Diligently Seeking Media

I’m not saying you’re a liar… but let’s be real: Sometimes we’re more inclined to believe what we’ve always been taught rather than having an open mind to the truth. And that’s just our natural man. We don’t like to admit it, but maybe what we have believed (and even preached) might be wrong. But I’m not here to convince you that what you’ve always been taught is incorrect (even if it is). No one likes to admit that they were wrong. It’s self-demeaning, and it feels belittling. However, I want to help you realize that there is a fate worse than admitting you’re wrong, and I want to illustrate this through a simple story from the life of Christ that greatly impacted me personally.

In Matthew 21:23-27, the chief priests and elders of Israel came to Jesus and asked him a simple question: “By what authority doest thou these things? And who gave thee this authority?”

In other words: What university did you study at? Where was your home synagogue? Who sent you? Where did you receive your credentials? How can we trust you?

Jesus’ response, though, is slightly baffling from a surface-level point of view. He says, “I will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.” And then continues to ask them about whether the baptism of John the Baptist was from heaven (spiritual) or of earth (carnal). 

In which, if you read on, you find very quickly that the elders struggle to answer. The Bible teaches that they “reasoned within themselves,” and their reasoning went something like this: “If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.”

They were stuck between what they believed and what was true. After their thorough reasoning and thinking, they concluded with this answer for Jesus: “We cannot tell,” which led Jesus to his conclusion, “Neither tell I you…”

And the tale ends there as Jesus walks away, I assume, high-fiving Peter, leaving the elders speechless in the center of the temple. 

I bring up this account to highlight three crucial truths that can help us:

1. The validity of the question, but the layer of deception.

The elders questioned the credentials of Jesus Christ, which, in fairness, is a great question. Who sent Jesus, and where did he learn what he learned? He spoke with authority to even the most well-educated scribes. Where did he get that boldness from? It seems… supernatural (Because it was). They had a valid question, but we learn quickly from Christ’s counter-question that the scribes were more concerned about debunking Jesus than they were about truth.

That leads me to this: do we do the same thing? Do we, in our attempt to study and search the Scriptures, ask questions when we aren’t ready to receive the answer? I fear that often our tendency, when we already hold a position, is to ask questions not to learn the truth, but to undermine positions. We tend to do a lot more straw-man framing than we do genuine seeking. 

I wouldn’t bring any of this up if I didn’t think it was important. When I began to shift my thinking from speculative doubt to sincere curiosity, my faith in the Word of God started to take root. I began to believe the Bible not because I was told it was true, but because I knew it was true. And my life changed for the better. 

2. A fate worse than admitting you’re wrong.

What’s unfortunate about the elders is not that they couldn’t admit they were wrong; it’s that Jesus wasn’t able to reveal the truth to them. And that wasn’t the fault of Jesus; it was because the elders had not put themselves into an intellectual position for their questions to be answered. The fate worse than admitting you’re wrong was this: the absence of truth. (John 1:11 “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.) And without truth came the much graver fate: a denial of the Son of God as the Christ. 

If we aren’t able to admit that we might be wrong about certain things, then don’t be surprised when our next generation isn’t able to receive the truth of the Son of God. That seems like a massive jump, but that’s precisely what happened to the scribes and elders. Because they weren’t able to openly admit that what they had believed might be wrong, they weren’t able to receive the actual truth.

Look, I get it. It’s scary asking questions that shake the very foundation of what you believe to be true. (You don’t think these elders feared if they admitted that Jesus was telling the truth?) It feels as if you’re standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon, waiting for the answer to either pull you back to safety or push you into your demise. However, we need to be willing to deal honestly and openly when it comes to our doctrinal beliefs. Or a fate worse than eating crow will be upon us.

3. Influence is fading.

Now, from a narrow conclusion to a broad-brush application, a much bigger problem is at stake: people are beginning to distrust churches because it has become an arena for fighting, rather than a pillar of truth to find shelter. The elders and scribes were very aware of their influence fading and Christ’s influence growing. And it wasn’t because Jesus was pragmatic, it was because he was preaching truth. People are searching for something, and it’s not our religious or political talking points; it’s the truth.

Often, we as preachers are content with finding our own interpretation of Scripture, preaching it to an audience, and being satisfied with calling it “Bible preaching.” In reality, all we did was discuss a subject and reference biblical verses to put on a scriptural facade. Bible preaching ought to be Bible heavy; and Bible heavy is going to be truth-packed. Our sermons cannot be truth-packed if we are not willing to be recipients of truth.

Now, some reading this might think this to be a compromising position to hold. But there is a simple question to ask: Are you willing to live a comfortable life of lies or an uncomfortable life of truth? (I also assure you that there is much more comfort in the scary truth than in the huggable lies.) Are you more concerned about the religious party you hold to and how they view you, or are you willing to receive the truth?

I believe a partial reason for the decline in church attendance is that people are tired of hearing political rants rather than Bible preaching and teaching that views truth as the ultimate goal. Therefore, we must begin to ask questions to seek out a truthful answer, rather than casting shame on another party. When, and if, truth-filled Bible preaching returns to pulpits, then we will begin to see strengthened church members and thriving churches. Because only on the foundation of truth can you build a solid house that doesn’t fall when the floods come.

And so, my encouragement is this: shed off your preconceived notions about what you believe the Bible teaches and find a renewed mind willing to hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

There are so many great truths in the Word of God that are waiting for us to be able to search out and uncover, but do they lie in neglect because of our fear? The Spirit of God is willing to show and reveal to us the (1 Corinthians 2:7,8) wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory, but I fear we make ourselves as the princes of this world and are unable to receive it. 

In conclusion, I’d like to bring to your attention a prayer that Paul prayed for the church of Ephesus in the first chapter of his letter, which I pray regularly. 

Ephesians 1:17 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:”

And by the way: Jesus is always the truth, and therefore always the answer.