There are at least four components involved when people evaluate the validity of an idea. Where did it come from? What is the credibility of the information? Does it work? What will be the results? In other terms we think about the “helpfulness” of an idea, concept, or philosophy in four ways: source, credibility, helpfulness (utilitarian) and results.
Source: What are the origins of an idea? Christians are especially interested in this because our lives are to be governed, not by the philosophy of the world, but by God and His Word. Jesus forbade demons to speak about His true nature because they were ultimately NOT credible to validate His character. “And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him” (Mark 1:34).
Credibility: Paul wrote to the Colossians, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Col. 2:8). The value of any approach, for the believer, is it must be, “… according to Christ.” People in the world are not dumb. There are brilliant minds that have studied our world and are highly specialized in their thinking. When this knowledge they obtain helps us understand the world God has created and we interpret that data in light of the framework of God’s revelation, then we have something “according to Christ”. We must be careful that we do not divorce Christ from our process… that is always a temptation because of the next element in this conversation, utilitarianism.
Utilitarian: This idea here is that something has a useful or helpful function. It is clear that the end does not justify the means. We see this explicitly in Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees in Matthew 12:
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? (Matt. 12:24-26).
Jesus was demonstrating the power over demons by the power of God, but to not be culpable of resisting God the Pharisees needed a scapegoat; some other source that would discredit Jesus. By accusing Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan they acknowledge his existence, and that he is powerful. But Jesus raises an important principle: Any kingdom divided against itself will never last. We can assume that if the source is not of God that it (he / she / it) would have no intention of undermining itself nor will it capitulate to reshape the foundation or core motivation of their idea or concept to embrace a Christ-centered model.
Outcomes or Results: Everyone cares about results. What is the point of doing anything if it does not make any difference to the situation at hand? However, the end does not justify the means which is clearly the statement of Jesus in Matthew 12. Many do not care about the source, the process, or the credibility of the concept. All they care about is the outcome. While this sounds noble it leaves the door open to any process, good or bad, as “good” if the results are consistent with what an individual or group desires. The inherent problem here is the subjective nature of what outcome is right.
This is a battle that is going on right now in our world and we cannot be naïve that Christians are in very different positions on these elements. Some deeply care about the source and if the source is bad, then everything is bad. For others, if the source is bad, that can be excused if they can see things that they believe to be credible and utilitarian. We must use much wisdom and discover the mind of Christ on all these matters if we are going to keep things, “according to Christ.”
Pastor Brad
