If you are driving down the highway and you see a big yellow sign that shows that there is a very sharp corner coming up, what should you do? The normal response would be to reduce your speed and prepare for the turn, right? You may not even see the turn yet when you first see the sign, but because it is there you begin to decelerate your vehicle.
But what would happen if someone didn’t believe that sign? What if instead of slowing down and preparing for the corner ahead they chose to continue to maintain their current speed? What do you think would happen? They would likely drive off the road and get seriously injured, or possibly killed. The sign was put there to warn you about the danger that could happen if you didn’t slow down. It is up to that person to either believe what the sign says or not.
What is often written on the sides of many styrofoam cups that you get coffee in? “Caution: contents hot.” The company puts this on their cups to warn people to be careful so that they don’t hurt themselves (and then go and sue the company). Someone could say, “Ah, it’s not that hot” and then try to pour the cup down their throat but they would be burned by the hot coffee. The warning is there to “warn” you. Whether someone believes it or not is up to them.
The word believe means to “accept the word or evidence of; to accept something as true, genuine, or real.” Therefore, unbelief is the exact opposite. To not accept something as true, genuine, or real.
We also have warnings in the scriptures. Over and over we are warned to keep ourselves away from sin. We are told to not lie, covet, blaspheme, etc. We are told not to do these things because they are sinful, and we are warned what will happen if we continue to sin.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The wages of sin is death. Death is the result of sin. It is cause and effect. When you take a pin and press it into a balloon, what happens? The balloon pops. When you strike a match and hold it to some paper, what happens? The paper starts to burn. When we sin, the “effect” is death. It is the punishment that someone will receive for not listening to the warning from God. We can be forgiven and have that sin taken away by Christ’s precious gift, but if someone doesn’t believe in Jesus and the forgiveness He offers, they will not receive forgiveness, and therefore will not receive eternal life.
We are told to walk in love, as Christ has loved us.(Ephesians 5:2) Do you believe that? Do you believe that you should love your neighbor as yourself, as Christ Himself taught? Because if someone doesn’t believe that they need to love others, then:
1 John 4:8 “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
Forgiveness is one of the greatest things that anyone can receive. Without it, we would be lost in our sins, and separated from God for eternity. And that is another warning that we have. We need to be forgiving with others, as God has been forgiving with us.(Ephesians 4:32) Do you believe that? Because if someone doesn’t, and refuses to, then they need to read what Jesus Himself said in Matthew 6.
Matthew 6:14-15 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
This is a huge warning, because if someone is going to deny someone forgiveness, then really what they are doing is denying themselves the opportunity to be forgiven. Do yourself a favor: forgive others.
Do you believe? Do you believe that every word in the Bible is the inspired Word of God? The warnings inside are for us so that we do what is right. It is up to you to believe them.
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 