Where Do You Stand?

They began to argue among themselves, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' we're afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought John was a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." - Matthew 21:25-27

When the Pharisees challenged Jesus on the source of His authority (after He had cleansed the Temple courtyard), He responded by asking them to tell Him where John the Baptist got his (authority). Jesus knew that they truly did not know the Source of either His authority or John's and their subsequent wavering, haggling, and noncomittal response could have come straight out of Washington, D.C.!

Someone once said that the only thing in the middle of the road is yellow streaks or road kill and in this instance, the Pharisees were a little of both. By attempting to stand in the middle, they ultimately stood for nothing. While there is nothing wrong with compromise when it leads to a mutually acceptable end, God's truth should never be sacrificed on a perceived yet misguided altar of unity.

Christ-followers should be people of conviction, BIBLICAL conviction and it all begins by knowing where and with Whom we stand.

The swift wind of compromise is a lot more devastating than the sudden jolt of misfortune - Charles Swindoll