John MacArthur once said, “Doubt arises within the context of faith.” Yet, how do we separate doubt from unbelief? In this video, Pastor David Platt addresses the distinct difference between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is almost a longing for deeper trust, and it is not something to be scared of. God is not afraid of our doubts, nor our questions of faith. The Lord is always ready to meet us where we are.
- Doubt is Different Than Unbelief
- Faith is Hard at Times
Watch the Full Message of “When Faith is Hard and the Burden is Heavy“
I know that there are struggles with faith represented around this room. I would even just begin by asking this morning if you have ever had doubts about God, doubts about the gospel, doubts about whether or not all of this is real. I got an email the other day from an old friend of mine that I respect greatly. I have respected for years, and he’s going through a challenging time, and he wrote to me. His words were, “David, faith is harder to come by than ever before.”
Doubt Is Different Than Unbelief
And I wonder if you sometimes feel like that. Alister McGrath said, “Doubt is natural within faith. It comes because of our human weakness and frailty.” And then he contrasts faith or contrasts doubt with unbelief.
McGrath says, “Unbelief is the decision to live your life as if there is no God. It is a deliberate decision to reject Jesus and all that he stands for, but doubt is something quite different. Doubt arises within the context of faith. It is a wistful longing to be sure of the things in which we trust.”
John MacArthur said something similar.
He said, “It’s interesting that when the New Testament talks about doubt, whether you’re talking about the gospels or the epistles, it primarily focuses on believers. That’s very important. It’s as if you have to believe something before you can doubt it. You have to be committed to it before you can begin to question it. So doubt is held up as the unique problem of the believer.”
Even Charles Spurgeon, one of my favorite pastors preachers in church history said, “Some of us who have preached the word for years and have been the means of working faith in others and of establishing them and the fundamental doctrines of the Bible have nevertheless been the subjects of the most fearful and violent doubts as to the truth of the very gospel we have preached.”
Faith Is Hard At Times
The reality is that even for those who seem to be the most faithful, faith is sometimes hard, particularly when the burdens of life feel heavy. But the good news is that even in our doubts, the very God whom we seek to be sure of, is certain to meet us where we are in order to assure us of his faithfulness. One more quote from J.C. Ryle, a pastor in the 1800, he said, “Doubting does not prove that a man has no faith, but only that his faith is small. And even when our faith is small, the Lord is ready to help us.”
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
