Rejection and Unbelief
Is the world smarter than God? Is religion only for the feeble? Modern humanity likes to think that it is too enlightened to believe in things like the deity of Christ, bodily resurrection, divine judgment and the sinfulness of humanity. As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out from Acts 4:11–12 in the sermon “Rejection and Unbelief,” they claim that no one can possibly believe in these things and claim to be rational, sane, or educated. They believe Christianity is nonsense. But, according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, those who know and believe in the Scriptures should not be surprised when they hear these objections because the apostles heard the same objections two thousand years ago. The Jews rejected the idea of a crucified messiah, and the Greeks found the cross to be utter and complete foolishness. The objections to the gospel today are really no different from those of the ancients. The modern human is not nearly as progressive and innovative in their rejection of Christian truth as they would like to be. Both the ancient and modern person rejects the gospel for the same fundamental reason: unbelief. They are hardened and calloused in their sinful rebellion against God their creator. They scoff at the idea that they must be saved from the wrath of God that is coming on account of their sins, because they do not believe in sin. This is the heart of unbelief.
