My name is Sarah, I have been working behind the scenes to build the Three in the Fire website. This week I have to opportunity to fill in for Pat in writing about how the believer should respond to doubts about their salvation. As you read, I would love for you to comment your thoughts on and experiences with doubt.
How should the believer respond to doubt? This is a question that many Christians struggle with. They fear they are not actually saved, despite having received the Lord’s saving grace from God our Savior. In a survey conducted by the Barna Group, 66% of Christians surveyed said they had at some point in their lives struggled with doubt concerning their faith (Barna,2017). So, if you fall into that group, you are not alone.
When we think about how the believer should respond to doubt, we should first look at the core cause of doubt. Doubting one’s salvation is a gospel problem. It is the result of not believing some truth about God fully. Knowing the core of doubt to be unbelief, there is, then, a very clear answer to how we should address it. Simply put, we should counter this unbelief with belief. Scripture provides an example of this in Mark 9:17-24:
17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
This man had some faith that Jesus could heal his son, we see that just in the fact that he brought his son to Jesus. But he also had some doubt about it, we see that by him saying to Jesus, “if you can do anything…”. That “if” shows his doubt, and Jesus calls him out on it, telling him that “All things are possible for one who believes”. The man does not respond with a list of reasons that Jesus shouldn’t be able to save his son, he does not say, “but Lord, my sins are too great for you” or, “my problems are more than you can handle”. He responds humbly, “I believe; help my unbelief!”. This is how we should also respond, “Lord, I believe. Help me to believe fully.”
So, what does replacing unbelief with belief look like practically? First, you need to make sure you have a right understanding of the gospel. Many people begin to doubt their salvation because they believe their sin is too great for Jesus to cover or that they have not done enough good to outweigh the bad. To believe these things is to believe a false gospel. Salvation comes through faith alone, by grace alone, in Christ alone. Understanding this is vital to understanding the gospel. We cannot do anything to earn salvation, all we can do is to put our faith in Jesus’ sacrifice that is sufficient to cover even the grossest sin and to reconcile us to himself.
Furthermore, we should battle doubt with learning more about the character of God. As you learn of his omnipotence, his grace, his mercy, and his perfect justice you will begin to believe that he is able to do what he says he will do—he is able to save.
In Ephesians 6, Paul speaks of the powers of darkness that seek to devour the believer. This is a reality that the Christian must take note of and be prepared to face. We have an enemy that would love nothing more than for you to give in to that doubt and to sink further into your unbelief, but Paul gives us a plan for being equipped to fight. We are to put on the whole armor of God so that we may put out the flaming darts that the evil one (Ephesians 6:10-20). As we practice putting on the armor of God and practice the spiritual disciplines (scripture intake, prayer, fasting and scripture memorization to list a few), we will grow deeper in our knowledge and belief of him thereby warding off doubt.
What, then, is the church’s role in responding to doubt? The church has two vital roles here. One would be to provide the community needed to carry out all of the practical steps mentioned above. These should be done in the context of community for purposes of accountability and to strengthen one another in truth. The second, and more important, role of the church is to equip its members to be able to speak into the life of one dealing with doubt. Ultimately, this means making sure that its members have a clear understanding of the gospel. This will enable church members to carry out the first role mentioned.
To the Christian struggling with doubt, I say, humble yourself and pray the words of the father of the boy in Mark 9, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.”
Barna.(2017). Two-Thirds of Christians Face Doubt. Retrieved from https://www.barna.com/research/two-thirds-christians-face-doubt/