The worst sin the Bible speaks of is unbelief. Unbelief is the sin of sins and able to be practiced by anyone. It is a heinous offense to God. Unbelief denies God’s goodness, which is essential to God’s very being, and makes him out to be a liar. Moreover, it is the gateway to all other sins that ultimately lead to destruction.
In today’s passage, unbelief is in full display in the form of pragmatism. After the demons entered the pigs and drowned in the lake, the people from the city and country’s focus were not on Jesus as Lord and Savior. Rather, they became fearful of Christ and still hung onto their unbelief and love for the things of this world. In other words, their eyes could not see Christ’s lordship and their need for repentance and forgiveness as the highest priority. In the same manner, the demon-possessed was set free, they failed to realize their need to be set free from sin; most importantly, their sin of unbelief.
In Christ, our minds are set free as the demon-possessed man came to be in his right mind. Every Christian has been saved from their unbelief and made into a new creation in Christ through salvation, which includes the renewed spirit of their minds. But in the case of the people there, they did not respond in repentance and faith, but rather great fear. In their fear, they asked Jesus to leave (v 37). Even though Jesus brought safety to the region by setting the demon-possessed free, they see Jesus as a greater threat than the man.
What caused this great fear in the people of the territory of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region? They did not want to be near Jesus’ holiness. They would rather be in the presence of Satan than Christ; darkness rather than light. Their sins were exposed, and did they want deliverance? No, they wanted a reason to be as far away as possible from God’s holiness.
Scripture is clear that non-Christians live in unbelief. However, Christians must also be on the alert when they’re not growing in personal holiness. Christians can also practice unbelief in this manner. The only difference between Christians are unbelievers is they have a second chance because they are under grace. Other aspects of unbelief remain the same. Even though Christians possess the Spirit, and have the Word of God, they are still susceptible to taking advantage of the Lord’s grace by love sin rather than holiness. What secures the Christian is the love of Christ that is eternal and perfect.
Loving Jesus is important in the face of unbelief because without it we distance ourselves from him. Do you love Jesus? If so, you are practicing saving faith. If not, you are living a life of unbelief resulting in unrighteousness.
How can unbelievers kill off unbelief? The only way to be saved from unbelief is to see the Bible as the actual word of God. Continuing to fight to see Jesus in the Word is the path that leads to salvation. Jesus is the Word (Jn. 1:1). As Christians, we must draw near and abide by God’s word to grow in our love for Christ as we wrestle with it. Christ will help us win over unbelief as well as all other fights as the omnipotent and omniscient Lord.
BIBLE COMMUNITY CHURCH 
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