Doubt, results of

Doubt results in uncertainty and ineffectiveness in the spiritual life of individual believers and of the believing community. God appeals to those who waver to make a clear choice.

Doubt results in spiritual uncertainty

Uncertainty about commitment

Luke 9:57–62 parallel Matthew 8:19–22 See also Genesis 19:17, Genesis 19:26; Exodus 16:2–3; Matthew 6:24 parallel Luke 16:13; Hebrews 11:15

As they were walking along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.” The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first let me bid farewell to my family.” Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Uncertainty about God's power

Numbers 13:31 See also Deuteronomy 1:29–33

But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!”

Uncertainty about God's love

Isaiah 40:27 See also Deuteronomy 1:27; Job 9:16–18, Job 30:21

Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”?

Uncertainty about the meaning of life

Job 3:16 See also 1 Kings 19:3–4; Psalm 42:3–4; Jeremiah 20:14–18; Jonah 4:3

Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, like an infant who never sees daylight?

Uncertainty about teaching

Ephesians 4:14 See also 1 Timothy 6:20–21

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

Uncertainty about the will of God

Judges 6:17 See also Judges 6:36–40; John 20:25; 2 Corinthians 13:3

Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me.

Doubt may result in a spiritual decline

Doubt may result in drifting from faith

Hebrews 2:1 See also 2 Chronicles 36:12–13; Nehemiah 9:16–17; Psalm 95:8–9; Lamentations 5:20; Hebrews 3:12–13, Hebrews 6:4–6; 2 Peter 2:20–21

We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Doubt may result in faithless action

Isaiah 31:1; Romans 14:23 See also Genesis 12:13, Genesis 16:2–3; Exodus 32:1; Numbers 20:11–12; Acts 7:40; Romans 14:14

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.

But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin.

Doubt brings the risk of God's judgment

Numbers 20:12 See also Numbers 11:1, Numbers 14:37; Hebrews 6:7–8

But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”

Doubt leads to ineffectiveness in prayer

James 1:6–7 See also Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21 parallel Mark 11:23

But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

Doubt spreads

Deuteronomy 1:28 See also Numbers 13:32; 2 Kings 17:14

Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’”

God's appeal for a clear decision

1 Kings 18:21 See also Deuteronomy 30:15–17; Joshua 24:15; John 20:27; James 4:8

Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.