“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, ESV)
I think every Christian wrestles with doubt. I agree with the words of Martin Luther when he said that doubting is easy because it’s an ability born within all of us. We find ourselves doubting in different ways: doubting God’s love for us, doubting God’s wisdom in how He orders our lives, and even doubting whether we are even Christians at all. We doubt as ask ourselves, “Am I really a Christian? Would a Christian think that? How do I really know I belong to God?”
Thankfully, God wants us to have assurance. The verse quoted above is just one piece of evidence from Scripture. John says he wrote his first epistle for the very purpose of giving assurance. He wants to bring comfort to those who wrestle with doubt.
Notice that comfort comes from what is written. That reminds us of the great resource that is the Bible. The Bible is God speaking to us. We can hear His voice in the Scriptures that are literally “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). What does God’s word say?
Jesus reminds us of his own promises as our Good Shepherd in the gospel of John. There we read, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27–30, ESV) That is a great and powerful promise! Recall as well the words of Romans 8 that we looked at some weeks ago, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39, ESV)
These are magnificent promises God makes to His people. They give us great comfort and assurance. “But what if my faith is weak?” you may ask. That’s when Jesus’ words in Mark’s gospel to the father who asked for the healing of his son bring great help. “And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23–24, ESV). The Scriptures go on to record that Jesus healed the man’s son. What do we learn? Jesus responds to “help my unbelief” prayers!
Are you someone who doubts from time to time? You’re in good company! Let us all look to Scripture, to the things written, for our assurance! What better place is there?