What is Actually Wrong with Unbelievers
The Bible has much to say about the Christian faith, once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). It also has much to say about those who are not saints and who do not believe in Jesus Christ. Just as the Bible has many names for the Christian, it also has many names for those outside of Christ. Drawing the comparison between the two groups helps us to understand the salvation of God, who has mercy on whomever He chooses to show compassion (Rom 9:15–16).
The pinnacle plight of humanity is sin leading to death because it is appointed once for a man to die and then comes the judgment (Heb 9:27). The judgment of God is really a sentencing because sinners are condemned already (Jn 3:18). From conception, we are dead men walking because we are all heirs of Adam, the first man (Rom 5:12)…and in Adam, all die because of our inheritance of original sin (1 Cor 15:22).
Sin is lawlessness (1 Jn 3:4); and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). The very nature of the natural man is sin (Eph 2:3). In addition, the Bible, God’s Word, informs us that every inclination of the human heart is only evil all the time (Gen 6:5). The heart is wicked and deceitful above all else (Jer 17:9). There is nothing in the natural man that seeks after God (Rom 3:11). In fact, the biblical phrase describing unbelievers is “haters of God” (Rom 1:30).
Men hate God because they know that God is pure, holy, and separate from sinners. Because God is righteous and just, He must judge rebellion against Him. Perfect justice should terrify every person because it is described as eternal punishment in fiery torment in the lake that burns with fire (Mt 25:41, 46; Jude 7; Rev 20:14–15). Of course, nobody wants this end but the pleasures of sin keep people in bondage.
As slaves to sin (Rom 6:6), some expedite their own death by indulgence. These people do not believe in the biblical doctrines of sin, death, judgment, or eternal hell. Other sinners have a greater sense of criminal justice based on governing laws in this world. They know something awful awaits them on the other side of death.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the exclusive remedy for the consequences to sinful rebellion against the holy Law of God. The Law cannot save sinners, however. Also, God does not judge on a curve, with the best performers having favor. In truth, God’s holy standard is perfect sinlessness. Only Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law of God and achieved righteousness by His own merits (Mt 5:17). Everyone else’s works are judged by God to be filthy rages (Is 64:6).
God’s revealed solution is for sinners to repent and trust Christ as their Savior from the wrath of God against sin and sinners (Rom 1:18; 1 Thess 1:10). So, the question is why people do not believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and the right standing before God that He alone maintains for eternity?
If the plight of man is sin leading to death, judgment, and eternal punishment, then man’s plight is compounded by his unwillingness and inability to apprehend for himself the one and only solution. It is revealed that the devil blinds the minds of sinners from seeing the Gospel of salvation (2 Cor 4:4). People cannot hear God (Jn 8:47), nor can they self-generate a love for the God they actually hate. The human heart is void of the love of God (Jn 5:42), unless God intervenes.
Without divine intervention, the natural man travels the wide way that leads people to destruction (Mt 7:13). He is without hope and without God in the world (Eph 2:12). He has no righteousness of his own and no currency to pay his debt of sin to God (Rom 3:10). If he persists in unbelief, even dying in his trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1), he proves that he never belonged to Christ (Jn 10:26).
Unbelief is the natural state of the natural man (1 Cor 2:14). Without God’s intentional interruption, there remains a fearful prospect of looming judgment. This man cannot accept the things of the Holy Spirit, but he judges them to be foolishness (1 Cor 1:18; 2:14).
Every person has an enemy in the devil. Satan has a powerful, blinding influence upon those who walk in spiritual darkness in this world. Apart from God, the evil one is the ultimate influencer. Of course, the deceit of the devil brings further temptation for sinners to sin. Sin has an every-hardening effect upon the heart. It invites the just wrath of God.
All people are children of wrath from conception (Eph 2:3). They prove to be sons of disobedience by practicing sin throughout their lives (Eph 2:2). Their natural inclination is to sin against God. We might suggest the term “lifestyle” because sin has so many facets. The fallen world of sin is no help to the sinner. Sinners love the world; therefore, nothing in the human mind or heart seeks God, for the purpose of being reconciled to God.
The flesh is weak. The human will has no interest in repentance. The human heart is hard toward God. The human mind is darkened toward truth. The human soul is enslaved to sin. This is what is actually wrong with unbelievers. In addition, the unbeliever has no ability to remedy his or her situation. There is no wisdom or power for one to self-generate faith in Christ Jesus…humanity’s only hope.
My dear reader, if this description of an unbeliever fits you, then cry out to God in the name of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Plead for mercy before the Day of Judgment arrives. Humbly request the grace of God that alone can save you from the temporal and eternal consequences of sin. May God show you compassion, if it is His will for you (Rom 9:15–16; 22–23). Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
David Norczyk
Leavenworth, Washington
January 6, 2024
