Doubts About God. Can They Ever Be Good?
It can be expressed with these two phrases one might hear from doubters.
Good doubt may sound like this. “I need to know more. I want to understand who God is and why he is trustworthy.”
Bad doubt may sound like this. “Hey, who knows right? Live and let live. We’ll find out who is right or wrong eventually anyhow when we all gather at the big party in the sky.”
For a long time, I’ve felt that Thomas has gotten a bad rap. Remember him? Doubting Thomas? He’s the disciple who was out somewhere when the resurrected Christ appeared to the others.
“Hey, Tom! You really missed it. He’s back—Jesus. And He was here just a few hours ago—Where were you?”
“I was out. Just out. Walking. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do.”
His friends were obviously excited about something. Maybe one of them said, “That empty tomb Peter and John saw on Sunday—this is why. Jesus is really alive! We’ve seen Him!”
Thomas wasn’t one to buy into someone else’s excitement. Still hurting over the loss of one he had committed his life to, he said, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
That’s pretty strong wording. Thomas said he would have to poke his finger into the holes made by the nails of the crucifixion. Maybe that was hyperbole. But we forget how confused and discouraged all of the disciples were. But Thomas was the realist in the crowd. It was only Thomas who heard what Jesus clearly had told them on their way to the Passover feast, just a week before. Jesus had said to them that he would be betrayed and killed. All the others were expecting Jesus to use this huge gathering to announce his earthly kingdom and to lead a revolt that would push the occupying Roman army out of Israel. Some of them were jockeying for position in this new kingdom. Most of the disciples were not ready for God’s unexpected plan.
But Thomas was. His take on it? He was ready for the worst. Before they came to Jerusalem, he had said, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” You’ve got to give him credit for faithfulness. For him, it wasn’t about a place in the inner circle or getting a high office in the kingdom. For Thomas it was about Jesus.
The honesty of doubt, good doubt, in contrast to smoke-screen or bad doubt, is what will build a person up. Lee Strobel wrote of that. A Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and an atheist, Strobel started his investigation of Christianity to disprove it. As the evidence for the validity of faith began to mount, he experienced the natural reaction of trying to avoid God’s claims on his life. He clung to arguments that he knew were weak, just to avoid the consequences of admitting that God is real. He knew that his life would have to change. However, the tough-minded pursuit of truth that made him a good journalist compelled him to confront his intellectual dishonesty, and he became not only a Christian, but also one of the major defenders of Christian belief in our time.
Thomas struggled with that too. Do you see the profound insight of his wording: “I will not believe.” He did not say, “can’t believe”; he said, “won’t believe.” There is an act of the will involved. Honest good doubt seeks truth, not convenience or a way to continue in a given lifestyle. Some people are more interested in saving face than honestly considering faith.
Good or Honest doubt matters. So does the point-of-decision principle. An old story has a college freshman challenging the professor, “How do you know that I exist?” Perhaps the student expected a discussion of a universal life force and the illusory nature of our perception of individual existence and human will. Instead, the prof answered, “Who, may I ask, is speaking?” The evidence of the student’s existence was overwhelming. Yes, you can always come up with some argument, but sooner or later, you must choose. To continue putting off choice is itself a powerful choice, perhaps a deadly choice. For the enquiring mind, there never will be a point when all questions have been answered as simply and clearly as a high school math problem. Faith must take priority.
Some years ago, when I was struggling with a career change, a friend introduced a new phrase to me: “Eventually, you just have to pull the trigger.” Quite a picture: a small action performed with full knowledge that something big and consequential will follow. There comes a time when the weight of evidence demands a verdict. So it is with Christ. Healthy good doubt moves toward a goal; it doesn’t drift. It seeks truth, not excuses.
It is God who says “Come now, let us reason together.” (Isaiah 1:18). God also says, “You will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). I would encourage you to seek where answers are likely to be found: at a Bible-teaching church. For a safe, friendly place to investigate the claims of God’s word, visit us at First Baptist Church.
For more information, we suggest the book mentioned above. You can purchase it here on Amazon or listen to the audio book here on YouTube.
3 Reasons Christ’s Resurrection is so Important.
“…how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen.” Paul then goes on to describe the negative consequences of an Easter that is only about eggs, bunnies, and candy. He describes what life would be like without the truth and reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Let’s remember the following 3 realities of a universe and life without the resurrection of Jesus Christ. These can be found in 1 Corinthians 15.
- Without the resurrection of Jesus, there is no forgiveness of sin.The purpose of Jesus’ sacrificial death was to provide a completely holy substitute for our sinful failures. God requires the punishment of death for the forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9). No mere human can provide a sufficient sacrifice before God for the sins of others, because each person must die for his or her own sin. However, Jesus, as God and man miraculously combined, could live a completely holy life and thus provide a perfect sacrifice for the sin of mankind through the shedding of His blood and His death on the cross. Romans 1:4 says that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” If Jesus didn’t rise, He was not the Son of God, and thus His death was simply the death of another good man. If He is still dead, then He died for only His own sin but not ours. If this is the case and there is no resurrection of Christ, then we are left surrounded by, captive to, and dominated by our sinful desires and deeds. We are left in our struggle to live with our own guilt and to die condemned by our sin.
- Without the resurrection of Jesus, our faith is worthless. Our belief in hope, a brighter tomorrow, that God is somehow working all things for good, that death is not the end, and that all wrongs will be made right would all be in vain without the resurrection of Jesus. There would be no reason to hope. We might die in the next moments, and then what? There would be no belief in eternal life, including eternal reward or eternal punishment. If our faith is worthless, there is no hope, no joy, no peace. If our faith is worthless, we should, “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” (That advice may initially sound good to some until you combine it, for all humanity, with the next point that there is no real right and wrong without the resurrection.) If our faith is worthless and there are no moral absolutes, and if others’ merriment includes your detriment, then the world becomes a horrible place. If our faith is worthless, we are, as Paul describes, a most miserable humanity.
- Without the resurrection of Jesus, the Bible is a lie and there is no ultimate truth for life, living, and death.Paul says that if the resurrection didn’t happen, then truths about God, the Bible, and good versus evil all fall apart. If the resurrection didn’t happen, those who believe the Bible and teach it to others are liars. God, if he exists at all, would be a liar. There would be no bedrock truth for humanity. If there is no bedrock truth, then there is no right and wrong and no true justice for the hurts done to us or those we love. Every person could do that which is right in his own mind. If there is no resurrection, we cannot provide answers for why bad things happen to good people. We cannot teach our children not to kill, steal, lie, etc., nor expect that others should not sin in those ways toward us. ISIS isn’t wrong in their efforts, serial killers aren’t really wrong, corporate greed is fine, and the list could go on to include every horrific crime or sin we could imagine. Without the resurrection, man is left alone in his quest to determine his own way, and there is no direction.
Certainly there will always be those who deny and mock the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We do not have to look far or type too many letters into Google to find them and their arguments. However, we must consider the far-reaching implications of their beliefs and decide for ourselves.
If you are a believer, as you consider Easter this year, don’t underestimate the power of the resurrection or fail to celebrate it. Share the good news of the Gospel confidently, because Jesus did rise and conquer death! Our sins can be forgiven. We can have a relationship with God. We can believe that the Bible is true and an unfailing guide for life and the future.
https://answersingenesis.org/jesus-christ/resurrection/did-the-resurrection-really-happen/
The Case for the Resurrection – Lee Strobel. An investigative reporter studies the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
15 Life-Altering Results of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
1. We know that the sharing of the Gospel is not in vain, because it is true and truly effective for all who accept it.
2. We know that our reliance and confidence in Christ for salvation from hell is not in vain.
3. We know that we do not have to live a miserable life, even in the face of bleak circumstance and trials.
4. We know that the results of Adam’s sin, such as evil, sickness, hurt, and harm, are only temporal; and the end for those who have a relationship with Jesus Christ is always victorious.
5. We know we are legally justified before the Judge of the Heavens and Earth.
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