20 October, 2009

Why Doesn’t Everyone Believe In Jesus?

This seems a very reasonable question to ask. After all if Jesus can save us from sin and death, why do many not accept him? Some people have not heard about Jesus, of course, so they can’t be expected to believe in him. However, there are many people who have heard about Jesus but still do not believe. This should come as no surprise, for the Bible makes it clear that even when Jesus was on earth, teaching and performing many miracles, only a minority of people in Israel believed on him.


Rejected!

On one occasion, after the miraculous feeding of 5000 men, as well as women and children, when Jesus was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum we are told that: “From that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more” (John 6:66). Their only recorded explanation was: “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” (6:60). This teaches us that whilst Jesus’ message of life should appeal to men and women, there are times when people do not find it attractive. Or they find it too hard to understand or to accept. Jesus’ message is demanding and challenging; it is not an easy option. On one occasion he said this: “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).


Cast Out

On another occasion we learn that “even among the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42.43). These were people who actually believed in Jesus but would not make an open commitment because they were concerned about what others would think about them. So we see that people would not follow Jesus’ teaching even when they knew it to be true. The reason, essentially, was that those people did not want to accept the commitment required of those that would be Jesus’ disciples.


The question we have to ask of ourselves is ‘Are we willing to make a personal commitment to Jesus?’ Or do we make the excuse that because others did not commit themselves to Jesus, we will not either?


~Bro. Peter Forbes, Glad Tidings

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1 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

1cor2:14 and Romans 8:5-9 explain why sinners cannot believe unless God enables them to.

July 26, 2018 4:35 PM  

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