Can a Christian have doubts?

[amandita]

Hello! I'm sorry this is a long post, but it would mean a lot to me if you would take the time to read it and give me some Christian advice. I really don't know where else to turn.

Here's a little background information. I prayed the sinner's prayer when I was 10 years old, but I never grew in my faith and lived a very sinful life without any remorse during my teen years. However, on January 17, 2010, I went to church for the first time in a long time, and I was convicted of how I had been living my life. I knew then that I couldn't live that sinful life anymore; it was making me feel terrible and worthless. I wanted Jesus to save me, so I prayed, "Jesus save me!" because that was the only thing that could come to my mind at the time. Afterwards, I walked to the front of the church, talked to one of the ministers, and confessed that I had asked Jesus to save me from my sins. I felt so different, like I was a new person.

And here I am now, not even 6 months later, and I am doubting my salvation. I keep having these thoughts that say, "Maybe you don't believe in the right way. Maybe you have the wrong kind of faith. Maybe you just have head knowledge and heart knowledge. Maybe you don't trust in Him enough to save you." and other things like that. They are really confusing me and driving crazy, as I've been having them for about a week now. I feel silly because during the past week I've prayed for Jesus to save me about 50 times. It is actually quite embarrassing.

Let me just tell y'all what I believe. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Messiah. I believe He was born of a virgin and lived a perfect, sinless life. I believe that He was crucified to die to pay for all of our sins and that He rose from the dead on the 3rd day after His death. I believe that after He arose, He was on earth for a short period of time and then ascended into Heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of the Father, and I believe He is coming again.

I believe He is the only way to be saved, that He is the way, the truth, and the life. Yet, in spite of knowing I believe these things, I can't seem to feel assured that I am saved because of those thoughts I mentioned earlier.
I want nothing more than to be saved and to have a relationship with Him. I long to do His will and to not sin. I want to serve him in everything I do!

Since January 17, those that are close to me have said that I have changed. They say I am not argumentative anymore, that I seem happier, and that my temper has virtually disappeared (and I used to have a VERY bad temper). I've noticed some of these things to. I feel more patient. I love reading the Bible now. I used to find it very dull and boring, but now I crave reading it, even though I don't understand it all of the time. I like going to church now, too. I used to would go, but it was always boring and seemingly pointless. Now I like being around all the other Christian people. It seems to be refreshing to me.

I used to run towards sin. For some examples, I used to cuss all the time, I listened to dirty music that created bad thoughts in my head, I hated a lot of people, I fooled around sexually with both guys and girls, I liked dressing provocatively, I would get drunk, I lied all of the time, and the list could go on and on. But now, however, I feel like I'm running from these things. I really try not to do them or do things that make me want to do them.

I have talked to my pastor about these feelings, and he says it is normal for a Christian to have doubts. He says doubt is to a Christian as pain is to the body. Only physically alive people experience pain, and only spiritually alive people, Christians, experience doubt about their salvation. He said it wouldn't make sense for a nonbeliever to doubt because there is nothing to doubt. I understand this, and then it makes me concerned that maybe I have not been born again and the Holy Spirit is trying to get me to surrender to Jesus. And then I am back at square one again because I have prayed a zillion times for Him to save me. Like I said, I want nothing more than to be saved. My life would be not worth living if it wasn't for Jesus!

Please help!

 

[fm107]

Dear Sister amandita,

I truly believe that you saved.

From what you have posted, I am persuaded, here's why:

Romans 10:9-13
if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

You have just confessed with your post.

But the proof is in you, and the change people have seen in you. This change is proof of you being born again.

John 3:3
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

And that you have become a new creation in Jesus, you old sinful self has gone:

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

But you are still in a world full of temptations and it is possible to still commit a sin. As it says here:

1 John 2:1
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

But in general terms, you way of life has changed, the swearing has stopped etc, this change is definitely proof of a converted person.

................................................................................................

What you seem to struggle with isn't you salvation. It is your lack of faith.

But don't worry about this too much because faith is a gift from God.

You can pray to God and ask him for more faith, ask him to help you to trust in him.

God has given you enough faith to get saved, but God is willing to give you more if you ask for it.

Remember Peter? How many times did he lack in faith? What about when he walked on water but didn't have enough faith and started to sink? Then he shouted to Jesus for help and Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. Jesus is willing to reach out his hand to you and give you more faith if you ask him.

Matthew 14:29-33
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”


I hope this helps.


Your brother in him,

fm107

 

[SuzanneM52]

MAN your life sounds JUST like mine before I came back to Jesus 4 weeks ago now! I'm going to pass along something that my Pastor preached about a week or two ago. Remember when Jesus was tempted by Satan? Well if Satan thinks he can tempt the Son of God, how easy would it be for him to tempt US and try to tell us we aren't saved so why even bother?I believe that's exactly what's going on with you. It happens to alot of us and it certainly does happen to me. I do not doubt my salvation, but what the enemy whispers in MY head, is, Christianity is man made...Jesus was just another human like yourself, drives me up a wall! But whenever those thoughts come into my head, I just start praising Him ! If I am in a place where that would take me right to the loony house, I do it in my head. Works every time!

 

[626color]

If you believe that theology then you've been forgiven. Point blank.
Being saved is about forgiveness. That is not something you can lose unless you make the decision that I don't believe in Jesus anymore.

I don't know why Christians run around in circles worrying about if they are saved or not. Christianity is supposed to be simple.

 

[heymikey80]

Look back on the Scripture, God'll tell you. Often you have to plow through some language to get at what it really means -- but it's there.

"This is how we know we've come to know Him -- we're doing what He commands" 1 Jn 2:3. How you know, is how you can observe your life. It's a general look at the direction of your life. It's not every single little bitty slip-up, but how your life is changing over time. 1 John is mostly like this: things characterizing the New Life in Christ.

Ultimately, you aren't saved by your works. It's the faith that saves you though that shows up in how you live your life.

Jesus doesn't promise constant happiness, or constant relief, or constant escape from persecution (really the opposite). But He does say how you can know you know Him. And that's a pretty big thing to know.

 

[Criada]

If you weren't saved, you wouldn't be worrying about it like that, sweetie.
You know Jesus... it's obvious from your post! Doubts are very normal.. if you read the Biblew you see that even Jesus' disciples who had been with Him for three years, seen His miracles and heard His teaching, sometimes had doubts.
You love Him, and He loves you, hugely, unconditionally and eternally, and He won't let go, even if you do doubt sometimes

 

[Chicken Little]

ok honey being saved is a process, a walk , a journey you must take, you must walk with him... it is not one choice but a million choices in your every one of your moments.
here is an example.

I believe in parachutes , I believe they can protect you when you fall out of a plane...but you don't see me jumping anywhere with one strapped on my back.. I don't believe in them that much so as to trust my life with it....

now my son really believes in parachutes! He believes in them so much he jumps out of perfectly good planes just to see how well the parachute works.
his beliefs and my beliefs are different... very different!
now as far as God's salvation satan believes everything you do about Jesus. and probably more because he saw it happen..
the difference is he never jumped out of a plane. he didn't trust Jesus wisdom for his being ...not that much..
will you jump out of the plane and trust Jesus/god/holyspirit enough with every moment of your life and possible death enough to jump out of a plane/ which is called "all your life" to leave it behind. you have only just started the class called " how to jump" you haven't even seen the parachute you will be asked to use yet. the father reveals all that later..
so baby steps and read and study .. that is where you start.. because about now you have the same "beliefs" as satan. you have to walk out the 'trust and obey" parts yet.. "salvation" is a process. it is not a single prayer.. a single pray can and does start the process if the one saying the prayer was serious about making him lord of your life..
Satan believes in Jesus.. but obviously Jesus is not the lord of his life.
your in my prayers!
time to learn about parachutes, airplains, lift and wind speed and wind sheer and down drafts .... it is all in that book..

 

[SavedbyGod12]

Hello! I'm sorry this is a long post, but it would mean a lot to me if you would take the time to read it and give me some Christian advice. I really don't know where else to turn.

Here's a little background information. I prayed the sinner's prayer when I was 10 years old, but I never grew in my faith and lived a very sinful life without any remorse during my teen years. However, on January 17, 2010, I went to church for the first time in a long time, and I was convicted of how I had been living my life. I knew then that I couldn't live that sinful life anymore; it was making me feel terrible and worthless. I wanted Jesus to save me, so I prayed, "Jesus save me!" because that was the only thing that could come to my mind at the time. Afterwards, I walked to the front of the church, talked to one of the ministers, and confessed that I had asked Jesus to save me from my sins. I felt so different, like I was a new person.

And here I am now, not even 6 months later, and I am doubting my salvation. I keep having these thoughts that say, "Maybe you don't believe in the right way. Maybe you have the wrong kind of faith. Maybe you just have head knowledge and heart knowledge. Maybe you don't trust in Him enough to save you." and other things like that. They are really confusing me and driving crazy, as I've been having them for about a week now. I feel silly because during the past week I've prayed for Jesus to save me about 50 times. It is actually quite embarrassing.

Let me just tell y'all what I believe. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Messiah. I believe He was born of a virgin and lived a perfect, sinless life. I believe that He was crucified to die to pay for all of our sins and that He rose from the dead on the 3rd day after His death. I believe that after He arose, He was on earth for a short period of time and then ascended into Heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of the Father, and I believe He is coming again.

I believe He is the only way to be saved, that He is the way, the truth, and the life. Yet, in spite of knowing I believe these things, I can't seem to feel assured that I am saved because of those thoughts I mentioned earlier.
I want nothing more than to be saved and to have a relationship with Him. I long to do His will and to not sin. I want to serve him in everything I do!

Since January 17, those that are close to me have said that I have changed. They say I am not argumentative anymore, that I seem happier, and that my temper has virtually disappeared (and I used to have a VERY bad temper). I've noticed some of these things to. I feel more patient. I love reading the Bible now. I used to find it very dull and boring, but now I crave reading it, even though I don't understand it all of the time. I like going to church now, too. I used to would go, but it was always boring and seemingly pointless. Now I like being around all the other Christian people. It seems to be refreshing to me.

I used to run towards sin. For some examples, I used to cuss all the time, I listened to dirty music that created bad thoughts in my head, I hated a lot of people, I fooled around sexually with both guys and girls, I liked dressing provocatively, I would get drunk, I lied all of the time, and the list could go on and on. But now, however, I feel like I'm running from these things. I really try not to do them or do things that make me want to do them.

I have talked to my pastor about these feelings, and he says it is normal for a Christian to have doubts. He says doubt is to a Christian as pain is to the body. Only physically alive people experience pain, and only spiritually alive people, Christians, experience doubt about their salvation. He said it wouldn't make sense for a nonbeliever to doubt because there is nothing to doubt. I understand this, and then it makes me concerned that maybe I have not been born again and the Holy Spirit is trying to get me to surrender to Jesus. And then I am back at square one again because I have prayed a zillion times for Him to save me. Like I said, I want nothing more than to be saved. My life would be not worth living if it wasn't for Jesus!

Please help!

"And then I am back at square one again"

------------------------------------------

If you get back to square 2...then go to square 3...If you get to square 3 then go to square 4.

It takes a long time for a seed to become a tree.

 

[Wells Marsh]

Dear Amandita,

God’s Word says that the devil is the father of lies (John 8:44). The devil is the author of confusion. God is not the author of confusion but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). The devil tries to give us thoughts to deceive us and cause confusion – he wants to steal our peace which can lead to destruction.

We must recognize the source of these negative thoughts and reject them. Jesus is in us and we are in Him. In Jesus, we have authority over the devil. Resist the temptation to believe the devil and command him to take his lies and flee from you. (One translation says he will flee from you as in terror.)

The Holy Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God!

Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it (life) more abundantly.
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Blessings,
WM

 

[Wells Marsh]

Dear Amandita,

1 John 4:4-6
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Blessings,
WM

 

[Rao]

Having doubts is part of carrying our cross.

But what do you mean that you doubt to be "saved"?

If you are referring to Jesus Christ to redeem humankind as a whole by dying on the cross, then you should be confident about this, have no doubts.

If you are referring to doubting about your personal salvation, I can tell you that in Catholicism this not only isn't a bad thing, but it's almost required since the opposite (presumption of going to Heaven) is seen as a form of pride and is to be avoided because it lowers our own vigilance against sins and errors.

 

[insurchoftruth]

Every christian has doubts, at some point in his life. But that is what makes us to ask questions and to dig deeper, to find out, why do we actually believe in the God of the Bible and in the Bible itself. But, the Bible says two things about faith. One, is that when we are saved, God gives us a measure of faith by his Holy Spirit, and two, when we read the Word of God, it produces faith in us, and makes our spirits believe. The Word of God is living and active, and can increase our faith.
Also, perhaps the following verses from the Bible will also help;


1 John 4:16, Psalm 130:5,6,7, Romans 10:17, 15:18,19, Matthew 7:24-27, 24:35, 1 Peter 1:23, 25, John 1:1,14, 1 Kings 18:43, 44, Psalm 33:20, Psalm 40:1, Psalm 25:5, Psalm 27:14, 2 Peter 1:1, Galatians 5:22, 1 Corinthians 13:7, Mark 5:36, 9:23, 11:22, 1John 5:14-15, Hebrews 11:6, 1 John 1:10, Matthew 19:26, Matthew 14:30, Romans 8:32, 10:10, Romans 12:2,3, Hebrews 11:1, 12:1,2, Romans 4:18-21, James 1:6-8, Mark 11:23, 4:38, 40, 6:5, 6, 9:22-24, 10:52, Matthew 21:21, 22, 8:13, 9:21, 22, 29, 14:29-31, 13:58, Luke 1:18, 20, 5:5, 7:7, 9, 8:24, 25, 49, 50, 18:38, 42, John 4:50, 6:5-8, 20:25, 29, 2 Chronicles 16:7-9, Mark 11:22, Galatians 5:22, 2:20, Romans 12:3, II Corinthians 4:13, I Corinthians 12:9, Ephessians 2:8, John 1:14-17, Romans: 10:9,10, Mark 11:23, 24, 5:28, 4:38, 40, 9:22-24, Matthew 8:8, 10, 13, 25, 26, 17:20, 21:21, 9:18, 21, 22, 28, 29, 14:30, 31, 15:27, 28, Luke 1:18,20, 38, 5:5, 7:7, 9, 8:24, 25, 17:6, 18:38, 42, John 6:2-8, 11:38-40, James 2:20-26, Mark 11:24, 2:5, 4:38, 40, 2 Kings 5:10,13,14, John 9:7, 4:50, Luke 5:5, 19-20, 25, 8:24, 25, 44, 48, Matthew 8:25, 26, 9:2, 1 Corinth 2:10-16, Revelation 19:13, 22:17, Luke 16:30, 31, Mark 4:13-20, James 5:7, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 33:18, 22, Hebrews 2:3-4, Mark 16:17,18,20, 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, John 1:1,14, 10:25,38, 14:11, 1 Thessalonians 1:5, Numbers 11:23, Psalm 103:3,5,8,11,13,17,18, Psalm 145:7,8,9, Psalm 78:32, Psalm 130:5-7

 

[contango]

Amandita,

It is perfectly normal to have some doubts, as the devil seeks to stop us from progressing in our walk with God. Paul told the Ephesian church how we do not wrestle with flesh and blood but against the rules of darkness (Eph 6:12). He likened the armour of the day to the spiritual battle, including this verse:

Eph 6:16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

The fiery darts of the wicked one are tailored to each one of us but often come back to the same question. Just as he tempted Eve in Eden with that question "Did God really say...", he tempted Jesus with "If you are the Son of God then..." and he tests us with ideas like "If you are really saved you wouldn't... ", "If God really loved you then these things wouldn't happen" and so on.

This is where you need to get yourself into Scripture, as it's the weapon we use to fight back against the devil. He cannot resist the truth, the Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God(Eph 6:17).

So trust in God, believe in the promise of salvation, and get to know the Bible. It takes time, but it's well worth it!

 

[DancingDuck117]

As a new Christian, this thread really helped me. I've had similar doubts as the OP. It's really encouraging to see the responses show that I've been changed and that these feelings and doubts are for the right reasons.

Thank you