The baptism of John, was it from Heaven, or of men? Luke 20:4
It took them awhile, but eventually, the Jewish leaders learned not to engage Jesus of Nazareth in debate. Not once did they ever win an argument with Him. Not once did they catch Him without an answer or a brilliant rebuttal to their questions and challenges. Too many times, He made them look silly with His knowledge of the Scriptures, a knowledge that surpassed theirs. And they were supposedly the most knowledgeable people in the world concerning the Word of God. On this occasion, they had to say something, because He was openly teaching and preaching in the temple. This was their territory, they reasoned. What right did He have to be there? To their question about whose authority He was acting on, He responded with a question that they did not dare to answer. The world today does not dare to answer it, either.
The baptism of John, was it from Heaven, or of men? To admit that it was from Heaven would condemn the Pharisees for not being baptized of John. To say it was from men – that is, not of God – would be to place themselves at odds with the entire population, who acknowledged John as a prophet. Christendom finds itself today between those two horns of a dilemma. Religious leaders all know that the Word of God is true, and that the Gospel is true, but they don’t dare to admit that, because they would have to give up their religious trappings that are condemned by the Word of God. On the other hand, they must be careful not to dismiss the Scriptures altogether and be branded as heretics. That is why modern religion likes the newer versions of the Bible, versions that water down truths such as righteousness and judgment, and that blur the distinctions between truth and error. Just like the Pharisees, they love to fall back on the lame excuse of ‘Well, we really can’t tell for sure’. We can tell for sure. The Word of God makes it plain what is right and wrong, what is truth and error, what is of God and what is of men.
Compromise is becoming a great hazard for Christians today. It might surprise you to know, for example, how many Christians actually believe that the theory of evolution might be partially true. They say we can’t know for sure. Yes we can know for sure. Only by twisting the Scriptures to mean something they never intended can they justify any uncertainty in the truth of creation. Other Christians misread the Scriptures to find some fuzzy excuses to justify their use of alcoholic beverages. Yet other Christians find excuses for accommodating the great evils of our age, including the slaughter of unborn children and the promotion of homosexual lifestyles.
Only by knowing the truth, and by standing firmly on that truth, can we avoid the perils of falling off the fence and landing on the side of wrong. – Jim MacIntosh