Unbelief

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But the worse sin of all, of course, is unbelief.

It´s the third sin to appear in the Bible, in the times of Noah (skipping over a few minor narrations). The people in Noah´s days were too busy with their lives. Noah spent 100 years building an ark and warning that a world-wide flood was coming.

But it had never rained on Earth before (crops were watered by a constant mist/fog), so talk of “rain” seemed ridiculous to them. Why didn’t they enter the Ark to escape God’s wrath? There was plenty of room. Because of unbelief.

Jesus describes in the unpardonable sin. I believe this is nothing more than not believing Jesus. The Pharisees rejected Jesus, despised the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and that is what Jesus called unpardonable.

If pride is the sneakiest sin and jealousy the scariest, the unbelief is the most dangerous. The reason? If you believe, you can be forgiven of all sins. If you don’t believe, you don’t even ask God for forgiveness.

Dumb faith

Sarah laughed at Abraham. A generation mocked Noah. No doubt, the other prisons gaped incredulously at Paul and Silas as they sang hymns while their fresh wounds dripped blood. These were all dumb to believe.

Lord, give us dumb faith. Grant us to believe — in the face of scorn.

Of course, there’s a difference between “dumb faith” and just being unwise. Grant us the ability to know the difference. Without balancing this teaching, I want to extol “dumb” faith.

Sarah gave birth at 90 years of age. Her laughter of unbelief turned into laughter of joy. Noah spent 100 years building an ark and telling people the reason why was that it was going to rain and flood the Earth. It had never rained previously. The Earth was watered a mist that covered the land. No wonder they didn’t believe him. He was dumb to believe.

Paul and Silas look out of their minds. Their wounds evidently hurt. And they’re there singing away happily. Did they appear to be drugged up?

Dumb faith is the answer to ministry’s greatest frustrations. It keeps you giving up hope, when any “reasonable” person could see clearly. When finances lack and obligations loom, dumb faith gets the miracle of money. When challenges are staggering, dumb faith keeps you from despair. It is quiet and childlike.

So let others laugh. You are good company — in company of Biblical heroes. They believed when it appeared to be dumb to believe.