Chapter 8: Fortitude and Fantasy

Here is a verse that should make us all a little uncomfortable: "Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God."

Notice who John is describing. These are not skeptics. John says they believed. Their problem was not doubt. It was audience. They knew the truth, and they kept quiet because of who was watching.

Also notice that the fear was not silly. Being put out of the synagogue meant losing your community, your standing, maybe your income. Standing apart has a real price, and Jesus never pretends otherwise. In Manning's telling in this chapter, people who stand up for Jesus often feel a kind of isolation, the loneliness of standing alone and being different. The book also takes up the pull of other people's approval and points to John 5:44, where Jesus asks how people can believe while they take glory from one another and ignore the glory that comes from God.

That ties straight back to the impostor you met earlier in the book. The false self lives on applause. It checks the room before it speaks. It trims its faith to fit the crowd. The authorities in John 12 are a picture of that: real belief with a mask over it.

So here is the question worth sitting with. Where do you edit your faith for an audience? Maybe it is at work, in your family, online, or even at church, where the pressure can run the other way and you pretend to be more sure than you are. The target is not loud boldness. It is being the same person in every room.

The chapter's second move is about what faith looks like. Manning argues for a whole-person Christianity: you are a Christian not only by what you believe, say, and have, but by what you do. He points to Luke 12:37, where Jesus describes a master who ties on an apron and serves his own servants, and he holds up Jesus as the servant. This is not salvation by works. Ephesians 2:8-10 says we are saved by grace through faith, and then adds that we are made for good works. Works are the fruit, not the root.

Put the two halves together. The authorities believed but did not confess. Their faith had no visible shape. A child of Abba does not have to earn love, so a child can afford to be seen. If you are already loved, the crowd loses some of its power over you.

One caution. If standing apart would put you in real danger, such as at home, at work, or in a controlling group, do not go it alone. Talk with a pastor, counselor, or trusted friend about the wisest next step. Courage and wisdom belong together.