The NXR Podcast - THE SERMON - Truth Will Always Cause Division

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00:00:27.400 Please join me in standing for the reading of God's Word.

00:00:30.000 This morning we continue our series through the Gospel according to Matthew.

00:00:32.980 Our text is Matthew chapter 10, verse 34 through 39.

00:00:37.100 Again, our text is the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 10, verse 34 through 39.

00:00:43.520 I'll read our text in its entirety.

00:00:44.940 When I finish reading the text, I'm going to say this is the Word of the Lord,

00:00:47.480 at which point I would appreciate very much if you would respond by saying thanks be to God.

00:00:52.120 One final time, our text for today is Matthew chapter 10, verse 34 through 39.

00:00:56.360 The Bible says this,

00:01:26.360 more than me is not worthy of me and whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of

00:01:35.220 me whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it this is

00:01:43.420 the word of the Lord all right please be seated we'll go ahead and dive right in the first thing

00:01:48.720 that we see in this text and multiple other texts throughout the scripture as a whole

00:01:53.880 is this undeniable principle that truth divides. Truth divides. Our text begins in verse 34 by

00:02:03.660 saying, Jesus saying, do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to

00:02:11.180 bring peace, but a sword. In your notes, I've written the following. Jesus, who was heralded

00:02:16.680 by angels is bringing peace according to Luke's gospel chapter 2 verse 14 now claims that he

00:02:24.980 brings a sword this is not a contradiction it's not a contradiction in terms that Jesus on the

00:02:32.740 one hand comes to bring peace he is the prince of peace but now he says that he has not come for

00:02:39.640 peace but rather to bring a sword this is not a contradiction but rather meant to be a clarification

00:02:46.400 peace with God comes through Christ but this peace with God that is brought by Christ often

00:02:56.500 brings division with the world the light of Christ is intolerable to a sinful world truth

00:03:05.440 divines John chapter 3 verses 16 through 21 is one passage that our family has committed to

00:03:14.460 memorizing in verses 19 and 20 specifically say this and this is the judgment the light that being

00:03:24.180 Christ has come into the world and people love the darkness rather than the light because their

00:03:31.820 works were evil for everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the

00:03:38.080 light lest his work should be exposed if you back up just a couple verses prior in John chapter 3

00:03:46.060 we see that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world

00:03:52.560 might be saved through him that's John chapter 3 verse I can't remember I think it's either 17

00:04:00.460 or 18 so it's you know we all know John chapter 3 verse 16 for God so loved the world that he sent

00:04:06.040 his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life and then it goes

00:04:12.280 further and says he did not come to condemn the world but rather the world might be saved through

00:04:18.040 him so jesus did not come in his first coming in his uh in incarnation in order to condemn the world

00:04:26.540 but to save the world as the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world and as the light of god

00:04:33.400 to bring light to earth but the byproduct of Jesus coming as light as truth as righteousness

00:04:41.860 the consequence of that is that many people scurry away like rats like cockroaches hiding from

00:04:51.200 the light so there's a difference there's a difference in Jesus saying I've come to bring

00:04:56.920 a sword and that's my ultimate first aim like i came and my primary intention and design and desire

00:05:06.720 and goal is to to be a home wrecker and to ruin marriages and make kids hate their parents and

00:05:16.220 parents hate their kids that's not what our text today is saying our text today is not against

00:05:22.080 the importance of family and love for family and devotion to family.

00:05:28.780 That's not what Jesus is saying.

00:05:30.760 His ultimate goal was to bring unity, union, and peace with God,

00:05:36.080 to reconcile sinners with God, but as a byproduct.

00:05:40.920 So it's not saying my chief goal is to wreck families.

00:05:44.200 No, my chief goal is to unite sinners with God by the blood of his cross.

00:05:49.940 But by doing so, the byproduct of that, the consequence of that, is that some families would be disrupted, that some marriages would be divided, that some children would, in fact, turn against their parents, and some parents would, in fact, turn against their children.

00:06:08.660 So Jesus is acknowledging that division is one of the consequences, an unavoidable consequence.

00:06:16.300 It's inevitable.

00:06:17.620 It doesn't mean it's going to happen in every case,

00:06:19.640 with every family, with every relationship.

00:06:21.600 But in general, in the macro,

00:06:25.620 as the light of God, Jesus Christ,

00:06:28.440 comes into a world that hates the light

00:06:31.300 because their deeds are evil,

00:06:33.960 and therefore they like darkness

00:06:35.700 because it conceals their guilt.

00:06:38.280 In that context, with wicked men

00:06:41.280 who want to conceal and justify their sin

00:06:45.060 by hiding in the darkness when light comes into that kind of context then necessarily one of the

00:06:52.020 consequences will be twofold the the aim the actual aim peace with God but then the byproduct

00:07:00.120 division with men so the aim of Christ he didn't come to condemn the world but in order that the

00:07:07.340 world might be saved through him he didn't come in order to wreck families he came to unite sinners

00:07:13.500 to God but his chief goal of not coming to condemn but to save and not coming to divide but to unite

00:07:21.320 the the byproduct of that because the world does involve many wicked people the byproduct of that

00:07:30.080 will be inevitably some shape or form or degree of division so that's important for us to recognize

00:07:38.280 Division was not Jesus' goal, just as condemnation was not his primary goal.

00:07:45.080 The goal was salvation, not condemnation, and union with God, not division with men.

00:07:52.460 But when Jesus comes as light to save, and inevitably many wicked men don't want to be saved,

00:08:00.800 then condemnation is one of the byproducts.

00:08:04.300 When Jesus comes for union with God, but many people don't want union with God and will reject those who do embrace union with God, then division becomes one of the necessary byproducts.

00:08:18.960 So truth does divide, not as its primary goal, but division will always be, in some various form or shape or degree, division with men will always be some byproduct of union with God.

00:08:37.500 To unite with God is to experience some division with men.

00:08:42.480 second point this division as it pertains specifically now to families to households

00:08:52.160 I do believe and I think that this is important to mention and I think it's a consolation to us

00:08:59.160 that this kind of division that Jesus is describing not just with the world in an abstract

00:09:05.820 sense not just well you know the government won't like you you'll receive you know civil persecution

00:09:12.040 You'll receive religious persecution from this group and these guys over here.

00:09:16.880 But no, Jesus gets far more personal than that.

00:09:20.300 And he begins to describe the division that will invariably take place within a man's own family. 0.95

00:09:28.080 And so I think that it's worth mentioning that, of course, the words of Jesus are true.

00:09:34.160 Let God be true, though every man a liar.

00:09:37.200 So you're not going to find me ever disagreeing with Jesus.

00:09:40.400 That's not a good strategy, especially as a Christian pastor, right?

00:09:43.980 So Jesus is always right. 0.74

00:09:45.760 That's kind of a basic rule of thumb.

00:09:48.100 That said, it is important in our hermeneutics,

00:09:51.000 how we read and study and interpret the Scripture.

00:09:54.580 It is important.

00:09:55.620 We've talked about some general hermeneutical tools.

00:09:58.500 One is all Scripture is for us.

00:10:01.480 Not all Scripture is immediately, directly to us.

00:10:04.820 Well, here's another one.

00:10:07.280 Not all Scripture is prescriptive.

00:10:10.400 prescribing meaning commanding saying this is what you must do there are prescriptive passages

00:10:18.980 in the bible and there are descriptive passages there are multiple passages of scripture that

00:10:25.840 are simply describing a scenario of something that that did happen or will happen or as a

00:10:35.060 possibility could happen. There are multiple descriptive texts in the Bible that are not

00:10:41.900 necessarily prescriptive. So Jesus is not, this is not a command, right? I think we have to understand

00:10:48.720 the language of our text today is Jesus is not saying, if you follow me, you need to divorce

00:10:55.240 your spouse. If you follow me, you need to disown your kids. If you follow me as a child, you must,

00:11:03.960 you know pack a backpack and run away from home and leave your parents that's that would be the

00:11:09.360 language of a command must you must do this these are not commands that he's given this is not

00:11:16.340 prescriptive he's not prescribing commanding it's descriptive what he's saying is this is

00:11:23.000 what will happen not in every case but in many cases so now take that hermeneutic that way of

00:11:30.280 reading the scripture interpreting it descriptive versus prescriptive describing something versus

00:11:35.860 commanding something a moral imperative so this is not a moral imperative it's not a prescription

00:11:42.520 it's not a command it's a description so now take that hermeneutic with the hermeneutic that we've

00:11:47.300 talked about in weeks prior of all scriptures for us but not all scriptures immediately and directly

00:11:52.720 to us i think both of these hermeneutical tools apply in the case of our text today

00:11:58.360 this is descriptive he's giving a description not a command and it is fundamentally to the direct

00:12:07.680 audience that he's speaking to it's for us that means it's still applicable it's still relevant

00:12:14.400 to some degree it still matters but it's not directly to us now who is his immediate audience

00:12:21.880 as he's speaking here. It's his disciples. And what is their context? This is important. The

00:12:27.940 context of Jesus' disciples that he's speaking to are first generation Christians in the first

00:12:35.480 century in contexts that are both governmentally, in terms of the realm of the civil realm, politics,

00:12:42.640 and religiously going to be extremely hostile towards the Christian faith. They're going to

00:12:50.420 see Christianity as a novelty. They are, right? Judaism is going to see Christ as a blasphemer 1.00

00:12:59.920 and a liar, claiming to be God when he's not. And there's going to be, of course, necessarily, 0.96

00:13:06.600 we can assume a hostility towards first century Christians. And then at a civil level, even the 0.83

00:13:14.560 Romans, they weren't quite as hostile as some of the religious persecution from the synagogues. 0.55

00:13:20.420 But even the Romans, they're like, well, okay, you can add Jesus to our pantheon of gods.

00:13:25.860 But when they assert that Christ, Christos Kurios, that Christ is Lord and not Caesar, 0.89

00:13:33.320 well, now all of a sudden the Romans are like, we were fine with Christianity being one extracurricular option 0.78

00:13:39.640 among, you know, this Norse god and that god.

00:13:42.320 But now you're saying he's the only god.

00:13:45.000 And that polytheism and all these other gods are false gods.

00:13:47.980 and you're saying not only is he a god worthy of private religious worship but he's a king

00:13:53.440 and that there are political implications of his kingship and that they rival and are superior to

00:14:00.220 Caesar so yeah we're not a fan so both at the political level with Gentiles civil magistrates

00:14:07.680 that are Gentiles there was going to be persecution towards Christianity in the first century 0.85

00:14:15.040 Christianity coming as a novelty and it was a novelty for that time no one was really familiar

00:14:23.260 nobody had any any history any context of the things that Jesus was saying they should have

00:14:31.100 I mean Jesus even says that to Nicodemus he says you're a teacher in Israel you're a religious

00:14:37.680 teacher ruler and you don't know these things so it's not that it's a novelty in the truest sense

00:14:44.240 that there's no foreshadowing, no messianic prophecies,

00:14:49.200 that God had never said these things before

00:14:51.040 and then he just turned on a dime

00:14:52.820 with the incarnation of Christ.

00:14:56.300 That's not true.

00:14:57.600 God had been planning these things

00:14:59.080 and speaking towards these things,

00:15:01.440 prophesying these things since the very beginning,

00:15:03.860 all the way back to the garden with Adam and Eve.

00:15:06.240 But because people were blind, right,

00:15:09.960 that Jesus came into a world that was filled with darkness 0.97

00:15:13.320 because of the spiritual blindness of the religious rulers of the day 1.00

00:15:18.540 and the spiritual blindness of all these Gentile civil rulers, 1.00

00:15:23.540 it appeared as though Christianity was a complete novelty. 0.99

00:15:28.700 And Christianity at the civil level posed a threat to politicians. 0.70

00:15:34.440 And at the religious level also posed a threat. 0.95

00:15:37.880 It posed a threat to Judaism, 0.77

00:15:39.320 but it also posed a threat to all the different forms of paganism because paganism was supposed

00:15:45.920 to play nice with other gods it was polytheism friendly whereas christianity jesus doesn't play

00:15:53.800 nice i don't know if you ever saw it's not that i hate even referencing uh marvel comic comic books

00:16:01.440 because it's just they're lame not even because it's necessarily immoral but it's just it's like

00:16:07.680 that's embarrassing so it's almost like referencing star wars it's quite it's almost on that level

00:16:12.980 but there's one scene okay one scene where the hulk you know loki the you know the brother of thor

00:16:20.240 is you know being arrogant and talking up his you know i'm i'm a god you know and then the hulk just

00:16:26.860 grabs him and starts smashing him back and forth and he says puny god um it's a good line and that's 0.83

00:16:33.200 how christianity works with every other religion that jesus doesn't play nice with other gods 0.66

00:16:39.300 jesus like the hulk he grabs you know pagan gods pagan deities and he smashes them and says

00:16:46.720 puny god jesus doesn't share his glory jesus will never be content to be one god in the pantheon

00:16:56.640 of many that's that's not the way christianity works christianity is it's it's not only the

00:17:02.380 supremacy of Christ, that he is above all of the gods, but the exclusivity of Christ. He alone is

00:17:09.440 God. There are no other gods. There are other angelic beings. There are, you could even argue

00:17:16.280 maybe like a demigod kind of theology. I think that some of the Roman and Greek mythology

00:17:24.000 actually has many threads of truth to it. Things like Hercules. It's like, well, that's just made

00:17:30.140 up maybe but the idea that hercules was like part god but then also part mortal and that he had 0.96

00:17:37.100 supernatural strength and was able to destroy dragons and things like that like call me a sucker

00:17:43.220 for uh some of the nerdetry type stuff in the bible but i believe it i'm like so then how do

00:17:48.140 you explain hercules nephilim that's how you explain it uh he had you know i think he had

00:17:54.000 fallen angel um patriarch and a human mother um you know and he was part angel part human he was

00:18:03.840 one of the nephilim with supernatural strength in a time where there were many uh creatures and

00:18:10.440 dragons and monsters in the world i believe that dragons were real it's like oh well dinosaurs or

00:18:16.340 just dragons you could just say that dragons um and i think hercules killed a bunch of dragons

00:18:21.940 and saved the day and was also probably terrible though I don't think he was he was a hero in the

00:18:28.400 physical sense and strength and those kinds of things like Samson but unlike Samson Samson wasn't

00:18:33.960 fantastic but I think Hercules was probably much worse I don't think that Hercules is in heaven 1.00

00:18:38.700 I do not believe he was a Christian I don't believe he loved the Lord but I think that 1.00

00:18:43.100 there's some truth in those things so the idea of there being other gods if we're saying lowercase 0.92

00:18:48.460 g gods if we're talking about a divine council we're talking about angels cherubim those kinds

00:18:53.840 of things and fallen angels being lowercase g gods then fine there are other gods in that sense

00:18:59.160 but there's only one true god who created all of the things so jesus is above all the other

00:19:06.100 lowercase gods baal molek all these other gods which i believe well i i i don't think it's just

00:19:14.760 made up. I don't think all these false gods that we see in the Old Testament are just made up.

00:19:19.180 That's my point of bringing up Hercules and Nephilim and these kinds of things and fallen

00:19:22.800 angels, is I do think there is a sense in which there are other gods. But they're lowercase g

00:19:27.560 created gods. They're fallen angels. And so in that case, it's the supremacy of Christ. He is above

00:19:32.880 them. And then there are other cases in the sense of if we're talking about capital G God, then

00:19:38.320 it's the exclusivity of Christ that there are no other gods in that creator type sense. So Jesus

00:19:45.100 doesn't play nice with false gods. He doesn't play nice with false religions. This is a descriptive 0.60

00:19:52.100 text and it's immediately to his disciples in the first century, first generation Christians. It's 0.71

00:19:58.780 for us, but immediately to them. And because this context in the first century was a pagan

00:20:05.460 polytheistic context and there's also judaism and many religious rulers who hated christ

00:20:13.680 and turned against him produced false witnesses to get him crucified all those kinds of things

00:20:19.600 being a christian in the first century was going to mean persecution it will always mean some level

00:20:26.420 of difficulty some challenge some suffering in all times in all places there's always a cost we

00:20:33.140 talked about this last week always a cost to discipleship the cost of discipleship but in the

00:20:39.680 first century i believe that that cost was uniquely high so what does that mean and what does that

00:20:45.460 mean for us what it means is it the description jesus is providing of breaking up families number

00:20:54.220 one what we've already established this is not his primary aim there's a difference in jesus coming

00:21:00.540 to save but people rejecting him and so then condemnation being one of the consequences

00:21:06.160 there's a difference in Jesus coming to unite people with God but because men love the darkness

00:21:12.520 and he comes as the light of the world and men love the darkness because their works were evil

00:21:16.800 there's as a as a necessary byproduct of this union with God it creates as a consequence division

00:21:24.760 with men right so that's the first thing is jesus chief aim was not to bring condemnation and it was

00:21:30.880 not to divide families number two getting a little bit more contextual all these families breaking up

00:21:37.940 what jesus is telling his disciples that was historically true it was absolutely true and

00:21:44.480 sadly it was fairly common in the first century and so they needed to be aware this is what it's

00:21:51.440 going to be like ordinarily not universally not in every case but it will be somewhat the norm

00:21:58.960 there will be many households and many marriages and many families that will actually divide so

00:22:05.700 not just division with with civil rulers or with religious rulers someone somewhere out there but 0.84

00:22:12.700 there will be division stark severe division in your own families and that was absolutely true

00:22:21.620 and not only was it true in the first century but i think that principle is is normative not just in

00:22:28.700 the first century but in any place where you have first generation christians and and we've seen

00:22:36.900 this kind of like pan out without within church history wherever the gospel goes to a new place

00:22:44.580 a new country a new nation a new people and it's and it's coming for the first time initially

00:22:49.540 in that context where the gospel is introduced for the first time to a people who have never heard

00:22:57.020 the gospel before there tends to be an incredible amount of division and division not just in the

00:23:04.960 culture broadly or politically or religiously but even in at the level of the family there are 0.94

00:23:13.300 families that break apart you see muslim nations where the gospel comes to a nation that is um has 0.67

00:23:20.580 been islamic for centuries and and if god would be so kind to send a christian revival there

00:23:28.500 evangelists and a bunch of muslims are converting getting saved i've talked to muslims who are like 1.00

00:23:33.680 yeah my parents um they tried to kill me when i converted to christ they put poison literally they 1.00

00:23:40.080 put poison my food and i ate it and i almost died you know or they called you know the the the

00:23:46.700 authorities and i was imprisoned and beaten you know and that's that's actually a pretty common

00:23:51.960 story um when when the gospel comes initially to a place that is ravaged by spiritual darkness

00:24:00.980 false religion totalitarian civil rulers and governments and and there's never really been

00:24:08.640 at least not at any significant number christians among that people in that place ever before so

00:24:15.680 wherever you have first not just the first century this was true in the case of jesus speaking to his

00:24:20.960 disciples but wherever you have not just the first century but first generation christians in any

00:24:26.540 place in any century um you will experience in the beginning there will be incredible division

00:24:32.460 now here's my point my point is that this text which is descriptive not prescriptive

00:24:38.960 and which is for us but not immediately to us having established all that this text should

00:24:45.480 not be used by christians in america to um to assuage the conscience and justify ourselves

00:24:54.840 console ourselves for division in our families that should not be normative in all places for

00:25:02.620 all times once the gospel has taken root in a culture among a people and you've had multiple

00:25:12.040 subsequent generations of christians faithful christians and centuries of christianity you

00:25:18.940 should not have in terms of it being normative a bunch of broken families you shouldn't

00:25:26.000 that that would not so so if we're looking around and we're saying um i know a bunch of people who

00:25:32.620 are following christ and because of that decision and that fidelity to christ um their their family

00:25:41.100 is broken up and their kids grew up and don't serve the lord or their wife left them or this

00:25:47.900 like and you know what but that's just that's what jesus promised and that's that's what the

00:25:53.240 bible says he'll turn you know from now on the household of five there'll be two against three

00:25:58.100 and three against two no no i refuse to believe that i i refuse to believe that jesus is saying

00:26:05.780 that for all peoples in all places in all times if you have if you're fruitful multiply

00:26:12.780 lie right children are a heritage a blessing from the lord and blesses the man whose quiver is full

00:26:18.420 so if you believe the word of god and you're seeking to obey the word of god and having

00:26:23.400 several children that jesus is telling us in this text that it's russian roulette and that if you

00:26:30.520 have five children or more you can expect about a 50 percent ratio of about half of your children

00:26:37.680 going to hell and abandoning the faith and abandoning you and being estranged and never

00:26:45.320 talking to you again. I do not believe that is the meaning of our text today. I don't think that's

00:26:52.400 what Jesus is saying. I don't think Jesus is saying, well, you need to get married because

00:26:57.600 it's good. You need to have many kids because it's good and you should expect half of them

00:27:02.180 to turn against you and to go to hell no jesus is saying in the first century with first generation 0.94

00:27:10.520 christians in a polytheistic context and in this this judaizing context with religious rulers in

00:27:22.580 israel who are trying to crucify me and spoiler alert if you've never read the story they end up

00:27:29.140 being successful in that context uh yes following me will there will be a heavy steep cost to 0.72

00:27:38.980 discipleship and it won't just be division in the broader culture but division even at the level of

00:27:45.540 the family that that would be normative i think that's what jesus is saying but as the seed the

00:27:52.340 mustard seed grows into an all-encompassing

00:27:56.980 encompassing tree as the leaven works through the whole batch of dough

00:28:00.460 as the christian gospel takes root among a people in a society in a culture

00:28:05.380 and centuries go by then that should not be the case and here's

00:28:10.640 the deal historically it wasn't it wasn't and we should be

00:28:15.040 encouraged by that in europe for centuries the norm was my

00:28:20.120 parents are christian and i'm christian and my kids are christian and the family was not broken

00:28:27.500 up the households were not divided like the whole society the whole culture was christian

00:28:32.800 it was because that's what happens with a society that has a gospel seed planted that matures

00:28:40.220 over centuries now today this is now making it relevant for us what about us i do think

00:28:47.840 to give some pastoral application i do think that we are in a unique moment that we are in a post

00:28:55.100 christian context here in the west now i'm praying by god's grace that that he would be merciful

00:29:01.340 and that the tide would turn and i think that there are some signs not that guarantee that's

00:29:06.920 going to happen but there are some signs of hope lots of lots of signs that are discouraging and

00:29:13.280 disheartening but there also are some signs of hope and so i don't think that we should

00:29:17.420 ultimately utterly despair i think that the tide could turn however if you're in a context so our

00:29:24.660 context is not like a muslim country like i described earlier or the first century in rome

00:29:29.520 so our context is not a context where the gospel has never gone before but it is a context that

00:29:36.080 has moved past the gospel that is in a post-christian season and because we are in many ways a post-christian

00:29:45.860 nation a post-christian society or a christian country but that's currently in the midst of

00:29:51.320 apostasy that describes america that describes much of europe they're even further along in that

00:29:56.340 apostasy it's even worse because we're currently living in that moment a return to historic 0.93

00:30:04.040 Christianity. So in our context, you could talk about Jesus and the exclusivity even of Jesus 0.89

00:30:11.460 and not necessarily experience stark division in your household, in your family. Because we have

00:30:18.920 had Christianity here today. The language is kind of there. It's not utterly foreign. It's not utterly

00:30:24.940 foreign. But if you begin getting back to historic Christianity and what the Bible would actually

00:30:33.680 teach in regards to some of the idols of our day I talked about this last week then because we are

00:30:40.020 not just Christian nation but in many ways a post-Christian nation then I think you actually

00:30:45.840 could experience some of those divisions even at the level of a household even at the level of

00:30:53.140 a marriage for instance let me give an example biblical patriarchy so we are again it's not like

00:31:03.660 our American context is, you know, Christianity is not a novelty for us. But historic Christianity

00:31:10.320 for this particular generation kind of is a novelty. Historic Christianity in our context,

00:31:17.840 in our nation, has been lost for so long that most people, when they hear, this is the Bible's

00:31:25.860 historic biblical view of marriage and husband and wife. Most people today, because we have

00:31:35.420 abandoned that for a few generations at this point, for most people today, even professing

00:31:42.160 to be Christians, they would hear that as utterly strange and foreign. And that actually could be

00:31:50.260 because feminism is such an idol people worship it that actually could pan out to be a point of 1.00

00:31:57.380 division even division in the household even at the level of dividing a marriage that actually 1.00

00:32:04.500 is possible in our context today and the whole while you know the two spouses dividing and and

00:32:12.240 the one that is that is kicking at the goads and rebelling against the bible's view of patriarchy

00:32:18.360 the whole time that person claiming blue in the face claiming i love jesus i'm a christian 0.70

00:32:24.560 i'm a christian my favorite thing about christianity is um that it empowers women

00:32:31.200 you know you're like what what christianity are you talking about you know the christianity that

00:32:36.940 that says you can be anything you want to be and that men and women are equal and anything you can

00:32:42.280 do i can do better i can do anything better than you right that was one of my favorite worship

00:32:45.620 songs growing up so what what are you talking about but let's just be honest that has been

00:32:50.740 christianity for all intents and purposes in our western context for about 70 years

00:32:57.060 and arguably longer so so what i'm trying to say is our text today it is true that there is an

00:33:06.260 immense there's always a cost to discipleship following jesus requires our willingness to

00:33:14.320 take up our cross to embrace suffering for his name's sake that suffering comes in many forms

00:33:21.660 but one of the main forms is division a sword divide that division will be with the world

00:33:29.360 someone somewhere out there but in some cases it will be division even at home with the family

00:33:38.000 I don't believe Jesus is saying that in all times in all places in all generations forever no matter

00:33:45.080 what children having children being fruitful and multiplying is a crapshoot and you can just kind

00:33:52.580 of count on 40 to 50 percent of them going to hell I just I refuse to believe that that's a

00:33:59.080 biblical teaching I believe that that's not a prescription but a description of wherever

00:34:04.480 Christianity comes in a first generation, first generation Christians. So it was true, it was going 0.97

00:34:11.460 to be exceedingly true in the case of who Jesus is immediately speaking to, his disciples in the

00:34:18.320 first century. I think it is also very, very similar to that description of breaking up families

00:34:25.340 even in other centuries, not just the first century, but in other centuries when the gospel

00:34:29.560 goes to a new nation, a new context, and it's making first generation Christians. And although

00:34:37.540 this is, I'm not happy about this, I do think that we should be aware of this. I think it could also

00:34:42.740 have that effect, not saying always, not universally, but it could have that effect of breaking up even

00:34:48.860 marriages and even estranging children, breaking up families in a nation where it's not first

00:34:55.920 generation christians where the gospel has been there for a long time but a nation that is post

00:35:01.480 christian that has abandoned the christian faith so that any any person who embraces historic

00:35:08.940 christianity looks like it looks foreign it looks like they're out in left field and um and in some

00:35:20.240 ways i think the division in that context so a a non-christianized context you're going to have

00:35:27.160 some divided families and a post-christianized context where it's been christianized and then

00:35:33.720 christianity at least historic christianity biblical christianity has been thoroughly

00:35:38.220 abandoned that could actually i'm not saying this as as a hard fast rule but it's as a possibility

00:35:45.500 that could actually be even worse because then you actually have a culture a populace that's

00:35:53.980 immunized to christianity they actually have um other places it's like well we christianity is

00:36:03.200 foreign but in a post-christian society they've had just enough of christianity to think they

00:36:10.460 know what it is to think that they're the expert i mean how many times have you talked to someone

00:36:14.560 who has terrible theology they're a raging feminist or they're a raging dispensationalist

00:36:19.700 or whatever and and so at some point in the conversation you hear them say something like

00:36:24.740 this well i i have been a christian for 40 years having my you know 15 minute quiet time every day

00:36:34.820 i've been a member of you know blank church you know usually like first baptist or 17th baptist

00:36:44.540 you know or whatever like for for 40 years i've taught sunday school and you're gonna come and

00:36:49.600 you're gonna lecture me and it's like yeah you're wrong and if you're like i've never seen a scenario

00:36:54.240 like that go and watch the interview between tucker carlson and tel avid ted ted cruz

00:37:00.800 right i mean that's literally exactly what he said on the largest podcast one of the largest

00:37:06.000 podcasts in the world so i'm not making up some kind of rare case that's hyperbolic that never

00:37:11.180 happens he literally he it was an appeal right when you're arguing there's different logical

00:37:15.420 fallacies one is um is a claim to authority when you're like basically what makes it a logic

00:37:21.220 logical fallacy is when you're saying just believe me bro uh because of my title so what was his

00:37:28.620 claim to authority in that moment he wasn't claiming he had authority as a state senator

00:37:32.860 he wasn't saying his political position gives him authority his claim to authority is he's like

00:37:39.060 I grew up in church and went to Sunday school. Remember that line? For those of you who watched

00:37:43.700 the interview, I've gone to Sunday school. I've been going to Sunday school my whole life since

00:37:49.200 I was a kid and I was raised in church. And my Bible tells me, and then he begins to quote a

00:37:53.660 verse that's not in the Bible, you know, knows who bless Israel. And Tucker Carlson, he's, I like

00:38:00.500 this about, you know, Tucker. Sometimes I'm like, I don't like that. But this, I like, like Tucker

00:38:05.240 will um people like oh he's so charming it's it's a play that it's a play it's not genuine

00:38:13.760 he's like really the bible says that support the government of israel support netanyahu the bible

00:38:19.220 what verse is that where's that in the bible and he immediately says where it is in the like he

00:38:23.560 knows the answer to the question but he also knows that tel aviv ted does not know the answer to the

00:38:28.060 question and so he's making he's like being like plain coy plain innocent but also making tel aviv 0.99

00:38:33.580 Ted look really stupid. And he is really stupid. So it wasn't that hard to do. But my point is 1.00

00:38:39.460 that, I mean, that aired live, not live, but to millions of people. And so what I'm describing

00:38:47.060 is not some obscure example that, you know, it's a one in a thousand scenario. No, this happens

00:38:53.020 all the time. In a post-Christian context, in some ways, the division could be even more severe

00:38:59.440 Because you have people who are immunized to Christianity.

00:39:04.540 They've received just enough of a dose of Christian vernacular and some Christian traditions and a Christian veneer to think, to be convinced that they're Christian experts. 0.58

00:39:17.800 They're the most Christian of any Christian that's ever Christianed, you know.

00:39:21.660 And so then when you say, well, I don't think that, it's like, well, I disagree with Pam Bondi because I think she's hiding the Epstein files. 0.89

00:39:36.940 And I'd be like, yeah, but also I don't like Pam Bondi because she's a woman and she shouldn't be in public, not in politics. 0.72

00:39:46.760 You know, like the meme is like, you and I are not the same. 0.94

00:39:48.860 You don't like it for this reason.

00:39:49.640 I don't like it's like I don't like Pam Bondi because of her positions I'm like I don't like

00:39:53.300 Pam Bondi because she needs to be at home I like her I don't mean personally I think she's probably

00:39:58.840 a sweet woman and I think she'd be extra sweet at home that's you know and so my point is you say 0.97

00:40:04.780 something like that and in a in a post-Christian society that has enough Christianity immunization

00:40:12.560 injected into their, like our society has had enough Christianity vaccines

00:40:17.360 to basically be at the point now where you say something like that, and they're like, 0.66

00:40:23.580 what witchcraft are you uttering? I'm like, what do you mean witchcraft? This is what every society

00:40:28.180 has always believed, whether you were Christian or not, for thousands of years. And they're like,

00:40:32.900 you just said the most heinous, like, do you worship the devil? I said, I just said, I think

00:40:38.880 women should be mothers and be at home and not be in politics say you are you casting an 0.97

00:40:45.200 incantation right now are you trying it's like what what's going on but it's so foreign it's so

00:40:51.560 foreign so all that being said I'm going to land the plane all that being said my point is Jesus

00:40:57.080 is not prescribing what to do not until the end of the text when he says take up your cross that

00:41:02.640 is a prescription but the the middle the majority of our text is a description where jesus is not

00:41:09.180 saying what we should do but he's saying what will happen i don't believe jesus is saying this will

00:41:14.380 happen in every place at every time with every generation of christians i don't believe that's

00:41:20.320 the point i believe that in places that are saturated with the gospel that become christianized

00:41:26.700 like the West historically was, Europe and America, then you can have prolonged periods of

00:41:33.920 time, centuries even, where great-great-grandparents love Jesus. And great-grandparents love Jesus. And

00:41:41.480 grandparents love Jesus. And parents love Jesus. And you love Jesus. You can have generation after

00:41:46.260 generation after generation where you don't have divorce, or it's exceedingly rare. Families remain

00:41:53.680 intact. The parents love Jesus. The kids love Jesus. The grandkids love Jesus. And I believe

00:41:59.420 that that's the goal. That that has happened. And by God's grace, it could happen again. And that's

00:42:06.740 what each of us should be hoping for. So we should not be, especially for mothers. Here's another

00:42:12.200 pastoral application for mothers. You should not be tossing and turning in bed at night, 0.99

00:42:16.680 thinking that the probability

00:42:21.080 is that one or more of your kids 0.98

00:42:25.220 are going to reject Christ and go to hell.

00:42:28.640 I don't believe that that is the Christian instinct.

00:42:34.540 I don't believe that's God's will for mothers.

00:42:36.760 I don't. 1.00

00:42:37.660 I believe you should be defaulting.

00:42:40.180 That doesn't mean it's a promise.

00:42:43.040 It doesn't mean, I should say,

00:42:45.200 it doesn't mean that it's a 100% guarantee,

00:42:48.020 but you should be defaulting

00:42:49.580 on the general principle

00:42:51.620 that ordinarily,

00:42:53.840 if you and your husband are both Christians,

00:42:56.880 that your children will grow up to be Christians

00:42:59.040 if you raise them in the fear 0.98

00:43:01.020 and admonition of the Lord.

00:43:01.960 You should, that is,

00:43:04.480 that should be the default posture of a parent.

00:43:08.260 So not entitlement, not presumption

00:43:10.540 that God owes me.

00:43:12.480 It's not that, it's not arrogance,

00:43:13.900 but it's also not insecurity and fear half of our kids will probably grow up and go to hell

00:43:19.380 no it should be a restful position a hopeful position a trusting position in the lord

00:43:25.760 that if both parents are covenant christians and we love the lord and we're seeking to raise

00:43:33.080 our children in a christian manner then we should trust that generally speaking normally

00:43:39.960 ordinarily our kids will grow up to be christians i think that that's the normative pattern of

00:43:46.960 scripture and we have texts of scripture that that god keeps steadfast covenant to the thousandth

00:43:53.300 generation of those who love him and obey his commandments and so we should trust that we should

00:43:59.420 not be fearful with our kids but we also shouldn't be apathetic and lazy so we should be diligent in

00:44:06.400 raising our children but not diligence that comes out of insecurity and fearfulness and what Jesus

00:44:13.340 is describing here it was true Jesus never lies but he does not say in this text this will always

00:44:20.500 happen in every generation in every century in every place forever no matter what until I return

00:44:27.660 that's not in the text that's to come away with that interpretation is to eisegete that's to read

00:44:34.180 into the text something that Jesus did not explicitly say. So I think we should take the

00:44:39.440 text seriously, the words of Jesus seriously. I think in our historical context, being a post-Christian 0.91

00:44:46.080 nation, we should take these words especially seriously and not be surprised when we have

00:44:52.520 in-laws and out-laws who maybe think that we went crazy and that because we hold to this theology

00:45:02.400 or that historical Christian, you know, position that,

00:45:05.560 well, like you're a part of a cult.

00:45:08.280 It's like, yeah, you would think that

00:45:09.580 because you're a part of a cult called liberalism.

00:45:13.600 You're a liberal. 1.00

00:45:15.240 You're a boss babe feminist. 1.00

00:45:17.740 And you disagree with everyone 1.00

00:45:19.680 throughout all of Christian history

00:45:22.100 until the last like 40 years. 0.97

00:45:26.120 So of course you think that. 0.92

00:45:27.620 But because we're in this post-Christian society, 0.90

00:45:29.980 we shouldn't be surprised when there's division,

00:45:31.880 even in extended families even in households but that does not mean that it has to be that way

00:45:38.240 forever i do believe i do believe that by god's grace it's all him we can't make it happen apart

00:45:46.920 from him but if he would be so kind we've had christianity in the west before where generation

00:45:54.000 after generation after generation feared the lord and where families were not broken up maybe some

00:46:00.100 cases but it was extreme it was not the norm most most families remained intact where divorce was

00:46:07.160 at all-time lows where divorce was foreign unheard of and that children grew up and loved the lord

00:46:14.580 just like their parents did that that is i'm not just talking about something that might happen in

00:46:21.100 some crazy post-millennial pipe dream i'm talking about something that already did happen it happened

00:46:27.480 here and happened not that long ago if we pan out we're thinking generally speaking it was fairly

00:46:35.400 recent it happened here and it happened recently and by god's grace it can believe it or not it

00:46:42.580 can happen again we're not promised it's going to happen again in our generation or even in our

00:46:48.720 children's generation but it can happen and we should work for that to happen that that the

00:46:56.340 knowledge of the glory of God would cover the whole earth as the waters cover the sea, and that

00:47:01.520 our nation particularly would be so saturated in the Christian faith and fidelity to Christ

00:47:09.160 that it becomes normative that marriages stay together and that children grow up honoring

00:47:14.440 their parents and worshiping the same God that they do. That should be the goal. And our text

00:47:19.660 today, there's nothing in our text today that says that that somehow is impossible and can't happen.

00:47:24.840 So let's finish with denying the cross is denying Christ.

00:47:29.200 Jesus says this, whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

00:47:33.280 Whoever finds his life will lose it.

00:47:35.460 Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

00:47:38.280 I wrote in your notes this, the cross here is not meant to represent suffering merely in general, just general suffering.

00:47:46.300 it is specifically the symbol in this case this context the cross is a specific symbol of shame

00:47:53.480 and death and self-denying true christianity is not easy believism it is total surrender

00:48:01.540 in short to deny the cross in that sense the cross representing shame from the world

00:48:09.000 that denies Christ or death to the world that denies Christ or self-denial to your flesh

00:48:16.680 that seeks to go against Christ and that sense in the cross representing that

00:48:22.060 if you are to deny that cross then it is to deny Christ to deny the cross in that sense

00:48:30.440 is a denial of Christ.

00:48:32.840 R.C. Sproul used to say,

00:48:35.140 when Jesus calls a man, 0.99

00:48:36.700 he bids him come and die.

00:48:40.000 When Jesus says to take up the cross and follow him,

00:48:44.180 and if we were to deny the cross,

00:48:45.920 that ultimately is to deny him.

00:48:48.220 The cross in this context

00:48:49.560 is not just speaking about general suffering.

00:48:52.380 Because here's the thing.

00:48:54.160 To a large degree,

00:48:55.480 general suffering is something

00:48:56.560 that's outside of our control.

00:48:58.360 You can't sit there

00:48:59.860 and have cancer for instance and say that that by default of having cancer which is a form of 0.91

00:49:07.160 suffering then you've embraced your cross to follow jesus well pagans get cancer atheists

00:49:14.260 get cancer that doesn't necessarily mean that the key here and i'll go back and read the text

00:49:19.680 the key here is suffering and we saw this in the case of persecution and now we're seeing in the

00:49:25.660 case of suffering. It's for Christ's namesake. It's for Jesus' namesake. Whoever finds his life

00:49:33.600 will lose it. And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. It's not just losing your life.

00:49:40.080 There are lots of ways to make life go poorly for yourself. There are lots of foolish decisions that 0.97

00:49:45.920 you can make. And there are lots of people who either by foolishness or just by happenstance, 0.96

00:49:52.220 They lose their life.

00:49:54.100 Literally, physically lose their life.

00:49:55.880 Get into some accident and die.

00:49:58.460 Or have their life destroyed financially or relationally or whatever it may be.

00:50:03.340 There are plenty of people who have lost their life.

00:50:06.660 But they didn't lose it for Christ's namesake.

00:50:11.780 What Jesus has in view here, the cross is not just losing your job.

00:50:15.840 General examples of suffering.

00:50:17.760 Getting sick.

00:50:19.120 Losing a child.

00:50:20.140 The cross here represents taking up your cross specifically, meaning bearing the reproach of Christ,

00:50:28.080 being willing to be publicly associated with the cause of Christ for Christ's namesake,

00:50:35.400 bearing a reproach from the world, being mocked by the world, being shamed by the world,

00:50:40.760 specifically because of your voluntary, deliberate association and fidelity to Jesus.

00:50:48.840 That's the cross in view here.

00:50:50.980 And anyone who's willing to take up that cross will find, not lose his life, but find his life, eternal life, true life in Jesus.

00:51:02.120 And anyone who's not willing to do that, who denies the cross, meaning he will not be willing to suffer reproach from the world for Christ's sake,

00:51:10.940 ultimately has not just denied the cross but his denial of the cross really is a denial of Christ

00:51:20.100 himself and then that references back to last week's text where Jesus says if you will not

00:51:27.940 be willing to name me before men then I will be ashamed of you and deny you before my father

00:51:36.580 and that's not just some crazy hypothetical jesus is being quite serious that in the final analysis

00:51:43.600 if we deny christ before men he will deny us before his father and that does not mean that

00:51:49.640 we lost our salvation but that simply serves as an evidence and proof that we never truly belong

00:51:55.380 to christ to begin with we may have sat in a christian church we may have done some christian

00:52:02.060 things outwardly. But if we're not willing, if we're willing to deny Christ by denying our cross,

00:52:08.740 we're not willing to suffer any reproach from the world whatsoever. When the going gets tough,

00:52:13.840 we back out. Your very soul is at stake. It is a big deal. So take up your cross, meaning be willing

00:52:24.000 to publicly name Christ even at the cost of shame and rejection from the world knowing that by doing

00:52:32.800 this by accepting the cross we are accepting Christ and if we accept Christ that's an evidence

00:52:39.760 that he has truly accepted us and we know that that reproach from the world can come and in the

00:52:47.040 most severe cases even as division and reproach from among our own families that's not prescriptive

00:52:54.540 should not be the norm in all times in all places so let's work towards it not being the norm in the

00:53:00.980 ways that we disciple our children the ways that we foster healthy christian marriages but we should 0.96

00:53:07.620 recognize wherever there are first generation christians there will be division not just

00:53:13.140 culturally but even in families and sadly because we live in a post-christian context here in

00:53:18.760 america anyone who is a first generation the first generation for a while in the last three

00:53:24.860 or four generations first generation historic christian not just christianese but historic

00:53:31.120 christian may experience division even in the context of the family and so it shouldn't surprise

00:53:38.240 us but it's not fatalistic it's not written in the stars that's not what the text is saying

00:53:43.400 doesn't have to be that way we should trust and work towards it not being that way and if it is

00:53:49.120 that way it's because our nation for generations now has abandoned christ to where for all intents

00:53:54.780 and purposes those who are prescribed to historic christianity really are first generation christians

00:54:02.500 here in America. And that's sad. It's sad. And it didn't have to be that way, but it is that way.

00:54:08.940 And it is the reality. But it doesn't have to be that way forever. Let's pray. Father, I do pray

00:54:14.300 that our nation would repent. I do pray, Lord, that historic Christianity would be embraced.

00:54:19.620 That liberalism, pretending to be Christianity, would be rejected. Secularism with Christian

00:54:27.160 aspects would be rejected. And Lord, I pray that we would be, in your kindness, the generation that 0.92

00:54:34.280 returns, returns to traditional Christianity and to the truth of your work. And Lord, we pray that

00:54:41.640 our children would embrace that too, that you would use us to train up our children in the fear and

00:54:46.800 admonition of the Lord, and that they would embrace the Christian faith, embrace you as Savior,

00:54:51.560 and that there would be a new heritage

00:54:54.280 and a new legacy that begins with us

00:54:56.480 and extends to our children

00:54:58.460 and to our grandchildren

00:54:59.500 and so on and so forth.

00:55:01.940 But we pray that that would be the legacy

00:55:03.480 that we leave behind.

00:55:05.680 And with us, in many cases,

00:55:07.420 it being first generation,

00:55:09.380 that we would not be surprised

00:55:10.840 if in-laws and parents

00:55:13.120 and aunts and uncles

00:55:14.700 or brothers and sisters reject us,

00:55:17.900 that we seek to be wise,

00:55:19.280 that we feel that pain and grieve but that we wouldn't ultimately allow that to scare us into

00:55:26.600 being convinced or deceived that somehow we really have embraced something for when the reality is

00:55:35.180 that no it's everybody else has embraced something for the christianity today christianity light

00:55:42.920 a neutered hamstrung christianity modern christianity that's the foreign substance

00:55:48.620 that's the outlier and so lord i pray that you would encourage us and that we would look to

00:55:56.680 historic christian figures throughout the ages and what they believed and what they taught what

00:56:00.520 they said and that we'd be comforted and consoled by that and those moments when we're tempted

00:56:05.760 to think maybe we're crazy that we would be reminded and encouraged by you that we're not

00:56:12.060 and that we would stay steady,

00:56:15.960 stay to the task

00:56:17.040 and not abandon the faith.

00:56:18.840 We pray these things in Jesus' name.

00:56:20.740 Amen.

The NXR Podcast - July 13, 2025

THE SERMON - Truth Will Always Cause Division

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