Doubting Faith

Can an honest and saved sinner be a Doubting Thomas?

I heard a professing believer once say that he never doubts God nor his salvation in Christ.  Being my usual inquisitive self, I probed further and asked, "Do you mean that you never doubt your faith?"  He answered assuredly, "Never.  I don't think a true Christian could doubt or else their faith is not real."

Well, I'll say it loud and clear because I know that the honest sinner out there will hear me:  There are days when my faith seems unmovable and days when my doubting causes the spiritual ground under me to shake.

"For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." Rom 9:15-16

Dear saints, our salvation is not founded on our works, abilities, character or moral grounds.  It is founded on the mercy of God on our poor, lost souls.  We may have great strength of character and will of the mind (i.e. carnal faith) to be so assured of a truth whether it is of eternal things or of carnal things.  Yet, that carnal faith does not save us unless God were to look mercifully on us and give us spiritual eyes to behold the Lord Jesus as our substitute for our sins and sovereign ruler of our souls.  That is the difference between carnal and spirtual, God-given faith.

We are not saved because we have a perfect faith but rather that the One in whom we have faith is perfect and pure.  Neither then does our faith exist merely in two states: Existent and perfect or not at all.   For our faith grows He continues to reveal Himself to us.[Rom 12:3, 14:1]   Nor was that faith granted only once to apply perfectly on the day that the Spirit revealed Christ to us.   Instead, God continually grants us faith so that we might have the spiritual eyes necessary to look to Jesus who with one act perfectly accomplished all that was necessary to pay for our sins and please the Father. [Heb 12:2]

Christian, do not marvel at your weak seasons of faith nor be discouraged by them.  Examine yourselves to see if you are of the faith.  If you are a true believer, He will grant you mercy by causing you to look again to Christ.  For as you continue to look to Jesus, He will - as the author and perfecter of faith - shine His face on you that you might see His majestic glory and merciful kindness.  As a result, you will not extol the strength of your faith in pride but rather be humbled by His mercy once again toward you.

I Was Arminian and Did Not Know It

I did not realize until recently how self-glorifying the infant stage of my Christian life was.  Let me start by quoting some phrases and sentences I used often soon after Christ revealed my sin and my need for His mercy.

"When did you bow your knee to Christ?"

"When did you give your life to Jesus?"

"Turn from your sins and look to Christ and you will be saved."

"My life changed when I gave my heart to Jesus."

"Pray this prayer with me and God will save you."

I dare not say that any of those statements inherently are unbiblical.  In fact, the third statement can be properly supported by Acts 2:38.  However, I will say that they are closer bedfellows to free-will and human choice salvation than the biblical truth of salvation being wholly and solely the loving foreknowledge and sovereign grace of our Lord Jesus to save sinners by His good pleasure and for His glory.

The thought I am hoping to incite you to consider is this:  How often do we in our daily testimony and witness unknowingly (and maybe even knowingly) point to our work as the source of salvation rather than point the sinner to Christ and incite them to beg our gracious Lord for mercy.

"Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." - 1Pe 2:10

In my next post, I am going to ask the question, "What is our testimony: Our walk or His steps?"

Proclaiming in the Season of Politics

During this season of our nation's elections, what concerns you most?  The results of the election or the calling out of the elected?

"For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."  [1Co 2:2]

I recently took some time to count the number of times in a given week that I had a discussion of politics with a co-worker or friend.  I then counted the opportunities I redeemed the time by leading the discussion into eternal and spiritual matters of the soul.  Sadly, as many of you might find of yourselves, the former outnumbered the latter.

The reason that I chose to specifically count these conversations rather than others is that I have found political discussions to be easier to guide toward an evangelistic discussion.  Consider the following topics and their relation to spiritual and eternal matters:

• Economy - Our trust is in our citizenship in heaven [Phi 3:20].  David says, "I have been young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor begging bread." [Psa 37:25]
• Definition of family - He has made them man and woman [Gen 2]; Denial of gender denies creation; 
• Obama vs. McCain - They are both under the sovereign hand of God.  The believer can be encouraged that "He removes kings and sets up kings" [Dan 2:21].  The unbeliever should be told that both are sinners and fallen leading to discussions of the fallen nature of man. [Rom 3:23]
• Overturning Roe v. Wade - The Lord formed us all in the womb.  He has made all things and is sovereign over all creatures. [Isa 44:24]

It's difficult to turn a debate about sports, business, technology or even TV shows into an evangelistic opportunity but politics is much easier.  Unfortunately, the passion that many of us have in political discussions is often misguided and blinding which limits our usefulness in redeeming the time for the Lord and His glory.

Christian, I encourage you to take a quite moment to prepare yourself through study and prayer for these opportunities so that we might be useful for the kingdom of our Lord Jesus.