(John 1:25)
�And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?�
The questioning of John the Baptist continues.
As we look at the great sweep of Scripture one thing stands out. God moves forward the discussion of human history at His own pace. Hundreds of years of human history may be dismissed with just a few lines of notice. Sometimes, the sacred record simply stands silent about vast stretches of time.
At other times, such as our look at this discussion between John the Baptist and his questioners, God�s sacred history seems to dwell on a single point for a long time.
Why is this? It is simply because God is not teaching us a history lesson. Make no mistake, when the Bible speaks of history it speaks correctly. It gives the true story, as it happened, with all the human frailties laid bare to the eye of the reader.
But, this history which God lays before the reader is designed to teach spiritual truth. God�s history does not stand as parable; it is true history - of true human persons. Still, God will use those human emotions and actions as parable, much as did Jesus in His earthly teaching ministry, to explain things of spiritual importance.
This makes us more able to understand spiritual truths as they are reflected from the mirror of physical reality. We, through this, gain a forum which is understandable to our human reasoning. We will never know all, this side of Glory. But, we can continue to study and build upon the education He has given to man through His Word.
I have heard that the best institution of learning for one�s life is The School of Hard Knocks. Well, folks, tuition is pretty high in that institution. God has, in His Word, given us a �scholarship� to this university. May we look at, learn from, and heed the lessons God has given in His Textbook of Scripture!
There is a lot of space given to this short period in John�s life. Other New Testament personalities are passed over in a short sentence or two. I think that one of the reasons that so much time was given to John shows his importance in the plan of God. We know that there are no great men of God; there are only men of a Great God. John was one of these men who God honored.
The honor of God comes not from our intellect, abilities, or even from our results. God honors those who trust Him and work that which He has given them as their task in His work. Sometimes those who we least consider to be �successful� are the one�s who are honored of God rather than those who have built, from man�s standpoint, great works.
�For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man�s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man�s work of what sort it is. If any man�s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man�s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?� (I Corinthians 3:11-16)
Each of us who have been redeemed of the Lord are in the ministry. Your ministry may, or may not, be that which the world would consider to be a ministry. You may teach a class, drive a truck, anything! But, as you do these things in the Spirit of the Lord, even your work is a ministry unto God.
Your ministry may be as important as a testimony before the world about how a Christian does his job, or lives his life. This is a real ministry because it shows the world that Christ does make a difference in a person�s life. This is a real ministry because it is doing the work which God has placed into our hands.
John was not important because he taught repentance and looked forward to the coming of the Lord. John was not really important, in a sense. But, John was honored of God because he did that which God gave him to do.
Each of us have that same opportunity!
Paul says that our bodies are temples of God. There is only One Who is to be worshiped in a temple. That One is God. When we consider ourselves as more important, or greater, or even more spiritual than are others, we are shifting that worship to ourselves.
As we move into this new year, let us consider the new question of the questioners. �And they asked him, and said unto him...�
The question given to John at this point was a direct question. It was almost blunt; �So, what right have you to be doing this?� This seemed the intent of their query.
Sometimes the world will do that to us. We live in an age that considers �multiculturalism� to be a high ideal. Coupled with this is the reliance now put upon situational ethics. Because of this we are often not understood when we proclaim the message of the Gospel.
The Gospel is seen, by the world at large, as a very �narrow� message.
A few years ago I took the church youth group to a group of small caves and hiking trails about one-hundred miles from here. At one point along the hiking trail there was a rock formation that was called �Fat Man�s Misery.� It was a very narrow passage between two rock formations. A state project had fashioned a detour around this formation for people... Well, for people like me who wouldn�t fit between the rocks. We had to walk a little further than the others.
There is no such detour on the road to God�s favor. There is only One Way to reach the shores of Heaven. That way is through the Person of Jesus Christ. The Bible is very clear on this point. Acts 4:12 is just one of many verses which describe salvation as available only through Jesus!
The way to God is not narrow. It is wide enough to encompass all who would enter therein. The only narrowness is that of a person who refuses to accept that Way. If you refuse to come to a door it might make it a little harder to enter my home. That isn�t because my house has a narrow entrance way. It is because there is a way prepared. If one refuses to acknowledge that door, he cannot enter.
You might notice that this is also a distinct question. �What are you doing baptizing people. You don�t seem to have the right!�
Did you ever notice how religiously knowledgeable and spiritual people become when they find a real, or perceived, fault in our lives?
Several years ago a young lady called me at the parsonage. It seems that she was with child and needed a baby bed, diapers, infant clothing, etc. When I directed her to a local mission which was prepared to help with her problems, she became irate. �How can you call yourself a �Christian� and refuse to help me with my problem?�, she demanded.
Well, in this case we were just the first church listed on the page of the phone book to which she had turned. She had never visited our church. She just felt that we should be willing to give her whatever it was that she wanted.
Our church was small. We had no funds to buy the requested items. The pastor received no salary. The only thing I could offer was guidance to an agency in town. Rather than accept what we had to offer, she �trashed� the entire Christian community.
Satan, also, will attack us on this point. What right have we, with all we know of our own shortcomings!, to present the Gospel Message? To be brutally honest, we have no right to handle spiritual and holy issues. But, we have the obligation to do just that because God has ordained that we do so.
As we gaze at the task of evangelism, let us look past our own inability and unrighteousness, and look to His ultimate ability and righteousness. We are only �errand boys.� We simply carry the message of His salvation. May we be the best errand boy we can possibly be.
While we are at it, we must live - to the ultimate best of our ability, and with His help! - so as not to bring discredit upon the things of God.
We need to be prepared, as much as is possible, to respond to legitimate needs such as the above. We do this as a means of presenting the Gospel. That, presenting the Gospel message is our first, and Biblical, mission as Christians and congregations.
Notice, also, that the questioners had a demanding question of John. They were concerned about the legitimacy of his baptism.
One more illustration. One lady who lived at the public housing near our church, and who also never attended our services, had a habit of sending her young daughter - maybe eight or ten-years-old, to our house and ask for money to buy �milk for the baby.� We responded as best we could.
One day this young girl came to our house with her mother�s request. This time I had no money to give her. I got a sack and took milk from our refrigerator, food from our pantry, and gave that to the girl instead.
A few minutes later there was a knock at our door. There stood this little girl with the sack of goods. �Mom said she didn�t need this. She wanted the money to go to the store and buy it for herself.�
I was relating this to another minister in town. He said, �You realize, of course, that you�ve been buying her the tobacco and alcohol that she couldn�t get with her food stamps!�
I did realize it then.
We do need to be engaged in acts of �Christian Charity� as much as is possible. That is a testimony to the world of the love of Christ. But, we also need to be cautious in those acts of charity lest we cause people to consider the Christian religion as simply a crutch to get through this life rather than a means to eternal life.
A naive outlook in things physical lends no credence to our story of things spiritual and eternal.
Notice, also, the nuanced doubt of the question. �...Why baptizest thou them...�
First, this is an ability oriented question. How can we, as Christians, possibly speak on matters in the public domain? While all voices are, supposedly, heard in regard to issues of public policy, the debate does have one exception. Men and women of faith are refused a hearing on issues because theirs is the voice of faith.
Morality, we are told, has no place in public policy. Excuse me; it does. To use just one illustration: Why is a woman given the right to an abortion on demand? We are told that this is a twofold right. 1) The woman has a right to privacy in her decisions; and 2) The woman has a right to control her own body. These views, we are constantly reminded, are centered in the law of the land as interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States.
There is no logical basis on which to make this claim. There is, in current judicial opinions, no foundational basis for our laws. We point to the great document of the Constitution with an outstretched finger from one hand. With the other hand we point to �the evolving nature of society as a rule for interpreting the meaning of that Constitution.�
That reasoning is like trying to shoot a rabbit at eight-hundred yards with a shotgun that has not had it�s sight calibrated. Not only is the target moving, so also is the aim of the hunter.
No! The right of a woman to procure an abortion is based on a moral certitude that she has these two rights. This isn�t because the law says that this is so. This is because nine men in black robes decided that the public morality said this is so.
The morality of one side of an issue is decided. The morality of another side of an issue is derided.
Folks, some things are so simply because they are so. Killing, even if given the benign sounding name of abortion, for simple convenience or shame is wrong. It is wrong every single time. This is being done in privacy, to be sure. But, it is not being done as a matter of pure choice. The child being so murdered has been given no choice!
We, the Christian, have the right to speak on issues such as this because we have the preserved Word of God. He has given us an �owner�s manual� for our lives that describes the proper conduct of the created human being. This Book was written by the Creator. He knows what is best for our spiritual, and for our physical, lives.
We also note that this was an argumentative question. These questioners considered John to be a charlatan.
Much of the world will look at the Christian today and assume the same thing of him. Our faith is questioned as simply a convenient method of advancing our political causes. In the best case, the opposite is true. Many of the conservative Christians have aligned themselves with the party which they feel has best aligned itself with their moral world view.
I don�t have a problem with that. In this country it is the duty of each citizen to espouse his causes in the public arena. That is the meaning of �participatory democracy.� It is wrong when the political activism overrides the religious truths.
There is a well known Christian minister. His ministry is sound, fundamental, respective of the Book and the Christ of the Book. I only wish that I could preach the Gospel with the fervency and clarity of this man!
But, when I say his name, Dr. Falwell, what comes to mind? Is it his Savior or his political affiliation.
The Christian has the right, and the obligation, to be active in the public arena to defend his moral base and his freedom to spread the Gospel. The Christian has a higher right and obligation to spread the Word that Jesus Christ died in time so that we might live in eternity. It is a sad commentary that the �Religious Right� is being attacked for its political protestations, and ignored for its proclamation of the Savior!
This was also an audacious question which was put forth. The questioners seemed to feel that one could not be used of God unless he were a member of, or under the control of, their own sect.
The One to Whom we most need to be under subjection to, and under the control of, is Jesus Christ.
One of the marks of the person who is under the subjection, and control, of the Lord, is that he is true to the Book which God has given and preserved. When one presumes to establish a new doctrine which has never seen the light of day in the historic church, he is the one in error. When one presumes to argue that God has just revealed to him that the church, historic, has been in error since it�s early days and is only now - through this prophet - being restored to what the Lord has lost, He is in the throes of the sin of pride. When one takes it upon himself to pen a new book to explain the understanding of the Old Book, he has assumed the role of Satan. Illumination of the Bible is the role of the Holy Spirit. To try to assume His role is to engage in an attempt to supersede the God of Heaven.
From such turn away.
Notice, finally, the negative identification. �...if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?�
Even within this question these men were guilty of a theological misconception. They asked about �Christ� and about �that prophet.�
Back in Dueteronomy 18:15 Moses had told the people that, �The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken.�
This is a Messianic prophecy. Yet, these religious questioners had divided the Person of the Messiah (Christ) from the person of prophecy. This was due to their view of Messiah. (�Christ� is the Greek for of the Hebrew word �Messiah.�) They saw the Messiah as a political Savior Who would come to free them from the yoke of the Roman occupation and restore the independent kingdom. Their view seem to be that �that prophet� would be more of a teacher to explain how they were to live within that kingdom.
Jesus came as the Messiah Who provided the kingdom in the spiritual sense. He reigns within the hearts of those who have accepted Him as Savior. He also teaches us how to live as spiritual persons in these physical bodies.
He will come a second time to establish the physical kingdom of which these questioners sought.
This was a probing question. They wanted to know just who John was that he would take this position as a preacher of repentance and forerunner of Christ.
John answered this question several times. He was simply a man who was given a job to do - a mission, by the Lord of Glory. He was accomplishing this mission.
People also need to know just who we are. We are simply sinners, even as are they. But, we have been cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb. We are not anything special. We are only those who have already accepted the Salvation offered by Jesus Christ.
We are a billboard, if you will, simply inviting others to come in and see that the Lord is good!
The question was a personal question. These men wanted to know why John should be believed in his preaching. The world has a right to ask that question of us.
We MUST live so the world may understand that we are Christians. This means an attitude of love toward the sinner, as had the Savior. This means an attitude of concern toward the sinner, as had the Savior. This means an attitude of sincerity toward the sinner, as had the Savior.
We will fail at this task from time to time. We are not perfect. But, we need to try with the Lord�s assistance, to do this.
Our failures must not dissuade us from continuing our mission. We understand that the work is of the Lord. We are only the day laborers. We ought - must - do our best. But the ultimate completion of the task is in His hands.
We continue because He calls us to continue. In the early 1920's Jack Dempsey fought �The Wild Bull of the Pampas,� Luis Firpo, for the heavyweight championship of the world. Early in the fight Dempsy was knocked completely out of the ring. Many fighters would have quit at this point. Dempsy, however, just got back into the ring and resumed the fight. He prevailed and kept his championship.
We need to be like that. When the tempter knocks us down we need to get back up and continue to fight.
This was also a prophetic question from these questioners. They wanted to know what would be the outcome of the preaching of John.
That outcome was that John�s ministry decreased after the Savior burst upon the scene.
There was an old television program, �The Ed Sullivan Show.� This was a popular program which was on for many years. Ed Sullivan didn�t dance; he didn�t sing; he didn�t act; he didn�t tell jokes. All Ed Sullivan did was point and say, �Here is the real act. Watch him.� Then he got out of the way.
That was the job of John the Baptist. He just point and said, �Here�s Jesus.� Then he got out of the way.
I�d like to do that right now.
Jesus stands, right now, at the door of your life. He wants to save your soul. Let Him. Invite Him in to take away your sins.
Do it today!