Doubt, The Unpardonable Sin

Zacharias and Mary's contrasting responses to the angel Gabriel reveal profound spiritual truths about the consequences of doubt versus the rewards of faith.

• Zacharias doubts Gabriel's announcement that his elderly wife will bear a son, resulting in him being struck mute until the prophecy is fulfilled
• Mary responds to Gabriel's virgin birth announcement with faithful acceptance: "Be it unto me according to thy word"
• Without faith it is impossible to please God, as Scripture repeatedly demonstrates
• Doubt led to Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden and the Israelites perishing in the wilderness despite witnessing miracles
• The Canaanite woman demonstrates extraordinary faith despite being an outsider, earning Jesus's praise: "O woman, great is thy faith"
• Faith leads to blessing, peace and divine favor while doubt results in spiritual hardship
• Christ's sacrifice on the cross is God's ultimate demonstration of love, requiring our faithful acceptance

Today is the day of the Lord's favor and repentance. Do not underestimate the power of the blood of Christ. Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life.

Chapters

• 0:00 Faith vs. Doubt Introduction
• 5:40 Zacharias Doubts Gabriel's Message
• 10:31 Hard Hearts and Abraham's Faith
• 15:54 Consequences of Doubt Throughout Scripture
• 17:40 Mary's Faith Response to Gabriel
• 21:28 The Canaanite Woman's Great Faith
• 24:14 Faith's Power and Christ's Redemption

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:06

In this passage, the Bible reveals profound insights into the stark contrast between doubt and faith and their consequences. We'll look at the different responses between Zacharias and Mary's reaction to Gabriel, the archangel, and his announcement of their miraculous childbearing both that they are both about to experience. A quick spoiler alert Gabriel, the Archangel, finds it necessary to remind Zacharias of his divine heavenly authority. Then Zacharias is struck mute until the prophecy is fulfilled. On the other hand, Mary responds to Gabriel's announcement with grace and eager anticipation. While faith leads to hope, peace, joy, doubt, and disbelief are characterized as unpardonable sins in rejecting God and His plan of redemption through faith, hope, and love, forgiveness and grace. There was a certain priest named Zacharias in the days of Herod, and he had a wife named Elizabeth, and they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless, and they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. Now it came to pass while he was performing his spiritual duties before God, there appeared unto Zacharias an angel of the Lord standing at the right side of the altar of incense, and Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to Zecharias, Fear not, because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife shall bear thee a son. The angel continues, and thou shalt call his name John, and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth, and he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb, and many of the children of Israel shall turn unto the Lord their God, and he shall go before his face in the spirit and the power of Elijah, and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children of Israel, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just, and to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him. Now notice Zacharias's response to the angel. And Zacharias said to the angel, Whereby shall I know this? I am an old man, and my wife is well stricken in years. And the angel, answering, said unto him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent by God to speak unto thee and to bring these good tidings. twenty and behold thou shalt be dumb and not able to speak until the day that these things shall come to pass, because you did not believe my words which shall be fulfilled in their season. And the people were waiting outside for Zecharias, and when he came out he could not speak, and he continued making signs to them, for he remained dumb. That's the King James Version, by the way. That's in Luke chapter one. What do you suppose Gabriel the Archangel thought when Zacharias doubted him? Zacharias was basically asking for a sign. The Archangel has to remind Zacharias of his divinity and authority. I am Gabriel, he said. Can't you tell I'm an angel? I stand before the presence of God. He sent me to share these wonderful news with you. There are consequences for doubting God. Trouble, hardship, sorrow, pain, hopelessness follow doubt. However, on the other hand, faith leads to hope, peace, joy that are pleasing to God, leading to righteousness. So let's re examine the words of Zacharias in verse eighteen. And Zachariah said unto the archangel, Whereby shall I know this? For I'm an old man, and my wife is well stricken in years. The appearance of the angel, just that alone must have been probably the most incredible experience Zacharias had ever had, and that alone should have been enough proof for Zacharias. Can you imagine how amazing it would be if God answered your prayers by sending an angel to deliver the answer directly to you? Why did Zacharias doubt? After all, he was speaking to an angel. It was an angel that was speaking to him. All of these wonderful things. I wonder, what could it be? Well, the Bible refers to something as a hard heart. And so what does that mean, a hard heart? You know, the disciples, Jesus often, or the gospel's always often referred to the disciple's heart as being hard. And what that meant was that um it was an expression of their lack of understanding. When we don't understand something, it's natural to feel frustrated and close up and want to shut down. Sometimes people might get angry or frustrated and tease or act proud all because they're struggling to understand. And so their hearts feel hard. Consider like a piece of fruit when it's still green and it's not quite ready, you know, like uh a peach or a a nectarine. Okay? When it is still green, it's hard and not very tasty. But once it ripens, it becomes sweet and juicy and delicious, right? It's no longer hard, it's perfectly ripe and ready to enjoy. Okay, consider um Abraham, right? Uh in the Old Testament, um all the way back in Genesis. Even though Abraham was a hundred years old, he never doubted God's promise of a son. His faith remained strong and unwavering. Instead, Abraham believed God, and his faith increased, and his faith, his belief was credited to him as righteousness, the Bible says. And at the ripe old age of one hundred years old, God blessed him with a baby boy, assuring him that nothing is impossible with God. But with Zacharias, on the other hand, Gabriel has to be reminded of who he's speaking to, or rather who's speaking to him. I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent by God to bring you this news. The consequence of doubting God's holy angel is basically calling him a liar, and calling God a liar too, because it was God that sent him, you see. So that is dangerous. So basically, Gabriel the angel is giving Zacharias what he wants a sign. Behold, you shall be dumb. It's a King James Version and unable to speak until all that I've said comes to pass. To doubt involves disbelief, to distrust, to suspect, and to criticize. That's the opposite of faith. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to God must believe that God exists and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek after him. That's in Hebrews chapter eleven verse six. For example, let's go to the garden, that's right to the beginning. Adam, Adam knew God, right? But the serpent deceived him, and he no longer trusted God. He no longer believed that God said, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Nay, ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And they believed the serpent over God. Adam and Eve basically conspired against God with Satan. In other words, they were talking behind God's back with the devil, leaving God no choice but to cast them out of the garden, where dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. In case you didn't know, Adam and Eve or they were Adam was made outside of the garden. You see, when God made Adam, then he put Adam into the garden. So God was simply putting Adam back where he originally came from. Now let's consider the wilderness. It was literally suicide for Israel to doubt God. It was God, after all, who after four hundred years of bondage freed the Israelites from the Egyptians. It was God who parted the Red Sea for them to cross on dry ground. It was God who caused the Egyptian armies to perish in the sea, right before their very eyes. The Israelites were not in a position to doubt God, especially in the desert. They had witnessed countless miracles, yet they committed spiritual suicide because of their unbelief, and they perished in the wilderness. Doubt and disbelief are unpardonable sins. It is an unpardonable thing to not believe that God loves you, that He is willing to forgive you of all of your sins. It is an unpardonable sin to reject God's love, mercy, and grace. It is an insult at the highest level to reject God through doubt and unbelief. It is spiritual suicide. Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers that ever lived, said this. He said the man who will not take God at his word, but wants something else besides the Lord's witness, not only insults God, but plays the part of an insane suicide and deserves to perish. Now let's examine Mary's response to the angel Gabriel's good tidings. Let's continue reading. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Lazarus, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, Hail Mary, thou art highly favored. The Lord is with thee. But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be, and the angel said unto her, Fear not Mary, for thou hast found favor with God, and behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and he shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this being I know not a man? And the angel answered her and said, The Holy Spirit shall come. Upon thee the power of the most high shall overshadow thee, wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God, for no word from God shall be void of power. Now listen to Mary's response to the angel, and Mary said Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed, spoken like a queen, true royal blood of the house of David. Behold the handmaid of the Lord, she said, be it unto me according to thy word, not a hint of doubt, spoken like a true child of God. When the angel said to her, Hail Mary, highly favored of the Lord, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou. She didn't doubt. She didn't question, she received it and ran with it. Mary had a beautiful faith, pleasing to God, and therefore blessed and highly favored of the Lord as a perfect example to the world. Okay, in conclusion, this is a passage of a Gentile woman with a unique and powerful faith. And Jesus went out thence and withdrew into the parts of Tyre and Sidon, and behold a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, Have mercy unto me, O Lord, thou son of David, my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I was not sent but onto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. And he answered and said, It is not meat to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. But she said, Yea, Lord, for even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from the master's table. Then Jesus answered her and said, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it done unto thee even as thou wilt, and her daughter was healed from that hour. That's Matthew chapter fifteen, verse twenty one to twenty eight. This was a Gentile woman, first of all. Not only was she a Gentile woman, but she was a Canaanite woman. The Canaanites were arch rivals of the Israelites throughout the Old Testament. The Canaanites were Baal worshippers and their God was Dagon, which involved the practice of human sacrifices. However, one of the greatest displays of faith comes from this particular Canaanite woman, face to face with Jesus. This woman loves her daughter, obviously, and knows beyond the shadow of any doubt that Jesus is the Son of God, the descendant of David, and that he is the only one who can help her daughter. She pressed in and wouldn't accept no for an answer. She fell face to the ground, worshiping Jesus and begging him, Lord, help me. And being a God of mercy that Jesus is, responded, O woman, great is thy faith. God answered her. And as the New Testament reveals, whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Here we see that the Canaanite woman and her remarkable faith in Jesus Christ did not go unrewarded. Well, this is just one of the stories from the Bible that demonstrate the power of faith in God through his Son Jesus Christ. And now contrast that with doubt and skepticism, murmuring, complaining, and so forth. Faith and belief bring blessing and peace and joy and reward, while doubt leads to sorrow and pain, resulting in hopelessness. Now, if you're at that place and you have trouble believing that God loves you, just look at the cross. Humor me for a moment. Close your eyes just for a minute. And with your mind's eye, look at the cross and see that young man fatally tormented to death on that cross, a Roman cross. That is God's Son. Taking all of your sins and my sins and every gross and shameful thing that we have ever done upon his body and mailing it to that cross. That's how much God loves you. Jesus has risen. Jesus is alive. And he is forgiving all who call upon him. Now is the day of the Lord's favor. Today is the day of repentance. Do not underestimate the power of the blood of Christ. These are the means and the methods of our salvation. This is the plan of redemption for you and me and the world. And therefore, it is an unpardonable thing to reject what God has provided through his Son, Jesus Christ. I mean his his his love, his mercy. I refer to his grace through faith. It is an insult to God at the highest level to doubt. You cut your own self off. Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me, Jesus said. If you reject his love, his mercy and grace, what hope do you have? None. That is why he said it is an unpardonable sin. That is to reject the one who got sinned. Because you doubt and harbor disbelief. When you die, how can you be forgiven then? It's too late. Because you've already chosen your path. You see, the choice is yours. It's up to you, you know.