John the Baptist, an impassioned follower of Christ, is locked in a dark prison when he sends his disciples to ask Jesus a simple but deep question: “…Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:3).
Doubt can emerge at any time—when a family member passes, when sudden change happens, or even when everything is going well. But what is doubt? Is it unbelief? And more importantly, is my relationship with God in jeopardy because of my doubt?
Can I have doubt and still be a Christian? Let’s discuss it.
Gary Habermas, a New Testament scholar, wrote a book titled The Thomas Factor: Using Your Doubts to Draw Closer to God (I recommend it strongly). He gives a great definition for doubt: “We will define doubt as a lack of certainty about the truthfulness of Christianity, one’s own faith, or how it applies to real life situations” (Habermas 5). Notice how Habermas does not define doubt as unbelief but as a lack of certainty.
But what kind of uncertainties are doubt? Just as Habermas describes in his definition, doubt can come from not understanding a certain aspect of Christianity (“truthfulness of Christianity”), anxieties about an element of your salvation (“one’s own faith”), or issues related to real world problems like the problem of evil (“how it applies to real life situations”). What we can know about doubt is twofold: it is complex but not equal to unbelief.
Moreover, when thinking about the question itself, “Can I have doubt and still be a Christian?” what makes someone a Christian? Can our doubt affect our salvation? Biblically, we know that being right before God, our justification, is solely an outcome of God’s grace, and our faith is accomplished through Jesus Christ and Him only (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 5:1-2). Salvation is a gift of God. How can our doubt affect what Jesus Christ has finished? Jesus is the perfecter of our faith, not ourselves (Heb. 12:2). The peace we can have in our salvation goes even further. In John 10, Jesus describes His sheep (His followers) and says, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (Jn. 10:28). Someone is a Christian because of Christ’s death and resurrection.
The idea that our uncertainties and questions separate us from the love of God does not hold any scriptural foundations, and in fact, the opposite is true (Rom. 8:38-39). Furthermore, when we look at those who doubted the Bible, how does Jesus react? Does Jesus rebuke those who question? Does He call them to repentance? Let’s go back to what John the Baptist said in Matthew 11.
John, known as the forerunner for Jesus Christ and the one who baptized Jesus, doubted! How did Jesus respond to John asking if they should look for someone else? Jesus responds by giving him evidence. He tells John’s disciples to say to him, “‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.'” (Matt. 11:4-5). Jesus speaks with compassion. He responds to doubt by reminding John the Baptist what He’s done. Not giving him an outright “yes,” He shows that He is fulfilling Old Testament prophecy (Isaiah 29:18; 35:5; 42:18; Isaiah 35:6; Isaiah 26:19; Isaiah 61:1). He is reassuring him that He is the Son of God, coming to save the world. Jesus doesn’t say, “How dare you! Repent and believe in me,” but He shows him more of Himself and comforts him. That is simply what Christ does in our uncertainty: He shows us more of Himself.
Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3, shows that there is development in our Christian faith. The people of Corinth still needed the foundational teachings of Christianity (milk). They were not ready for the deeper truths (solid food). As we continue to grow in our faith, we will have questions and uncertainties—that is totally okay! Doubts are a natural part of our Christian lives. I can certainly attest to this. And furthermore, I can say that I’ve grown in my faith through my doubt. Jesus encourages us to ask questions and seek Him. In Matthew, chapter 7, Jesus says, “’Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened'” (Matt. 7:7-8). One of the true understandings of doubt is this: it can be a sign of someone growing in their faith, not losing it.
Written by Grace Morris
Resources
Habermas, Gary R. The Thomas Factor : Using Your Doubts to Draw Closer to God. Broadman & Holman, 1999.