Everyone Wants To Believe Their Faith Is Okay

When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?” “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?” They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John. But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.” So they finally replied, “We don’t know.” And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things. [Matthew 21.23-27] 

Religion is no different now than religion was in Jesus' day: it sidesteps God's Word to "save face." Everyone wants to believe their faith is okay - including religious leaders.

The leading priests and elders mentioned in Matthew 21 above were not so concerned with what God's Word had said about the voice of one crying in the wilderness (Isaiah 40.3) and his call to a baptism of repentance. Instead, they were more concerned that they did not speak against John for fear of losing control of the people. They would not admit their own need for repentance and yet they would not decry John either. Religion, in this way, "rides the fence."

Modern religion is no different than what Jesus faced in this account from Matthew 21.

There are two basic schools of thought that make up the religious world today: 1) those who claim miracles are for today, and 2) those who claim miracles are not for today. Both sides of this issue are as ridiculously hypocritical as the leading priests and elders Jesus encountered.

First, those who claim miracles are for today make a huge fuss about "standing in faith." But when it comes down to circumstances that are not solved miraculously, they eventually line up at the doors of the industries of man (finance, insurance, medicine and technology) just like everyone else. When hardship, suffering, or death are on the line, faith goes out the window.

Secondly, those who claim miracles are not for today insist that God allows circumstances of sickness, disease, poverty and the likes as a way for those experiencing them to "grow." But, what do those who experience these circumstances do? They immediately go to the same doors of the industries of man... again, just like everyone else, to remedy that which "their faith" insists is an opportunity for spiritual growth. And again, when hardship, suffering, or death are on the line, faith goes out the window.

Of these two basic schools of thought, neither stands by their "faith" when it comes down to it. Both eventually or immediately bow to man-made idol industries having neither a testimony of faith to live or a testimony of faith to die (Hebrews 11 - all of it). And then they wonder why people become so disillusioned with "the Church." When they are finally questioned (as Jesus questioned the religious leaders in Matthew 21.23-27) they all eventually reply, "we don't know."

The religious leaders Jesus encountered didn't know the answer to His question because they did not know God - they had His Word, but they did not apply it. When it came down to putting God's Word to practice, they deceptively said, "we don't know." Instead of repenting (as John demanded - and as was prophesied) they resisted. However, they refused to go on record against John because they didn't want to lose their power over the people. "We don't know" they said, because they just needed people to keep coming to church. It's no wonder Jesus called them hypocrites and a brood of snakes.

The same religious, hypocritical, brood of snakes today (directly or indirectly) sends people to the idol industries of man because they do not want to commit to the faith they claim to have (whether faith to live or faith to die) - ultimately, neither stands by the "faith" they promote.

The Word of God gives every believer the right (the authority) to live by their faith or to die by their faith. But God's Word NEVER authorizes man to "take care of himself" by turning to idols he made for himself. When faced with the truth of God's Word, the religious leaders Jesus faced off with sheepishly lied, "We don't know." When faced with the truth of God's Word, the religious leaders of our day sheepishly lie, "We don't know" because "to know" would indict their so-called faith (whether to live or to die).

Everything Jesus' life and ministry teaches us is concisely stated in the following:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

Yes, everyone wants to believe their faith is okay, but is it?

Father, the truth of Your Word is that You demand that we trust in You without aid of idols. May we be found giving up our own way, taking up our cross, and following Jesus. So be it.