Credible Testimony

But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. (John 5:34)

There seems to be indication in this verse from the context that humans have a penchant for wanting to give more credence to testimony from other people than we do from what God says. In this passage it appears that Jesus allows for this to some extent by referring to the testimony of John the Baptist. But He does this as He states here, for the purpose of saving people who simply will not give enough credibility to the testimony of God. If we won't initially listen directly to God's testimony, then maybe we have to start with someone else's testimony to get us into better position to listen to Him.

This is evidence that the lies about God's character and reliability are so pervasive in our thinking and attitudes that we are often willing to give more weight to other people's testimony about what is true than we are willing to believe the very Author of truth itself. Yet in this verse Jesus is declaring that from His perspective He is putting all of His own trust in the testimony of the Father rather than the testimony of any human being. He does not discount the authenticity of the testimony of John the Baptist, but He does not personally depend on that testimony to authenticate His own validity. Rather He is stating that He is willing to refer others to John's testimony for the purpose of trying to get people to move away from their position of unbelief into a place closer to saving belief that will allow a person to begin to give the testimony from God more credibility.

I might note here that the real meaning of the word saved has much more to do with a restoration of something, a returning of something or someone to their original design and purpose and function. We often narrowly think of this word only in terms of getting into heaven and fail to relate to God's intention of re-shaping us back into His image here and now. Knowing God and being saved has as much to do with having our own lives transformed and our relationships repaired and our heart healed as it has to do with living closer in proximity to God's immediate presence throughout eternity. In fact, if we do not participate in God's plan of salvation here and now by allowing His Spirit to convict and mature and shape our characters during our time of probation here on earth, we will be disqualified to join the redeemed on the Sea of Glass and finish our preparation to live with Him for the rest of eternity.

Many seem averse to believing that our need of transformation has anything to do with our qualification for heaven. They believe that this smacks of legalism and that the only thing we need to do is to confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and admit that we are sinners and ask for forgiveness. While all of this is important, our skewed views of what Calvary was all about has led millions into a false sense of security when it comes to our future life. It is absolutely true that there is nothing we can do to earn salvation in heaven. But on the other hand, the kind of belief that Jesus talks about is not just a mental assent to the facts of truth or of God or even of what Jesus did for us on Calvary. The kind of believing that is necessary for salvation is a heart-based belief that goes to the deepest levels of our motives and affections and perceptions of reality.

Jesus in this verse was not just thinking about trying to get these Jews into heaven to be saved. He was talking about having their current thinking radically altered by choosing to embrace the reality of who He was and to allow His love and grace to transform them in the here and now. If they only agreed to mentally believe what He was saying but failed to have that belief change their heart and their attitudes, that kind of belief would prove to be utterly worthless as James aptly pointed out in his book a few years later. (see James 2:14-26)