Article CAN YOU BE A CHRISTIAN WITH A LOT OF DOUBTS?

[Outcast]

It is -2 here, very cold. I have been up all night tending both furnaces and the house is only at 68.

I guess I shouldn't complain. It is the Floridian in me that suffers when the outside temp drops to 32° F. Today, though, will make history if the ice and snow prediction comes true this afternoon. Highways will become high-risk areas.

 

[LeeB]

Both agape and true doctrines come from GOD. While agape is the greatest it can only be given to those who know GOD. Any idea we have that is not GOD, like the trinity, is an idol. Idols cannot give us agape. Therefore even though agape is the greatest it can only be given if one has the true doctrine. Agape and doctrine are interdependent even though agape is the greater of the two.

 

[Outcast]

I think that now, for me, "doctrine" has become a four-letter-word. I am so skeptical of any church's statements of faith, I know my hackles would rise when reading them.

I know those things that, so far, God has given me to know. I expect more to come as I go.

This is the place I have been put in order to find topic to study.

 

[LeeB]

Doctrine is in the true spiritual sense is a four letter word, love or agape. The love we see in the unconverted is human level. Our copy and paste buddy has this type using the word without truly understanding the difference.

 

[Outcast]

Doctrine is in the true spiritual sense is a four letter word, love or agape. The love we see in the unconverted is human level. Our copy and paste buddy has this type using the word without truly understanding the difference.

Or by sharing thoughts about what is posted.

 

[LeeB]

Right now, I am astounded by this thread - because it is my story in a nutshell. I, too, was once in the situation where William claims to be. I wanted God to be logical and explainable. I wanted Him to make sense according to my logic, and I wanted Him to reveal Himself to me. At least, that is what I thought I wanted.

I was so busy trying to associate my logic, through my eyes and mind, the existence of God in reality. It took my years before I realized that I had to drop my attitude that it cannot be real unless I would see it, smell it, taste it, and hear it. I had no concept of spiritual witness being the source of my understanding.

My fleshly side cannot see the truth. I have a very deep hate for being lied to, being used, abused, and being the victim of a deception. If my physical attributes cannot "see" something, then to me - it wasn't true.

God rescued me. It came down to my desire to remove myself from this planet. I scared myself by my own willingness and even had a plan on how I would end it. So, I think I can associate my experience to William's post at some degree. I don't know if William ever reached the pit I found myself in, but I see a similarity.

With my world turned upside down, God gave me a way to climb out of the pit. Looking back, I realize that it took years - a little at a time - to see that there was something better. The biggest roadblock was me.

Rather than create a novel here, suffice it to say that a moment arrived that I KNEW that God existed and His Son showed Him to me. All by myself, far from the U.S. and people I knew; in my hotel room; He prompted me to surrender. That became my moment of rescue.

I KNEW by faith. And since then, I became my own witness of His mercy and grace. Now, I realize when He blesses me. I can appreciate the evidence almost daily that He cares for me and gives me peace. That is not to say that I don't ask Him when times seem troubling, because those moments come up. I resort back to faith, being still, and knowing that He is Yahweh. I look to His Son for a human example for me to follow.

I would not be here if it were not according to plan.

I hope that God provides for William as He did for me.

Outcast, your story is very similar to those of all GODS elect saints. It is also very similar to Job who only heard about GOD but never “saw” HIM. YOU, ME, JOB AND ALL OF GODS SAINTS HAVE “seen” HIM AND WE REPENTED IN OUR OWN DUST AND ASHES.

 

[LeeB]

Psalm 51:8 contains a wisdom far beyond human understanding. This is actually how anyone becomes a Christian.

 

[LeeB]

We must kill the old man so the new man may live. This killing is to be complete over time as we grow. The world is not willing to kill their old self, to repent of what they are because they like it too much. John 3:19. The world fears the light, the death of themselves, because it would expose them for what they really are. They in effect deceive themselves. They are in no spiritual condition to repent therefore GOD places their conversion at a future time, a time when the devil is locked away and they will be given the Holy Spirit and be teachable, taught by the glorified elect saints.