Hot Topics are topics that can be controversial or avoided. They
maybe questions we have in our hearts, but we don’t bring up often. They are
topics that our culture says one thing about and the Bible says another thing.
This series is about approaching some of these types of topics and looking to
see what God says about them in His Word and how we can change to be more like
Christ.
I passed out a survey several weeks ago and asked for hot
topics from the students. Some wrote down a topic, others wrote down a series
of questions. As I looked through the list of questions, I categorized into
these 4 topics: Doubts about God, Mental Health, Cultural Engagement, and Q
& A.
Tonight, I want to answer the questions that fit the
category, Doubting the Character of God.
The Reality of Doubt
John Calvin once wrote, “all true faith has a mixture of
doubt.” Doubt is that subtle questions that begin to stir deep inside of us. It
is the feeling of uncertainty whether something is true or not, or even
possible. Doubts attack the things we hold most dear to us and disrupt the peace
that we have with God. One author called going through a season of doubts, the
dark night of the soul.
It’s important to remember that all doubts start from faith
in something. Doubting is not a denial of faith, that is disbelief. Doubts are
questions that we can choose to ignore or push away, but that will lead to
greater problems later. It’s easy to feel ashamed of doubts, thinking there is
something wrong with you or that maybe you’re not really a Christian. I want
you to know that doubting is a normal part of the Christian life. When we
doubt, it is important to talk to someone about them in a safe environment that
we can walk through the season together.
That is my hope in youth group, is to cultivate a place
where you can admit your doubts and we can learn together how God’s Word can
lead us to the truth. This is why I have a series like this, so we can explore
the thoughts and concerns that are weighing heavy on your hearts right now.
The Revelation of God:
When we come to these questions, we are asking questions
about the Christian God who has been revealed to us through the Bible. Our
starting point will be to go back to the Bible and see what has been revealed
to us about God by God. The Bible is our source of information about God
because it is a divine book that came to us through the power of God.
The Bible, or Holy Scriptures, is not a book, but it is a collection
of 66 books. These books were written by over 40 different authors, most of
whom never met each other, on 3 different continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe),
in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) over a span of 1,600
years. They write of many important topics without disagreement, and ultimately
point us to God’s redeeming plan in Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Knowing this about the Bible, we see that it is unlike any
other book or collections of books in history. The Bible is God’s
self-disclosure for our benefit. A few things we see is that God is our Creator
God (Genesis 1), our Heavenly Father (Matthew 6:9; 5:16), the Righteous Judge
(Psalm 50:6), and the Redeeming God (Galatians 4:4-5).
The Nature of Faith
As we read these truths, we come to a place where we have to
decide whether we are going to believe God and His Word or not. Faith is
placing our belief and trust in God. Some like to portray it as a blind leap of
faith, hoping that you are right. But the Bible presents it as an evidentiary faith.
Christian faith is a faith that is based on the God revealed in nature and in
the Scriptures, which carry the historical interactions God has had with His
people and His redemption story.
Faith comes from listening to the message of God (Romans
10:17) and believing that God is who He says He is, that He has done what He
claimed to do, and that He will do what He promises to do (Romans 10:9-10).
This saving faith acknowledges God as God (Hebrews 11:6) and choose to believe
God above all else (Romans 3:4). This faith chooses to put God’s Word first and
hold fast to His promises.
We have the promise of God that when we study His Word and
honestly seek the truth, we will know the truth (Matthew 5:6; 7:7). So let’s
look with eyes of faith at what the Word of God says about God.
The Trinity
God is revealed to us as a Triune Godhead (the Trinity) in
the Scriptures, although we never see the term Trinity in the Bible. The Triune
God is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). This revelation shows
us that God is three persons, yet one essence. It’s a teaching that is hard for
us to fully understand and all of our illustrations fall short. For me, the
doctrine of the Trinity fundamentally reminds me that God is God and I am not
(Deut 29:29).
Does God have a
Gender?
God is revealed to us throughout the Scriptures as Father
and the Bible uses the masculine pronouns He and Him in reference to God. Does
this mean that God is a male? As we understand it, gender is tied to biological
bodies, and since God is not a body but is a spirit, our gender classifications
don’t apply to Him. Yet, because He is the Creator, He is the one who set the
genders of His creation and initiated the use of the masculine pronouns to refer
to Him for a purpose. It’s important to use biblical language when referring to
God, such as, God is our Father and He has a plan for our lives. (The Son of
God did become flesh and Jesus is a male)
Can God Sin?
No, God cannot sin. God cannot do anything that would go
against His own nature and character. The Bible teaches us that He cannot lie
(Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2) and that He cannot be tempted nor tempts others with
evil (James 1:13), but He will always remain faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).
What about when it says, God is a jealous God? Isn’t
jealousy a sin? (Exodus 20:5; 34:14)
Paul does list jealousy in his list of sins (Galatians
5:19-21). And James talks about jealousy with selfish ambitions exit, disorder
and evil practices will prevail (James 3:16). How do we then reconcile that God
cannot sin and yet He admits He is a jealous God?
It’s important to check out the context of words that we
use. Our typical use of the word jealousy is in the negative sense, when
someone is envious of another person’s possessions or relationships. But can jealousy
ever be good?
In 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul says he has a divine jealousy
for the believers in Corinth to be pure in the union with Christ. He uses the
word jealousy for an ardent desire for the good of others, because he led them
to Christ and desires them to grow.
We see then that the context will determine what is good
jealousy and bad jealousy. John Piper gives us a definition of each that I
think is helpful:
I would define “bad
jealousy” as jealousy that is rooted in fear and insecurity and lack of trust
in God’s promises.
My definition of “good
jealousy” is a joyful desire to receive the affections from another person that
really belong to you, or an appropriate indignation if the affections that
belong to you are not being given to you.
Bad jealousy is focused on what isn’t theirs based on
insecurity of lack of trust. This isn’t the kind of jealousy God has.
The jealousy of God then is God’s desire for His creation to
joyfully relate to Him because we were created by Him and for Him. He knows
that we will only find true meaning, purpose and joy in this life by knowing
and following Him. Ultimately, His jealousy toward us is for our greatest good
and not harm.
Can God be angry and not sin?
Anger is not sin, but watch out, because it can lead to sin.
Ephesians 4:26 says to be angry and do not sin. So, we can be angry without
sinning. I would caution you to be suspicious of your own anger. James 1:20
says man’s anger does not produce the righteousness of God. We are sinners and
sin corrupts every emotion we have, that doesn’t mean that all of our emotions
are bad, but we need to check our hearts and our emotions against God’s Word.
God, however, is free to experience the fullness of emotions
without the tainting that sin brings. This means that every expression of God’s
anger is also balanced with His love and compassion. He isn’t insecure, power
hungry, or vengeful. Unlike man’s anger, God’s expression of anger does lead to
His righteousness being revealed.
In these short points about God, we see that the Creator God
has revealed who He is and what He is doing in the pages of the Bible. In the
Bible, we learn that God is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a spiritual being
who cannot sin or He would cease to be God.
A few practical steps to take when you find yourself
doubting: (Adapted from Mike Emlet)
1.
Doubt your doubts – don’t give your doubts more
credibility than you give the Bible. Allow the doubts to lead to conversation,
but be skeptical of your own thinking. Remember, there is a real enemy who
wants to destroy you (John 10:10) and his very first tactic was to cause Eve to
doubt God’s Word (Genesis 3:1).
2.
Learn to live with ambiguity/uncertainty
a.
Living by
faith = entrusting yourself to God rather than living by the “sight” of your
own certainty
b.
Basically, you need to remind yourself that you
are not God and there are somethings you will never understand.
c.
Be patient, some doubts will take time and hard work,
but in persevering you will grow and be better off because of it.
3.
“Look up”
a.
Focus on the objective actions and character of
God in Scripture
b.
It’s not the strength of faith but the direction
of faith that is important
c.
Engage with God—turn to Jesus today
d.
Look for creation-based markers of God’s love
Applying some or all of these steps will help you process
your doubts. Doubts may vary from a small question about God, to a major crisis
of the soul type doubt. Don’t allow any of your doubts to go untreated. God is
not afraid of your questions and doubts, He is welcoming and wants you to know
Him and trust Him.
Are you doubting? Let’s talk!
