Facing Doubt

A Public Faith PART III
Dr. Timothy Keller
13 October 2013

Psalm 73:1-3, 12-26
1Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
3For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the propensity of the wicked.

12This is what the wicked are like--
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.
14All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments.

15If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
16When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
17till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.

18Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
19How suddenly they are destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
20They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.

21When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered.
22I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.

23Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25Whom have I in heaven by you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

WHAT IS DOUBT?
--Disorientation that can happen to anyone as it has to this Psalm author.
--Can be away of spiritual progress.
--Doubt led Thomas to greater faith.
--Active, not passive, doubt leads us to question and think about things.

CAUSES OF DOUBT
--Fact--seeing bad behavior pay off.
--Personal experience that feels like every day ends in punishment.
--Doubt and faith is a mixture of thinking and experiences.

WHAT TRANSFORMS DOUBT
--Experience--going to where God feels real--church, community.
--More than just thinking things through--requires actions.
--Thinking through things--heart of all doubt is in faith.
--Even non-believers believe they are right.

Faith on Trial
about Psalm 75
DM Lloyd Jones