Whom to trust in faith?

BY DAVID BRATTSTON
There is no obligation for a Christian to naively trust just anyone, in all circumstances. In fact, a healthy distrust—especially in religious matters—is encouraged by the earliest Christian literature, written at a time when the oral teachings and Bible interpretations of Jesus and the apostles were still fresh in Christian memories.

Jesus himself warned to “beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15), and “false Christs and false prophets will arise” (24:24). The Apostle John added: “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

As Paul’s letters show, his ministry was constantly beset by such frauds. Having become resigned to the phenomenon, in Acts 20.29:30 he told local Church leaders: “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

Around AD 233 Origen, the greatest Bible scholar and Christian preacher of the era, advised: “Be careful of immediately trusting just anyone that quotes the Scriptures. Examine the sort of life he leads, the religious beliefs he holds, and his intentions. He may pretend to be holy when he is not really holy. He may be a false teacher and wolf in sheep’s clothing. He may even be the mouthpiece of the devil, who quotes Scripture for a purpose” (Homilies on Luke, 31).

Whom, then, can we trust, particularly in religious matters? One apostle wrote that “every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God” (1 John 4:2-3). However, as Origen noted, even some people that assert they are good Christians nevertheless ought to be investigated further.

In the middle of the second century came a book of Christian moral teaching that proved very popular and influential. It concisely states: “Trust you the righteous, but put no trust in the unrighteous” (Shepherd of Hermas, Mandate 6.1.2) and then provided criteria by which to tell the two apart, and thus a guide as to a person’s life, beliefs, intentions, and spirit.

The messenger of righteousness is “gentle and modest, meek and peaceful…he talks to you of righteousness, purity, chastity, contentment, and every righteous deed and glorious virtue. Trust him, then, and his works”.
On the other hand, “the messenger of iniquity…is wrathful, and bitter, and foolish, and his works are evil…drunken revels, divers[e] luxuries, and things improper, …hankering after women…overreaching, and pride, and blustering” (Mandate 6.2).

In the same vein is the Shepherd of Hermas’ mandate 11: “He who has the Divine Spirit proceeding from above is meek, and peaceable, and humble, and refrains from all iniquity and vain desire of this world, and contents himself with fewer wants than those of other men. […] the spirit which is earthly, and empty…exalts itself, and wishes to have the first seat, and is bold, and impudent, and talkative, and lives in the midst of many luxuries…it never approaches an assembly of righteous men but shuns them.

“Try by his deeds and his life the man who says he is inspired. But as for you, trust the Spirit which comes from God, and has power; but the spirit which is earthly and empty trust not at all.”

If readers think that all this is too negative and cynical, remember that Christ himself took the same course of action: “Many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did; but Jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for he himself knew what was in man” (John 2:23-25).

We who do not possess Jesus’ powers of knowing other people’s inner thoughts and intentions must fall back on our usual limited human methods of finding out whom to trust and whom not. These methods are outlined above in 1 John, Origen, and Hermas.