G. Campbell Morgan had already enjoyed some success as a preacher by the time he was 19 years old. But then he was attacked by doubts about the Bible. The writings of various scientists and agnostics disturbed him. As he read their books and listened to debates, Morgan became more and more perplexed. What did he do? He cancelled all preaching engagements, put all the books in a cupboard and locked the door, and went to the bookstore and bought a new Bible. He said to himself, “I am no longer sure that this is what my father claims it to be–the Word of God. But of this I am sure. If it be the Word of God, and if I come to it with an unprejudiced and open mind, it will bring assurance to my soul of itself.” The result? “That Bible found me!” said Morgan. The new assurance in 1883 gave him the motivation for his preaching and teaching ministry. He devoted himself to the study and preaching of God’s Word.[1]
Doubt is a very common human experience. Due to times of disappointment in our lives, we tend to struggle with trusting anything. Children may develop a lack of trust in people due to the continual broken promises of their parents. In an age of fake news and A.I. we are taught to question everything.
As Christians, we are not immune from doubts. There are seasons in our lives when we may doubt God’s Word or doubt His promises. There are times when we go a long time experiencing unanswered prayers, that we may doubt all that we have come to believe and may even doubt the very existence of God. Many believers go through stages of doubting their salvation. In my experience, I have found that older saints tend to have doubts as they approach the end of this life. It should be understood that doubt is a normal part of the human experience. However, what about doubts? How do we cope with doubts? How do we overcome doubts?
In dealing with this issue of doubts, there are several questions for us to consider. The questions to address include: what does doubt do? where does doubt come from? how do I respond to doubt?
What does doubt do? In Matthew 14 we find the account of Jesus walking on the water. He calls Peter out of the boat and Peter begins to walk on the water toward Jesus. However, Peter began to look around him and saw the violence of the storm and he began to sink. Jesus came to Peter’s rescue and in verses 30- 31 we read, “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”[2] There are several things we see in this passage as to what doubts will do in our lives. First, we see that doubt causes us to be overwhelmed. Peter was fine as long as his eyes were on Jesus. However, the moment he lost his focus on Jesus and doubted that he could walk on the water, he began to sink. He was overwhelmed by the storm. When we are plagued with doubt, we tend to get overwhelmed by the struggles of life. Doubt magnifies the struggles. It makes things worse than they really are. Doubt adds stress to our already stressful lives. Secondly, doubt increases fear. When Peter saw the magnitude of the waves moving in the wind, he became very afraid. Fear set in. When we have doubt, we become fearful. We fear for our well-being. We fear for our future. We fear for our lives. We cannot escape from fear when we have doubt. Such fear paralyzes us and hinders our service for the Lord. Finally, doubt clouds our faith. Jesus said to Peter that he had little faith. When we doubt what God can do and we doubt ourselves, our faith comes into question. We begin to doubt whether or not we are truly saved. Such doubt keeps us from trusting in the Lord. Doubt can weaken our faith and lead us to trust in our own efforts rather than trusting in the Lord. Doubt confuses our minds. Such doubt that clouds our faith robs us of joy. Most miserable is the one that is plagued with doubt!
Where does doubt come from? Doubt comes from several sources. First, doubt comes from our sinful minds. Proverbs 28:26 says, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.”[3] The scripture also says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”[4]Because of our sin nature, we cannot trust ourselves. Our minds will deceive us. We may doubt God’s promises, our salvation, or even the very existence of God because of the sinfulness of our minds. Secondly, doubt comes from guilt. This is probably the greatest source of doubt. When we sin and fall short of what God intends for us to be and do, it creates a sense of guilt that could lead to doubt as we wonder about our standing with God. Years ago, there was a precious homebound lady that I visited every few weeks. She struggled with doubts in later years. As I tried to encourage her, I discovered that she did something in the past that she never got over and had never forgiven herself. She thought for sure that God no longer loved her and they she had lost her salvation. Even after much counsel and prayer, she never could get over the guilt and she struggled with doubting God’s love for her until the day she died. Such a story is worrisome. However, it also reminds us that our salvation is not based on what we feel, it is based on what Christ has done for us. It is good to know that no matter how great the doubt, our salvation is secure in Him, if we have truly believed. 1 John 3:19-20 says, “And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”[5] How encouraging that is! God is greater than our heart! He knows those who are truly His. Even if we are filled with guilt and doubt, and even if we condemn ourselves, He never condemns those who are His. Finally, asking the question where doubt comes from, we come to the consider that doubts also come both from Satan and the Holy Spirit. This a great and mysterious paradox. Genesis 3:1 says, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”[6] Notice how Satan plants seeds of doubt in Eve’s mind. He questions what God had said. The doubts that we have are often planted by Satan’s minions as we listen to the lies of the world. Satan may use a college professor or some scientist to plant doubts in our mind concerning the existence of God and our faith. However, though doubts may be planted in us by Satan for our confusion, doubts may be planted by the Holy Spirit for our good. John 16:8-11 says, “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”[7] Could it be that when one is plagued with doubts, it is actually the Holy Spirit revealing to that person that they have never been truly saved? We tend to attribute most doubts to Satan, however, some doubts could be the Holy Spirit telling you that you are not really saved. What a paradox! This brings us to the final question of how we should respond to doubts.
How do I respond to doubt? It is good to know what doubts can do and where doubts come from, however, the real crux of the matter is knowing how to respond to doubts. I believe that there are three basic ways in which we should respond to doubts. First, Read God’s Word. When you find yourself dealing with a nagging doubt concerning what you believe, look to the Bible. Search the scriptures and let the Bible be your number one source in discovering the truth. It must be understood, however, that to search the scriptures to answer doubts one may have; it is imperative to approach the scriptures with the presupposition that the Bible is indeed the inspired and infallible Word of God. If you doubt if the Bible is truly God’s Word, it may require greater historical research. However, for the average Christian, most all doubts can be satisfied by simply reading the Bible and being reassured of the truth. Second, Pray. Prayer changes things. God hears our prayers. Through prayer, our hearts can be calmed and our spirit revived. When we have doubts, we should pray over it. For example, if you are doubting your salvation you can pray something like this: “Lord, I know your Word says that ‘these things are written that I may know I have eternal life.’ Your Word also says that ‘whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ I remember a time in my life when I called upon your name. I asked for forgiveness of my sin and asked You to save me. However, I am struggling right now. I’m just not sure if I am really saved. If I am, I ask You to remove these doubts. Revive my heart and reassure me of your Word. Strengthen my faith in You and remove all doubt. However, if I am not truly saved. If my decision in the past was not sincere and I have been living a lie, I pray that you would make the doubts stronger. Let the Holy Spirit convict me and show me what to do.” I really do not think that such a prayer would be ignored by God. He wants you to know Him and He wants you to have peace in knowing Him. Finally, Get it right. When people come to me with doubts about their salvation, I take them to the eternal security verses and try to encourage them in what the Word of God says. However, I never assume they are truly saved no matter who it is. Therefore, I never end the conversation without encouraging them to just to get it right. If you are unsure of your salvation, then call on His name. Pray and let Him know you believe in Him and that you receive Him as Lord and Savior. Don’t put it off. Just get it right!
There is not a single Christian that is not prone to doubts. Doubts can creep up anytime through several different sources. However, God’s Word is always sure. It is firm. It is the truth. It will never lead you astray. Therefore, when facing doubts: read God’s Word, pray, and if the doubts remain; get it right!
[1] Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, Moody, 1984, p. 211.
[2] The New King James Version (Mt 14:30–31). (1982). Thomas Nelson.
[3] The New King James Version (Pr 28:26). (1982). Thomas Nelson.
[4] The New King James Version (Je 17:9). (1982). Thomas Nelson.
[5] The New King James Version (1 Jn 3:19–20). (1982). Thomas Nelson.
[6] The New King James Version (Ge 3:1). (1982). Thomas Nelson.
[7] The New King James Version (Jn 16:8–11). (1982). Thomas Nelson.
Pastor Chris Noland 