The Results of Unbelief I Thess. 2:13 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
The results of unbelief are:
Ineffectualness – 1 Thes 2:13 The word works effectually in you that believe. Mk 11:23-24 unbelief makes prayer ineffectual. In Matt 17:20 unbelief made attempted healing ineffectual. Therefore, unbelief makes the power of the word of God ineffectual. For instance, Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,” [Jn 8:32]. Though you may know the truth, if you don’t believe the truth the power of it to make you free is diminished in your life. It’s still just as powerful as it has always been [Heb 4:12]; it just isn’t powerful in your life. In Rom 1:16 unbelief makes the gospel ineffectual. That is if you don’t believe it you aren’t saved.
Hardheartedness – Jn 5:46-47 – the Pharisees didn’t believe Moses and so, in spite of the miracles that only God could have done, they didn’t believe Jesus either. When Pharaoh didn’t believe the plagues, his heart was hardened [Ex 7:20-23]. Even the disciples didn’t believe the testimony of those who had seen the angels and had seen Jesus after his resurrection because they didn’t believe him when he said that he would rise from the dead and they didn’t believe the scriptures [Mk 16:14; Lk 24:22-27]. If you don’t believe something basic in the Bible, like creation, your heart gets hardened in unbelief against something else like the gospel.
Blindness – 2 Cor 4:3-4 – the devil blinds the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. The devil doesn’t just go around blinding the minds of people indiscriminately. He blinds the minds of those who believe not. In other words, after hearing the gospel, if you don’t believe it, the devil is right there to blind your mind against the light of the gospel so that you can’t see what you are missing. Compare how the devil steals the word of God from the hearts of those who don’t understand the gospel right after they hear it [Mk 4:15]. The root trouble is a heart of unbelief.
Delusion – 2 Thes 2:11-12 – God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that they all might be damned who believed not the truth… Again the problem with delusion is the heart of unbelief. Rickard Dawkins’ book, The God Delusion, is appropriately named. Because of Dawkins’ unbelief, God has sent him strong delusion that he should believe a lie. And he has published that lie in a book named for the very problem of his heart. He believes that belief in the God of the Bible is a delusion. Unless he is willing to believe God’s revelation of himself in creation and in scripture, he will go to his grave believing that lie. Look at these instances in the Old Testament where God answers men according to their own unbelief [Ezek 14:3-5; 1 Ki 22:20-23].
Damnation – Rev 21:8 – the unbelieving… shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. If you go to your grave unbelieving the scripture, you will spend eternity in the lake of fire. It is the sin of unbelief that damns you [Jn 3:18, 36].
Conclusion: The results of unbelief are horrendous. However, you can change these results by simply humbling yourself before God and believing what he said, just the way he said it. He said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” You can believe him today just like many believed his words many years ago when he was here on earth [Jn 8:30]. And then if you will believe what he said regarding all other matters, the word will work effectually in you.