Friday, October 30
The third person who needs to pay special attention to John 14:6 is the Arrogant Christian. Of course, none of us would identify ourselves as arrogant. But we must admit we have a tendency to look down on certain people.
For some, it’s people who live an immoral lifestyle. You see the choices they make, the way they flagrantly violate the commands of God, and it disgusts you.
For others, it’s people who believe differently than you, either people of other religions, or people who spread political beliefs that you are opposed to. When you see them, when you hear them sharing those beliefs, you feel a sense of anger. You want their viewpoint to be banned.
For still others, you tend to look down on intolerant people. People who judge others for their lifestyle or their beliefs are, to you, the worst people in the world. Ironically, you are so determined to be tolerant, that you’ve become intolerant of intolerant people!
And almost all of us have individuals we look down on. Some because they hurt us in some way in the past. Others because we just find them obnoxious. Either way, we avoid being in the same room with them. If their name comes up in conversation, we make some sarcastic comment, or grind our teeth in silence.
But here’s what John 14:6 says to us: It is impossible for someone who truly believes the Gospel to look down on anyone. The skeptics, the anti-religionists, are right about this: Religion has a tendency to make us arrogant. We feel like we’re better than those we disagree with. But then, atheism does the same thing. An atheist tends to feel superior to people who believe in God. That’s true of any belief system. It’s true of every religion. It’s true of every political ideology. It’s even true of superficial things like being a sports fan. If you’re a fan of a certain team, you feel superior to the people who root for your team’s archrival. If you’re a fan of Texas A&M, for instance, you look down on Longhorn fans, overly-entitled “T-sips” who were born on third base and act as if they’ve hit a triple. If you’re a Longhorn, you look down on Aggies as members of a bizarre cult that has a weird fixation on you. If you’re a Houston Cougar, you struggle with the knowledge that you really ARE superior.
That was a joke.
But I hope you see what I mean. Any belief system, even one as meaningless as sports fandom, leads to arrogance, and looking down on those who disagree with you. There’s only one exception. The Gospel is the only absolute truth claim that destroys the arrogance of all those who believe it, that makes it impossible to look down on anyone. Why? Again, John 14:6 says “No one comes to the Father except through me.” He doesn’t say, “You get to the Father through doing these good deeds, or renouncing these bad behaviors, or accepting these doctrines.”
In other words, my political beliefs don’t make me better than someone who votes differently. We both need the blood of Jesus to redeem us. My religion doesn’t make me better than an unbeliever. In fact, there are people of other religions, or no religion at all, who are better people than I am in a whole host of ways. But we both need the blood of Jesus to redeem us. The fact that I’ve never cheated on my wife or committed a violent crime doesn’t make me any better than people who’ve done those things, because God could point out ten thousand things I have done that disgraced Him, if He wanted to. If I believe that the only way I could be saved was through Jesus dying for me, that the only truth I know is the truth He told me, that the only life I have is the life He freely gave me, then what possible reason do I have to feel arrogant?
Therefore, when I look at someone who’s made a mess out of their lives, or someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus, or someone who I find obnoxious, or even someone who has made it their personal mission to make my life miserable, what I should see is not a fool or an enemy, but a lost child of God who needs to come home.
“O Lord, scour my heart and cleanse it of all arrogance through the radiant power of your Gospel. Bring me back to the cross again and again, so I will remember how much I am loved, but also how desperately I need grace, and therefore never look down on anyone. In your name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
