Calvary Road Baptist Church
“THE WICKEDNESS OF UNBELIEF”
During my devotions a while back I read something advanced by Jonathan Edwards, the New England Gospel minister God wonderfully used during the First Great Awakening. Recall that Edwards delivered the famous sermon, “Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God,” authored several wonderful books,[1] and clarified the doctrinal beliefs of the renowned evangelist, his friend, George Whitefield.
Edwards discerned and wrote about the great sin of failing to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a wicked sin not to trust Jesus Christ. While reading Edwards’ remarks, it dawned on me how lackadaisical many of us are about the lost condition of our close friends, loved ones, and family members. Not that we do not admit to ourselves that any who pass over to eternity without Christ are doomed to eternal damnation. But methinks we often fail to be specific in our acknowledgment of the sinfulness of that particular wrong of not believing in Jesus.
Have you ever reflected on the unreasonableness of anyone not believing in Jesus? How wrong it is? How illogical it is? How irrational it is? How stubborn it is? How selfish it is? The immorality of such unbelief? The inconsistency of not trusting Him? The downright sinfulness of not calling upon Him, not yielding to Him, not worshiping Him, not serving Him, and not glorifying Him? Such wickedness someone is guilty of who is not a Christian, be it your child, your grandchild, your spouse, your parent, or your closest lifelong friend.
A popular weekly situation comedy aired on television some decades ago called “Seinfeld.” One episode featured the female lead, Elaine, with a friend named David. When Elaine asked David if he was troubled by the fact that he was religious and she was not, he said, “No.” When she wondered why he was not bothered by her not being religious, he said, “Why should I care? I’m not the one going to Hell?” She was shocked by his answer. But it goes further than that in reality, does it not? Unsaved people who are at all thoughtful are puzzled by the lack of concern professing Christians display for their eternal well-being. “If Christ is so crucial, why does Dad not witness to me?”
And this reflects something of a schizophrenic mindset with many who are lost, which is understandable since they are declared to be “double-minded” in James 1.8. Literally, two-souled,[2] a lost person may strenuously object to you witnessing to him, offended that you imagine he is a sinner in need of the salvation only Christ can provide, but also deeply troubled by the fact that if you don’t witness to him he feels slighted and unimportant to you. He questions the validity of your Christian faith. Thus, you cannot win for losing with the lost person but comply with God’s directive when you prayerfully witness to the person who does not want you to witness to him.
That leads us to investigate an interesting and troubling set of phenomena. On the one hand, you have professing Christians who steadfastly refuse to witness to people they know are without Christ and are both doomed and damned. Yet they claim to love that lost soul. On the other hand, you have lost people who know they have no relationship with God or His Son, Jesus, but for some reason, embrace the notion that they are somehow exempt from the duties, obligations, and responsibilities God lays upon all His creatures. They imagine there is nothing wrong with not going to Church and not believing in Jesus.
Both sets of individuals are wrong. We who are Christ’s are commanded to preach the Gospel to every creature. And those who are not Christ’s are directed to seek the LORD while He may be found and to bend the knee, bow the head, and confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Yet so many of us who claim to be Christ’s do not witness, and none who are not do honor Him.
This morning, I will sharpen this issue by addressing what unbelievers are guilty of doing and not doing regarding Jesus Christ's glory and excellency, as Edwards put it.
There are four headings:
First, UNBELIEVERS DENIGRATE THE EXCELLENCY OF CHRIST’S PERSON
Lost people diminish Him and set at naught or treat as no account the excellency of Christ’s person.
The Lord Jesus Christ is a great and glorious person of infinite worthiness.[3] Because He is worthy, He is infinitely esteemed and loved by God the Father and the Holy Spirit and is continually adored by holy angels. But do unbelievers take any of that into account? Do they display any esteem at all for Him? They show no value for Him because He is the Son of God. He is not set higher in their estimation because of His relationship to God the Father. He is not appreciably valued for being a divine person. By His divine nature, He is infinitely exalted above every created being. But He is not treated by the unsaved as if they held him in high esteem. They set nothing by His infinite majesty. His glorious brightness and greatness excite no true respect or reverence in any of them.
As well, Christ is the Holy One of God. He is so holy that the heavens are not pure in His sight, Job 15.15. He possesses all the holiness, the infinite beauty, and the loveliness of the divine nature. The seraphim cover their eyes and feet in His presence, Isaiah 6.2, but unbelievers take no note of the holiness of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the wisdom and power of God, First Corinthians 1.24. But unbelievers recognize nothing of His power and wisdom, imagining He is as Hollywood portrays Him. The Lord Jesus is full of grace and mercy; the mercy and love of God appear nowhere else so brightly and gloriously as they do in the face of Jesus Christ. But unbelievers set no value at all upon the infinite grace of Christ.
Unbelievers not only fail to recognize the glory and excellence of Christ, but they also prioritize every earthly activity and distraction over Him. They do not honor the excellent virtues of Christ’s humanity, even when pretending to worship Him and casually using the means of gathered congregational worship and preaching. This disregard for Christ’s glory and excellency, whether in His person or His work as the Savior, has significant implications, as the lost instead value every earthly honor and activity more than Him. This is so wrong!
Next, UNBELIEVERS DISPLAY EVIDENCE OF THEIR SINFULNESS IN THIS REGARD
#1 Do the unsaved honor Christ in appreciation of His glory and excellency? They may, and often do, pay Christ a measure of external and apparent respect, but they do not honor Him in their hearts. They have no elevated thoughts of Christ, no inward respect or reverence towards Him. All their outward worship is only feigned; none arises from any real honor or respect in their hearts toward Christ. There is a pastor’s wife in Waterboro, South Carolina, who used to be a member of our Church. When she was thirteen years old she was honored (I think) as the California Country Music Singer of the Year. But instead of missing a Sunday Church service to receive her award, she opted to attend a regular Sunday morning Church service, amazing her parents and three siblings and numerous other family members, who attended Church with her and eventually became Christians and Church members. On the other hand, the unsaved engage in perfunctory religious exercises either only for fashion’s sake and in compliance with custom, or else it is forced, and they are driven by fear, as we read in Psalm 66.3:
“Through the greatness of Thy power shall Thine enemies submit themselves unto Thee.”
In the original, it is “shall Thine enemies lie unto Thee,” i.e., yielding feigned obedience. Through the greatness of Christ’s power and for fear of His wrath, His enemies, who have no respect or honor for Him in their hearts, will lie to themselves and to Him and show outward respect while they are lacking respect in their hearts.[4]
#2 Are unbelievers sensible that Christ is worthy of glory? This can be seen by the absence of them seeking the glory of Christ in anything that they do. They do nothing in their religious observances out of respect for Christ’s glory but wholly for other ends. This shows that they do not see Christ as worthy of any glory. Christ is set last and lowest in the heart of every unbeliever. They have high thoughts of other things. They have high thoughts of distractions, material possessions, and earthly pleasures, but no or low thoughts of Christ.
#3 Do not unbelievers show their thoughts of Christ by refusing to receive Him and by shutting the door of their heart against Him? Take the image of Christ standing at the door and knocking, and for some of you standing many years with Him knocking at the door of your heart, but you still refuse to open to Him. You justify your sinfulness by saying, “I don’t believe like you.” But the issue is Jesus Christ. Does that not show you have a very low opinion of Him when you shut Him out of your life for so long? Unbelievers show the mean and dishonorable thoughts they have of Christ by their refusal to trust Him, who is only worthy of your trust. They do not believe what He says to be true. They will not trust the word of Christ as much as they trust the word of one of their neighbors or a friend, they have found to be faithful. It also appears that they have no real honor for Christ in their hearts because they refuse to obey His commands. They do nothing from a spirit of obedience to Him. They sometimes render external obedience as forced, feigned obedience and not from any respect for Christ’s authority or worthiness to be obeyed.
#4 The lost have no love for Him because of His glory and excellence. If the unsaved saw any excellency in Christ with the eyes of faith, they would have some measure of love for Him. But the truth is, they see no form or comeliness in Christ, and they have no love at all for Him.[5] Unbelievers never exercise even one act of true love for Christ. All that the unsaved are told of the Lord’s divine perfections, of His holiness, His meekness, and grace, does not influence at all to result in any love of Him or for Him. The display of His perfections no more draws forth love out of the heart of an unbeliever than it draws forth love from the stones and rocks. A natural man has no love towards Christ, though He is altogether lovely.[6] Regardless of all that is said to a lost person of the excellency of Christ, they have no goodwill toward the Lord. They do not rejoice in His glory and happiness. And they would not care anything for Christ if they could escape Hell without Him. If Christ should be dethroned or should cease to be, they would not have more than a moment’s thought about Him. And if Christ’s kingdom and cause in the world go to ruin, it would not grieve him, so long as he was assured of his well-being. Additionally, unbelievers do not love Jesus Christ for His excellence. They take no delight in considering that He is terrible in majesty. When they are told that He is exceedingly beautiful and glorious, they give no thought to Christ’s glory and honor. Unbelievers do not delight in thinking of Christ or contemplating Him. They take delight only in their pleasures. When they turn their mind upon Jesus Christ, if ever they do so, it is thought to be a dry and barren consideration to them. They find nothing in Christ to feed and delight their soul, and in Him, there is no beauty or loveliness to please or satisfy them.
Unbelievers have no desire to enjoy Christ. If they value in any way the wonder of Christ, they would have some desire for Him on account of that wonder - especially when He is offered to them with the ministry of the Word and is from time to time set forth to them as the proper Object of their faith. What men value they desire, mainly if it is represented to them as attainable, beneficial, and suitable for them. But unbelievers only want to be delivered from Hell, not to enjoy Christ. They cannot conceive what happiness there can be in beholding the Lord, being with Him, seeing His holiness, and contemplating His wonderful grace and divine glory. They have no appreciation for any such thing or an appetite for it. They show that they set at naught the glory and excellency of Christ and seek no conformity to His glory and excellency. A natural man may strive to be holy, but not for holiness’ sake. It is only so he may escape God’s wrath. He has no desires after holiness, nor is it indeed holiness that he seeks because he is an enemy of holiness. A natural man has no desire to have his soul conformed to Christ’s glorious beauty and excellence nor to be conformed to the image of Christ. If they prized or delighted in the excellencies of Christ, the lost would necessarily desire to be like Him as far as they could. This we see in ourselves and all individuals. When we see anything in someone pleasing to us, we naturally endeavor to imitate and conform to that person. That is how individuals are apt to learn from those they greatly admire. They naturally fall into an imitation of their ways and manner of behavior. But natural men feel within themselves no disposition or inclination to learn of Christ or imitate Him, to be Christ-like. Their personalities and dispositions remain pretty contrary to Christ’s. They neither grow in grace nor become more conformed to Him, but somewhat worse. Second Timothy 3.13:
“Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse.”
Finally, THE BIBLE REVEALS THE WICKEDNESS OF SUCH UNBELIEF
The Word of God teaches us the heinousness of the sin of unbelief because this sin pretends that all the glory and excellence of Christ is nonexistent. It often appears strange to natural men that unbelief should be spoken of as such a heinous and terrible sin. They cannot see the evil and the wrongness of it. There are other sins that often trouble their consciences while this sin troubles them not at all, though it is that which brings far more tremendous guilt upon them than those sins that bother them more often. How outraged the public was when someone in a fit of road rage tossed a woman’s puppy into a freeway traffic lane. He was sentenced to ten years in prison for that fit of temper. But to denigrate Christ? To give Him no honor? No one gives it a moment’s thought.
What does the Bible reveal about the sin of unbelief concerning Christ?
John 3.18:
“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
John 16.8-9:
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me.
First John 5.10:
“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.”
We see what the Bible reveals about the heinous sin of unbelief. It is a soul-damning transgression. Unbelief sets all Christ’s glory at naught despite its greatness and reality. His glory is infinite, being the glory of the Godhead itself, and has been so gloriously displayed in what Christ has done and suffered. Yet, in their unbelief, natural men cast contempt on all this glory and tread it underfoot as being worth nothing. Their unbelief treats Christ’s excellency as if it were less valuable than the most vile things.
This Bible doctrine of the heinousness of unbelief convicts the unsaved in several ways. Here is how you may be convinced of the greatness of your guilt. Consider how excellent that Person is you refuse to honor and trust properly. Contempt for any person is heinous in direct proportion to that individual’s worthiness and dignity. Though we are nothing in ourselves, how do we react when despised? How do you resent being slighted by someone who treats you as if you are good for nothing or not worth minding? How do you take this treatment from your neighbors and equals? Are you not ready to look upon it with resentment, to think very ill of it, and to judge that you have great cause to be offended by it? If it is such a crime to despise you and treat you like you are nothing, what is it to do that to the eternal, infinitely glorious Son of God, in comparison with whom you and the nations are nothing and less than nothing and vanity? You dislike being condemned by your equals but would take it even more grievously to be despised by your inferiors. What a crime it is for a vile, sinful worm to set at naught Him who is the brightness of the glory of the King of kings! It would be a heinous crime to only slightly acknowledge the glory and excellency of such a person as Christ, but how much worse is it to not acknowledge His glory and excellency at all, as you do? You place no value on Him at all, as has been shown. This is more aggravating since Christ is a person you need so desperately, and since He came into the world out of infinite grace to sinners, to lay down His life to deliver from Hell and purchase for such as you eternal glory. How much has Christ done and suffered so that you might have the opportunity to be saved? Yet you set no value for the blood of Christ, even though His blood was shed for such poor sinners as you are and is offered to you for your salvation. But you trample underfoot the blood of the Son of God. If Christ had come into the world only to teach us, it would have been a heinous thing to trample underfoot His Word and instructions. But when He came to die for us, how much more heinous is it to trample underfoot His blood! People find it hard to have any of their qualifications or actions, which they esteem commendable, despised by others. But they especially highly resent it when others express no gratitude for their kindness. And above all, when they put themselves out of their way, have denied themselves, and suffered considerably to do others kindness, then to have their kindness despised and ignored is what people would, above all things, resent. How wicked then is it, and how exceedingly provoking to God must it be to disrespect the great kindness and love of Christ when from His love for sinners He suffered so much? Consider how highly the angels, who are so much above us, regard the glory and excellency of Christ. They admire and adore the glory of Christ and, day and night, praise Him. Revelation 5:11-12:
11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.
The saints admire the excellency of Christ, the glorious angels admire it, and so every creature in heaven and earth, except you who are unsaved. Consider not only how much the angels set by the glory of Christ, but how much God Himself sets by it. Christ is the darling of heaven. He was eternally God’s delight, and because of His glory, God has thought Him worthy of being appointed the heir of all things and has seen fit to ordain that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. Is He thus worthy of the infinite esteem and love of God Himself? Yet is He worthy of no esteem from you?
Are you yet awakened to your danger? You have to know that such guilt will bring great wrath. Dreadful destruction is announced in Scripture against those who despise only the disciples of Christ, Matthew 18.6. What destruction, then, will come on those who despise all the glorious excellency of Christ Himself? Consider that you not only have no value for all Christ's glory and excellence but also become His enemies on that very account.[7] The reason for the hostility and opposition that exists between you and Jesus Christ is His glorious perfection and excellence. He is contrary to your lusts and corruptions by being such a holy and excellent Savior. If a Savior offered to you was agreeable to your corrupt nature, you would accept him. But Christ is a Savior of such purity, holiness, and divine perfection; this is the cause of why you do not want Him, but are offended by Him. Instead of being a precious stone in your eyes, He is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to you. That He is a Savior who possesses such divine perfections in what He has done and suffered is one principal reason why you do not want Him. Consider how provoking this must be to God the Father, who has given His only begotten Son for your salvation, and what wrath it merits from the Son that you treat in this way. And consider how you will for all eternity suffer His wrath. Consider that despite Christ being rejected by you, He shall be the head of the corner. Though you set Him low, He shall be exalted even to you. It is vain for you to make light of Christ and treat Him with contempt. However much you condemn Him, you cannot break His bands asunder nor cast His cords from you. You will still be in His hands. While you despise Christ, God will despise you, and the Lord will have you in derision. God will set His King on His holy hill of Zion despite all His enemies, Psalm 2.1-6. Though you say, “We will not have this man to reign over us,” yet Christ will rule over you. Psalm 110.2: “Rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies.” If you do not submit to the scepter of His grace, you will be subject to the rod of His wrath, and He will rule you with a rod of iron, Psalm 2.9-12.
You may someday realize how worthless those things are that you have valued more than Christ. What value in eternity do those things you now value have for you? What regret do you think you will have for not finding Christ when it becomes too late? Sinners often excuse themselves in their unbelief because they value their desires, as though God were unjust to punish them for not coming to Christ when they easily could have. Recognize that your unwillingness and lack of desire to come to Christ are not worthy of being mentioned as an excuse. After all, your concern for Christ is not the result of any respect for Him but is forced by the unpleasant prospect of eternal torment. At the same time, you see nothing of His excellency and glory.
How justly God might forever refuse to give you an interest in Christ if He so chose. Why should God give you any part or interest in Christ when you treat Him as nothing, whose glory and excellence you do not value but rather trample under your feet? Why should God give you any interest in Him whom you so despise? Seeing you despise Him; how justly might you be obliged to go to Hell when you die without Christ? Is God obligated to make you a believer in His infinitely glorious and dear Son when, at the same time, you are not persuaded He is worth having but only consider Him because you cannot escape Hell without Him?
Perhaps you have never before thought of the wrongness of not believing in Jesus, but now you realize that no unbeliever is innocent. Not you, and not anyone else.
Being a terribly wrong sin, someone guilty of such wickedness needs a glorious and powerful Savior, the kind of Savior Jesus most certainly is.
My lost friend, you are damned and doomed. But Jesus saves. He has but one demand: that you come to Him.
You may pray, though you are not required to do so. The only requirement is faith. Add nothing to that. “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
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[1] Altogether Lovely, The Salvation of Souls, The Religious Affections, History Of The Works Of Redemption Containing The Outlines Of A Body Of Divinity In A Method Entire, and The Life And Diary Of David Brainerd to name four.
[2] Spiros Zodhiates, The Behavior Of Belief, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1973), Part One, page 43.
[3] Hebrews 3.3; James 2.7; Revelation 4.11; 5.9, 12
[4] James 1.22
[5] Isaiah 53.2
[6] Song of Solomon 5.16
[7] Romans 5.10
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