Momentum Church
Shadows of Doubt
Shadows of Doubt: Pastor Ross Wiseman
Locations & Times
Momentum Church
659 Arnold Mill Rd, Woodstock, GA 30188, USA
Sunday 10:50 AM
Hosea 4:1 (ESV)
Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land;
Many Christians have adapted their beliefs of God to match popular beliefs in culture ratherthan to line up with what God has said about Himself in the Word.
Jude 1:17-23 (ESV)
17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own un-godly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh
Doubt vs Deconstruction
Doubt:
Facing one’s doubts, asking tough questions, & correcting wrong beliefs are all a part of maturing as a Christian
The Voices of Doubt:
Questions come from three areas:
1. The voice of one's conscience.
2. The voice of The devil.
3. The voice of societal norms and views.
Richard Dawkins:
Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.
Faith has been described as believing something on the absence of evidence.
This is a faulty definition that many Christians believe as well.
What is Biblical Faith?
Faith is believing something on the basis of evidence. We have evidence.
Faith: Trust (Greek:Pistis)
Faith is based on knowledge
Aristotle used this word often to talk about surety (sure conviction) or collateral (proof that provides confidence).
Deconstruction:
Deconstruction is about tearing down doctrines that are morally wrong to you to make them match your own internal conscience, moral compass, or true authentic self.
Seeks to move one from a worldview rooted in the authority of the Bible to a worldview rooted in the authority of self.
At the heart of deconstruction is a rejection of Biblical authority and an emphasis on the authority of self.
Truth becomes subjective.
Biblical Example of Deconstruction:
Genesis 3:1-6 (ESV)
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the
Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
1.Vs 1: Satan questioned God’s Word.
-“Did God really say...”
2.Vs 4: Satan denied God’s Word.
-“You will not surely die.”
-He undermines what God said so he can replace truth with a lie.
Romans 1:25 (ESV)
“...they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator”
3.Vs 5 Satan deconstructs who God is.
-“God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God”.
Satan twists God’s Word to attack God’s character:
-God is loving
-God is truthful
-God is sufficient
Once Adam and Eve deconstructed who God is (loving, truthful, & sufficient) then they ate the fruit.
Questions aren’t bad:
The first question that must be asked is one of motive?
One’s bias has to be questioned.
Confirmation Bias: people’s tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs.
Not all questions are honest questions.
Tim Barnett “Some questions seek answers, some questions seek exits.”
2 Timothy 4:10 (ESV)
For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Colossians 2:8 (ESV)
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to hu-man tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
Evaluating Beliefs as we Face Doubts:
1.Use Discernment
Hebrews 5:14 (ESV)
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
2.Seek Understanding
Proverbs 2:2-5 (ESV)
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
3.Abound in Knowledge & Approve what is Excellent
Philippians 1:9-11 (ESV)
9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and
all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
4.Hold Fast to What is Good
1 Thessalonians 5:21 (ESV)
...test everything; hold fast what is good.
Remember:
-You can come to Him because He is a loving God
-You can believe because He is a truthful God
-You can trust because He is a sufficient God
Great Resource:
The Deconstruction of Christianity: What It Is, Why It’s Destructive, and How to Respond.
By Alisa Childers & Tim Barnett
https://a.co/d/i8koF2F
Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land;
Many Christians have adapted their beliefs of God to match popular beliefs in culture ratherthan to line up with what God has said about Himself in the Word.
Jude 1:17-23 (ESV)
17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own un-godly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh
Doubt vs Deconstruction
Doubt:
Facing one’s doubts, asking tough questions, & correcting wrong beliefs are all a part of maturing as a Christian
The Voices of Doubt:
Questions come from three areas:
1. The voice of one's conscience.
2. The voice of The devil.
3. The voice of societal norms and views.
Richard Dawkins:
Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.
Faith has been described as believing something on the absence of evidence.
This is a faulty definition that many Christians believe as well.
What is Biblical Faith?
Faith is believing something on the basis of evidence. We have evidence.
Faith: Trust (Greek:Pistis)
Faith is based on knowledge
Aristotle used this word often to talk about surety (sure conviction) or collateral (proof that provides confidence).
Deconstruction:
Deconstruction is about tearing down doctrines that are morally wrong to you to make them match your own internal conscience, moral compass, or true authentic self.
Seeks to move one from a worldview rooted in the authority of the Bible to a worldview rooted in the authority of self.
At the heart of deconstruction is a rejection of Biblical authority and an emphasis on the authority of self.
Truth becomes subjective.
Biblical Example of Deconstruction:
Genesis 3:1-6 (ESV)
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the
Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
1.Vs 1: Satan questioned God’s Word.
-“Did God really say...”
2.Vs 4: Satan denied God’s Word.
-“You will not surely die.”
-He undermines what God said so he can replace truth with a lie.
Romans 1:25 (ESV)
“...they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator”
3.Vs 5 Satan deconstructs who God is.
-“God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God”.
Satan twists God’s Word to attack God’s character:
-God is loving
-God is truthful
-God is sufficient
Once Adam and Eve deconstructed who God is (loving, truthful, & sufficient) then they ate the fruit.
Questions aren’t bad:
The first question that must be asked is one of motive?
One’s bias has to be questioned.
Confirmation Bias: people’s tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs.
Not all questions are honest questions.
Tim Barnett “Some questions seek answers, some questions seek exits.”
2 Timothy 4:10 (ESV)
For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Colossians 2:8 (ESV)
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to hu-man tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
Evaluating Beliefs as we Face Doubts:
1.Use Discernment
Hebrews 5:14 (ESV)
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
2.Seek Understanding
Proverbs 2:2-5 (ESV)
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
3.Abound in Knowledge & Approve what is Excellent
Philippians 1:9-11 (ESV)
9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and
all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
4.Hold Fast to What is Good
1 Thessalonians 5:21 (ESV)
...test everything; hold fast what is good.
Remember:
-You can come to Him because He is a loving God
-You can believe because He is a truthful God
-You can trust because He is a sufficient God
Great Resource:
The Deconstruction of Christianity: What It Is, Why It’s Destructive, and How to Respond.
By Alisa Childers & Tim Barnett
https://a.co/d/i8koF2F