Seekers or Sustainers?

I was reminded today of a fascinating encounter in Luke 20. Jesus is teaching the people and sharing the gospel (good news) of God when he is confronted by the Pharisees. Remember, the Pharisees were the church folk. They were the pious ones who “had it all together.” They were the ones who knew the Bible frontwards and backwards. They could tell you all about God!

It’s interesting that they confront Jesus. They don’t join him in teaching the people the good news of God. Apparently they didn’t believe that what Jesus was teaching was good news. What he was teaching was different. It wasn’t in keeping with “the old paths” they knew of from scripture. They asked Jesus by whose authority he was teaching. Instead of answering their question directly, Jesus asked them a question: “Was John’s baptism from God or from men?” Jesus had an uncanny ability to ask the probing questions. This got right down to the crux of the matter. The Pharisees talked among themselves about how they should answer. If they said “of God,” their refusal to believe John would be called into question. If they said “of men,” the people would kill them, because John was considered a prophet. They ended up taking the same path many in our churches today take when they have no biblical backing for their rantings: they refused to answer.

This story sheds light on two groups of people in our churches: seekers and sustainers. Seekers are like those to whom Jesus taught. They are people who take every available path to discover more about God and how we can better serve Him. Seekers aren’t concerned with new things. They’re not mired in tradition. Seekers aren’t concerned with piety. They’re broken before God and acknowledge their limitations and lack of understanding.

Sustainers, on the other hand, are like the Pharisees. They are people who don’t need to take every available path to discover more about God…they already know everything there is to know about God (or so they think)! They’ve cornered the market on religion. They’ve “arrived.” There is no new truth to discover. There is no different way to look at scripture. There is no need for anything new, so when tradition is challenged they cry, “Unscriptural!” Different ways of worshiping God are labeled as “reckless innovations of men.” Differing points of view of scripture are called “biblical ignorance.” New methods of sharing the good news of God are deemed as “liberalism.” Sustainers are simply here to sustain the old way of doing things. Change is equivalent to heresy. Anything that is out of their comfort zone must be a sin. If it looks different from the way grandma did it, it has to be unscriptural.

Sustainers pride themselves in their piety. Like the Pharisees, they want others to take notice of their righteousness. And, like the Pharisees, righteousness is gained by what I do or don’t do, not by what Christ has done for me. I once knew an elder in the church who believed he hadn’t sinned in years! (Isn’t pride a sin?) Sustainers don’t believe in learning anything new. They’ve studied the Bible since they were young, so what more could they learn?

Jesus’ refusal to answer the Pharisee’s question was not out of obstinacy. I believe it was more out of pity. What a shame that these people who had been religious their whole lives couldn’t see the truth standing right in front of them! These people, who had literally grown up in church, were blinded to the truth by their traditions! It’s not much different in the church today, is it? Seekers are still looking for new ways to reach the world with the good news of God. Sustainers are still trying desperately to maintain the status quo. If the church is ever going to reach the world with God’s good news, we must have more seekers than sustainers. Right now, I’m just not sure if we’re anywhere close.

“Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

~ by hawkman64 on May 11, 2008.