Do You Have Doubts? – Part 3

This is the third in a series of posts about doubts we might have concerning Christianity.

III. Moving Beyond Doubt to Faith

Of course everybody has some things about Christianity they don’t understand, don’t like, or seriously question.

1. Some Teachings Difficult

For example, some Christian teachings are difficult, and we will never completely understand them in this life. How do you explain Jesus as both truly God and truly human? How do you make sense of the Trinity: one God consisting of three persons? How could Jesus dying on a cross save us from the penalty of our sins? How do you reconcile a good, righteous, and holy God with all the evil that exists in the world?

We all have questions, we all have doubts, and we all should try to deal with them in a positive way. I know that attending Bible studies really helped me get a lot of answers to the many questions I had. As I learned more, my faith deepened, and while I still don’t understand everything (and never will in this life), I believe because it’s in the Bible. By the way, it’s not too late to start – I was about 40 when I started going to church again and attending Bible studies. I discovered that many Christian beliefs can be explained logically, and once you hear these explanations, these beliefs begin to make sense.

While we should never stop learning and seeking answers, we also have to move beyond doubt to faith. You might question whether you have the kind of faith it takes to accept those things that are difficult. God gives us the faith if we open ourselves to God’s leading – and if we keep an open mind. It may help to know that Christianity, and the realm of religion in general, are not the only areas where faith plays a part.

2. Faith in Every Endeavor

Many of the teachings or principles of any belief system are held by faith. It really becomes a matter of where you want to put your faith: in the Bible, which was inspired by God, or in man-made philosophies and systems. Man-made belief systems appeal to us, because they were created by people. On the other hand, God’s ways can be difficult for us because his ways are not our ways. If biblical teachings were completely understandable to us, they really wouldn’t be from God, would they?

3. Even Science Has Faith

We don’t think of faith as playing much of a part in science, but even some aspects of science are based on faith. For example, scientists put their faith in, and sometimes stake their reputations on, unproven theories. But science is constantly making new discoveries, and old theories are discarded as new evidence comes to light. That should be a warning for us to put our faith in the unchanging truths of God as revealed in the Bible, not in currently popular ideas that will change.

4. We Exercise Faith Daily

Faith isn’t anything new to us, because we exercise faith every day. We have faith that an airplane will stay in the air, even though we have no idea what keeps it there. So we place our faith in that airplane’s ability to stay airborne and get us safely to our destination. What’s holding you back from placing your faith in Jesus?

More about doubts in a future post.