Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 9
Chrysostom insists the problem isn’t the elementary doctrines being “milk,” but the continued *doubting* revealed by a life of evil: “If anyone has faith yet does evil, this shows that he actually has doubts”; what specific sins or compromises tend to function as “evidence of doubt” in your own life, and what doctrine (judgment, resurrection, baptism’s cleansing, repentance) do those choices practically deny?
Another way to ask: What sins or compromises in your life could be signs that you’re doubting, and which basic truth (judgment, resurrection, baptism’s cleansing, or repentance) do those choices act like they deny?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript doesn’t list a catalog of specific modern sins, but it teaches a clear diagnostic: whenever you practice evil, you are showing functional doubt—practically denying judgment, the resurrection, the cleansing reality of baptism, or the necessity of repentance.
- Chrysostom clarifies “milk”: not the doctrines themselves, but “to still be doubting these things… needing to be taught many times over.”
- He states the core principle: “If anyone has faith yet does evil, this shows that he actually has doubts concerning the faith itself.”
- He gives examples of what evil implies you doubt: you “really doubt that you’re actually going to hell… doubt eternal judgment… doubt that repentance is necessary.”
- He ties belief in doctrines to behavior: if you truly believed baptism meant guilt was “washed… removed,” you would not continue in evil.
- A commenter summarizes the takeaway the speaker affirms: walking in sin is “evidence of your doubt,” which motivates obedience.