The Sin of Skepticism
John 3:36- “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
A comparison of the translations shows clearly that the phrase “he that believeth not the Son” of the King James Version is deficient. The English Standard Version reflects the force of the Greek word APEITHEO, “not persuaded, disobedient.” Verse 36 is a commentary on the meaning of John 3:16. To believe in the Son means to obey his teachings. Men do not obey because they are not persuaded.
Why do children disobey their parents? They do not obey because their parents have not persuaded them that the consequences of disobedience will be unacceptable. When a parent disciplines his child, the child learns that it is better to listen and obey his parents, than to ignore and disobey them. Many children never learn, and they become unruly adults. They may call themselves “agnostics.” They are just “skeptics” who for various reasons refuse to submit to the will of their God. The disobedience of agnostics or skeptics will bring on them the wrath of God.
Paul and Barnabas had great success in the cities of Antioch in Pisidia and Iconium. In the first city, when the Jews saw the crowds who came out to hear the Gospel, “they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.” (Acts 13:45) In Iconium again “a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.” (14:1-3) The word “unbelieving” is APEITHEO in the Greek language as in John 3:36. It was not that they could not be convinced by the powerful message preached or the signs that confirmed God’s words, they were rebellious, disobedient and refused to be persuaded. They defied God in heaven who had sent his messengers the apostles. Skepticism is not noble, nor is it intelligent. It is stubborn and rebellious in the same way as the disobedience of a stubborn child who refuses to submit to his father’s discipline.
On another journey, Paul with Silas and Timothy entered a synagogue in Thessalonica where they reasoned with the Jews for three Sabbath days. “And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.” (Acts 17:1-9) Obviously those who were persuaded turned from their former way of living and thinking, repenting of those things and doing those things that the Gospel of Jesus Christ demanded. However, jealousy is a terrible thing. It causes some people to become avowed skeptics who refuse to submit to the orders of their Father in heaven. With that decision, they often become enemies of those who join themselves to the Lord. They become hostile and violent, even liars, in their quest to punish those who do what they ought to do. They are not noble philosophers. They despise wisdom and the blessings of God.
The great work of evangelism is the work of persuasion. In Acts 19:8-9, “for three months (Paul) spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.” Paul persuaded them about the “kingdom of God” which speaks of God’s rule and authority as carried out through Jesus Christ the King. That teaching is called “the Way” because the Gospel is fundamentally a new way of thinking and living which gives life. One could not miss the parallel between this work and the work of John the Baptist at the beginning crying out that all men should repent. That exactly is what Paul said in Acts 17:30 to the philosophers in Athens. God calls all men everywhere to repent because there will be a judgment day when the risen Jesus will judge all men for what they have done in the flesh on this earth. Here again, the phrase “continued in unbelief” is from the Greek EPEITHOUN, otherwise translated “disobeyed” because the problem is that they could have been persuaded but to the contrary, they rebelled. They showed their evil in the ungodly way they behaved, “speaking evil of the Way.”
In his letter to the Romans, Paul explains, “He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking] and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.” (Romans 2:6-11) The Greek words for obey in this verse is APEITHOUSI and PEITHOUMENOIS, again they are forms of the same word, “persuade” or obey because one is persuaded, as in John 3:36. Paul explains that the rebellious Jews were “self-seeking,” and as a result they did not obey the truth, but obeyed unrighteousness. The word “truth” (aman) in the Old Testament Scriptures was the root of faith and faithfulness (emunah), loyalty to God in both word and deed. God promised the righteous prophet Habakkuk (2:4) he would live, along with the other righteous Israelites, because of his faithfulness. Romans 1:16-17 builds the theme of Romans on that foundation. The skepticism of the Jews condemned them to the wrath of God because they would not obey the Gospel of Jesus. They would not do the good that Jesus demanded in his teachings.
That same indictment occurs in Romans 10 with the same contrast that is found in John 3:36. Paul writes, “But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” (Romans 10:21) It is APEITHOUNTA, a form of the word “persuade,” because they were disobedient out of a contrary will. Earlier in verse 9, he wrote, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” They refused to pledge loyalty to the risen Christ or to even believe that God had obviously raised him from the dead. In Romans 15:30-31, Paul pleads for prayers to deliver him from the “unbelievers in Judea” for the sake of his work. The word is the same as the “disobedient” of chapter 10.
The Book of Hebrews addresses these same issues arguing from the ancient history of Israel. When the nation escaped slavery in Egypt and became a new nation under God’s guiding and protecting hand, the first generation failed a critical test and perished in the Sinai desert. “For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3:16-19) As in John 3:36, belief is equated with obedience, because unbelief is equated with disobedience. The two Greek words are APEITHESASIN and APISTIAN. The belief of John 3:16 (and through the Gospel) is not a thought, or knowledge, or a mystical state of mind, but a behavior that results from hearing and obeying the voice of our God without question or rebellion. Hebrews 11:31 presents the same contrast between Rahab and the people of Jericho who perished.
Let’s consider one more example of the New Testament use of this word. The Apostle Peter spoke of the rebellion of the skeptical Jews in his first letter. In 1 Peter 2:7, he is discussing the prophecy of Isaiah 28:16 that he linked to the beautiful and popular Psalm 118:22-24 about the chosen corner stone that was rejected by the builders. Let’s pick up with 1 Peter 2:4, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” In verse 6, “believes in him” is the Greek word PISTEUON for believe, and again in verse 7 those who are honored are “you who believe” PISTEUOUSIN (the believing ones), but “those who do not believe,” first APISTOUSIN (to unbelieving ones), and then in verse 8 “they disobey the word” from APEITHOUNTES (disobey because they are not persuaded). In 1 Peter 3:1, the unbelieving husband is APEITHOUSIN, “do not obey the word.” In 1 Peter 3:20 Jesus, through the Holy Spirit that inspired the preaching of Noah, condemned that world because they “did not obey” (APEITHESASIN- the unpersuaded ones who did not obey). Finally, in 1 Peter 4:17 the apostle speaks of the judgment that begin with the household of God but clearly extends to “those who do not obey the Gospel of God.” (TON APEITHOUNTON- the disobeying ones, those not persuaded to obey)
Conclusion
The sin of skepticism is not just the philosophical or mystical inability to believe that certain things are true, such as that Jesus is the Son of God or that the Bible is the Word of God. In practical terms, the Gospel says the sin of skepticism is disobedience to God our Creator and Judge. He sits on His throne and sees us and watches every move, every thought, every motive, every sinful rebellious thing that we do. It matters very little what excuses humans might invent to make it look good.
By the same token, if you think that your correct belief or trust that Jesus is Lord will in some way exempt you from God’s judgment of every human being, you are badly mistaken about what saves us from the wrath to come. If we do not listen to, learn and put into practice the teachings of Christ, there is no life in us. We remain dead, dead in our sins, because there is no forgiveness offered to those who do not or will not repent of their sins, deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. We must learn to think like Him and live like Him. We must walk in the light as He is in the light, 1 John 1:7-10, and go to him in prayer confessing our sins when we falter. That, my friends, is the belief in Jesus that will save us. We have been warned. May God help us to open our eyes and ears and heed what He says.
Terry Partain (11/16/2019)