SERIES: “ANSWERS TO SOME OF LIFE’S DIFFICULT QUESTIONS”
TEXT: LUKE 7:18-28
TITLE: “IF I STRUGGLE WITH DOUBT, CAN I STILL BE A CHRISTIAN?”
INTRODUCTION: A. A trial attorney was defending a man charged with murder. There was strong
evidence pointing to guilt but there was no corpse. Knowing that it was his job to do
everything to hold off a jury decision of “guilty,” the defense attorney resorted to
using a trick in his closing argument.
He stood, looking as confident as he could, and said, “Ladies and gentlemen of the
jury, I have a surprise for you. Within one minute, the person presumed dead in this
case will walk into this courtroom.” The lawyer then turned and looked at the
courtroom door.
The jurors were stunned and all looked eagerly toward the door. A full minute
passed and nothing happened. Finally the lawyer said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I
apologize to you for making a false statement. However, every one of you looked on
with anticipation as you awaited the arrival of the person presumed dead in these
proceedings. Therefore, I must ask you to deliver a verdict of “not guilty” because
there was reasonable doubt in every juror’s mind as they looked at the courtroom
door. The reasonable doubt is that anyone was actually murdered.” He then sat down.
The jury, now clearly confused, retired to deliberate. Within a half-an-hour, the
jury returned to the courtroom and delivered a verdict of guilty. The defense attorney
was stunned! He couldn’t believe his ears. He stood up and asked, “How in the world
could you find this man ‘guilty?’ Every one of you looked at the door and waited for
the man presumed dead to walk into this very courtroom.” The foreman of the jury
said, “Oh, yes. Everyone of us looked. But your client didn’t.”
B. I’m sure that most of us here this morning have struggled with doubts
1. If you seriously contemplate your faith and what it means to follow Jesus Christ –
the chances are that every once in a while you’re going to come down with some
questions, some issues, some uncertainties, some doubts.
2. The struggle with doubt can either be a virus that drives us away from God or the
motivation to study the evidence more carefully which draws us closer to God.
3. The problem is that some Christians leave their doubt untreated because they don’t
want to admit they have it.
--They erroneously think that to be a real Christian, they must have absolute
certainty about everything regarding their faith, and so they’re afraid to admit it
when doubt starts eating away at them.
C. What doubts are you struggling with this morning?
1. Maybe you doubt that God has really forgiven you.
2. Or you wonder whether the Bible really is the Word of God.
3. Or you question why God lets people suffer.
4. Or you’ve been praying for help with a struggle in your life, but so far there has
been silence, and you’re wondering whether anybody’s at home in heaven, or if
there is, whether He really cares.
5. Maybe you have questions about how God created the world or even how He’ll end
it.
6. Or you’ve said to yourself, “I think I’ve become a Christian, but sometimes I’m not
sure. Maybe I wasn’t sincere enough when I was baptized.”
D. I want us to look at someone this morning that we might be surprised struggled
with doubt.
--Lk. 7:18-28 – “John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them,
he sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we
expect someone else?’ When the men came to Jesus, they said, ‘John the Baptist
sent us to you to ask, ’Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect
someone else?’ At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses
and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the
messengers, ‘Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind
receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who
does not fall away on account of me.’ After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to
speak to the crowd about John: ‘What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed
swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine
clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces.
But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written: I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you. I tell you, among those born of women there
is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater
than he.’”
1. John the Baptist is in prison for denouncing Herod Antipas’ relationship with his
own sister-in-law. Herod had seduced his own brother’s wife, divorced his own,
and lured the sister-in-law into leaving her husband and marrying him.
--Eventually, John is executed by beheading over this matter
2. While sitting in a dingy prison cell and reflecting over his life and pending death,
John struggles with doubt:
a. Why am I sitting in prison when I’ve done what God called me to do?
b. Is Jesus really the promised Messiah?
c. Have I put my faith in the wrong person?
d. Have I really done the right things?
3. In the midst of John’s doubts, Jesus encourages his faith
a. He sends John’s disciples back to him with a message of encouragement and an
admonition to faithfulness
b. He then announces to the crowd that of all human beings born till that point in
time, John was the greatest who ever lived.
4. Let’s look at this subject of doubt with a rational mind and a faith-filled heart
--Let’s see how we can use doubts to actually build our faith.
I. SEVERAL TYPES OF DOUBTERS
A. Natural doubters – their personality and makeup tend to focus on uncertainties and questions
B. Rebellious doubters – Whether they want to admit it or not, the doubts come from a desire to rebel against
God’s direction in their life.
C. Disappointed doubters – They have desired something, asked God for it, and have not received it as of yet
D. Wounded doubters – They’ve had a tough life – abused, abandoned, defeated, afflicted in some way
E. Intellectual doubters – The have questions that just haven’t been answered quite sufficiently
II. FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO DOUBT
A. Seasons of life
1. Maybe at one time things were going well and things seemed bright but now the boss in on your
back, your spouse has a debilitating disease, you have a rebellious child.
2. Life is so busy that there’s just not time to reflect on your faith so doubts creep in.
B. Making comparisons with the faith of others
1. Maybe other Christians seem to be blessed but you don’t feel blessed even though you study the
Bible, pray, work as hard at ministering to others as they do.
2. You ask yourself, “What’s wrong with God that He won’t give me the blessings those Christians
have?”
C. A lack of commitment in our culture
1. Our culture’s definition of freedom is the freedom to get our own way and the right to keep our
options open.
2. Dr. Lynn Anderson: “We have a Baskin-Robbins culture where the most-dreaded sentence would be
to serve a life with no options. And I do think that contributes to people’s fear of committing
themselves to Christ.”
III. COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT DOUBT AND FAITH
A. People mix up faith and feelings
--confuse faith with a perpetual spiritual high
1. When the high wears off, they start to doubt if they have any faith at all
2. Compare that with the theology of the Psalms
a. We like to focus on the upbeat Psalms but 60% of the Psalms are laments with the writers
screaming out , “God where are you?!?”
b. Normal faith is allowed to question and doubt
B. Some people think that doubt is unforgivable,
--Look at Jesus and John the Baptist in our scripture passage this morning. Jesus doesn’t slam John for
his doubts
1. He sends back evidence to bolster John’s faith
2. He gives John the greatest compliment in the midst of his doubt
C. People assume that faith is the absence of doubt
1. The opposite of faith is unbelief, and that’s a very important distinction.
--What is unbelief?
a. Generally in the Bible, unbelief refers to a willful refusal to believe, or it refers to a deliberate
decision to disobey God.
2. But that’s not what doubt is.
a. To doubt is to be indecisive or ambivalent over an issue.
b. It’s where you’re hung up between certainty and uncertainty.
3. You can have a strong faith and still have some doubts.
--You really can.
a. You can be heaven-bound and still express some uncertainty over certain
theological issues.
b. You can be a full-fledged Christian without having to feel like every single question of life has
been absolutely settled.
c. In fact, it has been said that struggling with God over the issues of life doesn’t show a lack of
faith
-- that it is faith.
4. Maybe you’ll recall the man who came to Jesus with his son who was demon-possessed.
a. Jesus tells him that all things are possible to those who believe.
b. The man’s response speaks volumes: “Lord, I believe. Help me with my unbelief.”
c. Doubt and faith can co-exist.
1). One very important implication of our study today is that if doubt and faith can co-exist, then
people don’t have to fully resolve each and every obstacle in order to have an authentic faith.
2). We can make the choice to believe and ask God to help us with our unbeliefs
D. People believe that doubt is unhealthy
1. However, doubt can produce some positive side-effects
2. Lee Strobel says it’s like getting an immunization
--“To help your body fight off a future disease, doctors inject you with a small amount of that very
same disease, and your body builds up antibodies that will battle off that disease if it ever threatens
you. Your body is actually stronger for the experience. Well, when we’re infected with some
doubts, and we seek answers to our questions and deal constructively with the doubt, we emerge
stronger than ever because our faith has been confirmed once more, and that gives us new
confidence in dealing with doubt in the future.
3. Gary Parker, The Gift of Doubt: “If faith never encounters doubt, if truth never struggles with
error, if good never battles with evil, how can faith know its own power? In my own pilgrimage, if
I have to choose between a faith that has stared doubt in the eye and made it blink, or a naive faith
that has never known the firing line of doubt, I will choose the former every time.”
IV. DEALING WITH OUR DOUBTS
A. Sometimes, doubts are just smokescreens or deflections to hide the real problem.
--The problem has more to do with “won’t believe” as opposed to “can’t believe”.
1. A lot of people can’t believe because they don’t want to give up certain aspects of their lifestyle.
--One example is a fellow I read about who claimed intellectual doubts but in reality didn’t want to
sell the topless bar he owned because the money was too good and he had too much fun making it.
2. In actuality, there’s either a will to believe or there’s a will not to believe.
B. Assuming a person wants to believe, there are several things they can do to re-enforce their faith:
1. Go where faith is
a. If you want to grow roses, you don’t buy an acre of ground at the North Pole. You go to a place
where roses grow well.
b. Likewise, if you want to develop your faith you need to go where people of faith gather.
--Get with people that you respect in mind, character, and faith, and learn from them
2. Put faith-building materials into your mind
--tapes, books, and music that build a strong motivation for faith, that teach the nature of God, that
deal intelligently with the critics of faith, that can give you tools to develop your faith
3. Clarify the object of your faith
a. There are two types of ice: thick and thin.
1). You can have very little faith in thick ice and it will still hold you up.
2). However, you can place enormous faith in thin ice and still face disaster.
b. Is your faith really in the love, mercy, and grace of God shown in His Son Jesus Christ? Or are
you trusting in your own goodness or the fact that you show up for church most every Sunday?
C. Faith is a journey.
--As the old proverb says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
1. Ultimately, we have to start out on that journey by doing what faith would do.
--In other words, do what Jesus says and you’ll experience the validity of your faith.
2. It’s like riding a bicycle.
--You can’t watch a video or read a book about it. You’ve got to get on the bicycle and pump the
pedals and learn to steer.
3. We see “faith” as a noun – “a person, place, or thing”
a. The Bible, however, presents “faith” as a verb – a word of action
b. In the New Testament, the word translated “faith” is used over 200 times. Only twice is it used in
its noun form. Every other time it’s expressed in its verb form.
c. James says that faith without works is dead.
CONCLUSION: A. Philip Yancey, Reaching for the Invisible God: What Can You Expect to Find?: “Doubt
is the skeleton in the closet of faith and I know no better way to treat a skeleton than to
bring it into the open and expose it for what it is: not something to hide or fear, but a hard
structure on which living tissue may grow.”
--doubts can be the skeleton on which you build your faith
B. Blondin was a famous French tight-rope walker and acrobat who lived from 1824-
1897. His most famous stunt happened in 1859 – the year he walked across an 1100 foot
rope suspended 160 above the waters of Niagra Falls. He did the feat several times in
following years each one with a different theatrical fare.
On one such high-wire walk, Blondin crossed over the falls pushing a wheelbarrow.
When he reached the other side he asked the spectators if they believed he could do it
again. Everyone cheered. Blondin then asked if they believed he could do it while
pushing someone in the wheelbarrow. Everyone cheered believing that he could do it and
wanting to see this incredible stunt. Blondin then asked for a volunteer to ride in the
wheelbarrow. No one stepped forward. It was one thing to believe Blondin could do what
they had all seen him do, and another to put your life in his hands letting him push you
across the falls on the high wire.
