Between Two Opinions

​1 Kings 18:21 ~ “And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’”
 
One of the most widely read stories of the Scriptures is the time of Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. If you’ve not read the story, I would encourage you to do so now. It is found in 1 Kings 18:17-40. With great trouble in Israel because of their idolatry, Elijah stood upon the mountain and confronted over 800 false prophets of both Baal and Asherah. That confrontation would prove that the LORD is God and not the false deities that were in the land. Elijah acted upon the instructions of the LORD as he declared in 1 Kings 18:36, “And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, ‘O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.’” But what we will consider today is the dilemma of the people who were “limping between two different opinions.”
 
There, on the mountain, Elijah came near to all the people. A great confrontation was about to take place, but it was more than a confrontation between the LORD God Almighty and the false gods of the people. It was a confrontation that had settled in the hearts of God’s people between the true and the false—between the gods of this world and the LORD of Hosts. Nor did Elijah do this merely for the king of Israel, but for all the people of the land. Elijah commands King Ahab in 1 Kings 18:19, “Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” How often is it that people think, “if only the important people of this world would believe on Christ... etc.” But God is not promoted by the high and mighty of the world, but presents Himself to the lowly and the contrite. Paul would tell us in 1 Corinthians 1:28, “God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.” My friends, I would encourage you to not follow the popular trends of this world—so often God is not in them, but are merely the fabrication of idols.
 
Elijah’s confrontation of the people begins with the question: “How long will you go limping between two different opinions?” And that becomes the crux of the matter for many—they have a different opinion than that which is revealed in God’s word and so they adhere to it rather than to Christ. Dear Christian, how many opinions are there when it comes to understanding the LORD God? There are, ultimately, just two. Despite the fact that there is a multiplicity of various false religions in this world, and a myriad of false approaches to following the true God, there are still only two opinions—either God is who He has revealed Himself to be or He isn’t. And if God is who He has revealed, then there is only one approach to take—follow Him.
 
It's not too difficult to understand who the gods of this world are today. Simply look at that which people will follow. People hold to various opinions and thus they follow a diversity of paths. But Jesus tells us there is only one way, one truth, one life—and that is Him (see John 14:6). Ecclesiastes 7:29 states, “See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” Ever since man’s fall in the Garden of Eden, we have struck out to forge and scheme along a path of our own design, rebelling against the ways of God. Yet, it is the narrow way of Christ that leads to everlasting life, and a broad path that leads to destruction (see Matthew 7:13-14).
 
And so, the choice is laid before all mankind—either the LORD is God or the idols of men are. Either the LORD is to be worshiped and obeyed, or the ingenuity of men is to be held in honor and obeisance. And, dear one, if your idol is more precious to you than the LORD Jesus Christ, then do not deceive yourself into thinking that you are following both. You cannot have the LORD and an idol. You cannot say that the Heavenly Father rules over your life even as you strive to keep all the idolatrous practices of the world. You will merely limp between two opinions and you must land somewhere.
 
So, dear ones, do as Joshua did. Bow yourself to the King and Savior, the LORD Jesus. Consider his words in Joshua 24:15, “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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