Yes, it is possible. People walked right beside Jesus—the second person of the Trinity, God incarnate. They saw Him breathe! But some doubted.
One of the most puzzling yet eye-opening passages in Scripture is Matthew 28. Right before Jesus commands His followers to make disciples of all nations, we find one of the most nonchalant yet shocking lines in the Bible. The disciples have gathered. Jesus has resurrected. He is right in front of them… And the Bible, unflinching and astoundingly honest, at the very pinnacle of the Gospel—the moment all expectation had been building toward since Genesis 1—states: "And when they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted."
If the Bible’s only job was to convince people of the truth of the Gospel, God, and the story of redemption, does it make sense to include that people doubted at the very moment when doubt seems impossible? Talk about anticlimactic.
Well, Scripture is the work of a genius God, communicated through humans inspired by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we should expect multiple ideas to be communicated at the same time. Is Scripture a testament to the Truth? Yes, but it is also much more. One of the things Scripture does in the most nuanced, subtle, and sophisticated way possible is confront us with the true reality of human nature.
I provide all this context for one reason: if people doubted Jesus in person, then anyone has the potential to doubt—yes, even those in your family.
Who’s at fault? What did I do wrong?
These are necessary questions, but they come with a caveat. A person’s ultimate stance with God depends on no one other than God and themselves.
At the same time, yes, it is possible that our behavior—the things we do when no one is looking, the person we pretend to be "out there" not matching the one our family knows—could have contributed to our spouse, son, or daughter doubting Christianity. If this is so, Jesus is ready to forgive you right now.
However, beyond all this, the family member your heart breaks for is and will always be a "potential Christian." If you believe their falling away is partially or fully caused by you, there is something you must do urgently, as soon as possible. It is not evangelism. It is not learning new arguments for the existence of God. It is simply to look them in the eyes and say: “I think I am a reason you are not a Christian anymore, and for that, I am very sorry.”
There is no seed you can plant in their heart as powerful as this. With that simple statement, you are communicating that you are aware of your shortcomings and, perhaps, giving them the very reason they need to explain where they are in their faith. There is no room for them to blame you anymore, because you have taken ownership of it. You might be giving them a path back to Jesus, one that leads away from or beyond you. And as long as the destination is Jesus, it is inevitable that you will be together again, because of Him.
There are many other reasons why people doubt or deconstruct their faith: the constant spiritual battle we are in, involving forces far beyond our capacity to understand; new people coming into their lives; influences from other worldviews; temptations that go from whispers to shouts in their hearts; and a myriad of other situations that match the complexity of our human nature.
If this is the case with your family member, and you believe in your heart you are not the reason for their falling away, I’d like you to do something urgently. Look at them, sincerely, and ask: "Is it because of Jesus?"
The answer will probably be “no,” and the explanation will come after.
Who can discern the ways of an omniscient God who loves sacrificially and knew the person you worry about before the dawn of creation? Don’t blame yourself for someone falling away from Christianity. Instead, pray to become, because of Jesus, one of the reasons why they will come back, one day.
Is it because of Jesus?
Get a copy of Pedro's new book, For Those Who Doubt: Is It Because of Jesus?, here (available February 24, 2026).
