Mk. 3:22 “And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.".
It is a tragic thing when the people confuse the work of God with the work of the Devil. The whole work of Christ as He came into the religious culture of the day can be encapsulated into a short prophetic utterance from Isaiah that foretold the fact that many would not be able to embrace the ministry of Christ because it did not conform to their preconceived religious expectations. Paul describes the struggle between faith and religion in Rom 9:30-33 when he says “What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." 33 As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
Consider the fact that God is not afraid to present himself in such a way, through such means that some will not be able to see past the expression to the good fruit and therefore reject something as not from God. How often have we missed God because of our limited view of what God looks like in action? It is very clear from the contrast of religious history and the scriptures that the pages of scripture are examples of what God can do but the examples are not the limitations of what God can do! The simple test of scripture is found in one of the parables of Jesus. In Matt 7:15-16 Jesus said "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them.” The clear principle in this passage is that we are not to focus on the appearance of things because a wolf can appear to be a sheep! Examine the fruit!
Jesus taught elsewhere about this ability for people to do the works of God and not be right with God. In Matt 7:22-24 Jesus confronts this problem by saying “Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' 24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” We are not to be blinded by forms and appearances. Instead we are to examine the lifestyle of those who work for God. In the servants of God good works and quality of life must come together. This is the test of what is from God and of an approved messenger. Does the miracle produce hunger for God and does the one performing the miracle have a Christ like lifestyle? Let this be the measuring rod, not simply the person’s expression of ministry.
In response to the Pharisee’s chronic accusations against God the man who had been healed of blindness answered directly. In John 9:30-33 “The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." Even an unschooled man was able to see through the religious blindness of Jesus’ accusers with simple logic. Judge things rightly and you will enjoy so much more of what God is doing. The same Holy Spirit expresses Himself in a diversity of ways through a diversity of people. Do not call evil what God calls good and do not rob yourself of the blessings that can be yours as you learn to discern by the Holy Spirit not by the limitations of false preconceptions about God.
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