There Is No Believing Without Some Doubting

                                             When The Door Slams

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."                                                                    Mark 11:22-25 NIV  

            In the Scriptures....we find a realistic yet healthy view of doubt as definitely serious but not terminal. Understood properly, this biblical view sees the role of doubt as constructive to belief. "I believe in doubt" is, therefore, far more than a roundabout way of saying that there is not believing without doubting so that "even in doubting, I believe." 

            A bold Christian affirmation is that, because faith in Christ is true and fears no question or challenge, doubt can be a stepping stone to a tougher, deeper faith. In this sense, as George MacDonald asserted, doubts are ""messengers of the Living One to the honest."

            Followers of Christ are not simply fair-weather believers. They are realistically committed to truth, people who "think in believing and believe in thinking" as Augustine expressed it. They are, therefore, like experienced pilots who can fly in bad weather as easily as in good, by night as well as by day, and upside down as well as right side up. 

            Faith's rainy days will come and go and dark nights of the soul may threaten to overwhelm, but safe flying is possible for those who have a solid grasp of the instruments (God's truth and promises) and a canny realism about the storm and stress of doubt.

            Think about this: It has been my privilege to talk to hundreds of individuals who have experienced different kinds of doubt and differing levels of pain and confusion. No one who understands the pain and perils of doubt can be thoughtless about it. Loss of trust in God is truly life's ultimate loss. But such is the nature of faith in God through Christ, affirmed by countless Christians throughout history, that there can be a constructive side of doubt. 

            True, there is no believing without some doubting. But since belief strengthens as the Christian understands and resolves doubt, we can say that, if we doubt in believing, we nevertheless also believe in doubting. 

Affirmation: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understand; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones (Proverbs 3:5-8 NIV).  

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.  

                                                    Never Rest Ministries 

                       

                   

The Gospel Is Not Theology. It Is A Person.

                                              When The Door Slams

But to each one us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people. (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.        Ephesians 4:7-13 NIV  

            For the New Testament Christians, witness was not a sales pitch. They simply shared, each in his own way, what they had received. Theirs was not a formally prepared, carefully worked-out presentation with a gimmick to manipulate conversation, and a "closer" for an on the-spot decision...but the spontaneous, effervescent enthusiasm of those who had met the most fascinating Person who ever lived.

            The gospel is not theology. It's a Person. Theology doesn't save. Jesus Christ saves. The first-century disciples were totally involved with a Person. They were followers of Jesus. They were learners of Jesus. They were committed to Jesus. They were filled with Jesus. 

            They had encountered Jesus Christ and simply could not be concealed. They witnessed not because they had to, but because they could not help it. The simplest Christian does it effortlessly when he tells a friend what Christ means to him. "When the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will be my witnesses...." (Acts 1:8 NIV).  

            Think about this: But you, dear friends, must build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith, learning to pray in the power and strength of the Holy Sprit. Stay always within the boundaries where God's love can reach and bless you. 

            Wait patiently for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy is going to give you. Try to help those who argue against you. Be merciful to those who doubt. Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, Help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren't pulled along into their sins. Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners (Jude 20-23 TLB). 

            Affirmation: And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey Christ's commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave lives in us (1 John 3:23-24 NLT).

Ask the Holy Spirit to search you heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.

                                                Never Rest Ministries