Who is With Jesus and Who is Not?

[In the March 17 sermon, we considered the seemingly contradictory sayings of Jesus: “Whoever is not with Me is against Me” (Matthew 12:30) and “One who is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40). We saw that in both cases Jesus is telling His listeners to serve others. The audio of the sermon will be available shortly at this link. The following lessons for the Christian life are taken from the concluding section, and are drawn out of the analysis of the context of those passages.]

Let’s draw out nine principles, nine lessons for the Christian life that flow out of our examination of this seeming contradiction.

First: Serve others by both elevating truth and loving our brothers and sisters in Christ.

This implication of the paradox is brought out well in the opening paragraph of our Statement of Faith Governing Teaching (which is based on language from the elder affirmation of faith at Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis):

A passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples is best sustained in an atmosphere of deep and joyful knowledge of the character of God. We thus aim to teach the whole counsel of God rather than aiming to discover and teach some minimum required for salvation. In affirming what we believe on these matters, we separate ourselves doctrinally from some brothers and sisters within the universal church. The cause of unity in the church, however, is best served not by finding the lowest common denominator of doctrine, but by elevating the value of truth through stating clear doctrinal parameters, and then demonstrating to the world how Christians can love each other across doctrinal boundaries, rather than by removing those boundaries. We commit ourselves to both elevating truth and loving our brothers.

We don’t serve anyone well by downplaying the importance of truth. And that’s the danger of listening only to Jesus’ statement, “He who is not against Me is for Me,” or emphasizing only God’s love, or only Jesus’ prayer that all His followers might be one. We are one – in Christ. And Jesus is both Lamb and Lion. God is both loving and just – indeed, it is because He is both that the cross was necessary. It is God’s truth that sets us free, that unites us to Jesus, that makes us one. So there is no way we can separate truth from being in Christ. At the same time, we are genuinely to love all those who are in Christ – regardless of how we might differ on our understandings of some important truths. So we exalt truth – and we love across differences in our understanding of truth.

Second: This lesson has to do with how we interact with those who might or might not be in Christ. There are four parts:

  1. We must not imply someone is in Christ who is not.
  2. We must not imply someone is NOT in Christ when they are.
  3. We do well to exhort others to examine themselves, to see if they are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5), using biblical criteria – without implying that they are not.
  4. We do well to challenge those claiming to be in Christ who are engaging in clear, obvious sin, by stating the truth that those who do so will not inherit the Kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 5:19-21).

Third: We must never give the impression that the essence of Christianity is being part of our group by avoiding certain behaviors or advancing some cause other than the Gospel

It may be wise to avoid certain behaviors other than those proscribed in Scripture. And there may well be political or social causes that we strongly believe are implied by Scripture. But the moment we say, “Unless you support this policy or act in this way, you are not in Christ,” we are distorting the Gospel. We are taking part in the Galatian heresy. However important any cause might be, it is not the essence of the Gospel.

Fourth: We must distinguish between individuals and their churches or denominations.

Some denominations or churches hold to specific doctrines that distort or deny the Gospel. We could not have a joint service with such a church. But there often are individuals within such churches that God has saved, in spite of the particular teachings of their church.

Fifth: With respect to other churches, we should ask: Does this doctrinal difference fundamentally distort the Gospel, demeaning the work of the Holy Spirit and the glory of Jesus?

This is the right question to ask, though it is often difficult to answer. For example, the Apostle Paul is absolutely clear that requiring circumcision of non-Jews who had become Christians is to distort the Gospel so thoroughly that there is no Gospel left at all (Galatians 1:6-9). On the other hand, though we believe biblical baptism should take place after profession of saving faith, we do not believe that the baptism of infants practiced in Presbyterian churches is a fundamental distortion of the Gospel.

Sixth: Realize we can and should cooperate on social and political issues without pretending our social allies are in Christ.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and Muslims may well agree with us on a number of social and political issues. Any successful political movement will have to be broadly based. We may choose to work together for such causes. We should love and serve those who are working with us. But we must never give the impression that our social or political agreement is more important than Christ, or that our differences in understanding how a person can be reconciled to God are insignificant.

Seventh: Beware of civil religion.

It is tempting for those who love the United States to baptize this country, and to imply God’s cause is wrapped up with the future of the US, or that what binds us as citizens is as important as what binds us in Christ. We are to pray for our political leaders and to participate in civil institutions – but Christ’s church cuts across all nation states and unites those from every tribe and tongue into a oneness far more important than our citizenship.

Eighth: We must distinguish between loving friends and family members who are not in Christ and separating from false teachers and other religions.

We are to serve everyone. As we saw above, that means never implying someone is in Christ when they are not. Sometimes with false teachers, that will necessitate having nothing to do with them (2 Timothy 3:5). But we can serve and love family members and friends without making that wrong implication. Love them. Enjoy them. Speak the truth to them, and live out that truth before them. Don’t make your continued relationship with them dependent on their response to the truth. That is not service. They may choose to separate from you if you hold steadfastly to the truth – if so, you can’t avoid the separation. But try to love across the differences.

Ninth: We must examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith.
Are we truly with Jesus? If not, we are against Him. So: Is Jesus supreme in our lives – above our reputations, above all other relationships, above all that we have or own, even above life itself? In everything, is He preeminent (Colossians 1:18)? Do you believe, and do your actions show, that whoever loses his life for Jesus’ sake and for the Gospel will save it? Do you believe, and do your actions show, that the Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which, finding, a man covers up, and out of his joy he goes and sells all that he has in order to buy that field (Matthew 13:44)?

Whoever is Not With Me is Against Me

[This Sunday we consider what Jesus means when He says both, “Whoever is not with Me is against me” (Matthew 12:30), and “The one who is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40). What follows is an edited excerpt from a sermon preached July 7, 2013 on Matthew 12:15-50, which raises similar questions. You can listen to the audio of that sermon at this link.]

Who is Jesus?

Where do you stand on that question?

Do you stand with Him – and thus see Him as the center of all human history, as the Savior of all who will come to Him, as the promised King who will return, right all wrongs, and reign forever? Do you see Him as the promised groom for His Bride, the Church – and thus as your beloved?

Or do you stand against Him? Do you see Him as a threat to what you hold dear? Do you see the Jesus of the Bible as a fake, a charlatan, whose followers have distorted the historical person?

Or perhaps on hearing those questions, you’re thinking, “Well, I’m not an extremist! I don’t see Jesus as the center of all history, but neither do I regard Him as a threat. There are aspects of Jesus I like, and other aspects I don’t like so much. But I’m neither with Him nor against Him. I’m an objective observer; I’m neutral.”

In Matthew 12:30, Jesus says explicitly: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” That is: Jesus says, “You cannot be neutral with regard to me.” Indeed He says, “You speak out of the overflow of what is inside you, out of the overflow of your heart, out of the overflow of who you are. And there are no neutral hearts. So come to Me and follow Me! But know: If you don’t come to Me, you are against me. You are my enemy. I am your rightful King, and you have joined the rebellion against me.”

Who is Jesus?

Matthew has emphasized Jesus’ authority previously. He does that again in Matthew 12:38 and following. Jesus claims to be greater than Jonah and greater than Solomon. Think about that: Here’s a young man, in his early thirties, with no wealth, no schooling, no position in society, the son of a carpenter from out in the sticks. And He claims to be greater than one of the greatest leaders in the history of His nation.

This is an audacious claim. And yet Jesus has just said in Matthew 11:28-30, “I am gentle and humble in heart.”

Is a carpenter’s son who calls Himself greater than Solomon humble?

Matthew explains this in Matthew 12:15 and following. After healing many, He commands these folks not to make Him known as the Messiah. In Matthew 12:18-21 the author then explains that Jesus telling others not to make Him known is a fulfillment of Isaiah 42:1-4. As prophesied, Jesus is not a loud, self-promoter. Yet He is God’s chosen, beloved servant; God has placed His Spirit on Him, and given Him a worldwide task as the hope of all nations. So, yes, Jesus is greater than Solomon and Jonah. But He is gentle; if you are faintly burning for Him, shining just a little light, He will not stand back and say, “Burn brighter or I’ll snuff you out!” No. He will trim that wick, enabling your light to blaze, and He will make you the light of the world.

So Jesus is the greatest of all humanity. Yet He came to serve, indeed, to die – for you.

Are You with Jesus?

Matthew gives us a parable from real life in Matthew 12:22 as an example of Jesus’ character. A blind and mute man, oppressed by demons and thus under Satan’s authority, is brought to Him. This man pictures every one of us when we are separated from Christ. Just as with us, Jesus opens his eyes and lips, ending the oppression.

This is the gentle, authoritative service Jesus always renders. He overcomes our oppressors, enabling us to fulfill the purpose of our creation: Praising God and delighting in Him.

How do people respond to this man’s healing? As we’re told in Matthew 12:23, they are amazed, and ask if Jesus could be the Son of David – that is, the Messiah.

That’s how we’re supposed to respond to Jesus: To see Him, to be amazed at His love, His service, His power and authority.

As Jesus explains in Matthew 12:35, these folks are speaking out of the overflow of their hearts. They see what Jesus does, and think: “This is what the prophets said! The blind see! The oppressed are set free! Could this man be our long-promised Messiah, the rightful King?”

Furthermore, Jesus explains in Matthew 12:46-50 that He offers more than freedom from oppression, even more than forgiveness of sin. He invites us into His intimate family: “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50).

So note: Jesus is not asking you simply to accept some propositions. He’s not only asking you to acknowledge His authority, His humility, and His forgiveness. He is saying, “Come to your loving Savior! Be a part of My family! As a part of that family, rejoice from the bottom of your heart in our Father. Speak out of the overflow of that heart – your mute lips have been opened! Exalt your loving Father in every way – and thus do His will. Come into the family – and then act like a beloved family member.”

Are you with Jesus? Do you not just acknowledge His power but love His person? Do you not just believe biblical doctrine but rejoice in the Father’s love?

Or Are You Against Jesus?

The Pharisees in this passage picture the opponents of Jesus. They see what He does, and they reject Him out of hand. Jesus spends much of this passage warning against that attitude – an attitude that explains away all evidence of Who He is, an attitude that will never believe, regardless of what God does, an attitude that is the overflow of what Jesus calls the evil treasure in a person’s heart.

We see this first in Matthew 12:24, when the Pharisees respond to the healing of the demon-oppressed man by claiming that Jesus casts out demons by the prince of demons.

In Matthew 12:25 and following, Jesus responds, saying that claim is obviously false. If Satan’s kingdom is divided like that, it is no threat at all; that kingdom will collapse. Rather than working with Satan, Jesus says He is binding Him (Matthew 12:29). That should be obvious to anyone with eyes to see.

Jesus takes a different tack in Matthew 12:27. There were a number of Jewish exorcists casting out demons in Jesus’ day, and the Pharisees don’t claim that they do so by the power of the prince of demons. So with the same evidence, in one case the Pharisees acknowledge the power of God at work, while in the other they deny it. This shows that the problem is in their hearts rather than in the evidence; they will not see and believe.

Jesus highlights this is Matthew 12:28, saying in effect: “This Kingdom has been prophesied for centuries. Here it is! It has come upon you in My person! Quit disbelieving! Acknowledge what is before your eyes! The promises are fulfilled!”

But the Pharisees keep their eyes closed. They see plenty of evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work, but they reject Jesus and claim He is doing Satan’s work. This is blasphemy against the Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32); that sin cannot be forgiven, because if you willingly and persistently close your eyes to the evidence of the Spirit’s work, you never will repent.

The author brings this out further in Matthew 12:38 and following. The scribes and Pharisees ask for a sign – that is, for evidence that Jesus really is who He claims to be. But they have just seen a sign – the healing of the man – and they rejected that sign. Obviously no sign will do any good to those who will reject every sign.

Jesus is not their performing animal: He will not produce miracles at their command. But in Matthew 12:39-40 He says they will indeed receive another sign: He will be in the grave three days, and then rise from the dead. And how do the Jewish leaders respond when they that happens? They reject it. They claim the disciples stole the body, though they well know that is not the case (Matthew 28:11-15).

So, are you with Jesus? Or against Him? This entire passage warns us: You cannot be neutral towards Him. And don’t be satisfied with taking a few steps in His direction – coming to church, reading the Bible, cleaning up a few parts of your life. You must be all in for Him. You must be His intimate family. If not, You are against Him – you are His enemy.

For Jesus not just an interesting teacher. He is not just a person with great insight; He is not just a good person whose example we should follow. He claims that He is greater than Solomon or Jonah; He claims that when He is present, the Kingdom of God has come.

Do you think you need more evidence? Be careful that you are not simply looking for excuses not to believe – that your rejection is not just displaying the overflow of a rebellious heart. But if you are genuinely looking, you will find Him – a “faintly burning wick” he will not snuff out. So pray, “I believe, Lord – help my unbelief! I submit to you; open my blind eyes, open my mute mouth!”

God created mankind to be part of His family. And Jesus says: “I am your rightful King, whether you acknowledge Me or not. And I can be your beloved husband, the source of your great delight. So come to Me, whatever your burden – and I will give you rest!”