Luke 12:49-53 ESV
“I came to cast fire on the earth and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Parallel Scripture Passage:
But Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:34-38 ESV
So, what was Jesus’ meaning in the words spoken here? What
he meant is that, when we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith, and we
are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him to walk in
newness of life in him, our lives now change. We aren’t the same people we were
before. For we were walking in darkness, and now we are walking in the light,
provided that our faith is genuine faith. And so that may not go over so well
with some of our family members.
In some countries, those who convert to Christianity may
even be kicked out of their homes, and they may lose their jobs or their
positions in the community, etc. And they may be under the threat of severe
persecution and imprisonment and even death unless they renounce Jesus Christ
as their Savior and Lord. So far, in America, we have not had such a severe
reaction to people believing in Jesus Christ, but in some homes in America they
may have such a reaction.
I believe one of the reasons in America there is not such a
drastic response to people believing in Jesus is because the faith that is
being taught today is so diluted that it doesn’t resemble at all the faith that
Jesus taught. For it doesn’t teach the crucified life or full surrender of our
lives to Christ or the forsaking of sin to follow Jesus in obedience. It is
more of just an acknowledgement of Christ as Lord and Savior which then
guarantees the “believer” full forgiveness of sin and heaven as his eternal
destiny.
And the “believer” then is basically given carte blanche to
continue in deliberate and habitual sin under the auspice of God’s grace. For they
teach that once you are in you are in regardless of how you live. But that isn’t
the gospel that Jesus taught or that his New Testament apostles taught. Now,
they didn’t teach that we have to live in absolute sinless perfection, otherwise
why did Jesus need to die if any of us could do that? But they taught that we
must walk no longer in sin and we must walk in obedience to our Lord or we do
not have eternal life in him.
So, in America, if you “believe” in Jesus with human-based
faith that creates in your own mind what that faith looks like, and your life
doesn’t change at all or you only make some minor adjustments, but
fundamentally you are still the same person pretty much doing the same things
you did before you “believed” in Jesus, chances are pretty good that you will
not experience what these verses are talking about. And that is because a
socialized Christianity is acceptable in America as long as you don’t “make
waves.”
On the other hand, if you are truly crucified with Christ in
death to sin, and you are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him,
and now you have been set free from your slavery to sin, and so you are now
choosing to walk in obedience to the Lord and no longer in sin, that might
upset some households where the others are not where you are. And your decision
to put your total trust in the Lord and to follow him wherever he leads you may
not sit well with your family members, or with some of them.
And so you may be called upon to have to make some hard choices.
Are you going to “play it safe” and not drastically change your lifestyle so
that you can be more acceptable to your family? Or are you going to follow
Jesus Christ wholeheartedly regardless of how you are treated by your family?
Is your family going to come first, or Jesus? Now, I am not advocating the
neglecting of your family, but if we are Jesus’ true followers he has to be in
first place and he rules over everything else.
For, if we prefer the acceptance of our family members above
obedience to the Lord, he says we are not worthy of him. We can’t make
compromises. We are either dedicated to following Jesus with our lives or we
aren’t. And if we are dedicated to following Jesus wholeheartedly, it is going
to upset some people, for certain. So, a genuine decision to believe in Jesus
is death to our old lives and it is choosing Jesus above all else, and it is
daily denying self and dying to sin and following Jesus in obedience.
Hymn lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1869
Music by William H. Doane, 1869
Jesus,
keep me near the cross;
There
a precious fountain,
Free
to all, a healing stream,
Flows
from Calvary's mountain.
Near
the cross, a trembling soul,
Love
and mercy found me;
There
the bright and morning star
Sheds
its beams around me.
Near
the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring
its scenes before me;
Help
me walk from day to day
With
its shadow o'er me.
Near
the cross I'll watch and wait,
Hoping,
trusting ever,
Till
I reach the golden strand
Just
beyond the river.
In
the cross, in the cross,
Be
my glory ever,
Till
my raptured soul shall find
Rest
beyond the river.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5gong-PNmY
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