Is It Wrong to Doubt?

The short answer: No. Having questions isn’t a sin, and some of the Bible’s heroes doubted. What matters is what you do with your doubts: whether you bring them to God and look for answers, or use them as an excuse to walk away.

Some people grow up thinking that a good Christian never has doubts, so the first time a question creeps in, they panic. If I’m doubting, I must not really believe. Others treat doubt as the cool, smart position, as if being unsure were more honest than believing anything. Both get doubt wrong.

Doubt is not the opposite of faith

The opposite of faith isn’t doubt. It’s unbelief, a settled decision not to trust God. Doubt is more like being caught between two thoughts. You believe, but questions keep tugging at you.

The Bible is full of people like that. Even when the disciples met the risen Jesus, “they worshiped Him, but some doubted” (Matthew 28:17). John the Baptist, who had pointed to Jesus and announced Him to the crowds, later sat in prison and sent friends to ask Jesus, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?” (Matthew 11:3). Jesus didn’t reject John. He sent back evidence (“Go back and report to John what you hear and see”) and then told the crowd that no one born of women was greater than John (Matthew 11:4, 11).

Jude even tells Christians how to treat people who are struggling: “have mercy on those who doubt” (Jude 1:22). Not “kick them out.” Mercy.

Different kinds of doubt

It helps to know what kind of doubt you’re having, because different doubts need different help.

• Questions of the mind. “Did Jesus really rise? Can the Bible be trusted?” These need information. Read, ask, investigate. That’s what most of this book is for.
• Doubts of the heart. “Does God really love me? Why does He feel so far away?” These often come with sadness, stress or loneliness, and the answer isn’t usually more arguments. It’s remembering what’s true when your feelings say otherwise.
• Doubts that are really something else. Sometimes “I’m not sure Christianity is true” actually means “I don’t want to stop doing something.” Be honest with yourself about that one.

What to do with your doubts

Bring them to God. The psalm-writer talked to his own feelings: “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God” (Psalm 42:5). Talk to God about your questions. He already knows them.

Bring them to someone you trust. Doubts grow in secret. Say them out loud to a parent, youth leader or older Christian. You’ll often find they’ve had the same question.

Look for answers. The Bereans were praised because they “examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true” (Acts 17:11). Faith isn’t afraid of checking.

Keep going while you wait. You don’t have to settle every question before you can follow Jesus. Keep praying, reading and meeting with other Christians. Many people find their questions get answered along the way rather than all at once.

What about James?

You might know James 1:6, which says someone who asks God for wisdom “must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” Doesn’t that make doubt wrong? Look at the verse just before it: God “gives generously to all without finding fault” (James 1:5). James is warning against being double-minded, trusting God one minute and turning to something else the next. He isn’t saying God rejects people with honest questions. The cure for a tossed-about heart is to keep coming back to the God who doesn’t find fault with you for asking.

Your doubts don’t scare God. Bring them into the light, and let them lead you deeper rather than further away.

Think about it: Which kind of doubt do you struggle with most: questions of the mind, doubts of the heart, or the other kind? What’s one step you could take with it this week?

Go deeper: The Key Teachings of Martyn Lloyd-Jones — from Psalm 42, Lloyd-Jones gives one of the most practical pieces of advice you’ll ever read: stop just listening to your own gloomy thoughts, and start talking back to yourself with what is true about God. Start with chapter 14, “Talking to Yourself”.