You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 

Romans 11:19-20a, 23 

Even a cursory reading of scripture makes its difficult to miss the emphasis placed on faith in Christ. What God desires from His creation is our trust, devotion, and affection. God is ready to save, redeem, restore, forgive, and justify anyone willing to place his/her faith in Him. So just as faith is a constant theme throughout the Bible, so unbelief is the great disruptive force that plagues humanity and makes the blessings of God impossible to receive. Today’s passage is a reminder of the importance that faith plays in having a blessed life and how a jettison of unbelief is absolutely necessary for us to experience the love, joy, and peace that comes from knowing God.

We can trace the problem of unbelief all the way back to the nation of Israel. Consider the following passages describing this problem and the consequences that came as a result of their unbelief:

For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.

                                                                                                               Hebrews 3:16-19 

Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.

                                                                                                                           Jude 1:5 

God led these people out of Egypt. He took care of them and led them directly to the land that He had prepared for them. But the problem was that these people would not go into the land. They were intimidated by the outward circumstances and refused to act on the promise of God to deliver them. This unbelief cost them entrance into the land and an entire generation had to die before God could fulfill that promise to the next generation.

But before we jump too quickly into criticism of Israel’s unbelief, let’s consider what scripture has to say to us living today. Our very salvation from condemnation and judgment stands or falls on our faith in the Person of Jesus Christ. Consider Jesus’ words:

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

                                                                                                                 John 3:17-18 

The centerpiece for salvation is the work of Jesus on the cross. When we place our faith in Him (believing), we are saved but when we do not believe, just as the people of old forfeited their rights to the land, we forfeit our rights to salvation and eternal life. So faith is essential for salvation but it is also necessary if we are going to please God. Consider the following:

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

                                                                                                                 Hebrews 11:6 

We have to understand and believe that God rewards those who seek Him and when we come to Him, we come with that understanding (Matthew 7:7-11). Failing to do so deprives us of the possibility of pleasing God. So unbelief caused the people of Israel to forfeit their inheritance, it causes us to miss out on salvation, and it prohibits us from pleasing God. But there is still another major way in which unbelief brings negative consequences. Consider Jesus’ words regarding prayer: 

And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”

                                                                                                                 Mark 11:22-24 

When we pray, we are to have faith in God. In all things that we ask, we have to accompany those requests with faith in order to see the power of God at work in our lives. When we ask for the God-sized things, we are to ask without “doubting in our hearts,” something easier said than done. We live in a fallen world and that can play a major role in our doubting the power of God to act. But Jesus is clear and concise, “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” James echoes the same sentiment:

But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 

                                                                                                                   James 1:6-8 

Asking in faith without any doubting (unbelief) is the instruction. And when we exercise unbelief, we prove ourselves to be a double-minded (two-souled) people and those who are unstable in all of our ways. So faith is essential in our prayer life.

Faith is the theme throughout scripture. It is what separates the redeemed from the lost. Faith can move mountains while unbelief leaves us feeling powerless and disappointed. Faith is the difference between living in spiritual victory or remaining ineffective and dormant. If we are to see abundant life, we have to exercise our faith in Jesus and jettison any and all unbelief!