11 Characteristics Of An Unbeliever To Help You Spot Them

How do you know when someone is an unbeliever and what are the characteristics of an unbeliever? This is a question you may be having in your mind.

If you are such a person, then this article is the answer you need to answer your question you have concerning unbelievers or Christ rejecters.

There are many distinct traits a person will portray if that person is a nonbeliever and this post will discuss 11 of these major characteristics of an unbeliever that will help you identify them.

What Is An Unbeliever?

According to the bible, an unbeliever is simply a person who has rejected Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and saviour and doesn’t want anything to do with Christ.

This definition can also be extended to any person who rejects God’s love gift of eternal life found only in Jesus Christ which sadly many people do.

And Jesus warns of such people who reject Him that they will spend their eternity in hellfire prepared for the devil and his angels if they die in their unbelief (Matthews 25:46).

Can Unbelievers Be Saved?

The answer to that simple question, dear is a resounding yes. Anyone can be saved if they believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He died for our sins and was raised on the third day (Romans 10:9,10).

Anyone regardless of how deep you are in sin can call upon the name of the Lord through genuine repentance of course and be saved right now and be on their way to heaven.

If you are such a person, there is still hope for you even if you were once a true believer but backslid for one reason or the other, you can be restored today even better than you were at the beginning.

11 Characteristics Of Unbelievers.

Below are the 11 characteristics of unbelievers that will help you differentiate true Christians from nonbelievers though they both go to church every Sunday.

  • Live In Sin.
  • Don’t Believe In The Gospel.
  • Faithless.
  • Hate The Truth.
  • Fleshy In Nature.
  • Religious.
  • Graceless.
  • Unsaved.
  • Aren’t True Christians.
  • Unholy.
  • Don’t Want Anything To Do With Jesus Christ.

1. Live In Sin.

Living in sin is one of the major characteristics of an unbeliever that will notice if someone is saved by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings salvation and eternal life.

A person who is an unbeliever lives and enjoys a lifestyle of sin because they have not yet come to that saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They find sin pleasurable and enjoyable and no wonder Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that as a true believer who has been saved by grace you must not unequally yoke yourself with an unbeliever due to the bad influence they have.

If you yoke yourself with an unbeliever who has no interest in following after righteousness as a true believer who has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, it’s just a matter of time before you backslide and be like unbelievers as well.

You will also start living in sin just as unbelievers do. Since unbelievers like living in sin, it’s therefore, advised that you must not be friends with them as if you are a true believer as you can always be friends with your fellow believers in Christ.

Must Read: 13 Characteristics Of A Sinner (That Makes Sinners Who They Are.)

2. Don’t Believe In The Gospel.

Unbelievers don’t believe in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings salvation unto all sinners. The fact that unbelievers don’t believe in God’s word found in the bible is why they are unbelievers in the first place.

Instead, they find it easy to believe in the lies and fables of this world which can’t even give them eternal life their precious souls desperately need. The truth of God’s word is uncomfortable and offensive to such people

And Revelations 21:8 warns that unbelievers will spend eternity in the lake of fire along with the devil and his angels if they continue in their unbelief.

Not believing in Jesus Christ is the worst thing you can ever do to your life because when you choose not to believe in Jesus Christ and what He did for you on the cross, you are damned already (John 3:18).

So, if you are an unbeliever for one reason or the other, I plead with you to abandon your unbelief and to return to the Lord Jesus Christ before it’s too late to do so, please.

3. Faithless.

People who are nonbelievers in God’s word don’t have faith in God at all because they don’t believe in Him in the first place nor do they accept His existence (atheists). These people also lack faithfulness and integrity.

A good example of such people are atheists who deny the very existence of God which is the most foolish thing one can ever do. They are the worst fools this world has ever known just as Psalms 14:1 wonderfully puts it concerning such people.

And since faith comes by hearing God’s word according to Romans 10:17, nonbelievers like atheists can’t believe by faith that God exists as they deny the very word of God from which gives faith even to unbelievers who choose to abandon their unbelief.

To an unbeliever, faith is foolishness because faith doesn’t make sense to their carnal and fleshly mind that only minds things of the flesh.

Remember, true Christianity and salvation is based on faith and without faith, you can’t be a believer nor can you accept Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and saviour to be saved.

Must Read: 75 Christian Faith Quotes (To Strengthen You In The Lord.)

4. Hate The Truth.

Hatred for the truth and wisdom found in God’s word is among the major characteristics of unbelievers that you will notice as well.

People who don’t believe in what the bible says usually like and prefer believing the lies of the devil that appeals to their sinful flesh and detest God’s truth found in His word.

Instead, due to their deceitfulness and the unrighteousness in their evil hearts, they take pleasure in unrighteousness, falsehood and everything God’s word condemns as sin (2 Thessalonians 2:10).

To such people, the truth about their sinful lifestyle and its consequences thereof is offensive to them because of how uncomfortable it makes their sinful flesh feel.

And you see such behaviour today in many people and churches which no longer loves the truth and sound doctrine of the bible which is seen by the false teachings and doctrines such churches teach their members on the pulpit.

5. Fleshy In Nature.

Another trait you will notice in unbelievers is that they live and walk according to their sinful desires and lust of the flesh.

A person who is fleshly and carnal is simple someone who lives according to the dictates of the flesh and not the Spirit. These people do all sorts of evil fleshy things such as fornication, lying, lasciviousness etc.

The works of the flesh Galatians 5:19 talks about are fully made manifest in people who are unbelievers and have no interest in obeying the commandments of the Lord.

If you are a carnal person who walks after the sinful desires of your flesh, the Bible won’t make sense to you and will be offensive because our sinful flesh hates God’s word which is against it and loves to sin.

You need to come unto repentance dear if you are still walking after your flesh as your sinful flesh won’t profit you anything but rather just damn you in hellfire for good and it’s not too late to do so.

6. Religious.

Being religious or practising vain religion which doesn’t bring salvation and eternal life to anyone is among the major characteristics of an unbeliever that you will notice as well.

Unbelievers are religions, too if you didn’t know that and practice religion too but the thing is that their belief system isn’t based on the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 7:7-13).

No wonder there are so many false religions in this world which claim to offer the truth but when you do an internal critique of such false religions, you will discover the hidden falsehood hiding in plain sight

And Satan is using false religions and false religious belief systems of this world to deceive as many people as possible no wonder it’s never persecuted as Christianity is.

No wonder James 1:27 says that pure religion is undefiled before God by undefiled it simply means that it’s based on the truth of God’s word and not polluted with Satan’s lies and sin.

7. Graceless.

Living lives without the grace of the Lord is another characteristic trait unbelievers have and is clearly shown by the sinful lifestyle they live.

Merriam Webster dictionary defines a graceless person as an immoral and unregenerate person who is lacking the divine grace of God which is responsible for salvation.

And this is why unbelievers are immoral and graceless in the first place because God’s grace that brings salvation to all mankind hasn’t yet appeared in their lives (Titus 2:11).

A person who has no grace of the Lord to help them deny the evil lusts of this world will always live a graceless life that is full of sin and moral perversion of this present wicked world.

If you are such a person dear living a graceless and immoral life of sin, you need the grace of Jesus Christ that brings salvation before it’s too late.

8. Unsaved.

Lack of salvation which comes from believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is what makes a person an unbeliever in the first place because you can’t be saved if you don’t believe in what Christ did for you on the cross (Acts 16:31).

And since unbelievers don’t believe in the words that Jesus said in the new testament, it, therefore, follows that they aren’t saved and are without eternal life by default.

There are a lot of such people today even in the church who are not genuine saved yet all because they have not yet full believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation and pardon for their sins.

A person who is saved by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings salvation is saved because that person has believed in the name of Jesus the only name in which salvation is found (Acts 4:12).

But unbelievers are unsaved because they have not believed in the name of Jesus Christ who can save them from sin and the wrath to come at the great with throne judgment. Don’t be one of such people and die in unbelief.

Must Read: How To Be Saved According To The Bible (+ Video Sermon).

9. Aren’t True Christians.

A person who is an unbeliever doesn’t practice the real Christian faith or if that person claims to, it’s just lip service but hasn’t believed in their hearts reflected by their actions.

By definition, a true Christian is a person who lives the life of Christ and has His Holy Spirit that leads to all truth dwelling in that person. In short, a real Christian lives a life of holiness (2 Thessalonians 4:7).

Living a Christian Life is all about faith because, without it, your Christianity is dead and in vain. Though unbelievers go to church every Sunday, they are not real Christians because they haven’t yet fully accepted Christ as their person Lord and saviour.

Yes, dear, you may go to church, sing like an angel, shout Holy Spirit fire on stage or tithe in church but if you are without Christ, you are not a true believer at all and are on your way to hell.

If you are a true Christian, the life and character of Christ will be evident in your life and shine radiantly. You will also believe in whatever Christ tells you which is demonstrated by obeying and keeping His commandments.

10. Unholy.

Living a life of sin is one of the major characteristics of unbelievers as they don’t live according to the commandments of the Lord.

A life of holiness and righteousness isn’t practised by these people because they don’t believe in what the bible says. Instead, prefers to do what is right in their own eyes.

And this is evident with the kinds of sinful lifestyles they live and some of these people even claim to be Christians which is funny indeed.

This must not be a surprise because the bible warns of such people being commonplace in the last days in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 be it in church or outside the church.

If you are such a person without God’s holiness in your life, you need repentance right now and stop living in a life of sin before it’s too late.

11. Don’t Want Anything To Do With Jesus Christ.

The fact that unbelievers don’t want anything to do with Christ is the reason why there are unbelievers in the first place.

Any person who rejects our Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and saviour is an unbeliever by default and sadly most people have rejected Christ by the lives they live and by their deeds.

Sadly, many people today don’t see the need for Christ in their lives and think they are good enough by their selves.

You don’t have to be an atheist to be an unbeliever because you can still be a nonbeliever even if you go to church every Sunday.

If you don’t want anything to do with Christ now, He will also not want anything to do with you when you leave this world and cross over to eternity which will be sad indeed as He said if you deny Him no, He will deny you later (Luke 12:9).

Conclusion.

I hope the above characteristics of an unbeliever will now help you know and identify if someone is an unbeliever even if they claim otherwise.

On the other hand, if you realize after reading this post that you have been an unbeliever all this time but want to be saved, read this post on how to be truly born again in 7 simple steps.

In closing, if you found this post useful and edifying, kindly share it with others so that they can learn one or two things from it just as you have. Stay blessed.

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