Settling Doubts

Matthew 11:1-6

June 29, 2003

 

A crisis began to unfold at this point in Christ's ministry (Matt 11-13). Though the unveiling of the kingdom was in full swing, so too was reaction against Christ and His kingdom. Kingdom expectations ran high but disappointments appeared higher, as even those most supportive of Christ struggled to believe. Instead of enthused following, Christ met with unrepentant Galilean cities (11:20-24) and questioning religious leaders (12:1-14). His own family and friends from Nazareth questioned Him, with some thinking he had gone mad, and others offended at Him (12:46-50; 13:53-57). So Jesus Christ began to teach in parables unforgettable lessons of the kingdom (13:1-52), stressing the value and worth of the kingdom, and its increase in spite of men's opposition and disapproval. The kingdom would grow in effect and power even though many could not understand its dynamics. 

 

Some believed but wrestled with doubt. Among their number was John the Baptist. Left in the dungeon cell of Herod's prison fortress at Machaerus, southeast of the Dead Sea, John appears shaken. Messiah's forerunner wondered whether the Christ would set this particular prisoner free (Isa 61:1). He likely found sympathetic doubters among his own disciples that wondered how the Messiah could leave their own teacher in prison, and how He could usher in the kingdom without political or military might.

Many commentators refuse to intimate doubt on John's part. They suggest that his questions were for the sake of his disciples. Others admit that John was despondent, and perhaps even depressed from the situation he faced, but stop short of declaring doubt. We must accept the plain reading of the text. John heard of what Christ was doing, and before he faced the executioner's axe he wanted to allay any lingering doubts about the Messiah. His doubt was not unbelief.

 

Unbelief rejects the revelation of Christ, refuses to believe that He is both God and man, and does not accept the finality and sufficiency of the work of Christ on the cross and in the resurrection. "Unbelief is unambiguous in its denial of certain things and clear about where it stands," writes Don Whitney [How Can I Be Sure I'm a Christian? 21]. But doubt is different. It often comes out of the blue, maybe even after wonderful times of Christian growth. Doubt piggybacks the despondencies of life, and even the misunderstandings of Scripture. As John MacArthur points out, "Virtually all the gospel references to doubt pertain to believers rather than to unbelievers; and the kind of questioning John the Baptist experienced concerning Jesus' identity can only occur in the life of a believer" [MacArthur's New Testament Commentaries: Matthew, vol II, 238-239]. One of the Puritan divines, Obadiah Sedgwick, put it quaintly, "I had almost said... there is none had faith, but has found his doubtings" [The Doubting Believer, 9].

 

As we unfold our text, we see the compassion of Christ even for struggling saints. Jesus Christ affirmed John the Baptist's greatness (11:11), so there was no questioning John's faith in Christ, but graciously helped John deal with the encroaching clouds of doubt. Clouds of doubt may arise but Jesus Christ melts them away. As Christ did for John, He will also do for you. Do you struggle with doubts concerning Christ and the gospel? Then let us go to Christ - just as John did, and find relief from our doubts.

 

I. Encroaching clouds of doubt

 

A couple of weeks ago I was enjoying a beautiful day working in my yard. The sky was blue, the breeze slightly cool for a summer day, when all of a sudden, without warning, an ominous cloud moved overhead. I made it inside just in time before the storm broke loose. Doubt in the life of the believer is often just like that. As an Elijah, you might be experiencing the grandest peaks in your walk with the Lord when suddenly, without warning, clouds of doubt encroach upon your life. Dark, foreboding clouds, full of terrifying storms rain doubt upon the peaceful tranquility of your mind.

 

Few among us have avoided those clouds. They come at the most inopportune times. And they assault even the most faithful saints. As fiery darts from the enemy, doubt strikes the mind and emotions to sink our enthusiasm for Christ and the gospel, and to dampen our assurance of being in Christ. "The Christian life includes ongoing tension between assurance and doubt, notwithstanding that faith's victory is sure," writes Joel Beeke [The Quest for Full Assurance, 283]. Doubt seems to be a pesky companion, or at times, a vicious adversary. Yet, "God uses conflicts, doubts, and trials to mature the believer in faith" [Beeke, 151]. So how does doubt strike the believer?

 

1. Occasions of doubt

 

Don Whitney has written, "You are not abnormal if you have occasional doubts about whether you are a Christian." He goes on to explain, "Experiencing chronic doubts about salvation is unusual... Occasional doubts - even horrifying doubts - are one thing, but doubts that persist in the face of every biblical remedy demand careful attention" [20, 24]. Chronic doubts might indicate that the person is not a believer at all, and therefore must find refuge in the gospel alone. But our concern in this study of God's Word is with the occasional doubts, the kind that comes intermittently, though they may last for sustained periods until remedied.

 

Note that in our text, "John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ," and thus "sent word by his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?"" What was happening in John's life for doubt to cloud his thinking? You will remember that he had testified clearly and strongly concerning Christ, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me'" (John 1:29-30). John testified of both the person of Christ as being eternal, and the redemptive work of Christ as being totally effective. He spoke clearly and faithfully about Jesus Christ. He understood the essential truths concerning Christ. But now, by reason of his circumstances, he struggled with doubt. I would identify this as a time of personal weakness in which doubt, like a leach in murky waters, attaches to the thinking of one enduring difficult times. John had no more public ministry. Christ had eclipsed him even as he had purposed (John 3:30). He went from a popular public figure - though a fearful one in many people's eyes - to an obscure prisoner. He suffered in the desert prison. He felt alienated from most everyone, and on top of it all, he knew that Herod's instability could mean greater suffering or death.

 

I do not think there is a suggestion at all that John doubted his calling and ministry. He knew that he was the forerunner of Messiah, but he also was affected by his own message, that the "winnowing fork" was in Messiah's hand to deal out judgment (Matt 3:12). He was not seeing it happen, so in the physical, mental, and emotional weakness of his desert imprisonment, he struggled with doubt.

 

This leads to another cause of doubting, confusion and misunderstanding. John thought that Messiah would do all of which he prophesied in a fell swoop. It was going to happen quickly, or so he thought. He was confused to a degree about the dynamics of Messiah's kingdom, rule, and judgment. He certainly understood what Christ would do but he did not fully grasp the divine timetable or the nature of Christ's rule. It left him confused, and confusion led to doubts. Some of us can identify with John. There are truths concerning Christ that we have not understood, and we're left doubting. Obadiah Sedgwick concurs that what he calls "imbecility of judgment about the essentials of salvation" (not a flattering word but very 17th century) is "the great spring of doubtings" [31]. Sometimes it is due to misunderstanding the doctrine of justification or the nature of repentance or the confusion about grace that leads to doubt. But when there is confusion and misunderstanding, it can be cleared away by truth.

 

Another cause of doubt is unconfessed sin in the believer's life. By this, I do not mean so much sin that is present that the believer is unaware, but more particularly, sins that the believer refuses to acknowledge and deal with. His fellowship with Christ has been so greatly hindered, and the Lord's presence withdrawn due to unconfessed and unrepentant sins that the Christian begins to doubt. Again, this is an area that can be cleared by the Christian humbling himself before the Lord, trusting in the sufficiency of Christ's death, and resting in the Lord's forgiveness.

 

Akin to this, doubt can be caused by disobedience. I do not think in the least that this was part of John's doubt but it can be part of ours, just as it was in Peter's life. When we know God's commands, and yet we selfishly choose to go our way and not His, we will likely be left with doubts about our assurance. And rightly so, for doubting our assurance is a divine means of curbing our bent to sin and returning us to fellowship and obedience with Him.

 

The bent of personality might also be a cause of doubt. Here we discover that those with a more melancholy personality with the accompanying tendency to be introspective and overly analytical may find clouds of doubt creeping into their lives. Many of the Psalms seem to reflect this. "Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? ...O my God, my soul is in despair within me" (Ps 42:5-6). "I am benumbed and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart... Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, do not be far from me!" (38:8, 21). "How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?" (13:1).

 

Charles H. Spurgeon, the best-known preacher of the 19th century, faced times of melancholy despair. On one such occasion he was taking a holiday and slipped into a Methodist Church for Sunday worship. He said, "I felt at that time very weary, and very sad, and very heavy at heart; and I began to doubt in my own mind whether I really enjoyed the things which I preached to others. It seemed to be a dreadful thing for me to be only a waiter, and not a guest, at the gospel feast." The man conducting the service was an engineer, and rather than developing his own sermon, he had borrowed one of Spurgeon's. He did not know that the London pastor was in his service. As he preached, Spurgeon commented, "The tears flowed freely from my eyes; I was moved to the deepest emotion by every sentence of the sermon, and I felt all my difficulty removed, for the gospel, I saw, was very dear to me, and had a wonderful effect upon my own heart." He later introduced himself to the shocked speaker, and told him that it was just the sermon that he needed to hear [C. H. Spurgeon Autobiography: The Full Years, vol 2, 365-366]. If someone like Spurgeon occasionally struggled with doubts due to his bent of personality, do not be surprised if that happens to you. Like Spurgeon, find your assurance once again in the gospel.

 

The final cause of doubt that I will mention - and certainly there are others - is perplexity in circumstances. That is where John found himself, perplexed in the circumstances of being imprisoned for a year. Satan tends to ride our circumstances as an opportunist, to cast doubt upon us of God's goodness, mercy, kindness, and compassion. It may be due to some personal loss or a family death or an illness or a reversal of good fortune or an ill-timed catastrophe that leaves the believer in perplexity over God's good hand. MacArthur rightly states, "Except for when we willingly continue in sin, we are never so vulnerable to doubting God's goodness and truth and believing Satan's lies as when we are suffering" [241]. Such doubts often cause us to question the Lord.

 

2. Questions in doubt

 

In John's case, he asks a question of Christ's identity, wanting affirmation that what he had preached and lived for was true, or otherwise, was someone else going to fulfill the Messiah's role? "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?" The designation, "Expected One," was fairly common in John's day as a title for the Messiah, originating from Psalms 40:7 and 118:26. It conveys the heart longings of faithful Jews for centuries, waiting for Messiah to come with all the blessings and judgments that were promised. 'Did I get the picture right concerning You? Are You the One that I've been describing?' John asks. "Or shall we look for someone else?" Someone else literally means, another of a different sort. Do we need to look for someone that is not like You? That was a serious question that probably pained John to ask.

 

But doubts do leave questions. Unbelief already has its mind made up, and denies the truths concerning Christ. Doubt in the believer, on the other hand, "is straining toward faith but lacking in something. Often what is lacking is a more thorough understanding of the truth" [Whitney 21]. And so questions arise. Jesus Christ does not reject our questions. He welcomes them because He is the Truth. So if you struggle with doubt, and you strain toward faith with your questions, follow John's lead. Go to Christ with your questions.

 

II. Dispelling clouds of doubt

 

This is such a practical step to take when dealing with doubts. On John's part, rather than souring deeper and deeper in doubt, he sent a small delegation to Christ to settle the issues that plagued his mind. He gives us a very simple, clear pattern for dispelling the clouds of doubt in our own lives.

 

1. Go to Christ

 

"Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?"" Look at this, my doubting friend. John, though detained himself due to imprisonment, sent some of his disciples to Christ. They represented John. He knew that the answers to his questions and lingering doubts would not be found among the Jewish scholars of his day or among the Greek philosophers. He needed to hear from Christ. Is this not what anyone struggling with doubts needs as well?

 

I have often tried to help believers that struggle with doubts, and I'll continue to do so. Don Whitney's How Can I Be Sure I'm a Christian? and Obadiah Sedgwick's The Doubting Believer continue to be excellent helps for doubting Christians. John MacArthur and John Piper both have wonderful material to help doubting believers. But with all such assistance, all that these sources can do is to point to the Source for dispelling the clouds of doubt - Jesus Christ. Christ did not reject John's messengers - He welcomed them. Luke even suggests that Jesus did some special works before the eyes of John's messengers just so that they would have more certainty of Him to pass along to John (Luke 7:21). Go to Christ in prayer and in the Scriptures. Go to Christ in your meditations. Go to Christ in worship. Go to Christ, and find Him ready to dispel the clouds of doubt. But how are we to go to Him?

 

2. Look and listen

 

Notice the words of Christ for John and his disciples, "Go and report to John what you hear and see." Listen to the words of Christ. See the works of Christ. That was our Lord's prescription for times of doubt.

 

Listen to His teaching. Read again the words of our Lord as He taught His first disciples. Read them over and over. Read them consistently and attentively. Jot notes on your thoughts. Underline verses that especially speak to your need. Ponder His sermons and parables. Think upon His counsel with those desperate souls that came to Him. Listen with a view to understanding why He came into the world, how He lived each day, and how He faced distressing times. Consider the nature of His calling for Christian disciples. Think long and hard upon the passion narratives that describe the suffering and death of Christ, and His triumphant resurrection. Look at how He gave assurance to His disciples and followers that no man could pluck them out of His hands. Listen to the preaching and teaching of God's Word. Listen anew to the words of the great hymns that call upon us to look and listen - "when I survey the wondrous cross," my faith looks up to Thee," etc.

 

These disciples were John's eyes and ears, witnessing of Christ on his behalf, and then reporting back to John with all the enthusiasm of those seeing Christ as Lord. When you have trouble making your way to Christ, listen to those who have seen Him and heard Him themselves. Thank God that John had friends to give a report concerning Christ in time of need. You may find help in such friends yourself as you talk about Christ and listen to the testimony of those that have been in His presence.

 

Look to Him. Do not fall into the perilous trap of considering Christ in the abstract as though He was merely a philosophical or religious concept. Think upon Him. Look to Him. Notice that Jesus declared in fulfillment of Messianic prophecy, "The blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." That is the way that Isaiah described the Expected One (Isa 61:1-3). Rejoice in what Christ has done (Isa 61:10). Talk to Him and cry out to Him in your need. Meditate upon His works of mercy and redemption, and then talk with Him about these things. Approach Him as Your great High Priest, who is interceding for you in your need. Ask Him for the Holy Spirit's witness in your life as He promised. Ask for the Spirit to teach you the Word of God and to bring things to your remembrance concerning Christ and His work. Confess your sins before Him. Confess His faithfulness and compassion. Look to His promises made for you in the Word.

 

Assurance of salvation is not a decision that we make - it is a gift from the Lord of our salvation as we listen to Him and look to Him. Assurance is ongoing, intended to strengthen us in times of weakness and trial so that we might persevere in the faith. Christ alone can dispel the clouds of doubt, so run to Him.

 

III. Avoiding clouds of doubt

 

Jesus did not deliver John from the circumstances of imprisonment, the very root that may have turned him to doubts. But the words of Christ passed along now through John's disciples, brought comfort to this believer in the hour of trial. He was soon beheaded. But I believe we can rest assured that the cloud was dispelled and John rejoiced in Christ the Lord.

 

Our Lord gives, what I recall Vance Havner calling, "The forgotten beatitude." 'And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me." What did He mean by this forgotten beatitude?

 

1. Stumbling over blessing

 

To "take offense" at Christ is to stumble over the revelation we have of Him in the Word. Do Christ and His cross offend me? That is the question we must ask ourselves for that helps us to discern the difference between doubt and unbelief. Doubt does not satisfactorily understand the work of Christ on the cross. Unbelief scorns what Christ has done, and denies its effectiveness and necessity.

 

Some people doubt as Christians. Others within Christian influence stumble over Christ because they are not Christians. To them, the cross is a scandal, a barbaric and unnecessary discussion. When we begin to stumble over Christ, I would suggest to you that we do not doubt -- we are instead living in unbelief. To stumble over the Incarnation or His sinless life or His perfect obedience or His co-equality with the Godhead or His eternality is to deny the Person of Christ as He is revealed in the Scriptures. To stumble over the necessity of the cross or Christ bearing our sins before God's judgment or the reality of His resurrection or Christ as the only Savior for sinners or the effectiveness of Christ as High Priest or the certain of Christ's return is to scorn the gospel. This kind of stumbling moves away from Christ. It may be someone that was brought up in church under the teaching of God's Word, but due to stumbling over Christ's person or work, he gradually moves into deeper and deeper unbelief.

 

The denuded Christianity of some who deny the essence of Christ's person and work is in fact, no true Christianity at all. Many accept some of the principles of Christ's teaching while rejecting the biblical revelation of Christ's person and work. They have stumbled over the blessing of Christ and His gospel. Does that describe you? Are any among us slowly moving away from Christ because we find what the Bible teaches concerning Him to be offensive?

 

2. Blessing over doubt

 

Christ promises blessing or genuine happiness for those not taking offense at Him. "Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me." Richly happy, fulfilled, and satisfied are those that do not find Christ and His work to be a point of stumbling.

 

Conclusion

 

Do you wrestle with doubts this morning? Then go to Christ. Listen to His teaching. Look at His character, promises, and work. Think longingly upon Him. Call upon Him. Bring your questions before Him and His Word. Plead for His Spirit to open your eyes to see the cause of your doubts and then apply His gracious remedy to your own need. Find blessing over doubt by taking refuge in Him.

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