What will it take for an Unbeliever to Believe?!

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Commentary By:  Gordon King

What would it take for the people of the world to believe the truth?

We can share the gospel of Christ to the lost, we can show them that there is a better way, we can show them the only way to heaven, yet what will it take for them to believe?

Of course the only real answer is that God is the one who opens the eyes and the ears of the unbelievers, He is the one who can soften a hardened heart.  Even so, after a person can hear and see the truth, it is still their choice to believe it or not!

When life becomes difficult, when we endure hardships and turmoil in our lives, then most people will seek something or someone to help alleviate the pain and suffering.  Many will turn to drugs and alcohol, many to sexual addictions, and many more to false gods and religions.  Yet, there will be those who will turn to the truth, they will seek after what will truly bring them relief, Jesus Christ.  And when others have failed to find relief and only find more of the same through false gods, drugs and alcohol, they too will see the error of their ways, and eventually they will find God!  However, there are many, many more who will refuse to accept God, they are proud and arrogant, believing that they know the way, believing that they know better than God!  They will follow false teachings, for they have itching ears only willing to hear what they want, not willing to hear the truth because it does not suit their desires or lifestyle.

You would think that with all that is going on in the world, many more people would be turning to the truth and accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Those of us who have been studying scripture and bible prophecy know that even though many will hear the truth they will not believe because they have been blinded by the god of this world, Satan!

2 Corinthians 4:4

“whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

And say it isn’t so that many people are being led astray by lies and untruths, by chaos and confusion, and by deceptive false doctrines.  There is just enough truth mingled with lies that it often appears to be the truth, yet in reality they are lies.  The father of all lies is Satan, there is no truth in him.

John 8:44

“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

Satan will deceive many with all power, signs, and lying wonders, with all unrighteous deception, because they did not receive the love of the truth.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-10

“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

Satan deceives, he is the great deceiver and liar, the father of all lies and deception.  Those of the world are under the sway of Satan, he is their father, scripture tells us these things.  For we have one father (spiritually speaking), either Satan or God Almighty, we cannot have them both!

This is why it is so difficult for those of the world to believe the truth, because their father is the devil!  They are under his control, being led to believe lies and deceptions, to believe untruths!

So does this then mean that there is no hope for unbelievers?  No!  Of course not, otherwise none of us would be saved!  However, it does take an act of God for their eyes to see, their ears to hear, and their hearts to be softened enough for them to see the truth and to believe, yet it is still their choice to make.

We can warn the world about coming disaster, we can show them bible prophecy which has been already been fulfilled, bible prophecy which is now being fulfilled, and bible prophecy which is yet to be fulfilled, yet if they are not ready to hear then they will not believe!

And if you tell people about the truth and they are not yet ready to hear, then you might as well be talking to a rock!  However, it is not for us to make people believe, but to merely plant a seed.  It is God’s job to crush that rock, to make it ready for planting, to make things grow from it.  If we plant the truth into someones mind, then perhaps at some point in time they will refer back to what you have told them, and just maybe they will reflect upon it when the time comes.

What we need to do is pray for the lost, pray for the good Lord to open their eyes and ears, to soften their hearts in order for them to be able to receive and accept the truth!  The soil will not bear any life if it is not ready, when it is full of thistles and thorns, when it is rock hard.  It must first be prepped, it must be made ready to accept what it has been given.  I am in no way stating that a person must clean up their life before accepting Christ, not at all, but they must be ready to see and hear the truth, they must have a heart that is willing to accept the truth!

We don’t always know when and if a person is ready to hear the truth, this is why prayer is so very important.  We must pray for unbelievers to see and hear the truth, we must pray for their hearts to be softened to the point of accepting the truth, and we must pray for the unbelievers to accept the truth!  I know that God will not force anyone to believe, yet perhaps He will persuade them to believe.

We cannot make anyone believe the truth, we can pray for them, and we can plant seeds.  We can show them the right way, we ourselves can be an example of what is righteous and holy.  Unfortunately we know that not all will accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, that there will be many who will never inherit eternal life.  The path to destruction is wide and there are many roads, yet the path to righteousness and eternal life is narrow, and there are few who will follow it.

Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.“

Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior!

God bless my friends!  Maranatha!

11 thoughts on “What will it take for an Unbeliever to Believe?!”

  1. ERRONEOUS BELIEF IS NOT A VALIDATION OF TRUTH STEVE FINNELL
    The sinner’s prayer is an erroneous belief.

    “Heavenly Father, have mercy on me, a sinner. I believe in you and that your word is true. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that he died on the cross so that I may now have forgiveness for my sins and eternal life. I know that without you in my heart my life is meaningless.

    I believe in my heart that you, Lord God, raised Him from the dead. Please Jesus forgive me, for every sin I have ever committed or done in my heart, please Lord Jesus forgive me and come into my heart as my personal Lord and Savior today. I need you to be my Father and my friend.

    I give you my life and ask you to take full control from this moment on; I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ.”

    There is no Scripture that confirms the sinner’s prayer as fact. The proof-texts given are 1 John 1:5-10 and Luke 18:9-14.

    1 John 1:5-10…..9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness……. (NASB)

    In 1 John 1:5-10, John was addressing Christians, he was not talking to sinners outside of the body of Christ. Non-Christians need to meet God’s terms for pardon in order to have their sins forgiven.

    Luke 18:9-14…..14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”……(NASB)

    Jesus was talking to a Jewish Pharisee and a Jewish tax collector. The tax collector said a prayer of humility and Jesus said he went to his house justified. The Pharisee nor the tax collector prayed in the name of Jesus. The tax collector was not added to the body of Christ by saying a prayer of humility. Jesus had not died nor had He been resurrected from the dead. The new covenant was not in effect. Men need to follow God’s terms for pardon to have sins forgiven under the new covenant.

    No matter how sincere or honest a person is erroneous doctrine cannot save them.

    GOD’S TERMS FOR PARDON.
    1. FAITH: John 3:16
    2. REPENTANCE: Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19
    3. CONFESSION: Romans 10:9
    4. IMMERSION IN WATER: Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, Acts 22:16, John 3:5, Romans 6:3-7, Colossians 2:11-13, Galatians 3:26-27, Ephesians 5:25-27, Titus 3:5, Acts 8:35-38

    Humility and prayer is the avenue to the truth.

  2. Steve Finnell I’m really not quite sure why you want to argue about someone believing that Jesus Christ is God, that He died on a cross, was buried for three days, arose from the dead and ascended into heaven. And if you repent of your sins and believe, then you will be saved. What is unholy, unrighteous, or untrue about that?!

    Of course Jesus was not crucified yet when he spoke to the Pharisees, however Jesus also said:

    John 3:14-18
    “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

    18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

    So of course those who were alive while Jesus was teaching this did not have to believe that He died on the cross and arose from the dead because it didn’t happen yet. So yes, the new covenant was in effect.

    What about the man on the cross next to Jesus? He believed in Jesus as God and was saved, yet he was not baptized in water, was he?

    A person must believe in their heart what I have written and accept Christ as their Savior. Water baptism is not needed to be saved, it is a physical act of obedience which in turn represents a spiritual act of baptism in the Holy Spirit once we are saved.

    God bless!

  6. Reblogged this on Watchman and commented:
    God is calling all to Repentance and Salvation
    DO you know Jesus ??
    Are you saved ??
    Give your life to Jesus now tomorrow may be too late
    God Bless Maranatha Speed The Day…

  7. Hi… What will happen to special needs people that don’t really grasp what you are trying to tell them? It’s not their fault they were born with special needs.

  8. Thanks for your question Rayblog!

    That is a very good question. God Almighty is a fair and just God, He is loving, kind, and merciful, He is love. With that being said, I don’t believe that God would send a person to Hell if they were never in the right mind to make an honest decision regarding their eternal destiny.

    The same goes for small children, and although the bible doesn’t come out and say it, I do not believe that small children would go to Hell before they have the ability to understand and make an honest decision either. So what is the right mind, and when is the age of understanding? I don’t know, but I am more than certain God has it all figured out.

    God bless! Maranatha!

  9. Thanks…. It bothers me because I have a special needs child and he battles even with the concept of death/heaven. He’s 13. Please keep me in your prayers, the thought of the future and end times scares me . I have asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior and been baptised but I always feel that I am not good enough etc to go when He comes back, I don’t want to feel that way, I want to know in my heart for sure and for my family. Thanks for your blog

  10. Thanks for your comment Rayblog!

    I truly believe that the good Lord will take your child to Heaven if he or she is unable to understand the concept. Seek the Lord, ask Him to give you further understanding, clarification, and peace of mind.

    Do not fear what is coming in the future, as believers we are not saved for God’s wrath but for salvation through Jesus Christ! Stay focused on God, on Heaven and the things of the spirit. We are not given a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind!

    I know how you feel about not being good enough, none of us are, I often feel the same way. Actually, the stronger that I become in the Lord, the more my faith increases, the more I feel this way. As long as you have repented of your sins in your heart and have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior then you are a child of God! You have been sealed until the day of redemption, the day Jesus Christ descends from Heaven to take us home!

    The closer we get to God the more we can see the sin in our lives, and the more it bothers us, this is how it should be. It was the same way for the apostle Paul, he even said that the things he does not will to do he does.

    Romans 7:15-20
    “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”

    The apostle Paul loved the Lord, he was saved, and yet he still wrestled with the flesh, we all do. It’s the sin of the flesh that causes us to do what we do not will to do. It’s a battle that we face everyday, a battle that we have already won through Jesus Christ who took all of our sins upon Himself, He paid the price for us so that we wouldn’t have to, that’s the whole message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Does this mean that we go on sinning, no, not purposely committing ourselves to sin, however, we will slip up, we will still sin at times.

    We shouldn’t beat ourselves up over it, but confess and repent to God, ask Him to forgive us and move on. We are sealed servants of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ, it’s a process. And that process will not be complete until the day of our glorification, the day Jesus comes to take us home and gives us a new immortal body, a body not of the flesh, a body like His.

    Feeling unworthy should make us seek God’s will for us, it should make us repentant, and it should make us want to do the will of God in our lives. Remember, no one is perfect, no not one, we have all sinned and we will all at times sin. Yet, God loves us so much that He still saved us, and once we are saved we are His forever, no one nor anything can snatch us out of His mighty hands!

    Nothing we do can save us, only Jesus Christ can do that, nothing we do can unsave us either! It’s not what we do, it’s what God has already done for us! This should make us love God even more!

    I hope this helps! Read this post that I wrote in July, it should also help (Saved by the Grace of God, Kept Saved by the Grace of God!).

    God bless my friend! You and yours are in my prayers. Maranatha!

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