Doubt - Is That Bad?
“…pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (1 Timothy 6:11-12; Titus 2:13)
To be honest, I sometimes doubt the gospel. And by gospel I mean the biblical good news that after I die, at some point Jesus will return to resurrect me to immortal, eternal life.
To be honest, I sometimes doubt the gospel. And by gospel I mean the biblical good news that after I die, at some point Jesus will return to resurrect me to immortal, eternal life.
Is that bad?
No, just common sense working in me questioning something that I have never personally seen. That is, I have never seen someone who has died and was later brought back to immortal, never ending life. Jesus is the only person who has done so according to the bible and that occurred 2000 years ago and he is no longer physically present to prove to us he is alive, or immortal.
“…our Lord Jesus Christ…who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.” (1 Timothy 6:14-16)
Honesty in our thinking about life, death, and the hereafter is lacking among Christianity for the most part. It is almost as if Christians think that if they ever doubt or question the good news, that doubt might cause it to be untrue.
But the God of the Bible, the one I have chosen to trust knows what is inside my mind and hidden from the view of others, so I might as well be honest. In my later years I have become convinced it is OK with God to confess my doubts from time to time. I suspect it helps those who have had the same doubts feel better, even if they will not express those thoughts for fear of offending, or disappointing others. Feeling better is good, and knowing there are others with faith in God that have doubts can make us feel better.
Faith is not what saves us, faith is simply believing something that we “hope” is true, thus giving us joy. I hope that Jesus will return and resurrect me and my friends and family. If we are to be saved from death by the resurrection then it will have to literally happen…so until then, I “fight the good fight of faith, take hold of eternal life”, and enjoy that “blessed hope”.
The whole world is groaning, unaware of why, but they are groaning for the good news. They want to feel better about life...and death. To often they get condemnation from Christianity, but "hope" in the good news is what will make them feel better.
“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” (Romans 8:22-25)
No, just common sense working in me questioning something that I have never personally seen. That is, I have never seen someone who has died and was later brought back to immortal, never ending life. Jesus is the only person who has done so according to the bible and that occurred 2000 years ago and he is no longer physically present to prove to us he is alive, or immortal.
“…our Lord Jesus Christ…who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.” (1 Timothy 6:14-16)
Honesty in our thinking about life, death, and the hereafter is lacking among Christianity for the most part. It is almost as if Christians think that if they ever doubt or question the good news, that doubt might cause it to be untrue.
But the God of the Bible, the one I have chosen to trust knows what is inside my mind and hidden from the view of others, so I might as well be honest. In my later years I have become convinced it is OK with God to confess my doubts from time to time. I suspect it helps those who have had the same doubts feel better, even if they will not express those thoughts for fear of offending, or disappointing others. Feeling better is good, and knowing there are others with faith in God that have doubts can make us feel better.
Faith is not what saves us, faith is simply believing something that we “hope” is true, thus giving us joy. I hope that Jesus will return and resurrect me and my friends and family. If we are to be saved from death by the resurrection then it will have to literally happen…so until then, I “fight the good fight of faith, take hold of eternal life”, and enjoy that “blessed hope”.
The whole world is groaning, unaware of why, but they are groaning for the good news. They want to feel better about life...and death. To often they get condemnation from Christianity, but "hope" in the good news is what will make them feel better.
“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” (Romans 8:22-25)