In the Christian walk, a believer will inevitably face temptations, experience intellectual challenges, and even doubts. The battle can impede a flourishing relationship with the Lord Jesus. Yet He will still be there, for even “if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). Triumphant Christian living is the will of God for every genuine believer.
So here are three essentials that I believe can contribute to a believer’s pursuit of a flourishing Christian faith. The first one should be highlighted because, in contemporary culture, we need discernment more than ever over the “flaming darts” that are electronically relentless. Paul’s caution thus remains relevant: “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Eph. 6:16).
There is always someone or something lurking online to try and talk Christians out of their faith. It’s important to know that being challenged to doubt Christian faith is not the same as unbelieving it.
Take, for instance, the persistent and fallacious critique of skeptics, which is intended to create unbelief: “You are a Christian because you were born in a Christian culture.” Such “flaming darts” can cause debilitating doubts as they suggest that a Christian’s beliefs are not necessarily true, but conditioned by upbringing. This challenges a believer to respond by rationality, by counter-questioning, and by exercising discernment of the rhetoric.
As one social scientist added, “The times of wrestling with your faith and doctrine are part of what moves you along the pathway to better loving God … our doubts, questions, and probes into the mysterious waters beneath the tip of the iceberg are often what God uses most to change us so that we can be part of the changing world.” [1]