It has been observed over the past few years that that people in America are identifying themselves as spiritual, not religious.  This is important for the church to know and respond appropriately.  Why?  Many non-Christians, and even scores of self-identified Christians, see the church as the problem, not the solution.

In combating this problem, Tim Keller believes there are three perceptions that the church needs to know and respond to.

3 Perceptions that the Church Needs to Know

In regards to the growing disdain for the church, Tim Keller believes this is associated with the “modern fears of religion.”  He goes on to say,

The powerful critiques of Freud, Marx, and Nietzsche have penetrated our popular psyche.  Freud saw religious performance as a way that guilt-ridden people cleanse themselves and force God to bless them. Marx saw religious principle used by one class of people to oppress another. Nietzsche asserted that anyone claiming to have the truth is making a power play.

It is for this reason that Keller believes that the church needs to “address the real issues of self-righteousness, exclusion, and power-plays.”  It is for this reason that “The church must echo Jesus’ own powerful critique of religion and visibly demonstrate the difference between religion and the gospel.”

3 Ways the Church Can Respond to these Perceptions

Tim Keller

This may come as a shocker, but in a sense Freud, was right about religion.  How so?  Glad you asked.  If you, as a self-identified Christian, are living under the guise that God will bless you and show you favor because of your good works you’re misguided at best.

To see if we possess such an attitude towards God, I don’t think we have to look any further than the way we treat people.  For instance, if you’re more concerned with the way someone looks and behaves than you are about introducing them to Jesus, then you probably believe the same thing about your relationship with God.

The solution to people’s behaviors is not moral reform, it’s the gospel.  This is why Keller said,

The gospel shows us a God far more holy than a conservative moralist can imagine–for he can never be pleased by our mere moral performance.  Yet it also shows us a God far more loving than the liberal relativist can imagine–for his Son bore all the weight of eternal justice.

The first response to the rightful perceptions of Freud and Marx we must preach the Gospel as the means of being right before God through faith in Jesus Christ, not keeping His Laws (Rom. 3.21-25).  The Gospel is a message that not only makes one right with God, it is also a message that reforms someone from the inside-out.  In other words, “Religion is outside-in; the gospel is inside-out.”

Relating to People through the Gospel, not Religion

As Christians we believe that we are made right with God by grace through faith.  If this is the case, our relationships with others, especially non-Christians, should be based this foundation.

If you snide others or look down the peak of your nose at them because of the way they look or behave, then you don’t have a grasp of the Gospel and how it practically works out in relationships with others.

Andrew Axsom has made similar observations, saying, “I am saying that it is wrong to look down on others because they do not follow your personal convictions. I am saying that it is wrong to look down on others because they don’t live up to your standards.”

Our judgment of others is not to condemn and oppress them, but rather to point them to Jesus Christ.  The Gospel forbids us from prideful judgment, but allows for humbly assisting others by pointing them to Christ.  This is why there is a right and a wrong way to judge (John 7.20).

All Christian judgment should have as its end the repentance and restoration of the person in sin towards God and others (James 5.20; cf. 1 Cor. 5.5, 9-13).  If our judgments of others lack this end, then our judgments are forbidden.  If our judgments are intended to point people to Christ, then our judgments should be done with humility and gentleness so that “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 2.25).

Our second response to the perception of oppression and power-plays is to relate with others on the foundation of the Gospel, not the Law.

Preach Jesus First, not Morality

Keller emphasizes that we should “be careful with the order in which we communicate the parts of the faith.”  He goes on to say, “Pushing moral behaviors before we lift up Christ is religion.”

As I’ve said elsewhere, God’s acceptance and treatment of you is not based upon what you do or do not do.  It’s not based upon how well you perform, how holy you are, or how often you attend worship service.  God’s acceptance and treatment of you is rooted in His grace – not His Law, period.

This is one reason why the Church and ourselves cannot put the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the shelf after we put our faith in Him.  Just as God redeems us by grace, He also reforms us by grace and it is on the basis of grace that He relates with us. In following the advice of Jerry Bridges, we must remind ourselves of the Gospel daily and this church must teach about the Gospel constantly, so that our own life, the way that we treat others, and the way we view our relationship with God is saturated in grace that is found in Jesus Christ.  (Bridges, 78-79).

The third way that we respond to these perceptions is to preach the Gospel to ourselves, as well as others, on a constant basis.

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb9DF16Fx8k[/youtube]

Thanks to the Steve and Kathy Show for this video

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From Finally Alive, by John Piper (pgs. 10-15):

The Defamation of the Term Born Again

But not everyone today is jealous to esteem this miracle for the wonder that it is. If you go to research groups online, you can read things like this: “Born Again Christians Just as Likely to Divorce as Are Non-Christians.” The same kind of statistics are given by Ron Sider in his book The Scandal of the Evangelical

Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World? and by Mark Regnerus in his book Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers.

What matters most for our concern in this book is the way the term born again is being used. In particular, the Barna Group, a Christian research firm, has used it in reporting their findings.  In the report titled “Born Again Christians Just as Likely to Divorce as Are Non-Christians,” Barna uses the word evangelicals interchangeably with born again and reports that: 

• Only nine percent of evangelicals tithe.
• Of 12,000 teenagers who took the pledge to wait for marriage,
• 80 percent had sex outside marriage in the next seven years.
• Twenty-six percent of traditional evangelicals do not think premarital sex is wrong.
• White evangelicals are more likely than Catholics and mainline Protestants to object to having black neighbors (Ron Sider, The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience, pgs. 18-28)

In other words, the broadly defined evangelical church as a whole in America and the West in general is apparently not very unlike the world. It goes to church on Sunday and has a veneer of religion, but its religion is basically an add-on to the same way of life the world lives, not a transforming power. 

A Profound Mistake

I want to say loud and clear that when the Barna Group uses the term born again to describe American church-goers whose lives are indistinguishable from the world, and who sin as much as the world, and sacrifice for others as little as the world, and embrace injustice as readily as the world, and covet things as greedily as the world, and enjoy God-ignoring entertainment as enthusiastically as the world—when the term born again is used to describe these professing Christians, the Barna Group is making a profound mistake. It is using the biblical term born again in a way that would make it unrecognizable by Jesus and the biblical writers. 

Here is the way the researchers defined born again in their research:

Born again Christians” were defined in these surveys as people who said they have made “a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today”  and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as “born again.”  Being classified as “born again” is not dependent upon church or denominational affiliation or involvement

In other words, in this research the term born again refers to people who say things. They say, “I have a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. It’s important to me.” They say, “I believe that I will go to Heaven when I die. I have confessed my sins and accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.” Then the Barna Group takes them at their word, ascribes to them the infinitely important reality of the new birth, and then slanders that precious biblical reality by saying that regenerate hearts have no more victory over sin than unregenerate hearts.

The New Testament Moves in the Opposite Direction

I’m not saying their research is wrong. It appears to be appallingly right. I am not saying that the church is not as worldly as they say it is. I am saying that the writers of the New Testament think in exactly the opposite direction about being born again. Instead of moving from a profession of faith, to the label born again, to the worldliness of these so-called born again people, to the conclusion that the new birth does not radically change people, the New Testament moves in the other direction.  It moves from the absolute certainty that the new birth radically changes people, to the observation that many professing

Christians are indeed (as the Barna Group says) not radically changed, to the conclusion that they are not born again. The New Testament, unlike the Barna Group, does not defile the new birth with the worldliness of unregenerate, professing Christians.

For example, one of the main points of the First Epistle of John is to drive home this very truth: 

• 1 John 2:29: “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.”
• 1 John 3:9: “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.”
• 1 John 4:7: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”
• 1 John 5:4: “Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”
• 1 John 5:18: “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.”

We will come back to texts like these in the chapters to come.  There are many questions to answer, and we will distance ourselves plainly from perfectionism and deal realistically with the failures of genuine Christians. 

But for now, is it not true that these statements appear to be written with the very claims of the Barna Group in mind? Are these texts not addressed to the false claim that born again people are morally indistinguishable from the world? The Bible is profoundly aware of such people in the church. That is one reason why 1 John was written. But instead of following the Barna Group, the Bible says that the research is not finding that born again people are permeated with worldliness; the research is finding that the church is permeated by people who are not born again.

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Oswald Chambers Daily Devotional Bible (pg. 586):

And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.”  Acts 4:18-21

…much of what is called Christianity today is not the Christianity of the New Testament; it is distinctly different…. Jesus is not the fountainhead of modern Christianity. He is scarcely thought about.  Christian preachers, Sunday School teachers, religious books, all without any apology patronize Jesus Christ and put Him on one side.

We have to learn that to stand true to Jesus Christ’s point of view means ostracism — the ostracism that was brought on Him. Most of us know nothing whatever about it.

The modern view looks upon human nature as pathetic; men and women are poor ignorant babes in the wood who have lost themselves. Jesus Christ’s view is totally different. He does not look on men and women as babes in the wood, but as sinners who need saving, and the modern mind detests His view.

Our Lord’s teaching is based on something we violently hate, namely His doctrine of sin; we do not believe it unless we have had a radical dealing with God on the line of His teaching.

Remember that a disciple is committed to much more than belief in Jesus, he is committed to His Lord’s view of the world, of men, of God and of sin (Bold Mine).

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The following chart comparing Biblical Christianity with Cultural Christianity was developed by Oswald Chambers.  For a prime example of Cultural Christianity, check-out my post on Facebook Christianity:

	Biblical Christianity Only understood by those who are joined to Christ through the cross	Cultural Christianity Believed by the masses to represent genuine Christianity
It is…	A personal relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ, based on faith. John 17:20-26; Rom. 8:37-39	A religion based on humanist logic, “feel good” experiences,  and popular interpretations of Scriptures.
Come to God through…	Faith in Jesus Christ Who has revealed Himself in His Word and by His Spirit. John 14:6	Faith that our own good works and intentions are good enough.
View the Bible as:	The absolute, unchanging, Word of God. The Bible is inspired and guarded by God — including its honest reports about evil acts among God’s people. 2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Pet 1:25	A collection of guidelines, allegories, myths, and stories useful for good living. Offensive verses must be ignored.
Our goal is…	God’s approval. To know Him, do His will, follow His way, and live each moment in fellowship with Him — by His wonderful grace! Gal.1:10	People’s approval. To please, not offend, the world and its communities. Fun, feel-good fellowship.
Source of Strength	God’s unlimited grace and power. Gal. 2:20; Phil. 4:19	Our human abilities — plus God’s help when “needed.”
See our human self as…	Weak and inadequate apart from Christ. 2 Cor. 12:9-10	Strong and capable if we have confidence in Self.
See sin as…	Leading to spiritual bondage and death. Rom. 6:23	A normal part of life. Ignore it, or you might offend someone. Or enjoy it, for “God understands” you needs and inclinations.
Deal with sin through…	Confession and faith: trusting Jesus as the “Lamb,” our Savior who bore our sins on cross. Rom. 6:1-6	Try to do better next time, or just tolerate it. Don’t offend anyone by making them feel guilty.
Caring for people…	Bring people to Christ. Demonstrate God’s love. Trust God to meet needs by His Spirit working through our surrendered lives. Rom. 12:9-18	Bring people to the church or group. Don’t tolerate uncompromising Christians who might offend people. Do to others as you would have others do to you.
Response to suffering:	Trust God to use suffering to deepen our faith and endurance, prepare us for ministry, and demonstrate His love and power. 2 Cor. 1:3-11	Pray, endure, and trust that God will help. It’s okay to challenge God’s love, power, and purpose — and to seek quick relief through whatever means available — no matter how it conflicts with His Word.
Commitment:	Trust and follow God. No compromise. Rather die than betray our Lord. Rom. 12:1-2	Trust and follow feelings and human logic. Compromise essential to avoid offending the world.
Expect to…	Face rejection and persecution. John 15:20-21	Get along and influence the world.
Outreach:	Bring God’s love and good news to the needy, then bring the needy to Jesus.	Adapt the church to the “community” so that everyone will feel at home.
Daily hope:	Eternity with Jesus, our Shepherd and King. 1 Peter 1:3-9	Success, acceptance of all people, fun and fellowship in this life.

 

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Being a minimal to moderate user of Facebook for two years, I’ve been flabbergasted at times by reading people’s ”religious views” in comparison to their profile.  How can someone claim Christianity in any expression (i.e. Christian, Follower of Christ, Baptist, Presbyterian, etc…), yet not portray Christianity in the very life they live?  So, based upon my own person unscientific research, I’ve concluded that Facebook is exhibiting a new form of Christianity that I’ve simply dubbed, “Facebook Christianity.” 

What exactly is Facebook Christianity?  Glad you asked.  Facebook Christianity is a form of Christianity that acknowledges Jesus Christ in word, but denies Him in deed.

Examples of Facebook Christians

For instance, the three examples that are most obvious to observe in Facebook Christians are pictures of drunken masquerades, references to sexual immorality, and a plethora of status updates and news feeds full foul language and filthy humor like it’s no thing.

You see, as a Christians, this is not to be the case at all. 

Even though we have freedom in the Gospel to drink (1 Corinthians 10.23-33), as Christians, we are commanded not to get drunk (Ephesians 5.18).

Even though sex is a good thing, it, as well as other sexual practices, is solely reserved for marriage (Ephesians 5.3, 5)

Even though a joyful heart is considered good medicine (Proverbs 17.22), our speech and humor is to be filled with matter that is good for building up others, not with filth that corrupts others and ourselves (Ephesians 4.29; 5.4).   

This scandal of self-identified, pseudo, and fake Christians is confirmed with a litany of research conducted by various people, such as Ron Sider, George Barna, and Mark Regnerus

Personally, I believe there is one general reason why there are so many Facebook Christians: A misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christian. 

In the end, this means that:

You might be a Facebook Christian if your religious view is “Christian,” but the rest of your profile indicates Heathen.

Of course the Elephant in the Room that needs to be addressed is this, “How can I get off saying something like this?” 

Well, it’s quite simple. 

You see, being a Christian is more than claiming to be one alone, it’s a new way of life.   

What does it mean to be a Christian?

Being a Christian entails a new birth that leads to a new life that is characterized with insatiable desires to glorify God and enjoy Him forever (John 3.3, 7-8; 2 Corinthians 5.17).  Although this new life will be the naturally outworking of God the Holy Spirit within us (2 Peter 1.3; 1 John 2.29), we are still called to learn and live this new way of life as a disciple of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28.18-18-20; Romans 12.1-2; Ephesians 4.20-24; Philippians 2.12-13; and 1 Peter 1.14, 4.2). 

So, this rudimentary understanding of Christianity excludes the notion that Christianity can be assumed, learned, and lived through osmosis without any effort on our part whatsoever.  Quite frankly, this is a sham. 

Learning to live as a Christian is much like living in a new country.  For instance, if I were to move to a new country I would have to learn new vocabulary, customs, and manners.  Just like Christianity, this process involves effort, not passivity (Philippians 2.12-13).

Although this is the case, many self-identified Christians believe that they can claim Christianity, yet do whatever they fancy. 

In reality, this is not the case at all. 

Simply put, to be a Christian is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, one who knows, believes in, follows, learns, and applies His teachings in all of their life, not just their news feed, religious views, and Sunday mornings (Matthew 28.18-20).  This elementary understanding of what it means to be a Christian naturally excludes the following misconceptions:

• Simply professing Christ,
• Identifying yourself as a Christian,
• Being born into a Christian home,
• Being born in the Bible Belt,
• Attending Christian worship services, 
• Sharing your favorite passage from the Bible in your news feed, or
• Accepting people that are different than you.

So, the point that I’m trying to make is this, Christianity cannot be an assumed religious view or way of life.

Just because you may have been born into a Christian home, the Bible Belt, or help elderly women across the street, doesn’t mean you’re a Christian.

Unfortunately countless people are given this minimalistic impression of Christianity by the church itself, who, at times, leads people to believe that if they just profess faith, raise a hand, sign a card, or walk to the front of the altar in response to the “Gospel” call that they’re right with God.  This is why R.C. Sproul quipped; “Everyone who has faith is called to profess faith, but not everybody who professes faith has faith” (also see Matthew 7.21-23).

Instead of looking to these various deceptive means in falsely determining your Christianity, consider what the Bible actually says: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves.  Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13.5; also see 1 Corinthians 11.28; Galatians 2.20, 6.4).

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Sometime ago my wife and I participated in our neighborhood yard sale.  We had high aspirations for the day, anticipating making a few extra dollars and unloading some trash to be recycled as someone else’s treasure. 

Before the day officially began, my wife Jessica had an amazing idea to lure in the yard sale shoppers.  She suggested that we offer miscellaneous “free” items and place them in a basket towards the end of all of our items.  What she had in mind was attracting anyone who came to walk through all of our “for sale” items as if these free items were bloody steaks and the customers were carnivores (well, the latter is true in certain parts of the state). 

Anyways, to make a long story short, no one picked-up one free item!  At this my wife was dumbfounded, “How could one item not be picked-up?”  “How did the ’bait’ fail to lure in and snag our prey?” 

I said something along the following lines to my wife, “Items without cost are items without value.”  

So I went back inside and made a sign that read, “ALL items 25 cents” (What a cost!)  And go figure, nearly all of the items that were in the basket were snatched up and paid for within an hour, whereas no items were picked-up for free in the previous 3 hours!   

In the same way that yard sale items are not valued without cost, so too is grace not valued without cost. 

What is grace?

Within Christendom grace is commonly known as “God’s unmerited favor.”  However, this view of grace is just one side of the coin.  Yes, grace is “God’s unmerited favor” in reaching down to all of us who are “helpless, trapped in sin and incapable of pleasing God or winning his favor” (Encyclopedia of Words, 320) in His Son Jesus Christ.  But grace is also a way of life. 

For instance, we read in Titus 2.11-12,

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age. 

What we see is that God’s grace not only “brings salvation,” but it also instructs us to do two different things. 

One, deny ungodliness and worldly desires and two, to live sensibly, righteously, and godly.  Grace instructs us to not only say “no,” or, “Don’t do this and that,” but grace also instructs us to say, “Yes,” to what brings glory to God.  Basically grace empowers us to get rid of our old, stinky, sin laden ways of life and begin new practices that fall in line with our new life in Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 4.22-24). 

Jerry Bridges in his book, The Disciplines of Grace, provided this analogy to help us better understand getting rid of and beginning new practices to the two blades of a pair of scissors,

We readily recognize that a single scissors blade is useless as far as doing the job for which it was designed.  The two blades must be joined together at the pivot point and must work in conjunction with each other to be effective.  The scissors illustrates a spiritual principle: We must work simultaneously at putting off the characteristics of our old selves and putting on the characteristics of the new selves.  On without the other is not effective (85). 

Grace ultimately conveys the reality that God graciously and mercifully saves us from our sins through the life and deeds of His Son Jesus Christ.  His grace does not stop there, it cannot be separated from our pursuit to live for Christ as His disciple by getting rid of our old ways and doing what pleases Him. 

In quoting Jerry Brides once again, “Another truth we see in Titus 2.11-12 is that salvation and spiritual discipline are inseparable.  The grace that brings salvation to us also disciplines us.  It does not do the one without the other.  That is, God never saves people and leaves them alone to continue in their immaturity and sinful lifestyle.  Those whom He saves, He disciplines” (ibid., 80.  Also see Philippians 1.6 and 2.12-13). 

Cheap grace versus costly grace

After reading through the sobering truth about grace, would you say that you have a “cheap” view of grace, in that you only trusted in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, yet you have not gotten rid of your old lifestyle and began practices that Jesus Christ taught us to obey (see Matthew 28.18-20)?  Or do you have a “costly” view of grace, in that you not only believed in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, but God’s grace has empowered you to live a new way of life, a life that follows hard after Jesus no matter the cost, no matter what your friends say, no matter what your boyfriend or girlfriend says, no matter what the world or your employers say. 

How much do you value the grace of God?  Cheaply or costly?  Either way, do you know the price that was paid in providing for its availability? 

The price paid for the availability of grace was no small fee and was not purchased at a discount or layaway.  Its availability is not stored away in some undisclosed bank in the sky or from the works of our family.  The cost that was paid in providing for the availability of grace was the voluntary sacrifice of the life of Jesus Christ upon a cross.  An understanding of grace that overlooks Jesus, overlooks His pain, His agony, and the cross is grace that is none other than CHEAP (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship, 47)!

Cheap grace is comparable to a gift that one receives and heeds it no attention or appreciation because they have so many other things, so it is simply stuffed in the closet or under the bed.  Cheap grace is comparable to a priceless item that is sold in a storefront in the mall at break-neck reduced prices.  Cheap grace is comparable to an infinite amount of money that can always be withdrawn from the bank without limits, boundaries, or effort (rephrasing of Bonhoeffer, 45).  This is grace without appreciation, value, limits, and most importantly of all, price.  In quoting Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Grace without price; grace without cost!” (Bonhoeffer, 45). 

If God’s grace has brought you “salvation,” yet you do not continually put off sinful practices and incorporate the ways of God in your life as found in His written Word, the Bible, then you need to ask yourself, “Have I really ‘believed’ in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of my sins?” “Have I devalued God’s grace?” “Do I live my life with a cheap notion of grace?”  If so, then you need to humbly and prayerfully seek the LORD and ask that He would forgive you, and empower you to live a life of continually repentance. 

In the end…

It is amazing to think that God could have taught me so much about His grace by simply having a yard sale in WV.  Who would have ever “thunk?” 

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From Mark 11.29-33:

Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.  Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?  Answer me.”  And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’  But shall we say, ‘From man’?”— they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.  So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Unfortunately the exchange that took place between these Jewish leaders is so common today.  You see, the Greek word that our English Bibles translate as “reasoning” appears seven times in the Gospel of Mark.  In every one of its appearances it is always used in contexts of people attempting to avoid the force of Jesus’ words and claim upon them. 

These particular individuals had such a great opportunity to enter into honest dialogue with Jesus Christ about the very “things” He was doing that pointed to His Divinity.  Imagine how things would have been different if they simply said, “You know what Jesus, we have strong reasons to doubt who You say that You are and where exactly Your authority comes from.” 

My prayer is that those of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ would have the grace and mercy to enter into conversation with others that may have similar reasons in doubting who Jesus is and what He taught.  

Instead of pressing into conversation with Jesus, this passage suggests that the Sanhedrin shifted away from such an opportunity for honest exchange, to find themselves smack-dab in the middle of a dilemma. 

Earlier I said that I decision about John is a decision about Jesus Christ.   On one hand, if they say that John’s baptism was from heaven, then they will be charged with disbelief in John and Jesus Christ.  Not only would they be charged with disbelief they would have supported the claim that Jesus was God.  On the other hand, if they say that his baptism was from men they risk the wrath of the people who regarded John as a prophet from God. 

Since verse 32 tells us that the Sanhedrin was “afraid of the people,” we can reason this is why they answered the way that they did in verse 33, “We do not know.”  Being unwilling to commit themselves to answer the question posed by Jesus Christ, so too does Jesus Christ refuse to commit Himself to their question.       

So, now what?

Jesus makes many claims upon our lives.  From confessing and turning away from our sins to Him, to loving our neighbor as ourselves.  If you find yourself reasoning as the Sanhedrin did over who Jesus was and what He taught and did, avoiding His claims upon your life, all that I simply ask of you is to begin a conversation with someone about Jesus Christ.  Explore what He taught, explore what He did, consider the historical and archaeological validity of the Bible as an infallible and reliable source in discovering these truths.  Being today by coming up front and simply asking questions of myself or one of the elders and their wives.

Up to this point we have seen that the “things” Jesus had taught and the “things” Jesus had done pointed to His divinity.  Here, in verses 29-30 of Mark 11, Jesus points to the baptism of John as a third proof of His divinity as a means of further establishing His pre-em-i-nence over all.     

In Mark 11.29-30 we read,

Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 

By pointing back to the baptism of John, Jesus was staking His own authority entirely on this event.   Jesus’ counter-question to the Jewish leaders contains the seeds of the truth that they wanted to know.  If they want to know where Jesus’ authority comes from, they must reconsider the baptism of John.  In order for us to answer the question posed by Jesus, we must look into Mark 1 to find the answer. 

4 Reasons why John’s Baptism is Considered from Heaven

In Mark chapter 1 we discover three reasons why John’s baptism is considered from heaven, while observing 1 more in Mark 11. 

In Mark 1, we see in verse 4 that John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy spoken of by Isaiah a few hundred years in advance, which was cited in verses 2 and 3 of the same chapter.  The question that we must consider at this point is this, “How do we know for certain that John himself fulfilled this prophecy?”

In verse 3 we see that the one who was to precede the LORD was to be preaching in the wilderness.  From verse 4 of this chapter we see this is exactly where John was “crying out” from.

In verse 3 of Mark 1 we read that the messenger was to proclaim a message in the wilderness of preparation for the LORD.  This is exactly what John the Baptist proclaimed.  Nothing more and nothing less.  In fact, in Luke 1.76 we read that John was assigned this task as one crying out in the wilderness even while he was still in his mother’s womb! 

Finally, in Mark 11 we see that the people themselves considered John to have been a real prophet of God. 

Final Thoughts

Since John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy, as spoken of by Isaiah, we can conclude that his baptism was indeed from heaven, commissioned by God Himself.  In the end, a decision about John is a decision about Jesus.  If John’s baptism is “from heaven,” that is, from God, then Jesus’ authority to do the “things” that He has been doing comes from God because John’s testimony about Jesus is that He is God!  In the end, we have another historical validation pointing to Jesus’ divinity, which further lends support to His pre-em-i-nence over all.

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The reality of Jesus’ earthly and heavenly authority over everyone and everything was demonstrated during His time on earth by the “things” He taught and did.  It is these very things that the Jewish leaders are questioning Him on here in verse 28

THE “THINGS” THAT JESUS TAUGHT

The “things” that Jesus taught and declared was unlike anything anyone had ever heard.  His teaching was so profound that in Mark 1.22 we read that the people “were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”  So, they not only heard the authoritativeness of His teaching, they felt it and were amazed by it.

Not only did He teach as One having authority, He spoke as One having authority.  We see His authority as God in granting the forgiveness of sins.  It is this proclamation that brings about the accusation of blasphemy from the Jewish teachers in Mark 2.1-13.

Jesus’ teaching even differs from those – like myself – who comment upon God’s words like I am doing today.  Jesus Christ was speaking God’s word for Jesus Christ was and is God Himself!

The Apostle John tells us that Jesus Christ is the Word of God (John 1.1-3) and from the New Testament Book of Hebrews, we read in the first chapter verses 2-3:

In these last days [God] has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.  And He [Jesus Christ] is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power…”

Who Jesus was and what Jesus taught is God’s final and authoritative Word for us today.  There is nothing that ever has been or ever will be that will be added to what we have as recorded in the pages of this Bible.

So that we may believe that Jesus was truly God, He did many miraculous things.  There were so many miraculous “things” that Jesus did that we are told at the end of the Gospel of John, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written” (John 21.25).  What are “these things” that Jesus did to prove His authority as God?

THE “THINGS” THAT JESUS DID

Since there are so many miraculous “things” that Jesus did to prove His authority as God, I picked just three “things” for us to consider.

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