Verse of the Week...

We live in a day of extremes, do we not? Never have the rich been comparatively richer, the poor, poorer, and the chasm between the educated and the ignorant continues to widen. The path of truth and its contesting counterpart, namely the reality of the day, continues to diverge, with the road of the former being far, far less traveled. Then there’s religion. Competing worldviews, or better, ‘godviews,’ cause friction to the point of death, between those dutifully yet tamely attending Sunday or Sabbath services and those strapping a bomb to their chest in the name of religious obedience. Indeed, extremism defines the times.

And what’s at the root of all the tension? What’s the thing so hotly contested by word, by creed, by action? Truth. It’s at the center. It always has been; it always will be. Throughout the ages people have debated it, fought for it (or at least about it), lived for it and died for it. Who is God? Who shall we worship? And how shall we worship? Who has got it right and who is outright misled? Though it first appears these questions have largely fallen by the wayside, it only takes a second glance to see that’s simply not the case. Relativism may reign, but it’s still very much a stance one takes on what’s true and what isn’t. To its adherents, what’s true is there is no truth; each is left to his own moral and spiritual compass. This is, obviously, itself a truism.

It is against this backdrop, then, that we live and move and breathe. And it is exactly within this climate that fundamentalism (in its broadest definition) is so radical. Makes sense, right?

So here’s my argument: though it’s portrayed in an almost exclusively negative light, religious extremism or fanaticism or fundamentalism or whatever you want to call it, has gotten a bad rap. That is, if you ask Jesus. See, He’s always prescribed to the notion of fanaticism: exercising uncommon faith in the great and small. And not a day went by when he didn’t preach fundamentalism: that He was the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that no one reaches the Father but by Him. The question surfaces, then, why do we look at suicide bombers and polygamists with such wonderment? Are they not merely endeavoring to be faithful followers of their respective religions? Though most would contend their methods are misguided, their fanaticism, their fundamentalism, is exactly the kind of faith God requests and requires of you and me.

To better illustrate, let’s look at the healing account in Acts 3-4. In it, Peter and John encounter a forty-year-old man, a beggar, crippled from birth. When he asks the apostles for cash, they give him none. But they do offer him everything they have: the healing power of Jesus Christ. At their command the man immediately rises to his feet and confidently, albeit clumsily, follows them into the temple courts for all to see…and savor. The fact that this notoriously broke and broken beggar is leaping for joy on able legs is lost on no one. The crowd marvels, even praises God. But leave it to the religious leaders of the day to step in and try to sabotage the moment, the miracle. They ask, ‘By what power or what name did you do this?’ (chapter 4, verse 7) By the way, the question insinuated that the power of God wasn’t the cause of the cure (after all, these ‘godly’ clergy weren’t healing cripples by the command of their voice). But here’s where the story reaches its climax. In this very instant, fundamental, radical faith takes center stage. Peter, the subject of perhaps the biggest spiritual trip-up recorded in the Bible (denying Jesus three times within a few hours, once in His immediate presence), answers. He answers well, with boldness and in truth:

“Rulers and elders of the people! (note the exclamation point!) If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He [Jesus] is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12)

You talk about an ‘in your face!’ And I’m not being trite. Peter, at great risk to his own well-being, emphatically condemns the religious leaders in his retort. He responds with strength, with zeal, but most importantly, in truth. There is no doubt here, Peter displays fanatical, yet fundamental faith. And God is glorified as a result.

It’s clear. God calls us to a faith that is staunch in its stance for truth (Truth). And think about why. If Peter were to have weakly or meekly replied to the underhanded accusation, if he hadn’t been able to find the words, or worse, denied his power source altogether, God would have been defamed. It would have been tragic. The onlookers would have walked away with less awe, with diminished hope. And the view of the absolute truth and might of the Almighty God would have been muddled, murky instead of magnificent.

God desires fanatical, fundamental faith because in it He is seen. In it He is savored. He requests this of His people. He requires this of His true people. And so we have the opportunity to answer life how Peter answered the Sanhedrin—with Spirit, and in truth.

After being released from jail Peter and John ‘went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.’ (verse 23) Then they raised their voices together in prayer. Acts 4:31 is a poignant end to a purposeful story:

‘After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken (shaken!). And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.’


Grace to you, to live a fanatical, yet fundamental faith, to the praise of His Name,

Voice of another