“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds” [MATTHEW 11:11-19]. [1]
You just can’t please some people! There are implacable people in our world. One example of people who refused to be appeased is provided in a response the Master gave to those about Him on one occasion. Jesus had just received a delegation sent by the Baptist. John was depressed, and he had good reason to be depressed. He was in prison, and he needed assurance so he could assuage his doubts.
I caution you not to think ill of John for asking whether he was on the right track. Each of us has struggled through periods when we were floundering through the slough of despair. It is not wrong to be despondent, to raise questions about your walk with God or about your service before Him. God is too big to be dethroned by our questions. The real sin is not that we have doubts; the real sin is that we think we can handle our doubts without openness about our fears, without transparency.
Jesus answered the question raised by the delegation by doing what He always did—giving sight to the blind, enabling the lame to walk, cleansing lepers, restoring the ability to hear to the deaf, raising the dead and preaching the Good News to the poor. I learn from this that when we are challenged about our service before the Lord, we should keep on doing what God assigned us to do. We owe no explanation to the world or even to disgruntled church members.
When the delegation from the Baptist had left, Jesus turned His attention to the crowds that were always pressing about Him. He challenged them to think about what they were seeking when they went out to hear John. Then, Jesus praised John with a rich commendation. “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” [MATTHEW 11:11-15].
The Master became positively pointed with those listening to Him at that time when He said, “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds” [MATTHEW 11:16-19]. There could be no misunderstanding the fact that He was confronting those listening.
Overhearing the exchange between Jesus and the Baptist’s delegation, the crowds had heard once again Jesus’ affirmation of John’s ministry just as they heard again of Jesus’ purpose. Jesus thought highly of John, commending him for his ministry. In our text, Jesus offers high praise for John when He says, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist” [MATTHEW 11:11]. That is high praise, indeed.
However, like children infected with constantly changing attention spans, the people of Judea living at that time managed to dismiss both John, as the Forerunner, and Jesus, as the Anointed One of God. In the presence of majestic glory, they settle for the mundane, for the pedestrian. Jesus said that the ministries they had observed left them acting as children might act. Their response to what they witnessed was too silly for a funeral, and too serious for a party. The people were deeply flawed, not unlike people in this day when they witness the goodness and mercy of God.
A GENERATION KNOWN BY ITS COMPLAINTS — “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’”
[MATTHEW 11:16-17]
“To what shall I compare this generation?” With that question, the Master began to challenge the people crowding around Him after the disciples of the Baptist had questioned Him. John was suffering an eclipse of faith. He had been imprisoned and he was facing death because of his uncompromising stand for righteousness. Jesus encouraged the suffering saint through pointing to the work He was performing. The exchange between Jesus and the disciples of John was witnessed by those pressing in to see Him. The Master seized the opportunity to provide instruction, instruction which was surely needed at that time, instruction which is needed today.
I suppose most of us have at one time or another watched children at play. Usually, it is an enjoyable exercise to watch children at play. It has been said that play is the work of children. Often, they are putting themselves into situations mirroring the adults in their lives. I recall a woman telling me that she watched her son playing on one occasion; he was pretending to be “Pastor Mike.” He was preaching! Standing behind a piece of yard furniture and yelling “Repent and get saved!” while wildly gesturing. I told that mother that I was glad her son wasn’t baptising his playmates. The consequences could have been disastrous.
Enjoyable as it can be to watch children playing, we know that play can quickly degenerate into squabbling. It seems almost inevitable that children won’t have played for long before one begins to complain that others are not playing right. What is this except the revelation of the sin nature that is inherent in the human condition? Even as children we try to exert our will over others, we try to compel others to do what we want. The example Jesus uses is children in the marketplace. Some are grousing, “We played the flute for you, and you refused to dance.” Others pout, “We pretended to have a funeral, and you wouldn’t mourn.” “You’re not playing fair!”
When I was working in the construction trades, I often heard people say that complaining was an indication of a good morale among employees. That was a bit difficult to swallow then, and it is no easier now. What is surprising is that the same argument is heard from time-to-time among the churches. Perhaps you have heard church members make similar statements like that. Perhaps you’ve heard, “If the people are complaining, it means that things are getting done?” Really? In the face of God’s judgement of those who grumbled during the days of Israel’s wilderness wanderings, it is amazing that anyone would make such a statement.
In NUMBERS 11:1-3 the Word of God reveals God’s the account of grumbling among the people. There, we read, “The people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.”
God delivered the nation from slavery, conquering the army of the sole superpower of that day, and they complained. God provided their needs throughout the wilderness wanderings, and the people complained. Moses reminded the people, “You shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years” [DEUTERONOMY 8:2-4].
After the spies returned from exploring the land which the LORD promised His people, we read of the grumbling within the nation. “The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ‘How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. Say to them, “As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.” I, the LORD, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.’
“And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land—the men who brought up a bad report of the land—died by plague before the LORD” [NUMBERS 14:26-37].
When Moses prepared the generation that would occupy the land which God promised, he recalled the complaining of their fathers. In DEUTERONOMY 1:26-28a, Moses recounted the unwillingness of the nation to obey the Lord, unwillingness that led them into open rebellion. Then he says, “You murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the LORD hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt.”’
“This is too hard,” they whimpered. Surely God would understand their fear. Despite Moses’ pleas, despite his reminder that God had delivered them again-and-again, the people refused to believe the LORD. “The LORD heard your words and was angered, and he swore, ‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the LORD’” [DEUTERONOMY 1:34-36].
Complaints are a luxury for people that have nothing to lose because they have little invested. Individuals who are struggling to survive don’t have time to complain, they are too busy trying to earn a living, trying to advance a cause they believe to be essential, trying to fulfil a commitment they have made. Complaining is a luxury we really can’t afford. If we accept what is written in the Word, God is displeased when His people complain. That is a pretty mild summary of God’s view of complaining, of grumbling, of murmuring, of grousing. As a child, my daddy used to tell me that he would punish me if I complained. If I could do something about the situation, then I was responsible to do something. If I couldn’t do anything about the situation, then it was wasted energy to complain. I’ve come to realise that this is a biblical view.
Complaining reveals that an individual disagrees with God. The biblical view revealed by the Apostle has been rejected by the one complaining. Paul has written, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” [PHILIPPIANS 4:11b-13]. The grumbler has rejected this contentment, complaining that God isn’t fair. If you can change your situation, do so! If you are unable to change your situation, don’t waste your energy grumbling. A dissatisfied generation, a generation known for discontent, is an appropriate characterisation of this current generation. As such, it cannot please the Lord God. As such, this is a generation that stands in serious jeopardy.
We who believe need to remember, “God is not characterised by disorder but by peace” [1 CORINTHIANS 14:33a NET BIBLE]. The presence of God’s Spirit ensures peace. Where there is dissention and slander, it is evidence that the Spirit of God is not controlling. Recall the catalogue of characteristics revealing the works of the flesh as contrasted to the fruit of the Spirit. “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” [GALATIANS 5:19-24].
Considering the list of “the works of the flesh” as Paul delivered them, we have to admit that most Christians have no difficulty condemning sexual immorality and orgies, idolatry and perhaps even drunkenness. However, we’re less enthusiastic about condemning envy, divisions and dissensions as sin. These are polite sins that are tolerated, if not justified. Nevertheless, envy, divisions (haíresis in the Greek language – “heresy” in the English tongue), dissensions, rivalries, fits of anger, and jealousy are also listed as sin. And there is no hierarchy in what is listed—all sin is vile, wicked, evil. All these aspects of daily life are transgressions against God. And these have been tolerated among the professed people of God far too long.
We’ve lost an essential word from our vocabulary—sin! I don’t mean that we no longer speak of sin, but we have effectively redefined sin. This is what I mean. We’ve become masters at categorising whatever disturbs us as sin. In fact, for most of our society, we’ve redefined sin. Sin is now defined as any transgression of societal norms, as whatever offends a particular group, especially when we identify with the group in question. However, this was never the historic understanding of sin during the first two millennia following the Resurrection of Christ. We forget that sin is not some horizontal faux pas that hurts feelings or offends mere mortals. I’m not denying that sin has a horizontal context—our actions do injure others. We never sin without injury to others. Nevertheless, sin has a vertical context, or it is not sin! Ultimately, all sin is against God, or it is not sin!
An example of what I mean is provided by looking at a sordid incident from the life of David. The account of David’s adulterous affair with Bathsheba is too well known to ignore. His sinful dalliance resulted in her pregnancy. To cover his sin, David attempted to get her husband to sleep with her after the king had recalled him from the war. David hoped that he would accept that the child that was born was an eight-month baby. When that failed, David arranged for Uriah to be killed. After his death, David thought he was in the clear. But God knew, and God exposed David’s sin by sending a prophet to confront the king. Thus, we read, “The LORD sent Nathan to David” [2 SAMUEL 12:1]. How stunning was Nathan’s pronouncement, “You are the man” [2 SAMUEL 12:7]!
David was stricken, his was conscience smitten. The sinful king confessed, “I have sinned against the LORD” [2 SAMUEL 12:13]. In his prayer, recorded in the FIFTY-FIRST PSALM, David confessed,
“Against You, You only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight.”
[PSALM 51:4a]
Didn’t David sin against Bathsheba? Didn’t he sin against Uriah? Didn’t he sin against the nation? Of course David sinned against all these, but ultimately all sin is against the True and Living God. Therefore, David confessed that he had sinned against the LORD God. He violated God’s holy standard. If there was no standard of righteousness, there would be no sin. If there was no God to set the standard for holiness, there would be no sin. Sin is whatever offends Holy God. And we know what offends Him because He has told us repeatedly throughout His Word.
Where sin prevails in a culture, when the Living God no longer holds sway over a culture, peace no longer characterises that generation. Rather than peace, that dark catalogue of evil prevails which the Apostle has provided—sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies. This is society without a standard, a culture that has rejected righteousness.
The congregation known for complaining reveals that it is no longer walking in the blessing of the Lord—if ever it did so. Though that congregation may have been blessed in the past, they have become too obtuse to realise what God has done. With their complaints, they demonstrate that they are too silly for a funeral and too serious for a party. Without realising what is happening, they have fallen into the trap of being Laodicean in their life as an assembly, neither hot nor cold. The grumblers are neither serious nor joyful—they are simply miserable.
A GENERATION THAT SEEKS TO DESTROY OTHERS — “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners’” [MATTHEW 11:18-19a]! The generation that was in Judea in the days when Jesus walked among them was characterised as self-righteous, as self-centred. The religious leaders made a show of their religion, but they were not conversant with the Lord or His mighty works.
How scathing were Jesus’ words to these religious leaders. Here is an example of Jesus’ fiery censure of religious leaders. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” [MATTHEW 23:25-28].
The Lord accused them of performing their religious duties solely so they could be seen. He accused them of overweening pride and of self-exaltation. He repeatedly called them hypocrites, just as He called them “blind guides” and “blind fools.” According to the Master, they were guilty of soul murder, destroying the hope of those who looked to them for guidance. They had the techniques of religion down pat, and they were dead inside. Anyone who could actually see what they were would be nauseated at what was discovered.
Hold the thought that these leaders were destroyers. Anyone who exalts his own righteousness, anyone who exalts her religion against knowledge of the Lord God, anyone who tears down the faith of others, is identified as belonging to a generation that seeks to destroy others, a generation of destroyers. Such people know nothing of building, but the Spirit-filled believer is a builder. As a follower of the Christ, His Spirit equips His people to be known for building up, to be known for encouraging and for consoling others [see 1 CORINTHIANS 14:3].
God’s people are not to be destroyers—they are appointed to be builders! The assembly that is recognised for destructive ways is not walking in the paths marked out by the Son of God. Perhaps you will recall an incident that occurred during the days Jesus ministered in Judea. “When the days drew near for [Jesus] to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village” [LUKE 9:51-56].
Among the professed saints of God will be found destroyers and backstabbers, people who make havoc of the vineyard of the Lord. They may cloak their destruction in pious language or exaggerated attention to religious detail, but they are destructive, a detriment to the Faith. Consider some such individuals who remain among the churches to this day.
Time will not permit me to draft an exhaustive picture of destroyers found among the brotherhood, though it will undoubtedly be helpful to mention some. I will mention “gainers.” These individuals are again’ every move that might appear to advance the cause of Christ. In the vernacular of the southland, they’re again’ whatever may be proposed. They are noted for routinely voicing the seven last words of the church, “We’ve never done it that way before.” Whatever happens to be proposed by the leadership, they are against it. This is not the action of a godly person who seeks to build others or to advance God’s Kingdom, this is the work of a destroyer. It is not so much that these “gainers” don’t want to see the Kingdom of God advance—in fact, they will contend that they really, really want to see God glorified! Their opposition is more an issue that they don’t want to be inconvenienced by change. Perhaps they are simply angry that they are not in control. Or perhaps they are upset that someone else had an idea that is being considered by the congregation. Candidly, they are just miserable people.
Then, there are backstabbers. These are church members who frame gossip as prayer requests. They open their gossip session by “sharing a prayer request.” Their “prayer requests” can be positively destructive. Those for whom they request prayer are often driven away from participating in the life of the assembly through embarrassment. Unfortunately, these particular backstabbers are usually quite specific about what they’ve decided is a flaw in the life of another. They protest that they are only praying for someone if they are challenged as to their perspective. However, they would never think to speak with the person for whom they are requesting prayer! Why, it is enough that they organised others to pray about the speck in their brother’s eye. Tragically, they have never recognised the log in their own eye. Such holy gossips needs to hear the Master when He said, “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” [MATTHEW 7:5].
I have found it necessary on more than a few occasions to cut off someone making a “prayer request.” They seemed to be enjoying telling the salacious details of the very thing they wished others to pray about. Dear people, it is not necessary to know the salacious details of every failure in order to ask God to show mercy. It is not necessary that you know every little aspect of a fellow believer’s failure to be a friend and to build up that friend. If they trust you enough to share the intimate details of their failure with you, they will honour you by doing so. However, few of us are sufficiently trustworthy to be entrusted with the delicate aspects of a broken saint’s life.
These destroyers can be identified because they talk about others rather than talking to others. They are prepared to destroy by revealing every flaw—real or perceived, rather than adhering to Scripture. Did these destroyers never hear the words of the Master? “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” [MATTHEW 18:15]. Their concern is less about gaining a brother than it is about exercising power over another through holding some secret information over them.
Destroyers often know lots of information about lots of people; and they are willing to share what they know without anyone asking. They are eager to hear the worst about others. These loveless souls are ignorant of the spectrum of love as presented by the Apostle to the Gentiles. You will remember that Paul has instructed followers of Christ, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” [1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-7]. Does it actually need to be said? Don’t be a destroyer! Don’t be one of those Christian backstabbers! Don’t allow yourself to slip into this all too common destructive condition.
The Master confronted the people of that ancient generation because they were implacable; they would not be satisfied. I know that not everyone in ancient Judea was intractable, but enough were that their presence coloured the entire generation. Those that were not intransigent were quiescent, tolerating the boorishness of those who were most boisterous. Nothing that was done would ever please the most vocal among them. It wasn’t that they could not be satisfied, they chose not to be satisfied whatever might happen.
Jesus pointed the raucous crowds to John, contrasting their reaction to him to that which they demonstrated toward Himself. John arrived on the scene as a prophet of the Living God. He was austere, severe in his dress and stern in his demeanour. He wore a camel hair garment secured with a leather belt around his waist. John was known for his ascetic diet consisting of locusts and wild honey. You couldn’t get much more stringent or restrained than John. His diet wasn’t keto, but it was healthy. The response of the religious leadership to John’s asceticism was to claim he had a demon! In their view, anyone who lived a life that deliberately chose to eschew all earthly pleasures must be demonised. In their estimate, John just had to be sick in the head! None of the religious elite lived like that!
Leave it to a conflicted society to cast everything in the most negative light possible. Whereas John was severe in his lifestyle and in his demeanour, Jesus was denoted by His acceptance of tax collectors and for receiving those reputed to be terrible sinners. John was not the sort of preacher you would want to invite to join you for coffee. Jesus, however, welcomed those who were actually seeking peace with God, no mater how dark their past may have been. Jesus went so far as to dine with sinners! Religious leaders complained about His open-hearted acceptance of others. “Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners” they exclaimed! There are people who will not be pleased no matter what. They will find something to complain about, regardless of how hard someone may try to please them.
Among professing Christians today are spiritual descendants of these religious leaders who lived in that ancient day. If the preacher exposes sinful behaviour, he is too aggressive. If he confronts wicked acts among his congregants, he is destroying the church. If he fails to ride their favourite hobby horse, these religious harpies argue that he is biblically illiterate. If he shows compassion for the outcasts of society, he is a secret sinner and condoning evil. If he says something gracious about members of another denomination, he is a compromiser. These spiritual parasites differing not a whit from the religious leaders of that ancient day are still found among the churches to this day! These termites are implacable, destructive, always undermining the work of God—and they aren’t even certain why they act as they do!
GROW UP! “Wisdom is justified by her deeds” [MATTHEW 11:19b]. The Master’s final statement to that crowd was, and is, a sobering demand of those who Him heard speak that day. I am under no illusion that the world will actually hear what I am saying in this message. Those in the world will not likely be swayed by what I say, even though it is on the authority of the Word of the Living God. However, you who name the Name of Christ the Lord do hear me, and because you are called by His Name, you must take to heart what the Master has said! “Grow up!”
God’s angel, speaking with Daniel, made a significant statement that seems applicable in light of the Master’s words. The angel said, “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” [DANIEL 12:3]. Jesus said, “Wisdom is justified by her deeds;” the angel said, “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above.” The wise are distinguished by what they do, not by mere talk. Maturity is seen in how we respond to the daily grind, not by mere age.
Heavenly wisdom, that divine wisdom that reveals one’s relationship to the Lord does not consist of what one says, it is revealed in who one is. Our actions reveal more of our relationship than anything we might ever say. Walking in the way of the Lord, walking in faith and trusting that He is in control, becomes the great determinate for the reality of the wisdom of God. James, the brother of our Lord, writes, “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” [JAMES 3:13-18]. Relationship, not assertion, defines the child of God. A more colloquial statement that is sometimes heard is, “Don’t talk the talk if you don’t walk the walk.” Authenticity is needed.
Attending the services of a church, by itself, does not reveal divine wisdom. I am certain that it is a good thing to be in the House of the Lord; but even the godless may find themselves in church service from time-to-time. I wish the church building was full each time the doors opened, but I’m under no illusion that a full house means that the community is converted. Religion as practised in much of our contemporary world reminds me of the Pecos River at floodtide—a kilometer wide and ankle-deep.
Participating in the ordinances of the Faith does not demonstrate wisdom when the act is viewed in isolation from the totality of life. Tragically, even unbelievers often partake of the Table of the Lord as the elements are distributed. And even unbelievers have submitted to baptism because they imagine that in doing so, they are made presentable to the Lord. Assuredly, many individuals were presented to receive a religious rite at the insistence of their parents when they were infants, but it did not give them a relationship to the Lord Christ.
Funnily enough, both Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler were baptised as infants. However well-intentioned their parents may have been, there is not much argument that the lives of these two men did not reflect a relationship with the Son of God. Assuredly, even the unbelieving world recognises these men as notorious sinners deserving of eternal judgement. Shouting “Hallelujah” and jumping in apparent joy are evidence neither of divine wisdom nor of a relationship with the Saviour. Having an ecstatic experience, losing control of one’s senses and speaking gibberish are not evidence of divine wisdom. We have heard reports of entire choirs of pagans singing ecstatically in “tongues” in Africa, and we are aware of reports of Mormon choirs singing in unison in tongues, but that doesn’t make them godly or Christian. Swaying while transfixed by the steady beat of a repetitious melody is not evidence of divine wisdom.
The wisdom that comes from the Lord is revealed through a transformed life. I must caution you not to try to turn things around. One does not do good deeds in order to be a Christian; but because one has been born from above, that one will want to do what is right and godly! Doing the right thing without a changed heart is a meaningless endeavour. However, when the heart has been transformed, the individual will want to know the will of the Lord and that one will want to do what pleases Him. By itself, a godly life has little meaning. When combined with a testimony of faith in the Risen Son of God, a holy life is a powerful testimony. This is the teaching of the Son of God. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” [MATTHEW 5:14-16].
Much of what is attempted to be passed off as Christianity in this day, consists of rank immaturity. What I am describing is not a problem that is unique to this contemporary age; spiritual immaturity was a problem early in the history of the churches. The writer of the Letter to Hebrew Christians made an observation that is apropos to this point. This writer had just focused on Jesus’ role as the eternal Son of God, noting in particular the anguished prayers Jesus offered up. Then, switching from focusing exclusively on the Master, he turns attention to the condition of the faithful in what is written. “About [the necessity of Christ learning obedience] we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” [HEBREWS 5:11-14].
He wanted to lead the readers deeper into this doctrine, but in the writer’s estimate, those to whom he was writing were unprepared to receive the teaching. Not content with exposing the superficiality of the Christianity practised by the first readers, the writer continues, stating how painful it was for him to really drill down on doctrine. He argues, “Let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned” [HEBREWS 6:1-8].
This writer warns that some of those to whom he was writing, and consequently some who read his words in this day, are equivalent to soil that is unfit for producing a crop. They have heard all about the Gospel, but the soil is incapable of supporting germination of the seed. The ground was not broken up, or the soil was far too rocky, or the weeds had infested the ground and would choke out the good seed before it could produce a head. Consequently, the lives of professed saints would produce thorns and thistles, proving that they are suited only for the fire. Tragically, we witness people who are church members, but who are lost to the work of the Kingdom. Perhaps they never were believers, or perhaps they simply are so enamoured of this dying world that they are worthless to the work of Christ.
You who hear me at this hour are faced with a question of monumental import: Of what value are you to the Kingdom of God? What practical impact do you have on this world to the glory of Christ the Lord? Perhaps the question is tantamount to asking whether you have faith in the Son of God? Have you believed? And if you have believed, are you serving at the direction of the Spirit of Christ? Our call is to faith and to His eternal service. Amen.
[*] The title for the message was taken from a message preached by Rev. Terry K. Anderson, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxU1-E5Vyrg, accessed 3 May 2018
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
