I Came Not to Bring Peace, but Division, Part 2

Today on Summit Life with JD Greer. There was a choice that God the Father gave to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. You can avoid my wrath, but you're going to lose them. But if you're going to gain them, you're going to bear my wrath in their place. You want a motivation to give everything to Jesus?

That's it. You start lingering there. Pastor JD Greer, I'm your host, Molly Vidovich. You know, in our culture today, it's a common belief that every religion somehow leads to God. As long as you're sincere about what you believe, he'll be there to save you and provide a better life. And on the surface, it seems like a really kind and accepting worldview. And sadly, even some supposedly Christian churches have adopted this teaching. But the problem is, that's just not what Jesus taught. And today we're getting some perspective on what Jesus actually said about salvation.

And it's a lot more offensive than you might think. And what constraint I'm under until that baptism is completed. Then here is the divisive, confusing statement. Do you think that I came to bring peace on earth? No.

No, I tell you. But division. You say, now, wait a minute, not peace. He came to bring division. I thought Jesus was the Prince of peace. He goes on, verse 52. Jesus is going to divide some families. Why does Jesus divide certain families? Well, it's because of the absolute allegiance that he demands. His claims are so absolute and so dramatic that it divides families as to whether or not they are fully on board with him or not.

Let me show you this. The Gospel of Matthew, after recording the exact same statement that Jesus made, adds these words to the end of what Jesus said. Matthew 10, 37. You see, anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.

Anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it.

Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. He came not to bring peace, but division. He will end up separating people within the same household.

Unless you love me more than you love your own kids, you can't even be my disciple? That's like the triple threat of difficult statements. So here's what I want to do.

I want to do four things today. Firstly, I want to deal with a widely held myth that a lot of people bring into this. And secondly, I want to try to expose for you a staggering claim. And three, reveal an incredible motivation that Jesus puts within this passage. And then number four, I want to ask you a few very practical questions about where you are with what he said here.

Here we go. Number one, a widely held myth. Here is the myth. The myth is that Christianity and the claims of Jesus are more divisive than other viewpoints. The assumption is that other viewpoints are tolerant and inclusive, but Jesus' message is uniquely intolerant and exclusive. But you see, all viewpoints, when you really get down to the roots of them, are ultimately exclusive. So see, it is a myth to say that Christianity is unusually exclusive. The truth is that all claims to lordship are exclusive. And you've got to decide, is he Lord or is he not?

Here's number two, a staggering claim. Verse 37, anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Here's why it's staggering. Jesus puts himself right at the center of our faith. He does not say, notice, he does not say here, love and obey God. He says love and obey me. And unless you love me more than you love everything else, you can't really follow me. Which means that he's either the worst cult leader ever or he's something different than every other religious leader. And that is, he is God himself, the object of our faith. It's also staggering because he is talking about a commitment that trumps our most precious relationships.

A commitment that can have no conditions at all. Let me read that verse again. Anybody who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Can I ask you a very sober, serious question? You love your kids more than Jesus? You cannot be his disciple. Now I do not want any of this to imply that coming to Jesus gives you some kind of brazen and loving attitude towards your family. I'm just saying that for many of us, our kids and our families have become idols that we put ahead even of God. Your kids are good things that become God things that then turn into bad things. Because an idol is rarely something bad in and of itself. An idol is something good that you always just give too much in weight upon. And many of us are basically using Jesus to get a good family which is the ultimate thing for us and Jesus will not be used as a means to anything else.

Number three. That's a pretty severe claim so he gives you a pretty incredible motivation. Luke 12 verse 49, I've come to bring fire on earth and how I wish it were already kindled.

I've got a baptism to undergo first though and what constraint I'm under until it's completed. I want to see fire come on the earth. You know, whenever God sends fire on the earth, it never really works out well for the earth, right? It's judgment.

You see a really clear picture of this, by the way. When God gave the law in Exodus 19, as a symbol of his righteous justice and the penalty for those who would break his law, he covers the mountain that he reveals it on in fire and there's smoke and there's earthquakes and it feels like a hurricane surrounds it. They put a little border around the mountain and said, if anybody crosses this border, God said, then they will be killed. That's the fire of judgment that God will bring to the earth one day and Jesus said, you see me and the Heavenly Father, we want to see justice, we want to see holiness, we are sick of sin. But first, I've got a baptism to undergo because you see there was a dilemma.

If God's righteous wrath were to destroy all wickedness, who here in this room is going to be alive? So what did Jesus say? I've got my own baptism to undergo first. It's a baptism of fire. He's talking about the cross and what he means is that when he would go to the cross, he would actually be baptized in the fire of judgment that God put on the mountain in Exodus 19.

You want to do something really interesting? Read Exodus 19 then read the account of the crucifixion in Matthew and what you'll find is there's a direct parallel. Jesus died in darkness just like the mountain.

There was earthquakes, there was thunder, there was the fire of God's wrath burned through Jesus' body so that none of it would come to me. Tim Keller says it this way, Jesus did not come to earth the first time to bring justice or a sword. He came the first time to bear justice and to receive the sword.

He came not with a sword in his hands, he came with nails through his hands. The center of Christian teaching for 2,000 years has been this. Jesus bore the fire of God's wrath in our place, taking the full punishment our sins deserve so that one day he can return to earth, he can end evil and not destroy us all in the process. There was a choice that God the Father gave to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. You can avoid my wrath but you're going to lose them. But if you're going to gain them, you're going to bear my wrath in their place. You want a motivation to give everything to Jesus?

That's it. You start lingering there. You linger there and you think about the great love of God for you until that produces love for God in you. You think about the commitment of the creator God to you and let that produce commitment to God from you.

It is the love of God for us and commitment of God to us that produces love for God in us and commitment to God from us because we are being asked to go in with a God who could not have gone more all in for us. Do you remember what it was like the first time you said, I love you, to that spouse or to that person when you were dating? Do you remember how nervous you were? Because that's a big moment, right? Because it's a bad day if you're like, I love you. And they're like, what time is the movie?

Do you remember this? You just kind of throw it out there and you're like, oh, what are they going to say? One of our campus, I was talking with one of our Briar Creek campus pastor, Todd. He said the first time I said I love you to Ashley, his wife, he said we were in the Atlanta airport. Why you would choose the most unromantic place on the planet to say I love you, I do not know. But he said, I said, I love you. And she said, I've got to go to the bathroom. And she went into the bathroom. She came out and did not say a word. He said for the next hour, he says, I just was like, oh my goodness, I just said this and she just went to the bathroom and that was the end of it.

And he said about an hour later, she said, Todd, I love you. So what God is inviting you to do is to step into a relationship where he's already gone all in. He's asking, he's like, put it there, out there for you and said, yes, it is an extreme claim, but there is no more extreme claim than I have given to you.

See, what a thought. You will never go farther for Jesus than he's gone for you. You will never give up more for Jesus than he has given up for you.

You will never love him more than he has loved you. You've got to dwell on that. And guess what? This passage will not seem like a burden any longer. You see, when Jesus, I always read that statement in Matthew 11 where Jesus said, my burden is easy and my yoke is light.

And I thought, really? I mean, you just told me that I got to love you more than my kids. I got to pick up a cross and follow you, and you're calling that easy and light? The reason it's easy and light is because of what I've gained and what I've given up.

What you gained is so great that what you've given up seems rather insignificant. You see, in order really to give up your life for something, you've got to trust the one that you've given it up to. I mean, if you're an investor or somebody that you've ever invested in something, you know that the one criteria you want to know when you give your money to something, if it's a large sum of money, is you want to know that this person's trustworthy. Does this company, have you checked it out? Have you done your due diligence? Are they going to not squander your money? Are they going to give you a good return? Is your stockbroker trustworthy before you hand them $20,000, $50,000, $100,000?

Are they trustworthy? When Paul talked about giving his life to Jesus, he used investing terms. Listen to this, 2 Timothy 1-12. I'm suffering for him, Paul said, and it's bad, but I know you see whom I have believed. And I'm convinced that he's able to guard what I've entrusted to him until that day. Do you know whom you have believed?

Because when you think about the glory and the love of Jesus for you, then even putting him ahead of your sons and daughters and fathers and mothers is not going to seem like it's that significant because you know that he will guard what you have committed to him. You're listening to Summit Life with J.D. Greer, and we'll be right back with the conclusion of today's message.

But first, I wanted to share an exciting opportunity with you. Have you ever felt like you're just going through the motions in your spiritual life? Maybe you're not sure where to start in studying the Bible or how to deepen your relationship with God. Well, we have a brand new resource that can help you with that. It's called the Gospel Flipbook, and it's a spiral-bound collection of flashcards that will guide you through the four gospels of the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And the Gospel Flipbook includes a reading plan. It includes key passages to focus on, memory verses, and guided prayer sections to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus. It's an excellent resource for both new and seasoned believers, and it would make a great discipleship tool to use with a friend. It's available exclusively to our Summit Life listeners when you support the ministry with your gift today.

To get your copy, call us at 866-335-5220, or visit us online at JDCreer.com. A lot of times our friends overseas have to make an actual decision regarding this. They have to choose between Jesus and their family. One of our church planters from Central Asia told me that he led a man to Christ over there. And when his family discovered that this man had come to Christ, his father, this guy's father, locked him in a room, tied him up, hung him upside down, and beat him on and off for two days trying to get him to recant.

It said eventually he escaped, he ran away, ended up enrolling in a college several hours away. This guy says, one day my brother showed up. He said, my brother was acting really friendly like he was on my side.

But after a couple days, he says, I had to wonder, I think that my dad sent my brother here to kill me. And that if I'm going to walk with Jesus, it means that I might never be safe in the presence of my family again. So he's got to choose between Jesus or his family. Now, there are some of you listening to me right now that have had to make, maybe not as extreme of a decision, but something similar. Most of us are never going to be in a situation that extreme where you're literally going to choose between Jesus and your family. So let me ask you a few very practical questions, which is number four.

Four practical questions. Have I owned Jesus in all my relationships? That's what I want you to ask yourself. Have I owned Jesus in all my relationships?

Have you owned him in front of your family? What do you do when your family refuses to let you follow Jesus? I got asked this question recently by a high school student.

Here's the answer. You always follow Jesus. She was asking about being baptized. At our church, we tell you, if you're in high school, if you're less than 18 years old, we don't want to do that without your parents' consent, because we recognize there's a certain authority they've given you over this stage in your life, and so we're not going to do that without their consent until you're 18 years old.

When you turn 18, you've got to start making some of your own decisions, and that's when you've got to decide if you're going to follow Jesus in things like baptism. It means when he tells you after college or in college what he wants you to do, you've got to choose to obey Jesus, even if it means disappointing your parents. Sometimes people will say, well, what about that verse, honor your father and mother? I get this question enough.

Let me just take two seconds here and deal with that. Honor your father and mother is a commandment that's given in the Ten Commandments, because, follow this, our parents are given to us for a brief time in our life that they kind of stand in the place of God. They're the first way we learn to relate to God. So when I grow up and become a man, they transfer my allegiance from my parents to my Heavenly Father, and the irony is the way you honor your father and mother is not by being obsequious and subservient to them all your life. It is by becoming the man or woman of God that you were supposed to become.

That's how you honor them. The irony is that you might honor your father and mother most by disappointing them by doing what God tells you to do instead of what they want you to do. At different stages of your life, it might look differently, and that's why I say for high school students, yes, follow Jesus, but maybe we should all have on baptism and do not declare to your parents that you're going on a mission trip when you're in 10th grade if they're not consenting to it. But have you owned Jesus over your family? Have you owned Jesus where you work? At our Gospel and Work Conference, I heard stories, heartbreaking stories of people who've lost their job because they decided to do what was right and to have integrity, maintain their confession of faith. Have you owned Jesus in front of your friends?

High school student, college student, really everybody, but especially you guys. I will tell you this, if you are going to own Jesus and his testimony in front of your friends and you go to any college in America, you are going to be subject to bewildering criticism to the point that it's like I'm not even sure how you're going to survive. The way that you will survive is when you know that greater is he that is for you and you have more joy in the one that stands with you than you do when the entire college campus stands against you. Have you owned Jesus in front of all your relationships?

Here's the second question. Am I obeying him with what's in front of me right now? Am I obeying him with what's in front of me right now? See, it's easy for us to stand up here and talk about total sacrifice. Why don't we just connect that to actually the things that you know that Jesus wants you to do right now?

Here's a question. Are you in small group? Jesus told us we ought to be in community with the church. You say, well, is small group the only way to be in community?

No. And if you've got another way, I'm not judging you. I'm not a small group fundamentalist. I'm just saying that for many of us, you're not in a small group and you're just not in community, period. You're just a consumer in the church. I'm not sure what we're here doing talking about you being willing to have your throat slit for Jesus when you're not willing to get into small group.

Right? I mean, that doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. Are you obeying him in your giving? How you can sit through a sermon where I'm talking about being willing to die for Jesus and you're not even honoring God with your finances in the richest nation on earth.

You see the disconnect there? Here's one. There's an article on ChristianMingle.com.

Someone pointed this to me, an article. Singles aged 18 to 59 were asked, Christian singles, all of whom in this survey identified as evangelical Christians, would you have sex before marriage? 63% said yes. What business do you have sitting through a sermon about dying for Jesus and then singing a song about how worthy he is when you won't even obey a very clear thing that he said? You see? That's why we say Christians don't tell lies, they sing them. When we're talking about obeying God fully and you're 63% are like, I'm not even going to obey him there. We're not talking about being burned at the stake. We're talking about being sexually pure in a clear command that he gave. Let me apply it one other way. I know people who are very sincere in following Jesus.

They really want to follow Jesus, but their work schedule precludes them being really involved in church. Now, I know there are a few of you that are in such extraordinary circumstances that there's really no way you can change that, and I'm not judging you, I promise. But I know for others of you, it's just that I don't want to rearrange my priorities to put God first. And I can look and see where that's going. It's not really a surprise.

I'm not surprised when it happens. If you do not prioritize community and the people of God, you will not maintain your Christian confession very long, so I can predict where this is going. Before we talk about you being willing to be burned at the stake, maybe we should talk about you simply prioritizing the things God has put in front of you. Are you obeying him right now?

Let her see the third question. Do I have any conditions for following Jesus? Do I have any conditions for following Jesus? What do I insist that Jesus provide in order for me to follow him?

What's his side of the contract? See, the reason I say that is because I know of people, some of whom have been in our church, who have quit following Jesus because he didn't give them something that they really wanted. Hey, you were supposed to keep my marriage together and you didn't, so I'm mad at you and I'm out. Hey, you were supposed to make my kids grow up, stay out of trouble, become doctors, make lots of money, support me. You didn't make that happen.

You were supposed to help me get married. You hadn't done it, so I'm mad at you. You let such and such happen.

You let this tragedy happen. So what you're showing is that you had a condition. In order to follow Jesus, he is his only condition. And what you say is, I got you. I'm asking you for a lot of other stuff, but I have no other conditions. You're my only condition. Do you have any conditions for following Jesus?

Here's the fourth thing. Where I am causing division, am I doing it like Jesus? You see, I want to be really careful here because some of you have the personality that you just cause division everywhere, and it has nothing to do with Jesus, it has to do with the fact that you're a self-righteous jerk. And I do not want to give you license to continue to be a jerk because you're just an divisive person.

You need to cut that out. Where you are causing division, do you do it like Jesus? How did Jesus do it? 1 Peter 2.23, When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate.

When he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. Can I give you a few ways that I know you're not being divisive like Jesus? Whenever you force things on people, Jesus never did that. Jesus would tell people. He would tell people clearly.

It's not like every dinner conversation, he's bringing this up. Some of you force how you feel about Jesus on other people, and you just need to cut it out. Because that's not what Jesus does. He recognizes a certain dignity to an individual, and he will state it, but he doesn't force it on people. So you need to cut that out.

Here's another one. When you get angry, whenever you are, and defend yourself, that's my sure sign that I'm no longer defending Jesus, I'm defending me when I get angry. Because when Jesus suffered, he didn't retaliate. When I get mad, and it happens frequently at somebody, I'm like, this has just become about me, not about them.

And not about them and Jesus. Are you being divisive like Jesus, which absorbs the insult and refuses to retaliate? When people say the most unkind, vicious things about you, do you just take it and try to give them love for evil?

Is that what you do? Lastly, do you judge people? That's a way to be divisive, unlike Jesus. See, Jesus never judged people. See, judging does not mean you don't say things clearly. Jesus was really clear and told a lot of people that they were condemned.

That's not judging. Judging is when you dismiss the person after telling them what God says. Because Jesus was really clear about what God said, and then Jesus drew us close. Jesus was the friend of sinners, so he was clear, and then he drew the person close. He didn't cast the person away. You are divisive unlike Jesus when you speak a word and then push the person away and say you're not even really worthy to be my friend.

How do we respond to friends who are struggling with sin? That's the question from Pastor J.D. Greer today on Summit Life. To hear this message again or to catch up on previous messages, go to jdgreer.com. We're really excited to make this latest resource that I mentioned earlier, the Gospel Flipbook, available to our Summit Life family.

Pastor J.D., can you tell us what makes this new resource so special? You know, Molly, years ago, this old preacher named D. Martin Lloyd-Jones said the secret to longevity in the Christian faith is driving the gospel deep in your heart. He was actually talking about the parable of the seeds. And he said, why does some seed die and some seed survive?

And he said, the difference is some seed is driven deep into the soil and some seed stays on the surface. So what we've done is we've provided a resource that will help you drive those gospel seeds down deep. It's a gospel flipbook that is organized around Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It gives you what I'm going to say is a revolutionary thought. It's going to couple it with a key verse, a key insight, some information about some chapters in the gospel that you're reading.

And you'll be amazed how much deeper the gospel is in your heart and how much more it's shaped how you think and how you talk and how you act. If you'll reach out to us with a gift, then we would love to give you this tool. You can reach out to us at JDGrier.com. The gospel flipbook is as practical as anything we've ever offered our listeners. It would make a great tool to help share the good news of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection with a friend or coworker, neighbor, you name it. To receive your copy, call us at 866-335-5220 or visit JDGrier.com today. I'm Molly Vitevich reminding you to join us tomorrow for another important but hard saying of Jesus right here on Summit Life with Pastor JD Greer. Today's program was produced and sponsored by JD Greer Ministries.