Do You Doubt? Why?

by Scott Price

Many times when the topic of salvation assurance comes up the conversation is directed to what the reasons for doubt are. A popular response that people use as their excuse to doubt salvation is that they do not doubt Christ but rather doubt themselves. They see that their obedience is weak, their love is cold, their fruit is not flourishing, and they "feel" unsaved because of guilt over sin. What makes things even more confusing, other people trying to comfort them, go further wrongfully, saying these doubts are probably the best evidence that a person is saved. Let's look at a few issues that might help to unravel this mess and hopefully will direct us in a proper gospel focus.

1) We are NEVER direct anywhere in God's word to look within ourselves, look to ourselves, our performance, or even the work of the Spirit in us as we perform to be the basis of our assurance of salvation. Christ and Him crucified as our Representative, Substitute, and Mediator is our only hope and confidence for acceptance with a holy God. Satan will always try to get us to look inward instead to Christ alone. Doubt is simply what it is ----- unbelief.

2) We must ALWAYS doubt ourselves. If we get to the point that we have confidence in ourselves, then we are in big trouble and headed for no small fall. Hard lessons will no doubt follow if God's people venture off track on the issue of assurance. The Lord has a way, many ways, of squeezing out the remaining self righteousness and bringing it to the surface so as to be repented of.

3) Faith is sometimes weak, very weak. God guides and directs our lives in His providence in such a way that He teaches, molds, conforms, and lovingly causes us to grow in His precious grace. The word of God, the gospel, is the means whereby God causes our faith to be strengthened. This is a means not to be neglected.

4) As mere human creatures we cannot trust our feelings. They are constantly changing whether we admit it or not. We are changeable. We are encouraged in the gospel of grace to trust Christ, the One who NEVER changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.