Grace of God Series (Part 10)
The Importance of Doubting Our Doubts - John 20:19-23

The following statements were taken from official documents, newspapers,
or magazines widely read in their day:
· 1840: Anyone traveling at the speed of 30 mph would surely suffocate
· 1878: electric lights are unworthy of serious attention
· 1901: No possible combination can be united into a practical machine by
which men shall fly

These were men and women who had doubt, expressed it, and later had to
"eat their words."

When we think of ‘doubt’ in connection with the Bible, we nearly always
think of it as negative...there are warnings which ought to raise ‘red
flags:’
· Genesis 3:1: "Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the
field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has
God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?""

· Romans 14:23: "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his
eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin."

· James 1:5-8: "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to
him. {6} But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who
doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. {7} For
let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, {8}
being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

I heard this statement several years ago that has stayed with me: "He
who has never really doubted has never really be-lieved." Doubt causes
us to ask questions and get answers...it helps us analyze possible
error...it is the capacity to question a proposition as long as we think
that more "light on the subject" can be shed

No faith is perfect. Because of the nature of belief, there can be no
absolute certainty. This is troubling to some. This can cause us to
question their standing with God:
· "Am I really a Christian?"
· "Am I saved, are all my sins forgiven?"
· "Does the Lord really love me?"
· "Can I count on Him to provide?"

Doubt can be like fear. Because of our humanity and the nature of faith,
we cannot eliminate it from our lives. What we can do is make our faith
greater than our doubt. We must accept doubt's presence and live despite
it.

We look at two cases of doubt in the New Testament. One is the ten
disciples and the other is Thomas.

THE DOUBTS OF THE TEN APOSTLES
John 20:19-23: "When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day
of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for
fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them,
"Peace be with you." {20} And when He had said this, He showed them both
His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw
the Lord. {21} Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be with you; as
the Father has sent Me, I also send you." {22} And when He had said this,
He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. {23}
"If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if
you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.""

These men are a picture of ignorance and unbelief. It is easy to fault
them. They had lived the Jesus for over three years. He had repeatedly
told them of His death and resurrection. Even His enemies knew of His
teaching.

It is easy to be judgmental on this side of the cross. Do any of us think
we would have been different from them? Is this a pic-ture of us today?

The disciples were meeting behind locked doors (note plural). They were
afraid, huddled together out of their fear. They ex-pected any movement
or noise to be the temple guards coming to arrest them for stealing the
body of Jesus. They were afraid because they would not accept the reality
of the resurrection.

Peter Marshall described the church as being deep sea divers, equipped to
descend many fathoms into the deep yet boldly going forth to pull plugs
from bathtubs.

Perhaps the greatest hindrance to the church today is its fear:
· We fear failure. We do not plan for more than we can do because we are
afraid we will fail.
· We fear the world and its opinion.
1 John 2:15-17: "Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If
anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. {16} For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes
and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the
world. {17} And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the
one who does the will of God abides forever."

· 1 John 4:4: "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them;
because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world."

Perhaps we fear the world because we love it too much and do not want to
lose it. This is why the study of Revelation is so vital. The world is
not our friend but is made up of our enemies. The devil, the government,
the "cult" made up of the media and higher education. John described the
world as the harlot riding on the beast in Revelation 7:3.

Jesus gave them evidence to believe in His resurrection He assured them
He was no ghost. He asked for something to eat and ate in their
presence. He showed them His hands and side.

Always take adavantage of every opportunity to resolve doubt. Doubt can
be like cancer. We can pretend it is not there until it kills us.

HELP FOR OVERCOMING DOUBT
Jesus brought peace to their troubled hearts. We can only imagine the
disciples' emotions. They were afraid...They were dis-turbed. What they
heard and seen was contrary to all their experience. Dead people do not
rise from the grave. They were ashamed. They had deserted the Lord in the
hour of trial. They had broken their word to Him: Matthew 26:35: "Peter
said^ to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You." All
the disciples said the same thing too."

We must never underestimate the importance of peace in our hearts. Peace
is Jesus' legacy to us. In the world we see trouble, in Jesus is peace.

John 14:27: ""Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the
world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it
be fearful."

John 16:33: ""These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have
peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have
overcome the world.""

He gave them a mission. "As the Father has sent me..." This was a
permanent commission from the Father to Jesus. He intends for us to carry
on what He started. There is no way we can claim to follow Jesus and be
His church if we are not continually carrying out the commission the
Father gave the Lord.

Acts 1:1-2: "The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that
Jesus began to do and teach, {2} until the day when He was taken up,
after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had
chosen."

Acts 10:38: ""You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with
the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and
healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him."

He gave them power. This is one of the most difficult passages about the
Holy Spirit. No matter how we believe the Holy Spirit dwells in the
Christian, we must see He provides us with purpose and power:
· Put to death the deeds of the body Romans 8:14.
· Be led by the Holy Spirit Romans 8:15.
· We are to be filled with the Spirit Ephesians 5:18-19.

Doubt comes when we see our efforts, resources and abilities unequal to
our tasks.

THE DOUBTS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
Matthew 11:1-6: "And it came about that when Jesus had finished giving
instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and
preach in their cities. {2} Now when John in prison heard of the works of
Christ, he sent word by his disciples, {3} and said to Him, "Are You the
Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?" {4} And Jesus answered
and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: {5} the
BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the
deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL
PREACHED TO THEM. {6} "And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over
Me.""

He put His doubts into words...he brought them out into the open. He sent
directly to Jesus for the answer...He never allowed his doubts to lead
him to think that he should renounce the testimony which resulted in his
imprisonment.

THE DOUBTS OF THOMAS
It is a mistake to characterize him as "Doubting Thomas." Thomas was a
practical man. John 14:5, "We don't know where you are going, so how can
we know the way?." He was among Jesus' most devoted disciples: John
11:16: "Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow
disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him.""

If we are going to call him "doubting Thomas" we also should speak of
"doubting Peter", "doubting John", etc.

Thomas only asked for evidence to believe. He was no different than were
the ten a week before. A doubter is one who sees the evidence and still
doubts. Thomas only asked for the evidence the others saw. He was of a
nature that he would not be oth-erwise persuaded.

Jesus provided him the same evidence He gave the ten. Once again, the
solution to living with doubt is to face the evidence. The lesson of the
centuries is that Christianity has faced it critics and the preponderance
of evidence is always in favor of Christianity.

Our faith is based upon three things:
1. Fact: The fact of His resurrection
2. Demonstrated performance: The change in thousands of sinners who have
placed their faith in Christ
3. The testimony of thousands of Christians: Anyone who stops to think
can easily see that the sturdiest faith has always come out of the
struggle with doubt

"No man really possesses the kind of faith which pleases God until He has
foughtt for it."

Thomas' confession
We have to admire Thomas' honesty. When he saw the evidence, he did not
hesitate to believe.
· "My Lord" Thomas no longer mattered to Thomas. Jesus was Lord
· "My God" When he came to believe in the resurrection, he saw the Jesus
was God in the flesh.

CONCLUSION
Hebrews 11:3: "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by
the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which
are visible."

Hebrews 11:6: "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he
who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
those who seek Him."

Jesus does not demand blind faith. He expects us to search. "Blessed are
those who believe and have not seen..." Thomas saw the risen Lord but
could have received a greater blessing.

Last modified: April 18, 2006