Unbelief in Unbelievers

Unbelief is a spirit which causes people to reject what God says is true. The more we can get unbelief concerning God’s promises out of our own hearts, the more we will be effective in destroying it in those who do not yet believe. Unbelief binds the hand of God. It is one of the worst enemies to deal with. It is a choice to reject God’s Word, which then becomes a mental habit and spiritual bondage – and something which people are not at liberty to walk away from.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God, because He who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

The spirit of unbelief is deadly because it cuts people off from receiving the very thing which is fundamental to their own salvation.

All atheists and most agnostics have a spirit of unbelief in them which has a grip on their mind, and causes them to be in many cases unable to believe the truth and be saved.

Much unbelief is rooted in the doctrine of evolution. The doctrine of evolution is something that people vainly seek to prop us with science. It is not science, it is a philosophy, promoted by an evil power, which blinds people to the spiritual world in most cases. The philosophy of evolution is an a priori commitment to the idea that there is no God, therefore everything must have evolved for no reason at all. It doesn’t matter whether anyone saw it, whether transition fossils exist or not, or whether it seems statistically likely given the finite age of the Universe. To those who aceept this philosophy, IT MUST BE SO. The alternative is unthinkable to them. And when you check it out, no scientist can prove this theory. They always assume that scientists in other disciplines have proven it. This is true for all scientists who subscribe to the theory of evolution, no matter what discipline they are in – be they physicists, biologists, geologists, chemists, botanists, palentologists or whatever.

The education system in the western world which teaches this lie, and others like it, is feeding the spirit of unbelief. Closely associated with this view is the PHILOSOPHY which states, “if you can’t measure it, it isn’t real”. There is no way that scientific research can prove statements like this. They are nothing but a priori assumptions, which people take on board uncritically in most cases, and often are not even aware of. They may consider that they have thought things out, but actually, the conclusions they draw follow from assumptions which were never critically analyzed in most cases. And what is giving these assumptions such a powerful grip on the minds of so many, is the spirit of unbelief.

Unbelief is also promoted by other philosophies and also religious movements which are popular today. To tear down these strongholds, we don’t always have to attack these beliefs directly. All that is really needed in most cases, is a strong and personal revelation of Jesus Christ to come to the person who is captive to unbelief. This can happen when we really pray.

There are people today who are so dominated by the spirit of unbelief that they are unwilling to talk about God. They are just “not interested”. That is their polite way of rejecting the gospel before it is even shared with them. It will take an extraordinary commitment on the part of believers to get through to such people. In many cases, friendships must be built before people will even listen to a different idea. Extraordinary prayer and usually fasting is necessary to set these captives free.

All unbelievers will be thrown in the lake of fire, unless they repent of their unbelief. God is not impressed with their reasons for unbelief, because God knows that every single unbeliever that ever lived has had enough light and revelation of God made real to them, which THEY HAVE WILFULLY SUPPRESSED.

Romans 1:18-20 states

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

John 1:9 states unequivocally:

“That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.”

Unbelief begins as a choice to reject God’s light, and ends as a state of mental captivity and enslavement to a spirit whose purpose is to grip the soul and prevent saving faith from ever taking root.

The Remedy

Preaching and Teaching of the Word

God’s remedy for unbelief is to find someone who really believes, and whose faith can stand up to some serious tests. Because “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17) the exposure of people to the Word of God is a major key to destroying the power of unbelief in people’s lives.

It is not just the reading of the Bible that produces faith. It is the spirit with which the Bible is communicated. A preacher who is full of faith is much more likely to engender faith in his hearers than one who preaches the word of God with a tone of voice and body language which suggests that he doesn’t really believe a word of what he is saying.

The Word of God has the capacity to “break the rock in pieces” (Jeremiah 23:29). The hardness of heart associated with unbelief can be destroyed if a person hears the anointed preaching of the Word of God. Faith comes in this way. However, this method does not always work, and God has more weapons at his disposal to cast down this particular spiritual enemy.

Faith is caught more than taught

Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,[1] for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ “.

People who hang around people of faith are much more likely to get real faith in their hearts than those who hang around unbelievers, especially those who are very skeptical, cyncical and hardened in their attitude towards the things of God.

This is why building a friendship with unbelievers is such a key factor in evangelism in places like Australia, which I’m sorry to say are filled at the present time with the spirit of unbelief.

Signs and Wonders Can Destroy Unbelief

Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” (John 4:48)

Signs and wonders follow those who believe (Mark 16:17,18,20; John 14:12). Unbelievers who are exposed to these signs personally can be affected in such a way as to open their hearts up to the Lord, or at least to question their previous hardened stance of unbelief.

In the John 4 verse, Jesus was stating a fact. He was not criticising signs and wonders. If we want some people to believe, they are only going to believe if they see signs and wonders.

Therefore we should be committed to so believing and acting that signs and wonders do follow us. We need be filled with the Spirit of God and start acting like we expect God is going to back us up and do something. This helps destroy the power of unbelief in others.

Reasoning with People

Some Christian people say that reasoning with people is of no value, but when combined with a knowledge of other principles of spiritual warfare, reasoning can be a powerful tool. The apostle Paul used it frequently in his missionary endeavours.

Acts 19:8 And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.

Acts 19:9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

Not all reasoning is good. The Scribes and Pharisees reasoned in their hearts against Jesus. But if the right premises are accepted, reasoning can lead to some good conclusions. God will sometimes use a certain train of thought to awaken an unbeliever out of his deathly prison cell of the mind.

Concerning reasoning, even God Himself said to his people one day, “Come now, and let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18). So if God, the one who gave us the capacity to reason, Himself reasons with us, we should be willing to use this capacity for his glory. Even so, we must not trust in our own reasoning capacities, we need to put our trust in the Lord. It is the conviction of the Spirit that makes the difference in our reasonings with people. The Holy Spirit will speak to people in their heart, urging them to believe the things we speak, when we speak according to the Spirit of Truth.