No Doubt About It.. It Is OK To Have Doubts

I attend Journey Christian Church and this week we began a series Called "Christianity In Doubt." It is dealing with spiritual questions and doubts people (saved and unsaved) may have from time to time. I am sure there are a good number of unsaved people who are still unsaved because they doubt Jesus is who He said He was. However, I would think most doubting comes from the born again. Actually, there are only 2 kinds of doubters, honest ones and dishonest ones. You may ask what is the difference between the two. An honest doubter doesn't know, but he wants to know so he makes an honest investigation to find out and get clarity. A dishonest doubter doesn't know and doesn't want to know for fear that he won't like what he finds out. He can't find God the way a thief can't find a policeman.

I'd like to first address the honest doubter who is a believer. It is ok to doubt. In fact, doubt is a backwards affirmation of faith because we only doubt that which we believe. The Epistle of 1 John is a good book to read if you are having some doubts. The word "know" is mentioned 40 times in this epistle. There are other areas in the bible that are good to read to strengthen your faith as well. Personally, reading about those in the bible who doubted and how they overcame that doubt is an encouragement to me. Think of "Doubting Thomas" who was unsure it was Jesus he was speaking to and told Jesus that if he could see the nail prints in his hand then he would believe. Think of Peter. who when Satan wanted to sift him as wheat had Jesus to pray for him that his "faith fail not".

I'd like to now address the honest doubter who is not a believer. If you are uncertain about God, Jesus, christianity, etc. I would suggest taking an honest approach to find out. I would suggest doing the following: pray to God a prayer something like this, "God, I don't know if you exist and I don't know if the bible is your word or not, but I want to know. And because I want to know I will make an honest investigation and I will be open to what I discover." After saying that prayer, I would suggest reading 1 chapter a day from the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John was written so you might believe that Jesus is the Christ. After reading a chapter, close with another short prayer which might be something like this, "God, I have begun to read the bible in an attempt to find out if you are real or not. If you are real, I ask that you speak to me so that I may know the truth for myself." Then, much like what is written on the instruction label of a shampoo bottle, repeat if necessary. I believe with every chapter read and honest prayer made to God, that God will become real to you.

To the Dishonest Doubter, there is no point in even wasting time addressing you. If through creation and concious you still insist there is no God or that Jesus is a fraud, then all I can do is shake the cyber dust off of my keyboard as I write this. Also, like Jesus told Peter in John 13:36, "where I am going, you can not follow." (the rest of the verse Jesus told Peter he could follow him later, just not now.)

Now for a little Q&A. I will address some of the "doubting questions" that were brought up in the message this week.

Is God so narrow minded that Jesus is the only way to heaven?

Two points come to mind. The passage in Matthew 7:14 "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it." Jesus himself said in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". Think about it for a minute. Do you really think that if there was some other way, God would have let His son die a horrible death on the cross? Jesus confirms in Matthew 26:39 while in the Garden of Gethsemane when he says "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." Jesus had 1 main purpose in coming to the earth and it is found in Luke 19:10 "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost".

How can a loving God send someone to Hell?

Yes, God is loving but He is also Holy, Righteous and Just. Sin has to be paid for. Jesus paid that sin debt. The only way for us to have our sin debt paid is to trust in Jesus' death as sufficient payment for that sin. The bible says in Romans 6:23 " The wages of sin is death." If we do not allow Jesus to pay for our sins by His blood, then we are left to pay for them ourselves. The only way we can pay for them is to die, not physically, but spiritually. The result is eternal seperation from God in Hell.

What about people in third world countries who never heard?
See my previous post on this topic. Creation and Conscience are enough to make someone responsible for pursuing God. Romans 1:20 says " ... so that they are without excuse".

One other note, I don't think it is a wise idea to dwell on doubting a whole lot. I fear that doing so could lead to unneccessary doubting and confusion, but this is just my personal opinion. Instead of planting seeds of doubt, I believe the focus should be on all the scriptures which talk about assurance. Instead of focusing on Doubt, we should focus on faith and hope. Hope in the bible is not wishing. It is bed rock assurance based on the promises of God. Jesus is referred to as the Blessed Hope and that does not mean the Blessed Maybe.

In doing a little research on this, I ran across a web site called "Skepticsannotatedbible.com". You want to avoid this. From what little bit I read, the publisher of this bible is a dishonest doubter and it's blasphemy to even call it a "bible"