Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him.
-- John 11:45-48
Unbelief is not neutrality, it is enmity. Often cloaked in garments of faith, unbelief eventually exposes itself in obvious ways. We see some of these enemies of the gospel in the aftermath of the resurrection of Lazarus.
Legalism without grace
Legalism is any sort of salvation by works, or salvation by superiority, that mistakenly thinks it merits favor with God. It is actually unbelief, and its poster child is the Pharisees. They had already set themselves up as superior to Jesus, adversaries of Jesus, and therefore enemies of God and the gospel. Christ offered a gospel of grace alone through faith alone in Him alone. The Pharisees begged to differ, and poor beggars they were.
Any attempt to treat salvation like a prize for keeping rules is an enemy of the gospel. Jesus' salvation is for sinners, for those who know they are sinners, and for those who are sick and tired of their sin. It is grace, God's grace, that makes us aware of sin's estrangement and enmity, and grace gives us the desire for making a place for Jesus, first place, in our lives.
Religion without faith
Unbelief ran to legalism, and legalism ran to religion, religion without faith, which is another arch enemy of the gospel. The Sadducees liked the pomp and circumstance of religion, but without the beliefs, doctrines, and truths. They did not believe in the supernatural, so they really did not believe in God, at all. When Jesus came, claiming to be God, the Sadducees teamed up with the Pharisees to ensure the deluded Jesus would be destroyed.
Today's world is long on religion and short on faith. It sells out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, or political prestige, or merely a big crowd. It makes even spiritually dead people feel good about themselves, and the pomp or pop music is so loud, they cannot even hear if Jesus should come calling.
But gospel faith holds the whole counsel of the word of God to be true, and preaches the Lord Jesus Christ as the only one who can take away our sin and impute His saving righteousness, by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Therefore, all falsehearted or halfhearted attempts to follow Christ are enemies of the gospel.
Politics without God
So what did the legalistic Pharisees and faithless Sadducees do when they got together to get rid of the Lord Jesus Christ? They turned to the greatest worldly power and enemy of the gospel. They played politics.
Politics is the governing of a people. When informed by God and God's word, like the experiment that became the United States of America, it can make a nation a city on a hill, a bright beacon of hope, an arbiter of justice. Without God, like atheistic communism or secular socialism, it becomes immoral, tyrannical, unjust.
The death and resurrection of Lazarus led directly to the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was at this moment that the high priest decided to mix the politics of Jerusalem with the power of Rome and hatch the plot that would punish the Lord Jesus Christ with crucifixion.
At the cross, Jesus faced the enemies of the gospel. We must face them today. Face them squarely by asking a few questions: Are you saved because of what you've done for God, or because of what God has done for you? Do you abide by the external etiquette of a religion you've mostly made up for yourself, or is your conscience held captive by the word of God? If you could only devote yourself to one cause, the success of your particular political party, candidate, or cause; or, the cause of Christ expressed by regular worship, responsible church membership, and world missions, which would you choose?
These questions, and the answers you give, will determine whether you are a friend of God or one of the many enemies of the gospel.
Chuck DeVane is the pastor of Lake Hamilton Baptist Church in Hot Springs. Call him at 501-525-8339 or email [email protected].