Good Morning!
Once again, Steve addresses an issue that exists in nearly every Christian’s life, but nobody wants to admit. To even bring up the subject of doubt is offensive to many.
Did Jesus strike Thomas dead for his sin of unbelief? In fact, Jesus appeared to Thomas and invited him to actually insert his fingers into the holes left by the nails.
We are humans, sinners saved by grace, and fallible till the day we are taken home. We are always repenting of something, because if we say we have no sin, we are liars.
People sometimes have a hard time discerning between guilt feelings and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. This little guideline has always been a help to me:
1. If, when caught in a sin, one feels shame and sadness, and the need to seek out the forgiveness of God, repentance, a desire to “turn away” from the sin, a desire to confess, make restitution, and a desire to improve by God’s Grace, that would probably be the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
2. If you feel guilty for a sin (including doubt) and you hate yourself for it, see no way out, and think you can’t even approach God for forgiveness, it is probably NOT from the Holy Spirit, but from the “other one”.
That is why the bad guy is referred to as “The Accuser of the Brethren”. He skulks about like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour. If we are afraid to approach the Throne of Grace with our doubts, we are easy prey.
Steve’s style and demeanor are sometimes off-putting to traditional and sincere Christians. He is considered a “radical” by some. But he is a very smart man, teaches at a very conservative Christian seminary, and has been extremely helpful to my little ministry to some very “marginal and difficult” people. His heart is full of love for the lost and his outreach goes places traditional ministries sometimes ignore.
I fully understand how some of us here on FR might not be too receptive to Steve’s message, because he strips away all the accumulated traditions of hundreds of years of traditions and practice that define American Evangelicalism, and sometimes smashes the icons that we hold dear. It is a hard message but it really resonates with “hard people.”
Having struggled with doubt myself, I appreciate his addressing it.
Sometimes it’s the elephant in the room.
His teaching is along the lines of the Emergent Church. His recommended books are Emergent authors. BEWARE. Sometimes error is very subtle but it will lead to greater and greater error if followed.
God has punished doubt in many ways. The Israelites had to wander in the desert for 40 years because of their doubt. Abraham tried to fulfill God’s promise of a son with Hagar because of doubt that Sarah could have a child. That has been an ongoing disaster. Zachariah lost his voice over doubt. Peter began to sink in the water over doubt. On and on and on and on. God was merciful to Thomas. That does not mean doubt is not a dangerous sin that displeases God greatly.
Doubt is sin.