Doubt transformed by truth

THE ROAD MAP TO BELIEF

Doubt moves us to greater faith (John the baptist in Prison)

Doubt changes our perspective and expectations (Peter proclaim Jesus as the Christ then rebukes Him)

Doubt Drives us to search for answers (A man with a son possessed by an evil spirit Help me with my unbelief)

Doubt Transformed by Truth

Events Leading up to the Great Reveal

The resurrection has taken place, all of the disciples except for Thomas have now verified that the tomb is empty. Mary Magdalene appears to be the first person to have personal contact with the resurrected Christ. She then returns to Jerusalem to share the news with the disciples.

Later that evening of the same day the disciples are behind locked doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them while the door is still locked. Jesus uses the following reassurance three times in our passage, “Peace, be with you.” The word used in the New Testament and in this context means a time of peace; in a war. The calm that now comes after the turmoil that has been surrounding the disciples for the past three days.

The first proof is given of his resurrection to the disciples as he shows them his hands and his side. Then Jesus say’s to them a second time, “Peace be with you,” adding the missionary commission to go. Then Jesus breathed the pneuma or spirit on the disciples.

John mentions that Thomas called one of the twins for some reason was not with the other followers in the upper room. Perhaps his doubts, and unbelief had led him to separate himself from the disciples for some reason. Apparently the other disciples had brought the news to Thomas of the Resurrection events.

Thomas replied as a true skeptic would respond, unless I have not only visual evidence, but, also tangible proof that I can touch and feel I will not believe that Jesus is alive. Eight days had passed since the first appearance in the room with the disciples. They were gathered again in the same room behind locked doors yet this time Thomas was with the other disciples. Jesus again came and stood among them without entering through the doorway. Jesus again uses the phrase “peace be with you.” Then without Thomas asking for the proof, obviously already knowing the doubts of his heart he gave him the tangible proof he had claimed would be the only thing that he would believe. Nothing short of this proof would lead him to believe.

Jesus tells Thomas, “Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas responded to him by saying, “My Lord and my God!” He now proclaims him not only as the Messiah but as God himself. Jesus then makes a very significant statement for the Church today. He tells Thomas that his belief was confirmed by what he could visibly see and touch, however the greater blessing will come to the generations of mankind from that point to the return of Christ who believe even though they do not have the visible and tangible proof that Jesus provided for Thomas.

BIG IDEA: An encounter with the living Christ is where faith grows and matures.

Even though all of the disciples except Thomas had seen the empty tomb the reality of the resurrection had yet to sink into the disciples way of thinking.

The Message of John 3. The Apostles (20:19–23)

He stills their inevitable anxiety and confusion with a familiar word of greeting, ‘Shalom’, Peace be with you! (19). Shalom, the familiar Hebrew greeting, is a considerably richer notion than mere absence of stress, which tends to be our understanding of ‘peace’ today. In its Old Testament context, shalom basically means ‘well-being’ in its fullest sense. It gathers up all the blessings of the kingdom of God; shalom is life at its best under the gracious hand of God.

Jesus came to restore the Shalom to his people. Therefore, Christ’s “Shalom” on Easter evening was the perfect compliment to his “it is Finished,” he uttered from the Cross on Good Friday.

What keeps our doubt from being Transformed when it comes into contact with living truth?

I. Ignorance

1. When we avoid the places we are most likely to be exposed to truth, doubt and despair take over.

The resurrected Christ had already appeared and filled the other disciples with great joy.

Thomas had for whatever reason chosen to remove himself from the one place that he was most likely have come in contact with Christ. He did not expose himself to all of the evidence he needed to believe.

How often do we remove ourselves from the very place that we will find truth revealed to us.

NOTE: Many people choose to remove themselves from the body when they are struggling with faith, doubt, and fear. Why?

Some may choose to remain isolated from the Church in order not to face their current sinful lifestyle or situation.

Some may choose to remain isolated from the Church because they do not want to hear the truth.

Some may choose to remain isolated from the Church because they feel that God has failed them.

Thomas is the patron saint of a whole generation of doubters who have systemically detached themselves from the believing community.

A Christian without the Church is ripe for doubt.

How Looking at the Visible Helps Us to See the Invisible

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

English Standard Version Chapter 4

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Reflecting upon Paul’s words from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, author/pastor Matthew McCullough asks, “How do we see what is invisible more clearly than what’s so painfully visible?” As an answer, he offers the following:

Paul’s argument reminds me of a negative-space portrait, where what is there is meant to draw attention to what is not there. What is visible helps you see what is invisible. Think of the FedEx logo, where the space between the E and X creates an arrow pointing forward. Or think of the NBC logo, where the pads of color outline the body of the famous peacock. It’s like Paul is saying, you want to see what is not visible? Look at what is visible. Pay attention to where it stops short, runs out, dries up. Trace the limits of what you can see, the transient things always passing away, and there you will start to see the shape of the invisible glory still to come.

APPLICATION

The Church is Christ’s visible manifestation of himself here on this earth. We need the Church to help open our eyes to the invisible qualities of God moving us to see what he is doing all around us.

Honest searchers will choose to expose themselves to the evidence of God’s reality.

These people will expose themselves to other peoples faith, to the preaching and teaching of the word of God. They will posture themselves at the masters feet looking for answers.

The Case for Christ, Even though he was a professing atheist in order to find answers to discount his wife’s new found belief in God he was willing to go to any lengths to get the truth.

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR THE TRUTH?

II. Cynicism

2. When the Motto of our life is “Show Me,” we give into our cynical nature.

The cynic: Concerned only with his own interest, very distrustful of human sincerity. Generally lacks faith or hope in the human species of people altogether.

NOTE: Jesus turns to Thomas, “Put your finger here … Reach out your hand … Stop doubting and believe....

Stop showing yourself as an unbeliever and start showing yourself as a true believer of Christ. We live in a cynical world of doubt and mistrust. Cynicism many times arises from a feeling of discouragement and disillusionment. Christians many times have a feeling of disenchantment with the Christian life and expectations of God withing the Christian world. Believe it or not, according to Christianity today magazine cynicism is emerging as a hip new way to be “spiritual.” The modern day Christian cynic would not be caught in public wearing the ridiculous T-shirt they got in earlier day’s at a youth conference. Christian cynics would be humiliated if anyone found the old “what would Jesus do?” bracelet buried in their desk drawer. They would listen to the Christian pop music radio station only for laughs. They would avoid displaying too much emotion during worship or answering correctly too many questions in weekly Bible study, lest they suffer from the dreaded accusation of being “hyper-spiritual.”

On a graver note, Christian cynics sometimes delight in watching fellow believers tread on life’s landmines, and their flaunted skepticism can even become the means by which the faithful forsake their faith.

For obvious reasons the anti-institutional attitude of cynicism does not mix well with the established church. Cynical Christians are therefore situated on the fringes of Christian fellowship. Their position on the margins allows them to be close enough to the Church to (often amusingly) criticize its mistakes while maintaining a degree of allegiance to Jesus. Cynics praise themselves for taking the read pill of “reality,” and then they stick it to “the man” by unplugging themselves from the “matrix” of the institutional Church.

Most cynics have been wounded, or at least frustrated, and their edgy spirituality is the spirituality of those whose spiritual wounds and frustrations have become infected, when their brokenness has soured into bitterness.

It’s harder for some people to believe today because their approach to life is cynical and skeptical.

Sometimes the cruel and “unfair” blows of life make it difficult for people to profess any kind of faith in God. This is true of some of the most notable skeptics throughout history.

Note: The atheism of Shchopenhauer and Madelyn Murray O’Hare did not spring from a vacuum. Each suffered from traumatic upbringings which, in part, shaped and skewed their views and response to God.

In a “Christianity Today” article Ed Stetzer discuses America’s age of Skepticism: and How the World should Respond. (professor and dean at Wheaton College.

In a discussion with Tim Keller Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in N.Y. about skeptics with the gospel.

American’s are becoming less religious. In a study with “Pew Research” we can see a shift happening over 2007 where 78.4% of the U.S. population would have called themselves Christian; just seven years later in 2014, that number dropped by 8%.

This statistic is being seen greater in millennials where four int tend would say that religion is important to their lives and about one third of all college students identify themselves as secular and generally irreligious. Therefore, we live in a post-Christian culture. We have not relinquished our Christian roots all together. Thankfully Christians living in the U.S. are not yet actively persecuted for their faith as our brothers and sisters overseas experiencing daily persecution and death.

What we are seeing in the growth of an American populace that is largely disinterested in the faith of their forefathers. Many who maybe grew up in a church-on-Sundays kind of home loosely practicing their faith are choosing to abandon their affiliation with the Christian Church. Surprise, surprise, that more and more people are becoming convinced that the Christian faith is ‘out of step’ with modern culture.

Many feel that Christianity stunt intellectual curiosity and serious thinking. David Silverman, renowned atheist activist and author argued in his book, “Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto in a Theist World: “Atheist seek truth; theist ignore it.” Some agree with Silverman; faith and reason are so at odds with one another that any attempt to reconcile the two ultimately proves futile.

There is not denying it - our age is one that is largely dominated by doubt, disbelief, and skepticism of religious dogma and practice.

NOTE: So, how do we engage our skeptical neighbor?

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN ENGAGING A SKEPTIC

1) Your job is to get to know people not objections.

George Barna Research Group: “Now this can be a difficult and messy process. We will find out in trying to reach the skeptic today how limited our influence of personal relationships is to the skeptic. They are considerably less engaged in social activities than the average American.

Sometimes it will happen naturally, other times it won’t. But, our responsibility as Christians is to focus on cultivating these friendships as a means to Glorify God and live as vessels of his love an light in the world. John 20:21 “As the Father has sent me, so send I you.”

2) Present truth as knowable

Christians provide a reasonable explanation for reason itself. Even arguments against God presuppose logical laws that only make sense if there is an eternal, intelligent, personal Creator. The Bible makes sense of the world we inhabit and provides a foundation for rational discussion. Consider how we use basic laws of logic in our everyday conversations. Consider the law of noncontradiction, for example, is regularly used in evaluating truth claims. Something can’t be both true and false at the same time and in the same way. But have you ever considered how a naturalistic framework might account for such a law? How can eternal, mindless, and impersonal matter produce logical laws that guide our thoughts?

3) Present God as He Reveals Himself

If we water down the concept of God to make the gospel more palatable, we will find that, in the end, we are no longer doing true evangelism. We are merely marketing a god of our own invention, attempting to woo people with a hazy image of an impotent deity. Do not dilute God in order to make him more marketable. Present the sovereign God of the Bible as the key to understanding the human narrative.

4)Present Christ as Savior

The human story is stained with guilt, shame, and regret. Even if some deny the reality of God, they can not functionally deny the existence of guilt. When we declare the gospel to a skeptic, we speak to their innate knowledge of God and their sense of moral guilt. But, guilt is only a symptom. Sin and separation from God are the true problems - and grace is the only antidote. Remember that you can never improve on Jesus claim in John 14:6. Never abdicate your responsibility to share the good news. Our arguments cannot, in and of themselves, save anyone. Only Jesus can.

5) Present Scripture as Authoritative

Every book you own will eventually deteriorate, except for one. It is sharper than a two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). When you share the gospel with a skeptic, don’t relegate Scripture to obscurity or peer status among other sources. Your not God’s editor; you are his publicist. He isn not waiting for your revisions. He is already gone to press.

6) Present regeneration as Necessary

Any good apologist understands the necessity of the spirit in bringing about conversion. Sharing Christ with anyone - skeptics included - means shining the light of the gospel into the darkness of Satan’s domain. If you do it in your own power, you will fail. Like the apostle Paul, we should pray for our audience, that the eyes of their hearts might be enlightened to see the beauty of gospel grace.

Ephesians 1:18 ESV

18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

7) Present Yourself as Humble

There is nothing worst than an arrogant apologist.

1 Peter 3:15 ESV

15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

As we present the gospel we point others to Jesus, truth and grace incarnate. When Christ is Lord, and we are humble, we have found the sweet spot for evangelism with skeptics. This keeps us in check, understanding our constant need of the Spirit due to our fallenness.

Whether your on a plan, train, or automobile, the important thing is to constantly pray for God to open doors and opportunities for you to engage people in honest open conversations. Don’t shy away from the difficult question simply because they make you feel uncomfortable.

Note: Here are 2 Wonders for Thomas.

Jesus is truly raised from the dead and now meets him where he is in his unbelief.

Thomas stated conditions for faith are explicitly met in the language which proved Jesus had clearly ‘overheard’ his earlier stipulations. The ‘other world’ of the Spirit is not beyond earshot.

III. Empiricism

3. When we trust our senses alone to reveal truth we come up wanting.

God created us with five basic senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch … Engaging God with all five of our senses is an important aspect of our faith Journey. We see these five senses used throughout scripture. Where do senses end and trust in the unseen God begin?

1) Our senses alone cannot reveal the unseen God of the universe.

A fitting model for our times is “seeing is believing.” Our culture has always craved the tangible proof of the existence of an unseen God. The result is relying on senses alone to confirm their trust in God.

The Scientific Method,

This method combines sense perception and reason. In scientific experiments we gather facts with our senses. Our minds then draw conclusions, reasoning through what our five senses discover. Some want to oppose this way of learning faith, but I don’t find in Scripture the idea that faith is irrational or anti-sense perception. According to God’s word, reason and sense perception form the foundation of knowledge. Faith rests on this foundation but takes us beyond it.

We live in one of the most anti-intellectual age in history, and even many Christians believe we can compartmentalize our faith as a way of knowing completely separate from sense perception and reason.

Augustine told us centuries ago, how could we receive knowledge from God if it were not accessible to the human mind? Could we understand that Jesus is Lord without some understanding of what “Lord” means. We cannot understand the gospel without our minds understanding it to a degree.

Christianity also features a book - the Bible - that is designed for our understanding. Why would God give us a written document if faith bypasses reason entirely? Sense perception is key to the biblical story. Jesus gave many proofs of who was while he was doing his ministry on earth. The writers tell us about actual events in history that they experienced. Luke wrote down those things to which he had eyewitness testimony.

The Bible never calls us to take a leap of faith if that means we plunge into irrationality. So, what do we do when what God is doing does not make sense.

Proverbs 3:5 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

2) Our senses alone cannot perceive much of life around us.

We have never “smelled” an idea, “felt” a truth, put our “finger” on a thought. These realities are perceived in other ways. Much of the Universe around us is experienced everyday without having empirical evidence of it’s existence.

Note: Proverbs 3:5 We are told, positively, to trust the Lord and, negatively, not to trust our own understanding. Those two things are mutually exclusive. Therefore, if we trust in the Lord, we cannot also depend upon our own ability to understand everything God is doing.

1 Corinthians 13:12 ESV

12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Most of us have a desperate desire to understand, but in so many areas we must acknowledge that we cannot understand. We must therefore, approve of God’s ways, even when we cannot comprehend them. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us that we often don’t understand what God is doing: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. ‘For as high as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God see’s the whole picture, while we only see our tiny corner of it. To trust in the Lord with all our heart means we can’t place our own right to understand above His right to direct our lives the way He sees fit. When we insist on God always making sense to our finite minds, we are setting ourselves up for spiritual trouble.

NOTE: The #1 thing most of the followers of Christ wanted to know was the timetable for the second coming. People have tried to interpret the signs of the time for centuries.

Proverbs 16:25 ESV

25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

When we try to choose the direction and understanding that seems right to us often reap disaster and despair leaving us wanting.

3) Our senses can take us to the edge of life, but they cannot take us beyond this life.

Such is the nature of “spiritual” realities. Faith and faith alone can take us beyond this life, this world, this universe to the eternal nature of God and His kingdom.

WHERE DID THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE LEAD THOMAS?

CONFESSION OF FAITH

The Gospel comes full circle. John began in his opening words with a confession of the deity of Christ: ‘In the beginning was the Word … and the Word was God’. Now that original confession of the Godhead of the pre-incarnate Lord is echoed by a mortal sinner, My Lord and My God!

Of His Deity. “My God”

Of His Authority over him. “My Lord”

Of His Personal Surrender to Him. “My Lord and My God.”

This is what we are called to do today, we must confess him as Savior and Lord, the only one who has the authority and power to save and surrender to him personally as your Savior.

The Parable of the Resistance Leader

Is it rational to trust God even when we do not fully understand what he is doing? One of the most illuminating answers was put forward by the Oxford philosopher Basil Mitchell in his celebrated parable of the resistance leader.

Imagine you are in German-occupied France during World War II and you want to join the resistance movement against the Nazis. One evening in the local bar a stranger comes up to you and introduces himself as the leader of the local partisans. He spends the evening with you, explaining the general requirements of your duties, giving you a chance to assess his trustworthiness, and offering you the chance to go no further. But his warning is stern: If you join, your life will be at risk. This will be the only face-to-face meeting you will have. After this, you will receive orders and you will have to follow them without question, often completely in the dark as to the whys and wherefores of the operations, and always with the terrifying fear that your trust may be betrayed.

Is such trust reasonable? Sometimes what the resistance leader is doing is obvious. He is helping members of the resistance. "Thank heavens he is on our side," you say. Sometimes it is not obvious. He is in Gestapo uniform arresting partisans and—unknown to you—releasing them out of sight to help them escape the Nazis. But always you must trust and follow the orders without question, despite all appearances, no matter what happens. "The resistance leader knows best," you say. Only after the war will the secrets be open, the codes revealed, the true comrades vindicated, the traitors exposed, and sense made of the explanations.

"The parable of the resistance leader is an picture of the … dilemmas of faith in a fallen world ….. Evil is not a problem because God is too small, though doing his best, but because God is so great that we cannot be expected to know what he is doing." The parable explores if we have good enough reasons to trust the resistance leader. Christians can look at Jesus and say, "Father, I don't understand everything that you're doing, but I trust that you are good and that you're on my side."

CLOSING

NOTE: 2 friends in seminary took a chance not knowing the outcome of spreading the Gospel in China.

For us, like Thomas, the key to overcoming doubt is a personal encounter with the risen Lord. For Thomas this happened when he “saw” the Savior. For us it happens as we chose to accept the testimony of the Scriptures concerning him and trust in him to save us. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (v.29)