Luke 12:49-53 ESV
Jesus speaking:
“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
Jesus Christ came into this world with the primary purpose to be crucified on a cross for our sins. For in his death, he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. He died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to his righteousness. He died and was raised from the dead in order that we might have life in him via genuine God-given faith in him. And by faith we are then crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.
[2 Corinthians 5:15,21; 1 Peter 2:24; Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 4:17-24]
Therefore, when we believe in Jesus with God-given faith in him, and we die with him to sin so we might live to his righteousness, and now our lives are surrendered to him to do his will, our lives are no longer like they were before. We should be changed from inside out. The old “us” should now be dead and buried with Christ, and the “us” that now exists should be the “us” who were raised with Christ to now walk in holiness and righteousness and in obedience to our Lord, and no longer as slaves to sin.
So, what happens in our lives when we make that transition from death to life? And I am not talking here about those who merely gave lip service to the Lord but who never died to their old lives, for they are still living in sin, still doing the evil that they did before they professed faith in Jesus. I am speaking here of those who had a heart transformation of the Spirit of God out of their lives of sin to now walking in obedience to the Lord in living holy and godly lives. How do some people who knew them react to them?
I can tell you from experience that not everyone is going to leap for joy because we surrendered our lives to Christ and because we are now following him with our lives, especially if we are very serious about our walks of faith and living for the Lord and not for self. Not even many who profess faith in Jesus Christ will be excited over the change that has taken place in our hearts and lives. Why? Usually it is because they are not living for the Lord, and many know they should be, and so we are an offense to them.
And that is what Jesus is talking about here. For if our lives are truly committed to Christ, to doing his will, and to sharing the truth of the gospel, and not this altered half-truth gospel which is permeating the church today, we are going to be an offense to the ungodly, which includes those who have made false confessions of faith in Jesus Christ but who are still walking in sin. And many of them will feel uncomfortable being around us, and some of them will make their displeasure known to us in various ways.
And this includes family members, as Jesus indicated here. For they were used to us being one way, and now we are a different way, and that is hard for them to accept. And this isn’t just about a transition from being unsaved to saved, but this includes any transition in our lives where we become less and less like the world and where we become more and more like Jesus in attitude, in character, in speech, and in actions. Many of them will not be comfortable with that change in our lives, and they may reject us.
And some of them may go beyond just rejecting us to fighting against us. And I am not talking here just about our blood relatives, but the family of God, too, i.e. many who profess faith in Jesus Christ. And the more serious we get about the Lord and our walks of faith the less friends we will have and the less support we will have from others. And even pastors of what are called “churches” may mistreat us and misjudge us based on worldly standards and a worldly way of thinking, or even by themselves.
But if you are living a socially acceptable “Christian” life, you are most likely not going to face this, unless it is for another reason. And many professing Christians today, at least here in America, have become so worldly, because the gatherings of what is called “church” have become so worldly, and because the gospel is being altered to be more worldly, and because the character of God/Christ is being altered to make God more like us and to make the Lord and his gospel more acceptable to human flesh.
Therefore, if you really take God and his Word seriously, and if you are walking in faithful obedience to the Lord, and not in sin, expect to be rejected, ostracized, ridiculed, thought crazy, and treated as though you are the enemy, although you are not doing wrong. Expect to have those you love turn against you and mistreat you and sin against you. For this is the life we are promised if we follow Jesus. But we are also promised peace, joy, love, purpose, value, comfort, and healing by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
And then we need to know this here. If we choose to be accepted by other people, either in our families, or in the gatherings of the church, and so we compromise what we know is the truth, and so we do less than we know is required of us, for we don’t want to be hated and rejected, our Lord says that if we love them more, if we prefer them over him, we are not worthy (fitting, acceptable, proper, and suitable to him). And if we do not die daily to sin and obey his commands, we are not worthy of him.
So, we can either meet the approval of God or we can meet the approval of other humans, or in some cases we will have both, for others who are also choosing God over everyone and everything else will approve us and our walks of faith. But they may be few in number. So also be prepared to stand alone in case that is where God has you to where you don’t have the support of others who call themselves followers of Christ. But it is such a blessing when we do have that support and encouragement, isn’t it?
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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