Disbelief vs. Unbelief
John 3:9 – “Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?”
Never in the workings of man or the miracles of God has there been a phenomenon as miraculous as the new birth! Upon hearing, first, of its necessity; and second, of its inability to be explained, Nicodemus answers with this logical question: “How can these things be?” At this point, Nicodemus is struggling with doubt. He is having trouble believing. It appears that Nicodemus desires to believe, but is having some difficulty. The problem with Nicodemus is disbelief, not unbelief. Disbelief, or doubt, is a struggling attempt to believe while falling short of believing; unbelief, on the other hand, is an outright refusal to believe. It is unbelief that damns the soul. Often, the Holy Ghost will deal with the doubting, disbelieving soul. It is the soul tainted with unbelief that insults a holy God. I love what Henry Drummond states concerning doubt and unbelief in his sermon Dealing with Doubt –
“Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is ‘CAN’T BELIEVE;’ unbelief is ‘WON’T BELIEVE.’ Doubt is honesty; unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is content with darkness.”*
Nicodemus is questioning Christ by asking, “How can these things be?” Is Nicodemus in a state of disbelief; or is Nicodemus in a repulsive condition of unbelief?
In our Bible, we have a story where two Bible characters questioned an angel by asking the same question Nicodemus asked – “How can these things be?” One Bible character was answered respectfully; the other was punished for questioning the angel, who proclaimed the word of God. The story to which I allude is found in the first chapter of Luke. The angel Gabriel appears first to Zacharias in the temple. Gabriel tells Zacharias that he and his wife Elisabeth would bear a son in their old age. Let us look at the response of Zacharias:
Luke 1:18 – “And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.”
Plainly, Zacharias responded to Gabriel by questioning him. Now, let us look at the next verse to see what happens next.
Luke 1:19, 20 – “And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.”
Zacharias was punished for questioning Gabriel with the words, “Whereby shall I know this?” He was to be dumb until the child was born.
In the same chapter, we are told that Gabriel, the same angel that visited Zacharias, visited Mary. Gabriel tells Mary that she would conceive and bring forth a son. There was only one problem – Mary was a virgin. Let us look at Mary’s response:
Luke 1:34 – “Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”
Mary questions Gabriel, just as Zacharias questioned Gabriel. Mary, however, was not punished for questioning the angel, as Zacharias was. In the next verse, we find that Gabriel simply answers Mary’s question respectfully. There is no sign of rebuke in Gabriel’s response to Mary’s questioning.
Luke 1:35 – “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
The question now looming is this: “Why was Zacharias punished for questioning Gabriel, while Mary was not punished for questioning the same angel?” The answer is this: The all-seeing eye of Almighty God can see further than just the question; He can see the spirit behind the question. He knows if your question to Him is one of disbelief or one of unbelief. He knows whether you CAN’T BELIEVE, or WON’T BELIEVE. Mary was asking a sincere question, while Zacharias thought the angel’s proclamation laughable. Mary was trying to believe; Zacharias wouldn’t believe.
When Nicodemus asked Christ how these things could be, it was a sincere question, as Nicodemus was earnestly seeking Christ. We have already seen that Nicodemus was so hungry for God that he approached Christ at night. He could not wait until dawn; he had to be satisfied NOW! Anyone questioning the Lord from the depths of a hungry heart will find that Christ will continue to deal with them. And that is exactly what Christ did – He continued to deal with Nicodemus.
SO WE CONTINUE…
*Drummond, Henry. Dealing with Doubt. Taken from Classic Sermons on Faith and Doubt by Warren W. Wiersbe. Kregal Publications. ©1985.
