Jesus brought harsh judgement upon the religious leaders of his day. He not only condemned them, but he also pointed to the fruit of their evangelistic efforts and cried,
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are” (Matthew 23:15NIV).
What was it in the teachings of those scribes and Pharisees that made their converts more fit for hell than they were? What kind of “faith” were they calling them to?
On occasions you too are caused to wonder if a person you meet has any religion in them at all. Rightly, you should suppress the urge to write a person off, lest you become guilty of condemning a person unjustly; though we are all known by our fruit.
Which brings us back to the Pharisaic converts above. Jesus, having judged the Scribes and Pharisees as being completely void of saving faith, further condemns them as being evangelists for their father, the devil.
Everyone has faith. The question is, “Faith in what?”
If Christians rally to the cry of: “Jesus is Lord,” what cry do unbelievers rally to?
The atheist would have you believe that all faiths are built on ancient myths. Stories utilised to frighten or comfort the believer according to the whim of the clergy. They see Jesus as the most successful of all the religionists of history, and thus the most to be scorned and ridiculed.
However, you can’t escape reality. Faith in Christ transforms the heart and life of the believer. The world is left in a better state for a Christian having been there.
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4).
John Staiger
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