(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
What if I doubt that what I believe is true?
Intro:
What if I doubt that what I believe is true? I have no idea what if anyone’s ever researched this, but I’d guess many or most people have wondered about that. In other words, you’d not be alone.
Today in our New Testament segment we hear about Jesus’ resurrection, and it’s kind of a big deal. If the resurrection actually happened, then the truthfulness of Christianity follows. Everything else can be logically inferred. And if it didn’t happen, well, then I am an idiot. I’m not even kidding. Obviously I’m here, though, because the truthfulness of Christianity is the best explanation of the facts logically, and makes the most sense emotionally.
Today, I’m not going to share any defenses of the resurrection, and I’m not even going to draw out a set of how-tos about what to do about doubt. We’ll just let the text speak for itself both in John and as we get to our OT segment that speaks to God’s call on Ezekiel’s life. And as it regards our focus question, we’ll wrap with a little tidbit about how Thomas shows up in the story today and offer one answer to, “What if I doubt that what I believe is true?”
New Testament segment:
Passage: John 19:31-20:31
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: xx
Words: ~773
There’s so much to talk about here, and just in case you want to poke into that little bit with Mary Magdalene, you might go check out the Sunday Reflection I did awhile back called Who is Ray Miller? Link in the show notes — today’s episode = #1219.
Old Testament segment:
Yesterday we heard the opening of the book of Ezekiel and his crazy vision. Ezekiel’s been deported to Babylon along with the bulk of the other Israelites, and, as you’ll hear today, God’s getting in his business about what to do. Afterward we’ll sneak in one little observation about what this might mean for us.
Passage: Ezekiel 2-3
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 37
Words: ~1081
In the Old Testament, not all prophetic calls are the same. Elisha served as an apprentice to Elijah; Amos was called while he was serving as a shepherd; Samuel first heard the call of God when he was but a stripling.(1)
Rather, the rest of this chapter is devoted to making sure that Ezekiel understands that his ministry turns absolutely on one thing: passing on to this rebellious house the words of God. “You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen” (2:7).
From his perspective, success is not measured by how many people Ezekiel wins to his perspective, but by the faithfulness with which he declares God’s words. And it’d be useful for us to remember that our “success” is faithfulness, because it’s up to God to determine how else he uses that.
The bottom line:
So, about Thomas. You can see why he’s sometimes been referred to as “Doubting Thomas.” And here’s Jesus the dude himself who says to him
Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Jn 20:29, CSB
Friends, in a way, you and I are in that “have not seen him” category. But might we look at it a different way? Sit tight with me as I get you there by one of the backroads.
You may or may not have heard of a Christian apologist named Frank Turek. He co-authored a book with another fave of mine, Norman Geisler, called I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. And I heard a talk of his once to a group of university students where he asked, “How many people in here… sometimes doubt that what you believe is true?” Quite a few hands go up. And then he says,
I sometimes doubt…but I realized that when I think about it, I realized my doubts aren’t usually intellectual, they’re emotional. In other words, the evidence is really good. What’s changing is me. I’m having a good day…everything is fine. I’m having a bad day…I don’t know. Good day? Fine. Bad day? I don’t know. What’s changing — me, or the evidence?(2)
And then he makes a point that is my point today about our focus question, “What if I doubt that what I believe is true?” He said,
Your psychological state does not change whether or not God exists. Your psychological state does not change whether or not Jesus rose from the dead. So instead of focusing on your psychological state, you ought to focus on the evidence.(2)
Friends, we live in a world that makes a big deal out of happiness. And true enough, God wants good things for you. But when we ask “What if I doubt that what I believe is true?”, it’s useful to remember that your psychological state doesn’t change whether or not Jesus said ‘look at me - I’m the way and truth and life. Seek first the kingdom of God and all else falls into place.’
Jesus said “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” But what if, instead of like Thomas we doubt things because we don’t see with our eyes, we see based on the amazing amount of evidence that we have that Jesus rose from the dead?
Because if it’s true, that changes everything. If it’s true, He changes everything, particularly the hearts of those who believe.
I love you. Amen? Amen.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) D.A. Carson, For the Love of God (Vol. 1, Trade Paperback): A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God's Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1998), location 5587, Kindle.