Unbelief
There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12 NKJV).
Unbelief was problematic in the early church and continues as a subtle presence today. What I have found is that our first thoughts toward any situation deserves examination.
My experience with unbelief is that I have it. Unbelief is not my close companion, but the more I dig, the more Holy Spirit reveals it’s still there. I wish there was a switch so I could turn it off. But I haven’t found one.
The line between faith and unbelief is undeniable, but may not always be easy to identify. When we have allowed our thinking to align with unbelief for any period of time, our perceptions change.
Perceptions are connected with our experience, which makes it even more difficult to identify or change. We form habits where we want things a certain way, and it becomes normal to us. There is no substitute for using God’s word as the basis for taking every thought captive.
I have found that God’s word gives us the answer to identifying unbelief. As when Jesus rebuked His disciples for having it in Mark 16:14:
Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
If unbelief was a demonic stronghold, then Jesus would have cast out their unbelief, and all born again believers would have authority over it. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The next scripture proclaims our God given authority:
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you (Luke 10:19 NKJV).
This verse and others address our authority in Christ Jesus, but unbelief and a hard heart are our choice.
Yet, you may cite as an argument Mark 9:29, where Jesus said to His disciples after they were unable to cast out the demon from the boy that “this kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” But He was talking about their unbelief, not the type of demon they were dealing with. This is what I refer to as deep seated unbelief. And Jesus said, “…this kind only comes out by prayer and fasting.”
Prayer and fasting change us. But how many of us are serious enough to simply obey the word of the Lord?
Some of our choices are difficult to master. Some want our life in Christ Jesus to be void of any personal responsibility and choose to rely on chance. But Holy Spirit provides us all we need to overcome.
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NKJV).
What if we have been spiritually adrift and skeptical toward our redemption? I think part of the global awakening that is taking place now, are the saints realizing there must be more, and going for it.
Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: "How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you? (Joshua 18:3 NKJV).
The Promised Land was occupied by an enemy. But in the name of Jesus, we now have authority to overcome.
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37 NKJV).
Let me say it another way: If deliverance from unbelief falls into Christ’s atonement, then why did He rebuke His disciples for having it? In Matthews account of the demonized boy, Jesus said: “Because of your unbelief.” (Matthew 17:20).
Our nemesis (unbelief) is a choice that forms an idea. Ideas are conceived in our imagination. What we conceive becomes law in our minds. It is then much easier to bring every thought captive, before conception takes place.
When we hear truth and fail to plant it in our heart, it is our own failure that hinders the “full corn in the ear”(completeness - Mark 4:28). Many times we run with fragments of blessings but fail to acquire completeness. Settling for less than what Jesus obtained for us is unbelief.
In the past I viewed unbelief as a stronghold that was from the devil. Placing blame on the devil for believing a lie will not fix anything. In the New Testament we have a choice and not a predisposition. I am aware of satan’s influence, but the devil does not have power to make us believe anything. And the Lord does not force us into His grace but is patient and kind toward His children. (For further evidence of unbelief as a choice see also Mark 6:6 and Romans 3:3.)
Unbelief has been normalized more than we think. How thoughts are interpreted is how we establish core beliefs. Unbelief does not reside in our born-again Spirit and is in radical opposition to our obedience to Christ.
…and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2Corinthians 10:5 NKJV).
When we renew our minds to God’s word, the space occupied by unbelief is replaced by truth. Victory takes place in our heart as we bring ourselves into agreement with Holy Spirit. The problem is taking seriously what we have heard and read in the Scriptures - and maintaining what we have learned.
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does (James 1:25 NKJV).
We have the capacity to believe and harbor unbelief simultaneously and not realize the damage we perpetuate. It’s not until we compare our new life in Christ to what we are experiencing that reveals the problem. James 1:6-8 helps us see how we allow error to thrive:
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
In conclusion: If you can live with unbelief, you will. But your life will most likely resemble a lost person, where sickness, depression, and lack are normalized. The gift of Holy Spirit makes us more than able. As Jesus is, so are we in this world (I John 4:17). Jesus was not sick. He had no unbelief. He was not lacking in any good thing. And He did what He saw the Father doing. In other words, as the Father demonstrated to His Son the normal of the kingdom, He has done the same for us.
Our failure to experience what Jesus taught is an embedded system of wrong thinking (unbelief). Faith in Jesus sees the answer, because His grace has provided it. He loves each of us whether we attain to this standard of a renewed mind or not. But why not press into our new life in Him?
Many modern churches fail to address unbelief and have become presumptive and dull of hearing, teaching pop culture as doctrine. Leaders cite excuses for unbelief, and skillfully craft psychological reasons, but are unwilling to speak the truth of God’s word. As Jesus said many times, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”.
The remedy and power to overcome unbelief is simple, but we are not. Renew your mind to His truth being greater, and bring every thought of skepticism (unbelief) into captivity to His word.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it (Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV).
My prayer is that everyone would walk in the life that Jesus purchased and that we would see His kingdom come “on earth as it is in heaven.” Amen.
© 2025 Mark Rossback