John 7: 47- 48
“‘ You mean he has deceived you also?’ the Pharisees retorted. ‘Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?’”
Yesterday Nathan commented, “ … even the Pharisee’s couldn’t avoid the fact that something supernatural was going on – they just responded by claiming it was the power of Satan.” Yes, even the Jewish leaders could not deny the signs that Jesus did, but they could rationalize about why he was able to do them. If he wasn’t the Messiah, and they could not afford for Him to be the Messiah, then he must represent the other major supernatural power that they know about, Satan. Anyone who doesn’t “see” this “truth” has been “deceived.”
It is an odd kind of reverse logic that they strung together to rationalize their inability to accept God’s Son. The power of rationalization is formidable. The mind twists the facts to fit the desired pre-ordained conclusion.
And so we see the temple guards sent out to arrest Jesus and who are instead arrested by the power of Jesus’ words. Perhaps they thought, “This can’t be the man that they want to arrest!” but whatever the reason they could not bring themselves to do it. Then they finally had to go back to their bosses and report in. Because they had seen Jesus for who he is and heard the power in his voice, they were accused of being deceived.
Q: How can a person check their beliefs to see if they are being rational or are rationalizing?
Checking our thoughts against the truth of God’s word is helpful. As long as we look at the consistency and whole counsel of Scripture. Christian fellowship may be helpful as well – there may be those you trust to speak truthfully into your life who can provide godly counsel, accountability and perspective. I do think that at least some of the time, when we rationalize things, deep down we know that we are doing so. So, sometimes a hard look in the mirror and confessing sin will provide guidance.
I agree with Rich, God’s word & Christian fellowship. I find it extremely difficult to recognize my own blind spots or rationalizations. Having mature believers who can help with this is really important to me. I also try to read Christian works beyond my particular culture, I find this helps with my cultural blind spots as well as my personal ones.
I’ve heard this referred to as ‘harbor lights’ as in stationary points of reference.
Scripture
Multiple mature Christian voices for counsel
Prayer / seeking peace from God