Fear of Man or the Praise of God

“Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in Him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42-43).

There seem to be two reasons for this unwillingness to confess Jesus Christ: fear and love. It is the fear of men instead of God and love of the praise of men instead of the praise of God. The fear anticipated something bad happening in the future, i.e., being “put out of the synagogue.” The love is past tense. They already knew what it was like to be praised by men, and they liked it. they wanted the pleasant things from men and did not want the unpleasant things from them. In other words, they were concerned about the opinions of the world and, in this particular instance, that part of the world that controlled the existing church.

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Roots by the River

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