Honest Doubt

Mark W. Christy, PhD

According to the Apostle James, “the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (1:6b-8).[i] From these words, it would seem that doubt is something that all believers should avoid, and the Scriptures offer multiple accounts of God’s people struggling with doubt. This list of those doubting includes notables such as Abraham (Gen 17:17), Sarah (Gen 18:12), Moses (Ex 3:10-15), Gideon (Jdg 6:13-23, 36-40), Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-14), John the Baptist (John 7:19-23), and the apostles (Matt 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 28:17; Luke 12:28; 24:38; John 20:24-25). Given James’ harsh words concerning those who doubt, it would seem that these noteworthy saints could justly be accused of somehow being “unstable in all [their] ways,” and yet this is not the testimony of Scripture concerning these dear departed believers. To provide further understanding of this seeming disconnect, this article will explore whether or not all doubt is of the kind spoken of by James.

James’ condemnation of doubt is immediately preceded by a call to faith. He writes, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting” (1:5-6a). The audience for his words are not those who lack the truth of God’s Word, but those who lack the wisdom to ascertain how to apply that truth to their present circumstances. In the midst of trying circumstances, James calls upon believers to persevere in their trust in God, which is of course built upon their knowledge of His divinely revealed Person in Scripture. Should they fail to do so, they will find themselves, as James clearly states, “unstable in all [their] ways.”

This instability spoken of by James is directly related to a persistent unwillingness to trust in the Word of God that one has come to know. This sort of doubt, however, is not the same as that possessed by those, such as those aforementioned, who are struggling to correctly understand the Word of Truth. To put this another way, their doubt is not a willful rejection of the Truth but rather a sign of their struggle to correctly ascertain the Truth as it has been revealed.

This honest doubt possessed by forebears in the faith was exhibited by the Bereans when they came under the gospel preaching ministry of Paul and Silas (Acts 17:10-11). While they received the gospel “with great eagerness,” they did not empty their minds of rationality and mindlessly accept the teaching as they heard it. Instead of allowing their emotions to carry them away, they “examin[ed] the Scriptures” point by point to determine whether or not the evidence supported the gospel that was being proclaimed. For this reason, the writer of Acts, Luke, commends them for being “more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica.”

While it is true that the Bereans initially responded to the gospel call with doubt, their doubts were not directed to the Person of God. This can be readily observed by their immediate efforts to turn to God’s Word for guidance. This being the case, their doubts were pointed away from God and His Word and toward the gospel preachers and themselves. Recognizing the potential for corrupted, false witnesses to appear with false declarations of the truth, the Bereans rightly questioned the truths that were being proclaimed because for them these truths still needed confirmation of their being rooted in the Word of God. In conjunction with this, their actions in this regard also reveal their willingness to question their own knowledge of the Word. Whereas they could have placed their reliance on their own current knowledge of God’s Word, they instead chose to humbly return to it so as to ensure that their understanding was in full alignment with that which had been revealed.

For further proof that this sort of self-doubt possessed by the Bereans is fully supported by Scripture, one can turn to Paul’s counsel to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 13:5: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!” Repeatedly, Paul demonstrates throughout his letters to the Corinthians that they struggled greatly with worldliness among their members. For this reason, Paul calls on them to take another look at themselves. In 2 Corinthians 13:8, Paul shows that those who pass this test must be in alignment with the truth of God’s Word. Once again, the doubt is definitively disassociated from God’s Word and firmly directed at the person of the believer.

Just as self-doubt has a place in one’s faithful walk with Christ, this humble expression of doubt must be expanded to include those who claim to speak the truth on God’s behalf. Affirming the response of the Bereans to Paul and Silas, John directs all believers to be discerning when they come underneath those claiming to proclaim the Word of God: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 1:4). This testing of the spirits, so as to affirm the truthfulness of the words being spoken, requires one to maintain faith in the Word of God that is devoid of doubt. John puts it this way, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1 John 4:2). Here, John is saying that those who confess Christ as He is presented in full throughout the Scripture as the Person of God in the flesh is indeed one who is speaking truth. Those who come under such a person while continuing to carefully check all that is said to ensure accordance to the Word will by extension prevent themselves from taking the path that leads back to doubting in the Person of God.

In conclusion, it has been shown that honest doubt is doubt that is directed toward the human components in the ministry of the Word as opposed to Person of God. Those who strive to faithfully attain unto the revealed knowledge of His Person even while they struggle with discernment concerning the application of that knowledge will avoid of “being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Not only this, their faithfulness in making sure that they fully align with God’s Word will ultimately show that they are “diligent to present [themselves] approved to God as a work[men] who [do] not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15).

[i]All Scripture references are taken from NASB1995.