Articles that address Doubt

*As with any website, we don't endorse or agree with everything on the site that hosts these articles. The site has many good resources, but all of them should be read with discernment. The same goes for the music playlist above, plus the books and podcasts included below.

• Learn How (Not) to Doubt
• 7 Ways to Deal with Doubt
• I Never Expected to Doubt (video from Alisa Childers, related to this article)

Books that address Doubt

• "Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion" by Rebecca McLaughlin
• "10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) about Christianity" by Rebecca McLaughlin
• Classic resources available from:
• Lee Strobel
• Mary Jo Sharp
• Josh McDowell
• Sean McDowell
• Frank Turek
• ...and many, many more

Podcast Episodes that address Doubt

*These podcast episodes are from "The Towel and the Basin," a wide-ranging podcast featuring Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The late 2020 and early 2021 episodes are helpful for those facing doubts and questions about Christianity.

• Does God exist?
• Is it wrong to doubt?

*Have Mercy on Those who Doubt (Jude 1:22)

• Doubt = argument on the inside of a person; experiencing inner conflict. 
• Doubt can be destructive (unbelief; hard heart), or constructive. It can lead us toward God, or away.

What causes doubt?

1. Hard Life Circumstances
2. A Fellow Traveler on this Journey = Peter - walking on water; seeing the storm. Suffering and denial.
3. Life feels out of control. Emotions and fears take over.
4. We ask: "How could God allow this?"
5. Who we listen to and focus on
6. A Fellow Traveler on this Journey = Eve - listening to the snake, instead of God. Doubted the goodness of God and His word.
7. Watching “Christians” act badly. 
8. In life, we need a foundation, not just fences (especially true for kids).
9. Protecting them from every outside idea won't stop their doubts; it'll simply intensify the doubts when they come.
10. (Yes, some parental protection and discernment is needed; but as they age, these fences should mature and widen along with them.)
11. Build a strong foundation; teach them to think; and inspire them to love.
12. Personality
13. A Fellow Traveler on this Journey = Thomas - pessimistic, unresolved questions.
14. Inquisitive, Rational, Skeptical
15. Sin - looking for a reason to rebel
16. A Fellow Traveler on this Journey = The people of Romans 1:18-32
17. More about heart than head

Responses to Avoid

1. Drown in Shame, Guilt, Fear
2. Easy to feel isolated 
3. “I’m the only one who feels this way or has this question”
4. Have Unrealistic Expectations
5. Be willing to doubt your doubts
6. You can know something without knowing everything.
7. Settle for “easy answers”
8. “Easy answers” are often true
9. But they’re not usually personal or helpful in the moment
10. Withdraw from God and others
11. Inside our head can get toxic
12. Beware isolation and secrecy

Path Forward through Doubt

1. Define the Doubt
2. What exactly am I doubting?
3. Distinguish between core and secondary issues
4. Work from the Core to the Edges
5. Start with the Cross/Resurrection
6. Minor ?’s = viable answers
7. Major ?’s = vital answer
8. More on this in Week 3 of series
9. Seek Wise Counsel
10. Humility, Experience
11. Provides outside perspective
12. Points you back to Jesus
13. Receive “Common Grace”
14. Music, movement, nature
15. Eating, rest, breathing
16. Serve Others
17. See God at work in and through you.
18. Broaden your perspective of God's Kingdom. 
19. Hold onto Scripture
20. Create a Note on your phone
21. Memorize, Meditate
22. Both “big picture” of Scripture and individual verses (big picture helpful when doubting)
23. Remember God’s Faithfulness
24. Ebenezer - stone of help (1 Sam 7)
25. “Believe in the darkness what you have seen in the light.” - attributed to Lilias Trotter
26. Turn to God in Prayer and Praise
27. Often the turning point 
28. Not always “happy” prayer (lament)
29. ***Need the Church
30. Have Faith Seeking Understanding
31. Don’t give up.
32. Faith drives a desire to learn.
33. Keep an Eternal Perspective
34. What we see now isn't the end of the story.
35. There is hope.

Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? 

You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, 

and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

-John 6:67-69

Articles that address Doubting Salvation

*As with any website, we don't endorse or agree with everything on the sites that host these articles. All of them should be read with discernment. The same goes for the books and videos included below (especially side links on all YouTube videos).

• Resources on Assurance of Salvation
• How I Stopped Doubting My Salvation
• You Can Be Sure (Adrian Rogers)

Books that address Doubting Salvation

• “Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart: How to Know for Sure You are Saved,” by J.D. Greear
• “Walking Toward the Dawn: Finding Certainty in Our Christian Experience,” by Jeremiah Montgomery

Video that Addresses Doubting Salvation

• What should I do, if I doubt my salvation? (Donald Whitney)



“I write these things to you who believe in 

the name of the Son of God, that you may 

know that you have eternal life.” - 1 John 5:13

• “Satan has made it his business to convince Christians that they’re not going to heaven and convince non-Christians that they are.” - Donald Whitney
• “Don’t try to find assurance from a prayer you prayed in the past; find assurance by resting in the present on what Jesus did in the past.” - J.D. Greear

What causes Doubt of Salvation?

1. Can’t clearly remember conversion or baptism
2. Happened early in life
3. Something has happened to hinder your ability to remember
4. Personality / Emotions and Personal Experiences
5. Rational; obsessive
6. Guided by emotions - "I don't feel saved"
7. Trauma - spiritual abuse or manipulation
8. Exposure to People / Viewpoints
9. Is Jesus really the only way to God?
10. Getting outside your family or a primarily Christian environment
11. Living in Sin
12. Rebellion against God’s Word
13. Disconnecting from Church
14. Misunderstanding the Gospel
15. Addressing #5...
16. Helps us address #1-4.

Responses to Avoid

1. It's no big deal / It’s impossible
2. Doubt can show that we actually care about having a relationship with God. Not hard-hearted, apathetic.
3. However…unresolved or destructive doubt is NOT a good thing.
4. Easy Believism 
5. Bad form of “once saved, always saved”.
6. Focuses almost completely on what “I” did in the past.
7. Tortured Self-Introspection
8. Often caused by personality
9. Or, by a legalistic background
10. “Have I done enough?”
11. Immediately “Praying the Prayer” or Getting Baptized Again

Path Forward through Doubt

1. Define the Doubt / Find the Root
2. What is causing this doubt?
3. What actually am I doubting?
4. Work from the Core to the Edges
5. Key issues: Sin and Death
6. Every person on earth faces two problems that they can’t overcome on their own: Sin and Death
7. Seek Wise Counsel
8. Reach out to someone today
9. Don’t know where to start? owen@emmausokc.org
10. Look to God’s Word
11. Claim the Promises (see resource above called "Verses about Salvation and Assurance")
12. Heed the Warnings (see resource above called "Verses about Warnings and Perseverance")
13. Look to Christ
14. Who He is - Savior & Lord
15. What He has done - Died & Rose
16. Why He matters - In my place 
17. Look for Evidence of the Spirit …and Let Others Help You Look
18. Spiritual Fruit; Love
19. Obeying God’s Commands
20. Connected to the Church
21. Look Up and Ahead
22. Look to Jesus, reigning over all
23. Look to Eternal Life, beginning now

Pastoral Questions

1. Should I “pray the prayer” again?
2. Well, it depends…which prayer?
3. Yes, today, and tomorrow, and on.
4. “Whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” - John 3:16
5. Should I be baptized again? 
6. Why? (seek wise counsel!)
7. Baptism - profession of faith
8. Lord’s Supper / Church (Word, Worship) - rededication
9. What about my kids?  
10. Pray
11. Point them to Jesus
12. Humbly model faith and repentance

If you confess with your mouth

that Jesus is Lord

and believe in your heart

that God raised him from the dead,

you will be saved.

-Romans 10:9

Opening Question:

How can I help someone else

take one more step in following Jesus?

What Causes Doubt that God Can Use Me

1. Wrong view of Salvation
2. Wrong view of Church
3. Blame our Season of Life
4. Too young…too old…too everything 
5. Personality and Personal Experiences
6. Past pain and failures
7. Present opposition and struggles
8. Haven’t seen signs of ministry success through my life
9. Shy / Introverted; Driven, but in other areas; etc.

Responses to Avoid

1. Disengaged / Apathetic (1 Peter 3:8-14a)
2. Does it really matter what I do?
3. Become discouraged, hard-hearted 
4. Fear (1 Peter 3:14b)
5. Afraid of what others will say/think/do
6. Fear of failure 
7. Being Troubled (1 Peter 3:14c)
8. Bothered by cultural crises/opposition
9. No personal peace or strength

Path Forward through This Doubt

1. Heart/Soul - "In your heart, set apart Christ as Lord" (1 Peter 3:15a) 
2. Know Whom you believe
3. God the Father
4. God created me with purpose and value (personality and talents). 
5. He continues to give me resources and opportunities.
6. His Kingdom involves all things, not just those I deem “spiritual”.
7. God the Son
8. I have confessed, “Jesus is Lord.”
9. He is my Hope in life and death.
10. He redeems all things, including hard experiences in my past and doubts in the present.
11. God the Holy Spirit
12. The Holy Spirit lives within me. 
13. He empowers Spiritual Fruit and Spiritual Gifts. 
14. I am a member of the Church, global and local.
15. Mind - "Always be ready to give a defense for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15b) 
16. Know what you believe
17. Know why you believe it
18. Key Preparation Topics
19. Creation - Is there a God? 
20. Resurrection - ***This is the key.
21. Eternity - Anything after this life?
22. Bible - Can I trust it?
23. Problem of Suffering - Why?
24. New Generation - Is God good?
25. Body - "Do this with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience...[because of your conduct]" (1 Peter 315c-16a)
26. Be kind, nobody responds to a jerk
27. Be firm, nobody respects a wimp
28. Not just what you believe, but how you live and speak
29. “We exist to Proclaim and Display Jesus.” He is True AND Good.

Path Forward through This Doubt

• Not a Christian? - “What do I believe? How do I address the realities of sin and death in the world?”
• Christian? - “What is my next step? How do I see God working in and through my life?”