Are Christians Better Than John the Baptist?
By Dennis Pollock
Today we will examine the question: "Are Christians any better than non-Christians?" Often non-Christians will accuse Christians of thinking that we are better than them. Most Christians will vehemently deny this and declare that if it were not for the grace of Christ, we would be no better than they. This is undoubtedly true, but that is not the real issue here. We are not talking about whether Christians, before receiving Jesus, were any better than non-Christians. The question is, after receiving Jesus, are we born-again Christians in any way superior to those who live their lives without God and His Son Jesus Christ?
Some Christians might say that we are forgiven, and the secular folks are unforgiven, and that is the only difference. Do not expect us to be morally superior, more fruitful, kinder, or in any way better than those who completely ignore God and Christ.
This matter is complicated, probably more than most people think. As evangelical Christians who love and honor the Scriptures, we look to the Bible for our answers. Before I get into "Christian vs non-Christians," I want to talk for a moment about another question: Is any person, Christian or non-Christian any better or worse than any other person? Or are we all exactly and precisely alike, in a moral sense?
Unless your mind has been completely blinded by unreasonable theology, the answer is obvious. There are better and worse people in this world. Mother Teresa was a better person than Jack the Ripper. Ronald Reagan was a better man than Joseph Stalin. An honest, hardworking, kind man who is faithful to his wife is a better man than his neighbor who drinks himself into a stupor every night, sleeps until noon, and cavorts with prostitutes regularly.
The Bible affirms the idea that some people are better than others. We are told this in the Book of Acts about Cornelius:
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. (Acts 10:1-2).
Here is an astounding thought: Cornelius, spoken of so highly here, is not even saved. He has not received Jesus as his Savior. An angel comes to him and tells him to call for Peter, who will share the gospel with him. Cornelius wasn't even born again, and yet in his unsaved condition he is called a "devout man" and one who "feared God." Now compare devout, God-fearing Cornelius with the men of Sodom in the Old Testament. The Bible says: "But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD." (Genesis 13:13). God is so upset with these men that He rains down fire from heaven (possibly a volcanic eruption) and wipes them all out in a moment. There is no way you could compare godly Cornelius with one of these "exceedingly wicked" men of Sodom and suggest that neither was better or worse than the other.
The Bible says about King Ahab: "Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him." Ahab was wicked and ungodly along with his horrible wife, Jezebel. The Bible tells us: "There was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up." (1 Kings 21:25). Could we say that Ahab and Jezebel were no worse than John the Baptist's parents, Zachariah and Elizabeth? The Bible says about this couple: "And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." (Luke 1:6). Like Cornelius, this couple lived before Jesus' death on the cross and were not born again. But they were “better” than Ahab and Jezebel.
Despite some of our theological beliefs, we instinctively know that there are good and bad people in this world. In the ultimate sense, we're all flawed sinners and deserve God's judgment, but in the sense in which we evaluate men and women, there is no question that some are better than others.
But now let's get to the question of Christians vs. non-Christians. Are Christians any better than non-Christians? Are they superior in any way? The Bible provides some clues to this matter. I will make a shocking statement: We who are in Christ are greater than those who are not in Christ. You ask, "Dennis, how can you say this?" Well, it was Jesus who said it. In speaking of John the Baptist, Jesus declared: "For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." (Luke 7:28).
Here is a shocker: If you have been born again, you are greater than John the Baptist. No, you probably can't preach as well as he did, and you don't carry that powerful anointing that he did, but in some way, according to Jesus, you are greater than him. I believe Jesus was saying that when we are born again through faith in Him, we are forgiven, we are justified in God's sight, and we are accepted in a way that John the Baptist could not be. Because in the days of John, Jesus had not yet died on the cross and no one was born again in those days – not even Jesus' disciples – and not John the Baptist. You could be anointed, you could be used by God, but you could not yet be justified and forgiven. For that to happen, it would take the cross of Jesus and His mighty resurrection. So yes, you are greater than unsaved John the Baptist, and this means that in some way or fashion, you are greater than any and every sinner who lives on this earth. You are a child of God and there is greatness in that.
Secondly, as a Christian, you are also fruitful in a way that the non-Christian can never be. Jesus says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5). This is a strange idea. Non-Christians seem to accomplish much in this world. They lead nations, invent great and helpful products, build huge companies, and sometimes become billionaires. Yet Jesus tells us that if we are not in Him and if we are not living a life dependent on Him, we can do nothing of any spiritual value. But if we follow Him and abide in Him, we will bear much fruit. So, according to our Lord, Christians possess a productivity, a fruitfulness that non-Christians cannot touch. They don't lead souls to Christ, they don't pray prayers of faith, and they don't pass on a legacy of Christ to their children because they have nothing to do with Christ. The non-Christian is, in the eyes of God, incapable of doing any real good. The apostle Paul echoes this sentiment about sinners: "They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one." (Romans 3:12).
The unbeliever is living a worthless life; the abiding Christian is living a productive, fruitful life, and is fully acceptable in God's sight. But the sinner isn't so far away from the Christian. The only thing between him and a blessed life is his lack of faith in Christ. And that can easily be remedied. All it took for me to go from useless to useful and from condemnation to justification was a simple reading of the New Testament. Faith in Jesus miraculously took root in my heart, and it has been living there ever since. But the gospel of Jesus Christ is so powerful it does not require you to read the entire New Testament. A single sermon or hearing a few stories about Jesus, or even a video devotional like this one, could in the hands of the Holy Spirit, transform you from darkness to light, from skepticism to faith. And once you are in the family through faith in Jesus, you are perfectly equal with all your brothers and sisters in Christ – equally loved, valued, and headed for an eternity of joy in the presence of God.
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