2. The Consequences Of His
Doubt!
There is of course always
a consequence to sin. We may in a very real sense know forgiveness
from the Lord when we call upon His name and repent but
beloved, the consequence always remains.
Thomas Hurt His Own Character!
He lived a full week in misery, doubt and fear because he
could not settle his heart and mind on what to believe.
As I have already said he had heard the best preacher this
world, and certainly he himself, ever witnessed. Instead
of joy and rejoicing he was totally miserable, it was gloom
and doom all through the week. He had let doubt rob him
of the joy of the Lord.
Like Christian and his companion
in Pilgrim’s Progress, straying into by-path meadow
then captured by giant despair they were cast into doubting
castle. Giant despair would pay them a visit and every time
he did they were beaten with his crab tree cudgel until
black and blue, starved of food, told to commit suicide.
There they lay, beaten and hungry in doubting castle, until
suddenly Christian says, what a fool I have been, lying
here in this awful place, when I have the key in my bosom
that will open every lock in this castle.
His companion said what key?
Why the key of promise said Christian! What’s the key
of promise? What God reveals in His word!
How often beloved we become
downhearted and morbid when all the time God’s Word
stands safe and secure. We are robbed of our joy; we become
totally despondent with everything and everybody. We blame
our partner for not being spiritual enough, we blame the
church for not being interested enough, we blame the pastor
for not being caring enough, we blame the office bearers
for not doing enough, we blame the members for not calling
enough.
What’s happening, well
we have been putting together a patchwork quilt religion
as Thomas did and thus we get a patchwork quilt result.
Our generation is exposed
to more religious ideas than any people in history.
We are inundated with all
kinds of deviant teachings that claim to be truth. The undiscerning
person has no means of determining what is truth, and many
are baffled by the variety of teachings. It is no wonder
so many dear folks are confused. But here’s the point,
why should people who believe the Bible and affirm that
Jesus is Lord of all people be led astray or confounded
by competing doctrines?
Scripture warns that the
church will be invaded with doctrines of demons, destructive
heresies, myths, falsehoods, perverse teachings, commandments
of men, human traditions, empty philosophy, vain deceit,
speculations, lying spirits, worldly fables, false knowledge,
and worldly wisdom. Jesus warned that false prophets would
show up at church as wolves in sheep’s clothing Matt.
7 v 15. Paul told the elders at Ephesus that savage wolves
would enter in, not sparing the flock Acts 20 v 29. "And
from among your own selves," he added, "men will
arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples
after them" v 30.
He wrote Timothy and said,
"Evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse,
deceiving and being deceived" 2 Tim. 3 v 13. He also
wrote, "The Spirit explicitly says that in; later times
some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to
deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons" 1 Tim. 4
v 1.
An almost inexhaustible gullibility
has destroyed people’s will to be discerning. Therefore
the church is shot through with confusion, error and doubt.
And what happens? It’s the character of the individual
that falls foul and is deeply hurt simply because we will
not take God at His Word!
"Give the Bible to the
people, unadulterated, pure, unaltered, unexplained, uncheapened,
and then see it work through the whole nature. It is very
difficult indeed for a man or for a boy who knows the Scriptures
ever to get away from it. It follows him like the memory
of his mother. It haunts him like an old song. It reminds
him like the word of an old and revered teacher. It forms
a part of the warp and woof of his life." Woodrow Wilson
(1856-1924) Past President U.S.A.
B. Thomas Hurt His Own Christ!
By that I mean he was hurting
the testimony of the Christ of God whom he claimed to love,
follow and serve.
By his own actions he was
accusing the Lord Jesus Christ of being a fraud or at the
least untrustworthy. According to Thomas, the words spoken
by Jesus had proved to be false and untrue.
We learn something here.
Thomas was separate from the rest of the crowd when Jesus
first appeared to them after the resurrection. If only he
had remained in close proximity to the others what a different
outcome we might have seen.
"Church-goers are like
coals in a fire. When they cling together, they keep the
flame aglow; when they separate, they die out." Billy
Graham.
And that beloved is how Thomas
hurt his own Christ. By his doubt and disbelief he brought
shame to the truths of Jesus Christ.
Listen beloved, we need to
lay hold on this truth, what we do has a knock on effect
on the whole church. We are not islands unto ourselves.
A church that functions well
will function together! Or put it the other way!
A church that functions together
will function well!
You might well ask, well
how can we do that? "Discipleship"
Now there are two things
here in need of saying!
(i) Determining the Church’s
Responsibility!
A church must make a concerted
effort to teach people the Word of God to bring them to
maturity. Everyone is to be involved in that process: the
teaching pastor is to perfect the saints, the saints are
to do the work of their ministry so that the body of Christ
may be built up. We are all to be involved in the process
of discipling people.
Paul instructed Timothy to
pass on what he had learned to faithful men who would "be
able to teach others also" 2 Tim. 2 v 2. Older men
and women are to teach the younger ones Titus 2 v 3-5. Even
young men are to be examples to others Titus 2 v 6-7.
A Christian who isn’t
discipling someone is a contradiction. He or she ought to
be reproducing their life in the lives of others.
A church should emphasise
discipleship. The design of the Christian church is not
to have a professional preacher, financed by laymen who
merely act as spectators. Every Christian should be involved
in edifying other believers.
Well, that’s something
we have not been about for a long time!
(ii) Delineating The Discipling
Process!
a. Teach Biblical Truth:
The Greek word translated
"disciple" (Mathetes) means "learner."
If someone is a learner, someone else must teach him. Discipling
Christians means teaching them biblical truth. When I disciple
people, I give them tapes to listen to and books to read
that deal with biblical subjects they need to understand.
Besides teaching from the
pulpit, I teach them biblical truths on a personal level
from the word of God.
b. Apply Scripture To living:
You need to make the Bible
come alive to the person you’re discipling by making
it practical. He or she needs to know how to apply biblical
truth. You would be amazed how many learn principles that
they never put into action.
We need to ask questions
that prompt the disciple to think through his or her own
set of circumstances from God’s point of view. They
need to interpret life spiritually. For example a lady I
was discipling was panicking over her personal and family
problems. But when she began viewing those very real problems
from the stand point of a Sovereign God and not from that
of a desperate human, her panic disappeared. Biblical truth
must be taught and translated into appropriated attitudes
and actions. Truth will never do any good unless applied.
Solve Problems Biblically!
Biblical problem solving is a key to effective discipleship.
People learn best when they have a need to know. One example
is the way people respond to the stewardess giving safety
instructions before takeoff. Few pay any attention to what
is being said, except those who are on their first flight.
The others have heard it all before and don’t expect
to need to know it. However, if you looked outside of the
plane and saw flames coming from the engine just as the
stewardess said, "please take your emergency card,"
you would grab one of those cards. And if there weren’t
enough cards to go round, someone would get hurt in the
rush! The change of interest comes from suddenly needing
to know.
You always learn best when
you have to know the answers. Effective discipleship involves
giving someone biblical answers to problems he or she has
and teaching them how to apply those answers. Be ready to
give an answer when required.
C. Thomas Hurt His Own Church!
Whatever Church Thomas will
join himself to, his attitude here will not easily be forgotten.
Instead of proclaiming the truth of the resurrection he’s
preaching his own rationalism. I will not believe! Unbelief
was the scourge then and beloved it’s the scourge of
the church today.
"Every man will have
to decide for himself whether or not he can afford the terrible
luxury of unbelief." A. W. Tozer.
Doubting such as Thomas portrayed
will have a debilitating effect not only on the one who
doubts but also on the rest of God’s people.
You see dear folks; the church
is called to be effective in the world in which we live
at whatever time we live. There is no time that is easy
to be a member of a true believing church and witness for
Jesus Christ.
The Church is to be a Saved
Church! Acts 17 v 1-4.
The Church is to be a Surrendered
Church! 1 Thess. 1 v 6.
The Church is to be a Suffering
Church! 1 Thess. 1 v 6b.
The Church is to be a Soul-winning
Church! 1 Thess. 1 v 7.
The Church is to be a Second-Coming
Church! 1 Thess. 1 v 10.
The Church is to be a Steadfast
Church! 1 Thess. 3 v 8.
"For the watching world,
we ourselves serve proof that God is alive. We form the
visible shape of what he is like." Philip Yancey.
"If we saw the Church
as she is in the most generous souls who live most truly
the life of the Church, she would appear most beautiful
in our sight, despite the human imperfections which are
mingled with the activity of her children. We rightly lament
certain blots, but let us not forget that if there is sometimes
mud in the valley at the foot of the mountains, on the summits
there is always snow of dazzling whiteness, air of great
purity, and a wonderful view that ever leads the eye to
God." Christianity Today.
