Doubt, in and of itself, is not really a bad thing. When we leave the house and doubt that we really turned off the stove and we go back in to find that the stove was still on, this kind of doubt helps us check ourselves. But, when we constantly doubt everything we do or thought we did, this can cause many issues in our lives. When we get into a constant pattern of doubt, it affects our relationships. It can affect our daily relationships in the earthly realm, and it can affect our spiritual relationship with God and the Trinity.
The one thing we seem to doubt in our relationship with God is our salvation; our assurance of eternal life. Charles Ryrie, in his book Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth, has this to say about assurance; “Assurance is the realization that one possesses eternal life. Lack of assurance often brings unnecessary but terrible trauma to a person’s life.”[1]
Occasionally the believer experiences doubt about their salvation because they are experiencing guilt over their sin. Either they have done something so traumatic in their past that they cannot forgive themselves for, and therefore feel there is no way God can forgive them either, or they have a sin they still struggle with daily. Scripture tells us that there is no sin God cannot forgive, except for one. In Matthew 12:31 and 32 Jesus tells us; 31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.[2]
God knew we would struggle with our sin and our sin nature, so He tells us in His word that the sins of the believer will be forgiven. This means the past, present, and future sins. However, the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit carries so much weight that it can never be forgiven: why? It is the opinion of this writer that the answer is so simple it is often overlooked. When we blaspheme the Holy Spirit, we essentially deny Him residence in our heart. If we do not allow Him to reside in us, then salvation never occurs. If salvation never occurs, then Scripture clearly says we can never enter His kingdom. Again, Jesus tells us in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”[3] Yes, through Jesus we are saved, but the Holy Spirit leads us to Him.
Again, Ryrie reminds us; “The normal Christian experience never includes sinlessness, for “we all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2). This never excuses sin, for the Christian will also grow in holiness. But the experience of sin does not forfeit salvation.”[4]
So, in conclusion, doubt can be healthy. It helps us check ourselves, but we should never wallow in doubt because this can cause our personal, as well as our spiritual relationships to be strained. I do believe that we should share our doubts with our Christian accountability partners so they can help us get over the hump. We should also share them with God. When we share them with God we can gain confidence, through His word, that we should have assurance in His ability to forgive.
Lastly, the Church should be well equipped to deal with those who are experiencing doubt that constantly torments the believer. This can be achieved through individual counseling, referred counseling, or simply investing time in one another to help provide assurance to one another. Doubt is real and it is also one of Satan’s favorite tools. After all this was the tactic used in the garden when he tempted Adam and Eve with the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree that God said they should not eat of or they would surely die by saying; “You will not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4).
Satan still tries to push doubt today.
[1] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 380.
[2] The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 12:31–32.
[3] The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Jn 14:6.
[4] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 380.