Doubt need not necessarily lead to unbelief, but can be a stimulus to faith in God’s truth.
"Doubt is probably a permanent feature of the Christian life. It's like some kind of spiritual growing pain. Sometimes, it recedes into the background; at other times it comes to the fore, making its presence felt with a vengence." (Alister McGrath)
"I have found that petty disappointments tend to accumulate over time, undermining my faith with a lava flow of doubt." (Phillip Yancey)
“Then He (Jesus) said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’” (John 20:27)
The Knowledge Nugget: A number of years ago there was a television comedy entitled “Perfect Stangers.” Larry and his Russian cousin Balki were always getting into trouble. On one show, Balki, who always seemed to struggle with how to say something in his new language of English, had to admit that he was greatly mistaken about a situation. He said, “Larry, I’m so sorry. I know now that I was misconceived!” Is it not the case that our ideas are often misconceived? We find ourselves sometimes believing what we should not believe (I call this “misbelief”) and at other times not believing what we should believe (this would be “unbelief”). And frequently we struggle in that twilight zone between genuine faith and real unbelief, becoming dominated by doubt. One of my favorite characters in Scripture has unfortunately been misnamed. I am speaking of “Doubting Thomas.” This is the disciple in John 20 who refused to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead and needed to be convinced by a personal resurrection appearance of the Lord Himself. In his book In Two Minds (originally entitled Doubt), Os Guinness says that to believe is to be “in one mind” about accepting something as true; to disbelieve is to be “in one mind” about rejecting it. To doubt is to waver between the two, to believe and disbelieve at once and so be “in two minds.” When we look at “Doubting Thomas” in John 20, we see that he was not bound by doubt, but by adamant unbelief. He declares to the disciples who are proclaiming “Christ is risen!”, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” (verse 25). Please notice that Thomas does not simply demand a personal resurrection appearance of the Lord. He insists on a virtual autopsy. (By the way, the word “autopsy” comes from two words: one meaning “self” and the other meaning “to see”!). Thomas may have been using the language of exaggeration (hyperbole) when he insists on putting his finger where the nails were and putting his hand into Christ’s side, but he is clearly saying, “I will by no means believe He has risen from the dead!” (the emphasis of the Greek words). I think we should rename him “Adamantly Unbelieving Thomas.” Thomas’ demand is met by the Lord, and this unbelieving disciple falls at the risen Lord’s feet, declaring Jesus to be “my Lord and my God!” (verse 28). He is rebuked by Jesus not for demanding evidence for the resurrection, but for insisting on more evidence than he needed (verse 29).
Real Life Says . . . A revolution has taken place in our culture. For many people, belief and facts do not need to have anything to do with one another. Misbelief is considered an “alternative viewpoint.” Unbelief is admired by many as “independent thinking.” And doubt seems to be the highest virtue of some in academic circles. Christian theology teaches that God has made His truth clear in the Bible. And there are good reasons to respond to God’s truth by belief, rather than by unbelief or doubt. Doubt could be a positive step toward genuine belief, if the evidence is examined and one responds to the truth.
But, Lord . . . “Lord, I really want to affirm Your truth. Forgive me when I choose to believe me, or my culture, instead of You! Please continue Your work in me in making me a man of faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
To Ponder . . . “If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things,” said Descartes. Is this Christian advice? Click Here To order a copy of DocDevos
