Is Unbelief/Doubt in Christ a Sin?

[Hobie]

We see many times that Jesus faced unbelief even among his own disciples...

Matthew 28:17
And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

Mark 9:24
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Mark 16:14
Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

John 20:24-29
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Was this Unbelief or Doubt a sin?

 

[Pearl]

Is Unbelief/Doubt in Christ a Sin?​

I think unbelief is a sin. It is the sin we are all guilty of until we find and accept Jesus. But I don't believe doubt is, because if we are unsure we want to find out for sure and this can strengthen our faith. There must be many of us with doubts about certain things as we grow to maturity. If we doubt we can go to Jesus and ask. Jesus did not condemn Thomas for doubting, he made sure that Thomas was no longer in doubt.

 

[SavedInHim]

We see many times that Jesus faced unbelief even among his own disciples...

Matthew 28:17
And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

Mark 9:24
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Mark 16:14
Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

John 20:24-29
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Was this Unbelief or Doubt a sin?

It is to some extent. But not all doubt is created equal: some doubt is more serious than other kinds. A lot of it has to do with a person's heart and attitude.

 

[JohnDB]

Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

Most of the Gospel hangs on this.

Paul says :
We are saved through our faith and not works so that no one can boast.

Without faith we are dead....because Satan believes God but its not really doing him any benefit now is it?

 

[Pearl]

Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

Most of the Gospel hangs on this.

Paul says :
We are saved through our faith and not works so that no one can boast.

Without faith we are dead....because Satan believes God but its not really doing him any benefit now is it?

Thomas doubted but was not excluded.

 

[JohnDB]

Thomas doubted but was excluded.

Thomas doubted until he was shown proof.
All of us have a little (some a lot) of "Thomas" in themselves.

I have my proofs that God and Jesus are exactly who they say they are. (And probably more than I can imagine them to be)

 

[rwb]

We see many times that Jesus faced unbelief even among his own disciples...

Matthew 28:17
And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

Mark 9:24
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Mark 16:14
Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

John 20:24-29
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Was this Unbelief or Doubt a sin?

Perhaps our doubting after knowing Christ comes not so much from unbelief, but from having little or immature faith. When the disciples of Christ had doubt through circumstances around them, Christ chastened them NOT because they did not believe in Him, but because their faith appears to be weak. When we are first saved, the faith that gives us the ability to be eternally saved, comes by the power of God in us. That power through His Spirit remains in us, but we are still in this world, where many things may come to test us, to strengthen the faith we possess since we believed. Sometimes we, like the first disciples are so focused on whatever comes to try us, that we begin to doubt because we don't know how WE can change the circumstance. Rather than relying on Christ in faith, we've relied on self, even though Christ has promised us that nothing in this world, our own flesh or any other being can take His love from us.

Matthew 8:26 (KJV) And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

Matthew 16:8 (KJV) Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

 

[MatthewG]

We see many times that Jesus faced unbelief even among his own disciples...

Matthew 28:17
And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

Mark 9:24
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Mark 16:14
Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

John 20:24-29
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Was this Unbelief or Doubt a sin?

If there was any sin left, I suppose it would be a forced state from within the heart that says no, to God period. It's only forgiven, though when they individually, repent or change their mind about their stance of saying, no to God.

Matthew 12:
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

 

[TheOneHeLoves]

First you have to define sin.

1 John 3:4-6 - Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah- indeed, sin is violating Torah.


The fact that we are all needing to be born again by the Spirit, tells you we are all born sinners and not born as believers. Therefore, doubt is natural. The problem lies with our rejection of God when He calls us. if we continue to reject, then HE will reject us.

God has given us plenty of evidence that HE real. If you doubt, humble yourself to ask and receive what He has to show you.

I don't doubt God-Father, Son and Spirit. But at times I doubt on whether or not HE will do what I pray for. I know He is able just don't know His will.

 

[Pearl]

View attachment 38100


Thomas doubted until he was shown proof.
All of us have a little (some a lot) of "Thomas" in themselves.

I have my proofs that God and Jesus are exactly who they say they are. (And probably more than I can imagine them to be)

Not every body is a sure as you are. Many may have some doubts at some time in their Christian life but those doubts aren't sinful, just normal.

 

[JohnDB]

Not every body is a sure as you are. Many may have some doubts at some time in their Christian life but those doubts aren't sinful, just normal.

I can explain it until the cows come home but usually most people dismiss the Bible as a miracle that has lasted through the ages.

I'm somewhat of a self taught literary critic in that I've read extensively and prolifically.

The Bible is perfect...no contradictory statements. Plenty of paradoxes but no conflicts. Single author books can't even boast this. But now ~40 authors wrote 66 books and letters over a span of 1500 years and three continents that agree perfectly.... never happened before in human existence and won't happen again. (Don't really know who wrote Hebrews)

We can't get two posters on this board to completely agree but the Bible does.

And not one single prophecy has failed. (Unlike the Koran)

So....
Plenty of people attack scriptures, want to add or remove scriptures or want to discredit them. Homer's Ilead has fewer copies and no one questions what it says or fights about it. Just saying....

 

[Bob Estey]

We see many times that Jesus faced unbelief even among his own disciples...

Matthew 28:17
And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

Mark 9:24
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Mark 16:14
Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

John 20:24-29
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Was this Unbelief or Doubt a sin?

I just said in another thread that I hate to attach the word "sin" to everything imaginable. When we do that, we start thinking it's impossible not to sin, and we are tempted to give up. No, I wouldn't call it a sin to lose faith, but faith is one of the most important tools we have.

 

[Pearl]

I can explain it until the cows come home but usually most people dismiss the Bible as a miracle that has lasted through the ages.

I'm somewhat of a self taught literary critic in that I've read extensively and prolifically.

The Bible is perfect...no contradictory statements. Plenty of paradoxes but no conflicts. Single author books can't even boast this. But now ~40 authors wrote 66 books and letters over a span of 1500 years and three continents that agree perfectly.... never happened before in human existence and won't happen again. (Don't really know who wrote Hebrews)

We can't get two posters on this board to completely agree but the Bible does.

And not one single prophecy has failed. (Unlike the Koran)

So....
Plenty of people attack scriptures, want to add or remove scriptures or want to discredit them. Homer's Ilead has fewer copies and no one questions what it says or fights about it. Just saying....

I have never, and will never, attack scripture. Thomas doubted - that's in scripture. It wasn't counted to him as a sin.

 

[Hobie]

First you have to define sin.

1 John 3:4-6 - Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah- indeed, sin is violating Torah.


The fact that we are all needing to be born again by the Spirit, tells you we are all born sinners and not born as believers. Therefore, doubt is natural. The problem lies with our rejection of God when He calls us. if we continue to reject, then HE will reject us.

God has given us plenty of evidence that HE real. If you doubt, humble yourself to ask and receive what He has to show you.

I don't doubt God-Father, Son and Spirit. But at times I doubt on whether or not HE will do what I pray for. I know He is able just don't know His will.

Need to quote it correctly..
1 John 3:4
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

 

[Hobie]

Perhaps our doubting after knowing Christ comes not so much from unbelief, but from having little or immature faith. When the disciples of Christ had doubt through circumstances around them, Christ chastened them NOT because they did not believe in Him, but because their faith appears to be weak. When we are first saved, the faith that gives us the ability to be eternally saved, comes by the power of God in us. That power through His Spirit remains in us, but we are still in this world, where many things may come to test us, to strengthen the faith we possess since we believed. Sometimes we, like the first disciples are so focused on whatever comes to try us, that we begin to doubt because we don't know how WE can change the circumstance. Rather than relying on Christ in faith, we've relied on self, even though Christ has promised us that nothing in this world, our own flesh or any other being can take His love from us.

Matthew 8:26 (KJV) And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

Matthew 16:8 (KJV) Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

So, as our faith grows, the sin fades, or not a sin at all?

 

[rwb]

So, as our faith grows, the sin fades, or not a sin at all?

Yes, as we grow in faith, we should choose sin less. I would love to be able to say I shall never sin again since I've been saved. But sadly as long as I wear this body of death, and reside in a sin cursed world, I do at times give in to the lusts of the world, my own flesh and Satan. Which is why I am so thankful that I have an Advocate before the Father to intercede on my behalf.

1 John 2:1 (KJV) My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

I think this is why Paul longed to be out of his body of death that he would be alive with the Lord in heaven. We will not be free from all temptations until all temptations shall be no more. And that will only happen after Christ comes again and makes all things new.

 

[Hobie]

Yes, as we grow in faith, we should choose sin less. I would love to be able to say I shall never sin again since I've been saved. But sadly as long as I wear this body of death, and reside in a sin cursed world, I do at times give in to the lusts of the world, my own flesh and Satan. Which is why I am so thankful that I have an Advocate before the Father to intercede on my behalf.

1 John 2:1 (KJV) My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

I think this is why Paul longed to be out of his body of death that he would be alive with the Lord in heaven. We will not be free from all temptations until all temptations shall be no more. And that will only happen after Christ comes again and makes all things new.

I like that, sin fading as we are sanctified, will have to see what text I can find that shows that more...

 

[TheOneHeLoves]

Need to quote it correctly..
1 John 3:4
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

The King James Version is a version not the original. If you want to quote it correctly learn Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew

 

[TheOneHeLoves]

Need to quote it correctly..
1 John 3:4
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

And Torah is the law. The message is not an different because different words are used to explain the meaning.

 

[Hobie]

And Torah is the law. The message is not an different because different words are used to explain the meaning.

But the meaning can be changed or taken out with the ommision or deletion of words, so have to be clear of what is being said.