John 20:19-31

Is It Wrong To Have Doubts? You wonder if God really exists? An idea that makes you wonder if you really understood the Bible correctly Have you sinned?

Characters in the Old Testament Moses at the burning bush – Exodus 4:13 The Lord responded in anger – Exodus 4:14 Gideon was told a message from God by an angel – Judges 6:11-13 Asaph seeing the success of the wicked – Psalm 73:12-14 John the Baptist – Matthew 11:2-3 Apostles doubted that Jesus arose- Luke 24:10,11 It is not their doubts we remember but the fact that they did the will of God

What Is Doubt? Consider Peter – Matthew 14:25-30 Notice what Jesus said – Matthew 14:31 Doubt is Insufficient Faith Moses or Gideon did not doubt existence of God – just thought they were not the right men for the job Asaph wondered if righteous living was necessary John wondered why Jesus didn’t declare Himself Apostles had trouble accepting testimony that contradicted what they saw.

What Is Doubt? Doubt is being of two minds on a subject Diakrino – “to hesitate, be in doubt” “to be at variance with one’s self, hesitate…” Distazo – To duplicate, to water between two opinions; “to doubt, waver, hesitate” “It is a figurative word taken either from a person standing where two ways meet and not knowing which to choose…or from the quivering motion of a balance when the weights on either side are approximately equal.”

What Is Doubt? James 1:5-8 uses Diakrino in verse 6 Wavering between worldliness & godliness are “double minded” – James 4:8 Doubt is Immaturity – Ephesians 4:14 Doubt is an emotional storm that interferes with reason – Psalm 73:21-26

Understanding Doubt Gives Us Clues on How to Handle Doubts The basis of faith is knowledge of God’s Word – Romans 10:17 If we have doubts about a subject, dig deeper to understand it Pretending doubts don’t exist or ignoring them won’t make them go away

Understanding Doubt Gives Us Clues on How to Handle Doubts Falsehood cannot withstand scrutiny – Isaiah 41:21-24 This is why Jesus confidently challenged people to examine Him- John 10:37,38 Come to a Conclusion Don’t Vacillate between two ideas

Some People Don’t Want To Decide “IF I have doubts about the Bible, then I don’t have to do what it says.” “Always learning but never coming to the truth” –2 Timothy 3:6-8 Their doubts become a smoke screen for avoiding the truth – John 18:38 Some reject evidence – no evidence is good enough

You Don’t Have To Have Everything Answered to Reach a Conclusion God didn’t answer all of Job’s questions He never explained what was happening God doesn’t have to explain everything Abraham came to a conclusion Hebrews 11:17-19 Abraham’s conclusion was not accurate – based on his trust in God

Don’t Abandon What You Know Just Because There is Doubt in One Matter Just because evolution brings up a point you can’t answer, isn’t reason to doubt existence of God Evidence for the existence of God and religion of Jesus Christ not based on a single point Don’t lose sight of the things you know, just because you are uncertain about one point Keep looking, will find the answer – Matthew 7:7,8

Doubt is Not Always a Bad Thing One can be Confident & be Wrong- Genesis 37:33-36 People were sure Paul would die- Acts 28:4-6 Paul was confident that Christ was an imposter – Philippians 3:4-8 Changing your mind on a matter because evidence points out you were wrong is a good thing Carefully examine the evidence

Holding on to a Position Despite the Evidence is a Bad Thing Romans 14:22 Be confident in things, knowing that they are right in God’s sight Don’t act from Doubt Romans 14:23 Being fully convinced does not mean having all issues resolved- Romans 14:5

Holding on to a Position Despite the Evidence is a Bad Thing Abraham acted in Faith – Romans 4:19-21 Thomas was not present when the Lord appeared to the other Apostles – John 20:24-29 It Isn’t Wrong to Demand Evidence – Acts 1:3 Truth has Nothing to Hide! John 20:20

Faith Has to be Personal Philippians 2:12 Why do we have this recorded? Their witness becomes more sure, that we might have confidence – John 20:30,31 Even in doubt, God can save us – 1 John 3:18-22 Do what you know God commands & the rest will get sorted out in time