Unbelief Is Sin!

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Acts 16: 22-34; Jn 16: 5-11

Today’s Gospel equates unbelief with sin. How does John’s Gospel unfold Jesus’ statement? 

John’s Gospel underlines unbelief as sin at least for four reasons. 

1. Unbelief is sin because it rejects God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. The rejection of God’s revelation amounts to a betrayal of or rebellion against God. John wants us to understand that unbelief is not merely an intellectual doubt but a moral or spiritual rejection of God’s self-revelation in Jesus. 

2. Unbelief is sin because it rejects God’s love. Jesus’ incarnation is God’s loving initiative. If the incarnation of Jesus stands as a symbol of God’s love, faith is the appropriate response to it. If Jesus came representing God’s love, rejecting him means rejecting the God who sent him. Thus, unbelief is the refusal of God’s love. 

3. Unbelief is sin because it fails God through a deliberate choice of darkness over light. For John, unbelief is not merely ignorance of God but friendship with the devil. This is why he writes, ‘Light came into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil’ (Jn 3:19). The love for darkness and unbelief in Jesus go hand in hand. 

4. Unbelief is sin because it refuses communion with God. Faith means relationship with Jesus, which is foundational to our relationship with God. Not having faith in Jesus means walking away from such a personal communion with Jesus and, ultimately, with God. Thus, unbelief leads to spiritual isolation.

While Jesus affirms that unbelief is sin, he underlines the role of the Spirit, whose central mission is not just condemnation but leading people to repentance and life. Thus, Jesus values honest struggle in our spiritual journey and sends us the Holy Spirit to aid our discernment. 

Let us pray that we may ever mature in our spiritual journey.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar