Lessons for July 29
FAMILY BIBLE STUDY:
Doubts can be the building blocks of firm faith
___ John 20:19-31
___By Bobby Dagnel
___First Baptist Church, Nederland
___ELVIS SPOTTED IN MILWAUKEE DONUT SHOP!
___MOTHER-TO-BE ON DIET OF CHICKEN LAYS HUGE EGG!
___ADAM AND EVE'S BONES FOUND IN ASIA: EVE WAS A SPACE ALIEN!
___These are some of the outlandish headlines taken from supermarket tabloids. What is more amazing than the headlines is that there are people who actually read and believe this stuff and have no doubt regarding its validity. Then there are others who find it difficult to believe the claims of Scripture; who have disturbing doubts, questions and skepticism
concerning the Christian faith.
___Some may be hesitant to admit or discuss the doubts and uncertainties experienced in the life of faith because they fear it to be a sign of weakness that might not be understood or we think God might be angered or offended by our questions. I would offer that not only is it okay to doubt but it is even necessary to come to a better understanding of our faith. Frederick Buechner wrote, "If you don't have any doubts you are either kidding yourself or you are sound asleep."
___The opposite of faith isn't doubt but despair. Doubt can be a welcomed friend when it causes our faith to grow and be better understood. Doubt keeps us on our toes and searching. It sometimes happens we arrive at the place of faith by having taken the road of doubt. We discover many evidences of this in Scripture.
___While the Bible is a primarily a book of faith, filled with extraordinary stories of faith, doubt can be found in many. Consider Abraham, known as the father of faith. While wanting and waiting for a son, Abraham wondered if God was really with him.
___Jeremiah felt God had abandoned him. Job was full of questions as he endured his suffering. The Psalms express uncertainty regarding the presence God.
___Even in the New Testament, we find heroes of the faith who struggled with moments of doubt. John the Baptist, the one Jesus said "in whom there is no guile," went through a period of doubt. After his arrest by Herod, John sent his followers to ask Jesus, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another" (Luke 7:19)? John was having doubts.
___Remember the father who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus. Jesus said to the father, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." And the father replied, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief."
___Even Jesus, agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane, expressed a moment of doubt when he prayed, "Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me?" What Jesus was hoping and praying for was another way of accomplishing the redemptive purposes of God.
___There is one who is most often associated with doubt--Thomas. Because he doubted the resurrection of Jesus, he has been labeled by history as "Doubting Thomas." (Note: Teachers may want to consider the example of other disciples who doubted the resurrection: Matthew 28:17; Luke 24:11, 25, 37, 41; Mark 16:14).
___Thomas said unless he could see for himself the evidence and scars of the crucifixion, he would not believe (John 20:24).
___Instead of looking upon Thomas as one to be scorned, he should be seen as one from whom we can learn. He reveals how to move from doubt to certainty in the Christian faith. First, there must be a willingness to believe. Thomas did not say he never would believe. Having committed the last three years of his life following this one who was supposed to be the Savior of the world, we can be sure Thomas wanted to believe in the resurrection of Jesus.
___We soon discover in our spiritual lives it is the willingness and desire to believe that opens the door to divine revelation. Jesus said, "He that asks receives; he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks, the door shall be open-ed." And the reason many fail to find God isn't that God has hidden himself, but many have failed to yearn for God and seek him.
___When diligent and sincere in their inquiry, we discover that the Lord is faithful to reveal that he is who he says he is. The Lord knew the genuineness of Thomas' heart and he revealed the evidence to him (v. 27). Through the Scriptures and the testimony of faithful believers, the Lord continues to make himself open to examination and investigation today. He never demanded we have a blind faith.
___A tourist driving through West Texas stopped at a gas station and observed a rope dangling from a sign that read, "Weather Forecaster." The tourist asked the attendant, "How can you possibly tell the weather with a piece of rope?" "It's easy," the man said, "When the rope swings back and forth, it's windy. When it gets wet, it's raining. When it's frozen stiff, it's snowing outside. And when it's gone, tornado."
___In the same way, if we are willing to examine and accept the evidences of God's revelation in Christ Jesus, our doubts can be alleviated.
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