There are two kinds of unbelief. There is the kind of unb elief that is based on a lack of k n ow l edge. The bible says, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 Those who have not heard cannot have knowledge, therefore they cannot believe. Many don’t believe in spiritual things because they don’t know what the word of God teaches on the subject. For example, a great number are ignorant about the infilling of the Holy Spirit simply because they don’t know the word. The cure for this kind of unbelief of course is knowledge of God’s word.
The other kind of unbelief is mentioned in Hebrew 4:6 “They to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief.” This statement is referring to the children of Israel. They couldn’t plead innocence due to ignorance. Because God had told them to go in and posses the land of Canaan, they had even sent spies into Canaan. And the spies had returned with the report that it was a land flowing with milk and honey just as God had said. So, you could say they did not enter in because of disobedience, they were not persuadable. Hebrew 4:11 warns “Let us labor therefor to enter that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”
The children of Israel knew what God said but they could not be persuaded to act upon it. They were guilty of not being able to be persuaded, which the bible calls unbelief. They had the knowledge but could not be persuaded to act on that knowledge. They were unwilling to allow the word of God to govern them.
The is much of this kind of unbelief among Christians today. An unwillingness to allow the word of God to govern their lives. Many of us know what the word teaches but refuse to act on the knowledge we possess. “Let us labor therefor to enter that rest, lest any fall after the same example of unbelief ” is still applicable today!
