The Secret Behind Questions about Faith

“What if I’m not 100% sure if I believe?”  There are ton of questions like these.  You know the ones.  They are the questions we never say because we think (for a reason totally unclear to this pastor) that we should know the answer already.  How many times have you wondered, “How do I know the sound of God’s voice?” or “Is there truth in other religions?”  I bet more than people think.

I’m going to let you in on a secret, everyone (even pastors… even me) have these sorts of fundamental questions about the faith.  Having those questions doesn’t mean you are less spiritual than you should be, and it doesn’t mean you are in some sort of state of spiritual babyhood that should embarrass you. 

In fact, having those sorts of questions indicates a level of spiritual health.  It is not that a lack of knowledge indicates spiritual health; rather, the what is showing spiritual health is the ability to know what you don’t know and have questions.   Assuming you have all the answers you need generally means you have stalled in your spiritual growth and its time to give yourself a little push.

What’s the solution?  There’s two.  For those of you who have questions, ask them.  In your Sunday school class, with your christian friends, ask the question!  You will not only discover that others have wondered these things as well, but will have given yourself fellow investigators to help discover the answer you need.  

For those of us who haven’t really given time to thinking about these sorts of root-level questions, it’s time to take a look.  That’s the second solution.  It may have been a long time since you spent time considering how it is that someone knows something is a sin, or whether or not church attendance is central to faith, but it’s time to step back and look for where your questions are located.  It’s time to give yourself an opportunity to sure up the weak areas of your faith understanding.

This sort of probing and questioning is nothing to be afraid of and definitely nothing to be embarrassed about.  That is why we are going to be exploring all of those and several other questions this fall.  We’d love to see you at five at our church (they'll also be on my podcast), but if not, ask those questions anyway!  Check out this lineup of great questions:

9/7 What if I’m not 100% sure I believe?
9/14 Why does the church ignore greed and gluttony?
9/21 Who is right about the Bible?
9/28 How do I know the sound of God’s voice?
10/5 How can you tell if it’s a sin? 
10/12 Is there truth in other religions?
10/19 Do I really have to go to church?
10/26 Should I feel guilty about enjoying earthly pleasures?