Among all the disorders of the soul, none brings more distress than doubt. It can be a source of misery and discomfort, fill your life with anxieties and fears, and rob you of peace.
There are two kinds of religious doubt. One is sincere doubt; the other is insincere doubt. Some doubt is a cover-up for sin. Many people look on doubt as a badge of learning, and so they display skepticism in an effort to impress others that they are intellectual. Such doubt is but a cover for intellectual pride. All such pride is sin.
Sometimes doubt is a cover up for immorality. During World War II a serviceman on his way overseas called for an appointment with his minister. The young man immediately began to express his doubts about the Gospel as he sat before the minister. The pastor replied, “I’m not interested in your doubts, young man. Tell me about your sins.”
The soldier was startled and sat silently. “Do you have a picture of your family?” the preacher asked.
As the young man showed the minister pictures of his family, he began to sob. He confessed that he had sinned against his family and against God. When doubt is due to sin, there is but one solution—confess and forsake your sin. Then the doubt will be removed.
But some doubt is genuine and sincere. In such cases the person with the doubts should honestly seek the facts about Christianity. While governor of the territory of New Mexico, Lew Wallace set out to write a book to disprove Christ and show him up as a myth. To do this he had to read the gospels that recorded the life of Christ. It was also necessary for him to read the prophets that prophesied the coming of the Christ. In his serious study he met Christ face to face, was convinced of his sin, and was converted. Instead of writing a criticism of Jesus, he wrote the great religious novel Ben-Hur.
When doubts faced the facts, they fled. Do you face doubts and uncertainties about the Christian faith? Begin to study the Bible seriously, spend some time in prayer, and go to church this Sunday. Gradually faith will replace your doubts.