John 9:31

“According to your own words,” the man continues, “and I agree, God does not listen to sinners; on the contrary, if a man worships God and does His will, God hears him, right?” John 9:31 EFP

Like a seasoned lawyer, the man does not let up. He has set the table and now it’s time to feast. He has implicitly stated his case—now he is explicitly stating it using the council’s previous words against them.

I am not sure I agree with the premise submitted by the authorities and now quoted by the man at the center of the controversy. If God does not listen to sinners then he would never listen to anyone, since we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). On the other hand, Scripture does say that the person who clings to their sin by shutting out God’s law makes their prayer a farce and an abomination (Proverbs 28:3). The point is that the man is quoting from the common teaching of the day. Good things happen to good people. Bad things happen to bad people. The rich are blessed of God. The poor are on the short end of the God’s grace due to their checkered choices.

In an ironic twist, the council’s very warped theology comes back to bite them. They cannot argue against their pernicious position on piety versus perversity. As attractive as certain pet beliefs may be to us, their end can become a quagmire if we never reassess them. If we do not continually submit them to close scrutiny, they will persist only in the company of people unwilling to think outside the confines of their well-established perspective. Truth become static and dead. Deliver me from religious sclerosis. Let my faith be based on truth that focuses on your goodness and not on persistent platitudes that do not speak well of you. Let me always seek truth as it is in Jesus; let me never be content with reflecting other people’s ideas without ensuring they can stand the test of Scripture! Give me humility, Lord, as I follow you.