Warning and Exhortation · Growth and Maturity · Evangelism and Mission · Faithfulness and Commitment

Ungrateful and Irresponsible? Unbelief?

6 min read, approximately

“After Jehoiada died, the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and the king listened to them. They abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and served the Asherah symbols and carved images. God’s wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of this sin. He sent prophets to bring them back to the Lord. They warned them, but the people did not listen. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. Standing above the people, he said: This is what God says: Why do you break the Lord’s commandments? It will not go well for you. Because you have abandoned the Lord, he will also abandon you.

But they conspired against him and, at the king’s command, stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s house. King Joash did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son, who said as he died: May the Lord see this and call you to account. At the turn of the year, the Syrian army came against him. They entered Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the people’s leaders, and sent all the spoils to the king in Damascus. Although the Syrian army had come with few men, the Lord delivered a very large army into their hands because they had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors. Thus they executed judgment against Joash.” (2 Chronicles 24:17-24)

God’s Word teaches us: “Blessed is the person who always fears God, but whoever hardens their heart will fall into evil.” (Proverbs 28:14)

Harden the heart? What does that mean? The psalmist says:

“[A Psalm] of David. Bless Jehovah, O my soul; And all that is within me, [bless] his holy name. Bless Jehovah, O my soul, And forget not all his benefits:” (Psalms 103:1-2)

This shows that our hearts indeed harden when we forget who God is and fail to acknowledge what he has done and continues to do for us. For example:

“For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)

Are We Looking for Alternative Solutions?

When we seek a source other than God, we glimpse only an empty illusion. We lose our direction and focus, and little by little encounter things that draw us into irresponsibility and ingratitude. What kinds of things? Let us examine these 4 points…

\1. We Do Not Attend Church

“So belief [cometh] of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

Therefore:

“… without faith it is impossible to please God, because whoever approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

In other words, if we do not attend church, we do not hear God’s Word, so we do not gain faith. Without faith we do not please God, and we head toward unbelief… How, then, could we be grateful to God and fulfill his precepts and statutes?… Have we stopped attending church? If so, perhaps it is time to return (Hebrews 10:25).

\2. Unbelief

“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:24-25)

When our faith fades, the sin of unbelief begins to sprout. At that point, we struggle to understand what we cannot see… Yet the Lord’s Word invites us into that supernatural dimension of learning to believe and trust that there is hope… For example:

“For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe. These things command and teach.” (1 Timothy 4:10-11)

Must We See to Believe, or Should We Believe So We Can See?

\3. Insensitivity

“And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath wetted my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. Thou gavest me no kiss: but she, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but she hath anointed my feet with ointment.” (Luke 7:44-46)

When we do not believe in our Lord Jesus Christ’s redeeming work on the cross at Calvary, it is easy to become insensitive toward others. In other words, we forget to evangelize…

“for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me.” (Matthew 25:42-45)

Has our heart hardened? Insensitivity, unbelief? When was the last time we shared Christ with someone?

\4. Sin

“because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened.” (Romans 1:21)

Without faith it is impossible to please God. Without faith we are exposed to sin. Without faith we will not acknowledge God as our Father, our King, our authority…

“Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God: but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called To-day; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin:” (Hebrews 3:12-13)

Therefore:

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?” (Romans 6:1-2)

How Long Have We Been Living This Way? Unbelief?

Could we be acting ungratefully and irresponsibly toward God?

May God continue to bless you
and may you continue to have an excellent day in Christ Jesus!
I invite you to stop by the Songbook