A Message to Doubting Christians

Have you ever felt great distress about the state of your salvation, wrestling with the haunting question, “Am I truly saved? Have I truly believed, or am I being deceived?’ Or, like me, have you ever been so overwhelmed by doubt that you checked the news to see if the rapture had already taken place, convinced you were left behind because you couldn’t find anyone in the house?

It wouldn’t be surprising if you, reading this, have experienced something similar at some point in your Christian walk.

Many of us Christians today walk with such uncertainty; constantly looking over our shoulders as if salvation was never meant to keep us secure in the first place. I wonder why we feel like this. A few reasons came to my mind as I reflected on this. One possibility is the fear of being proud or presumptuous as if claiming certainty in our salvation might lead to spiritual arrogance. Another reason could be that the weight and guilt of our sins cloud our minds, making us think, “There’s no way my heart could be saved and still be so wicked”. Or perhaps, as we read God’s Word and it convicts us deeply, it reveals areas of our lives that don’t align with the characteristics Christ calls His people to display and this leaves us questioning our standing before Him. There are many reasons we may wrestle with these doubts.

However, like any problem, an adequate solution can never be offered until the root cause has been identified. As I approached the week of FOCUS 24 (a Christian retreat organised by On Mission in Wales), I found myself lacking in zeal, and this greatly affected my joy. I shared how I was feeling with one of the seminar leaders during the retreat, as well as with a church worker afterwards, and shockingly (though not shockingly), they both gave similar responses (paraphrased): “What you need is to go back to the Gospel.” I believe this statement reveals the root cause of this uncertainty in our walk. We have forgotten the Gospel.

We have forgotten that there is nothing we can do – or will do – to contribute to our salvation, but it is all based on the finished work of Christ on the cross (Romans 3:20). As the sound advice from those two men of God reminds us, what we need is to “Go back to the Gospel”.

“What you need is to go back to the gospel”

In Hebrews 6:13-19, the author refers to the promises God made to Abraham and the oath He swore to Him. In verses 17-19, the author beautifully writes:

“Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,”

To fully understand the beauty and gravity of this passage, we need to refer to Genesis where God made these promises and swore this oath to Abraham, and we need to examine the details of the oath. In Genesis 15, God appeared to Abraham in a vision and Abraham responded with uncertainty about God’s promises. In verse 2 Abraham says, “What shall you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”.

God responded to Abraham’s cry and then Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness (v6). However, in verse 9 God told Abraham to get some animals and in verse 10 Abraham cut these animals in two and lay them opposite each other (v10). A deep sleep then came on Abraham and a smoking brazier with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces” (v17) and we are told in verse 18 that “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abraham”. What is so beautiful about these verses? In Hebrew the words “made a covenant” translates “to cut covenant, alliance, pledge” (Biblehub). In Biblical times when a covenant was to be made, animals would be cut and placed opposite each other and the parties constituting the covenant would walk in between the pieces, signifying that if either party breaks the covenant, they would be cut like the animals presented (Ligonier Ministries). We see this in Jeremiah 34:18 where God says:

“Those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces.”

Now we begin to understand the beauty of what the author is saying – the weight of the oath God made. If He were to break the terms of His covenant (symbolised by the theophany of the smoking brazier and the blazing torch), let Him be cut like the animals.

As Dr. R.C. Sproul would put it, ‘let the immutable God suffer mutation’. But, as we know, dear Christian, the living God can’t change! Do we see that the Lord has rooted the promises of our salvation in His very character, and not in anything we can do or will do? The very promise of being blessed in Christ is rooted in the integrity of God – that is why the author of Hebrews says, “In which it is impossible for God to lie” (v.18)! 

As the author continues, “We who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” Dear friends, our salvation is a refuge, a strong encouragement – another version (NIV) describes it as an anchor for the soul. We also see this truth in Romans 10:9-11, John 6:40, John 3:16 and throughout the New Testament, because it is from our Lord Jesus Christ, who always keeps His promises.

The very promise of us being blessed in Christ is rooted in the integrity of god

Let us not overcomplicate the Gospel. God is faithful to His Word, and as Paul says in Romans 10:9 – “If you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you WILL be saved”. Do you see his logic? If A and B are true then surely C must follow. Yet some might say, “You haven’t considered D and E.” But no, Paul insists: If A and B are true, then C must follow. The real question to ponder sincerely in prayer is: “Is Christ truly my Lord, and is He fully my Saviour? Is He the only hope I have to face God? Is He my Lord?” And if, by His Spirit through His Word, He confirms that we are His children (Romans 8:16), then we can rest in the wonderful promise that “all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” This doesn’t change the fact that we are still called to test ourselves to see if we are living in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5), but we must rest more deeply in the finished work of Christ.

So, when we next face uncertainty and the accusations of the devil that seek to keep us in guilt, let us remind ourselves of the Cross. Let us remember that we are now included in Him (Ephesians 1:13), that we are now at peace with God (Romans 5:1), free from condemnation (Romans 8:1), saved, free, purified, washed, grafted in, and ultimately, His Children.