)
"What miraculous sign then will you give"
So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?" (John 6:30, NIV)
(Context John
6:25-33)
Would you like to convince people to believe in
Christ? This desire can become an obsession if not tempered by truth.
In the desert before Jesus began His ministry, He
resisted this temptation. However, throughout His ministry people
continued to resuscitate the temptation by asking Him to
first show them a sign
before they would believe.
When society gives in to this temptation, it loses the vision of truth anchored objectively in God and winning arguments supersedes God's message. A society without absolutes breeds the opinion that people who believe in absolutes are bigoted. Absolute truth has a built in accountability factor for everyone. However, if absolute truth didn't exist, even scientific fact would be subjective. Today, scientists become frustrated when people demand their conclusions conform to political correctness rather than to observations from the candid pursuit of knowledge.
The extreme of succumbing to the temptation to
convince by any means leads to religion dominated by charlatans. It
views deception as OK if it helps convince someone to believe.
Deception and dishonesty can never be justified, especially in
matters concerning faith. Dishonesty is synonymous with
unfaithfulness. Deception is inconsistent
with God's character
and distorts any attempt to convey who God is?
©2001 Perry Vernon Webb. You may quote this page in part
or the whole as long as you
1) do not alter the
wording and
2) reference this Internet page as the
source of the quote.
How to receive a new life in Christ.
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