face
and say you're not fit to be believed. You're a liar. and God will damn you for it
forever. But blessed be God, O blessed
be God, this unbelief will soon come to an end. The day is coming when the Lord
is going to visit us again, like he did old Elizabeth, and he's
going to take away our reproach. And I'm going to tell you something.
In that day, everybody is going to believe God Almighty. Everybody. When our Lord comes again, and
he brings about that restitution of all things to him, you who
today unbelieve will see that everything you've ever heard
and read in this book is absolutely so. And it'll be the torment of your
body and your heart and your soul forever in hell. And you who struggle to believe God. One of these days He will take
away our unbelief forever. And there'll be no more reproach.
Not here, not there, not anywhere. Amen. All right, let you come
listen to Him, please.