Sword & Trowel 2017: Issue 1
Adapted from one of a seven-part Bible study series preached at the Tabernacle in April-June 2017: ‘The Dissolving of Doubts’, a phrase taken from Daniel 5.12 meaning the untangling of knots. Other studies in the series addressed Doubts about the Faith, Doubts about God, Doubts about the Bible, and Doubts about the Doctrines of Grace.
appreciate what God has done in their lives. Then there are those who, when they come to Christ, experience great wonder and discovery. Their prayers are answered, their nature changes, they understand the Scriptures in a new way, and assurance fills their heart. For a time they seem to be protected from doubts in line with Isaiah’s statement – that the Lord bears the lambs in his arms. But soon they are called to stand on their own feet, by faith, and that protective arm of the Lord is lifted a little. The devil begins to assail them with doubts, and their assurance receives a heavy blow. Very many years ago when I was a boy, my school had a highly successful cross-country team. We considered it world-beating. For several successive years they won a coveted national competition for schools under their renowned coach. Then they took up a challenge from a school located elsewhere in the coun- try, never having raced there before, and off they went with a contingent of supporters. Their illustrious coach, however, had not carried out due dili- gence, and knew nothing about their opponents, or their cross-country
course. We assumed that our team would win easily, as always, but the first third of the course turned out to be exceptionally steep and they were not trained for that. After that testing ascent came an equally steep descent, and our team slipped repeatedly speed-running down. Our world-beaters returned defeat-
ed and humiliated, because they had not known what to expect. No one had known the lie of the land. This is exactly what can happen at the beginning of the Christian life. You get a protected period, and then things happen that you did not expect, and you may be flooded with doubts and temptations. There are temptations back to old sins, and also to doubt the Word, and you are shocked and winded by them. You may be a fairly stubborn per- son, having a tough streak in you, and that may work to your advan- tage in much of your life. But Satan knows it. He realises that as soon as you have gone a short distance in the Christian life, made great dis- coveries and proved the Lord with answers to prayer, you will be almost immovable. So the devil will throw everything at you in the opening months of your Christian life to try to demoralise you and take you off track. It is vital for us to know what to expect.
I am not writing to unbelievers,
says the apostle John, for they have not found the Lord. I am writing to believers because there are times when assurance needs to be renewed, deepened and strengthened.
The Dissolving of Doubts page 7
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