The Role of Doubt
Can I Ask That? • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsWe have often equated faith with the absence of doubt. The house of cards style faith many of us have been given can quickly collapse if we open the door to questioning anything in our faith. We look upon characters in our Bible like Thomas and question their faith because of their doubt. Is doubt really all that bad? Doubt can actually have a powerful role within our faith as it is not something that is opposed to faith but actually strengthens our faith on the other side. The real question is: what do we do when we doubt? We have certainty not in our belief, doctrine, or dogma; we have certainty in Jesus Christ alone. From Him, we understand all things and hold our understanding with open hands.
Notes
Transcript
Favorite Professor in Class
Favorite Professor in Class
pushed me and allowed me to ask questions
Sara and her experience with Youth Group
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
Peter knows who Jesus is, he is following his rabbi
Peter’s confidence is not in himself, but asks for JC’s help
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
For a moment, Peter realizes he is in a storm - what he is doing is impossible
Peter Doubts - filled with fear of what is happening
His fear is justified
My fear of water
Who is Peter?
Fisherman - knew how to swim
So why doesn’t Peter swim?
So why doesn’t Peter swim?
Peter’s first response is to look to Jesus!
Peter stoped letting JC empower him, and began to question his own ability. This is where he lacks in his faith.
When we begin to sink, where do we turn?
When we begin to sink, where do we turn?
A call to take our faith serious and step in the water
Allowing space for wet Christianity allow doubt to be okay
We need to be okay with getting a little bit wet!
We need to be okay with getting a little bit wet!
We must know who JC is.
best revealed through scripture - reading our bibles
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Through Jesus, we know and understand all things
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
“But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
This is more than Bible study!
This is more than Bible study!
Good to know scripture and be “book smart”
We need to be seeking Jesus in the text we read - we read to strengthen and perfect our faith
What does it mean then to have faith like wet Peter?
What does it mean then to have faith like wet Peter?
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
We are reminded time and time again of who Christ is - revealed to us from Easter weekend - through the cross
“The unexamined life is not worth living” - Socrates
“The unexamined life is not worth living” - Socrates
We seek to ask the right questions not to sink but to strengthen the faith we all long for.
Knowing who Christ is in all things!
A call to invest these next coming weeks
Join us Wednesday nights for discussion at 6:30pm