It is not uncommon for the Christian (and when I say Christian I mean one who is in the word and walking in faithfulness) to get frustrated when others shrug at the truth. It is not uncommon to be feel dumbfounded that unbelievers just don’t get it. This morning I was reminded of this feeling when an opportunity came to counsel another who had (has) this feeling.
I am reminded of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, who upon sharing with Nicodemus that unless one is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God, encountered someone who just couldn’t comprehend the truth. The fact of the matter is that Nicodemus was a teacher of Israel and should have known better; yet, he just didn’t get it. Jesus told him, “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above’” (John 3:7).
We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ must never forget that when dealing with unbelievers, we are dealing with an entirely different animal. Yes, we’re all human, but there is as much different between one who believes and one who doesn’t believes as there is between a living man and a cadaver. Unbelievers remain “dead in [their] trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1) while believers have been “made alive together with Christ” (Eph 2:5). The difference is night and day. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that the natural man cannot understand the things of God because they are spiritually discerned. A spiritually dead man has no capability of processing such information. Only by the grace of God can that happen.
But it goes beyond that, because the unbeliever does not just reject God, but walks in the futility of his mind (Eph 4:17). He may be one who was given great intellect and capability by God, but because of his spiritual deadness, his mind cannot even function properly in understanding the things of the world and the created order in their context. The result is a life of walking contradictions and rebellion toward the Creator.
On what basis, for example, would an unbeliever who denies that life begins at conception feel sadness at the thought of a miscarriage or abortion? To that end, why would that person bother to argue that the number of abortions should be reduced? What’s it to them if it is not a living human being?
It is hard enough to live consistently faithful as a believer in Jesus Christ because of sin. How much harder is it, then, for the unbeliever to not live a life full of contradictions? Everyone knows in their heart of hearts that there is a God (Rom 1:20), yet they say there is no God, they do not honor Him nor give thanks (Rom 1:21). God gives them over to their depraved minds, the lusts of their hearts, their degrading passions, so that they use their bodies, which were created to glorify God, in order to do everything but that. They live as moral relativists and keep on denying the truth.
They are unbelievers, and it is sad, yet the believer should not expect different. We should not expect less than a bundle of contradictions from those who have been created by God yet deny Him. We should not expect less than hostility to our faith from those who deny the faith once for all handed down to the saints. Should we be saddened by their sin? Yes. But we should not be surprised by it. Instead, we must continue to proclaim the truth, continue to repent of our sins, and continue to rest in the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ Himself said that the proclamation of truth, the gospel, would lead to brother against brother, parents against children, and children against parents (Mark 13:10-12). Remain faithful to Christ in the midst of this. Love the Lord, love your neighbor, and do not be amazed when they spit in your face.