Elijah was certain that there was no real god except the God who had called Israel out of Egypt and asked the people to trust and to follow. But the people were not as certain as Elijah. King Ahab married a beautiful woman from a foreign land and she said that it was OK to worship other gods along with the God of Israel. The king had not objected, so the people surmised that it was acceptable to worship Baal. And then, since it was socially acceptable, there were suddenly lots of men who wanted to be prophets of Baal. It was lucrative work and very popular. Queen Jezebel made sure the Baal prophets were invited to all the best parties and had the best looking uniforms. On the other hand, Jezebel was not fond of the prophets who served the God of Ahab — especially crusty, old Elijah. He got invited to zero parties and received no holiday bonus pay! Jezebel and the prophets of Baal were certain that Baal was god. So the people were a little confused, and they did what all people do when they are confused: they began to hedge their bets. Besides, who didn’t want to hang out with the handsome prophets of Baal in their snazzy uniforms? They looked a lot more successful than Elijah! So when Elijah demanded that the people decide who really is God, the people were non-committal and unclear about what they should do. Elijah bellowed: “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people did not answer him a word. Survey says — “undecided.”
Thus, the stage had been set for a battle of cosmic proportions in which certainty about who is really God is a matter of life and death.
Now, no one is killed in the first 12 verses of Galatians, but Paul’s certainty is no less real. “If anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed” (Galatians 1:9b). “The gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; … but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12).
I imagine the Galatian Christians, reading Paul’s letter, probably didn’t feel all that different from the people of Israel to whom Elijah spoke. “How long will you go limping with two different opinions?” This is what Paul implied. If Jesus Christ is God, then follow him, but if someone/something else is god, then follow that!
“Limping” in both passages is related to the nature of God. Who is God, really? It is critical to get this question right. In fact, Scripture says that it is a matter of life and death. Are we certain about God? Are we certain that we have chosen the right “god” to follow? It is important to get this right — to be certain.
The place of certainty in the life of the disciple is right at the center of our lives. What or who are we following, pursuing and allowing to set reality for us? If we don’t want to end up like the prophets of Baal, then it is really critical to know which god we are worshipping. I am certain that Jesus Christ is God’s only son and my Lord and Savior. I am certain that following Christ leads to true and eternal life.
Does that conviction mean that a Buddhist child in China is going to hell because they have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? The answer to that question is beyond the realm of certainty for me — or for anyone. No one but God can be certain about that. Can Jesus Christ be Lord and Savior for every Buddhist child in China — yes! And Scripture leads me to believe that when God handles this issue, the decision about me, you and every Buddhist child in China is made with grace and holiness, with justice and mercy.
While the certainty about following the right God is a matter of life and death, I think that no one – save God – can be certain on a vast range of subjects. And I believe that certainty can be a real spiritual danger for every disciple of Christ. Certainty is very attractive; in a world that is vast and confusing and frightening, the one who is most certain has a lot of power.
While listening to NPR Weekend Edition on the car radio some weeks ago, the commentators, Scott Simon and Tom Goldman, moved to news of the NBA Playoffs. They discussed the Pacers and the possibilities that LeBron James might be superman. One commentator asked the other to predict who would win the playoffs. He replied, “Before I give you any prognostications … I want to mention a study I happened upon this week. A couple of Washington State University graduate students in economics found that for sports pundits, it’s more important to be confident than accurate in making predictions. … They found that a pundit’s Twitter following increased much more if the pundit used confidence words like ‘vanquish’ or ‘destroy’ and ‘annihilate’ in his or her predictions. Now, the percentage increase in followers was much smaller if the pundits were merely accurate. I think, you know, basically we want more certainty in our life, and not uncertainty. So you ask: Can Indiana win four straight? I am very confident in saying I have no idea.”
I believe that one of the reasons the Christian church in America is in such poor shape is that we have compromised on the centrality of Christ — the one thing about which we should be certain — while we have claimed certainty about all sorts of things about which we cannot claim certainty at all. Being certain about who God is forms the heart of our faith and life. But being certain about too many things prevents us from following the one to whom we have pledged our lives. To be a follower of Jesus Christ requires that we follow Christ into the world and into mission — not that we be certain about every issue that comes our way. To be a follower of Christ means that we submit ourselves to the purposes of Christ — in humility — being willing to go where Christ leads rather than being certain of every turn of the path. In fact it seems that, for some Christians, certainty has replaced faith and following. They don’t need Christ anymore because they are certain they know what they are doing. Certainty has replaced the good news of the gospel for them.
So, there are Christian churches who have claimed to know and to be certain about so many things that they no longer need faith, humility or to follow anyone but their own conscience. And in the ditch on the other side of the road, there are Christian churches who are not certain about anything, limping along with at least two opinions on every topic — even the one about who really is God. My goal for the congregation I serve is that they may be certain about the fact that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life — and to remain humble and teachable enough to be able to follow Christ into the world even when we are not certain where it will lead us.
Ellen Fowler Skidmore is pastor of Forest Lake Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina.
