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

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00:00:27 Please join me in standing for the reading of God's Word.

00:00:30 This morning we continue our series through the Gospel according to Matthew.

00:00:32 Our text is Matthew chapter 10, verse 34 through 39.

00:00:37 Again, our text is the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 10, verse 34 through 39.

00:00:43 I'll read our text in its entirety.

00:00:44 When I finish reading the text, I'm going to say this is the Word of the Lord,

00:00:47 at which point I would appreciate very much if you would respond by saying thanks be to God.

00:00:52 One final time, our text for today is Matthew chapter 10, verse 34 through 39.

00:00:56 The Bible says this,

00:01:26 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 me whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it this is

00:01:43 the word of the Lord all right please be seated we'll go ahead and dive right in the first thing

00:01:48 that we see in this text and multiple other texts throughout the scripture as a whole

00:01:53 is this undeniable principle that truth divides. Truth divides. Our text begins in verse 34 by

00:02:03 saying, Jesus saying, do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to

00:02:11 bring peace, but a sword. In your notes, I've written the following. Jesus, who was heralded

00:02:16 by angels is bringing peace according to Luke's gospel chapter 2 verse 14 now claims that he

00:02:24 brings a sword this is not a contradiction it's not a contradiction in terms that Jesus on the

00:02:32 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 peace but rather to bring a sword this is not a contradiction but rather meant to be a clarification

00:02:46 peace with God comes through Christ but this peace with God that is brought by Christ often

00:02:56 brings division with the world the light of Christ is intolerable to a sinful world truth

00:03:05 divines John chapter 3 verses 16 through 21 is one passage that our family has committed to

00:03:14 memorizing in verses 19 and 20 specifically say this and this is the judgment the light that being

00:03:24 Christ has come into the world and people love the darkness rather than the light because their

00:03:31 works were evil for everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the

00:03:38 light lest his work should be exposed if you back up just a couple verses prior in John chapter 3

00:03:46 we see that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world

00:03:52 might be saved through him that's John chapter 3 verse I can't remember I think it's either 17

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

00:04:12 further and says he did not come to condemn the world but rather the world might be saved through

00:04:18 him so jesus did not come in his first coming in his uh in incarnation in order to condemn the world

00:04:26 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 to bring light to earth but the byproduct of Jesus coming as light as truth as righteousness

00:04:41 the consequence of that is that many people scurry away like rats like cockroaches hiding from

00:04:51 the light so there's a difference there's a difference in Jesus saying I've come to bring

00:04:56 a sword and that's my ultimate first aim like i came and my primary intention and design and desire

00:05:06 and goal is to to be a home wrecker and to ruin marriages and make kids hate their parents and

00:05:16 parents hate their kids that's not what our text today is saying our text today is not against

00:05:22 the importance of family and love for family and devotion to family.

00:05:28 That's not what Jesus is saying.

00:05:30 His ultimate goal was to bring unity, union, and peace with God,

00:05:36 to reconcile sinners with God, but as a byproduct.

00:05:40 So it's not saying my chief goal is to wreck families.

00:05:44 No, my chief goal is to unite sinners with God by the blood of his cross.

00:05:49 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 So Jesus is acknowledging that division is one of the consequences, an unavoidable consequence.

00:06:16 It's inevitable.

00:06:17 It doesn't mean it's going to happen in every case,

00:06:19 with every family, with every relationship.

00:06:21 But in general, in the macro,

00:06:25 as the light of God, Jesus Christ,

00:06:28 comes into a world that hates the light

00:06:31 because their deeds are evil,

00:06:33 and therefore they like darkness

00:06:35 because it conceals their guilt.

00:06:38 In that context, with wicked men

00:06:41 who want to conceal and justify their sin

00:06:45 by hiding in the darkness when light comes into that kind of context then necessarily one of the

00:06:52 consequences will be twofold the the aim the actual aim peace with God but then the byproduct

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

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

00:07:13 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 the the byproduct of that because the world does involve many wicked people the byproduct of that

00:07:30 will be inevitably some shape or form or degree of division so that's important for us to recognize

00:07:38 Division was not Jesus' goal, just as condemnation was not his primary goal.

00:07:45 The goal was salvation, not condemnation, and union with God, not division with men.

00:07:52 But when Jesus comes as light to save, and inevitably many wicked men don't want to be saved,

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

00:08:04 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 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 To unite with God is to experience some division with men.

00:08:42 second point this division as it pertains specifically now to families to households

00:08:52 I do believe and I think that this is important to mention and I think it's a consolation to us

00:08:59 that this kind of division that Jesus is describing not just with the world in an abstract

00:09:05 sense not just well you know the government won't like you you'll receive you know civil persecution

00:09:12 You'll receive religious persecution from this group and these guys over here.

00:09:16 But no, Jesus gets far more personal than that.

00:09:20 And he begins to describe the division that will invariably take place within a man's own family. 0.95

00:09:28 And so I think that it's worth mentioning that, of course, the words of Jesus are true.

00:09:34 Let God be true, though every man a liar.

00:09:37 So you're not going to find me ever disagreeing with Jesus.

00:09:40 That's not a good strategy, especially as a Christian pastor, right?

00:09:43 So Jesus is always right. 0.74

00:09:45 That's kind of a basic rule of thumb.

00:09:48 That said, it is important in our hermeneutics,

00:09:51 how we read and study and interpret the Scripture.

00:09:54 It is important.

00:09:55 We've talked about some general hermeneutical tools.

00:09:58 One is all Scripture is for us.

00:10:01 Not all Scripture is immediately, directly to us.

00:10:04 Well, here's another one.

00:10:07 Not all Scripture is prescriptive.

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

00:10:18 in the bible and there are descriptive passages there are multiple passages of scripture that

00:10:25 are simply describing a scenario of something that that did happen or will happen or as a

00:10:35 possibility could happen. There are multiple descriptive texts in the Bible that are not

00:10:41 necessarily prescriptive. So Jesus is not, this is not a command, right? I think we have to understand

00:10:48 the language of our text today is Jesus is not saying, if you follow me, you need to divorce

00:10:55 your spouse. If you follow me, you need to disown your kids. If you follow me as a child, you must,

00:11:03 you know pack a backpack and run away from home and leave your parents that's that would be the

00:11:09 language of a command must you must do this these are not commands that he's given this is not

00:11:16 prescriptive he's not prescribing commanding it's descriptive what he's saying is this is

00:11:23 what will happen not in every case but in many cases so now take that hermeneutic that way of

00:11:30 reading the scripture interpreting it descriptive versus prescriptive describing something versus

00:11:35 commanding something a moral imperative so this is not a moral imperative it's not a prescription

00:11:42 it's not a command it's a description so now take that hermeneutic with the hermeneutic that we've

00:11:47 talked about in weeks prior of all scriptures for us but not all scriptures immediately and directly

00:11:52 to us i think both of these hermeneutical tools apply in the case of our text today

00:11:58 this is descriptive he's giving a description not a command and it is fundamentally to the direct

00:12:07 audience that he's speaking to it's for us that means it's still applicable it's still relevant

00:12:14 to some degree it still matters but it's not directly to us now who is his immediate audience

00:12:21 as he's speaking here. It's his disciples. And what is their context? This is important. The

00:12:27 context of Jesus' disciples that he's speaking to are first generation Christians in the first

00:12:35 century in contexts that are both governmentally, in terms of the realm of the civil realm, politics,

00:12:42 and religiously going to be extremely hostile towards the Christian faith. They're going to

00:12:50 see Christianity as a novelty. They are, right? Judaism is going to see Christ as a blasphemer 1.00

00:12:59 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 we can assume a hostility towards first century Christians. And then at a civil level, even the 0.83

00:13:14 Romans, they weren't quite as hostile as some of the religious persecution from the synagogues. 0.55

00:13:20 But even the Romans, they're like, well, okay, you can add Jesus to our pantheon of gods.

00:13:25 But when they assert that Christ, Christos Kurios, that Christ is Lord and not Caesar, 0.89

00:13:33 well, now all of a sudden the Romans are like, we were fine with Christianity being one extracurricular option 0.78

00:13:39 among, you know, this Norse god and that god.

00:13:42 But now you're saying he's the only god.

00:13:45 And that polytheism and all these other gods are false gods.

00:13:47 and you're saying not only is he a god worthy of private religious worship but he's a king

00:13:53 and that there are political implications of his kingship and that they rival and are superior to

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

00:14:07 that are Gentiles there was going to be persecution towards Christianity in the first century 0.85

00:14:15 Christianity coming as a novelty and it was a novelty for that time no one was really familiar

00:14:23 nobody had any any history any context of the things that Jesus was saying they should have

00:14:31 I mean Jesus even says that to Nicodemus he says you're a teacher in Israel you're a religious

00:14:37 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 that there's no foreshadowing, no messianic prophecies,

00:14:49 that God had never said these things before

00:14:51 and then he just turned on a dime

00:14:52 with the incarnation of Christ.

00:14:56 That's not true.

00:14:57 God had been planning these things

00:14:59 and speaking towards these things,

00:15:01 prophesying these things since the very beginning,

00:15:03 all the way back to the garden with Adam and Eve.

00:15:06 But because people were blind, right,

00:15:09 that Jesus came into a world that was filled with darkness 0.97

00:15:13 because of the spiritual blindness of the religious rulers of the day 1.00

00:15:18 and the spiritual blindness of all these Gentile civil rulers, 1.00

00:15:23 it appeared as though Christianity was a complete novelty. 0.99

00:15:28 And Christianity at the civil level posed a threat to politicians. 0.70

00:15:34 And at the religious level also posed a threat. 0.95

00:15:37 It posed a threat to Judaism, 0.77

00:15:39 but it also posed a threat to all the different forms of paganism because paganism was supposed

00:15:45 to play nice with other gods it was polytheism friendly whereas christianity jesus doesn't play

00:15:53 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 because it's just they're lame not even because it's necessarily immoral but it's just it's like

00:16:07 that's embarrassing so it's almost like referencing star wars it's quite it's almost on that level

00:16:12 but there's one scene okay one scene where the hulk you know loki the you know the brother of thor

00:16:20 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 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 how christianity works with every other religion that jesus doesn't play nice with other gods 0.66

00:16:39 jesus like the hulk he grabs you know pagan gods pagan deities and he smashes them and says

00:16:46 puny god jesus doesn't share his glory jesus will never be content to be one god in the pantheon

00:16:56 of many that's that's not the way christianity works christianity is it's it's not only the

00:17:02 supremacy of Christ, that he is above all of the gods, but the exclusivity of Christ. He alone is

00:17:09 God. There are no other gods. There are other angelic beings. There are, you could even argue

00:17:16 maybe like a demigod kind of theology. I think that some of the Roman and Greek mythology

00:17:24 actually has many threads of truth to it. Things like Hercules. It's like, well, that's just made

00:17:30 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 supernatural strength and was able to destroy dragons and things like that like call me a sucker

00:17:43 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 you explain hercules nephilim that's how you explain it uh he had you know i think he had

00:17:54 fallen angel um patriarch and a human mother um you know and he was part angel part human he was

00:18:03 one of the nephilim with supernatural strength in a time where there were many uh creatures and

00:18:10 dragons and monsters in the world i believe that dragons were real it's like oh well dinosaurs or

00:18:16 just dragons you could just say that dragons um and i think hercules killed a bunch of dragons

00:18:21 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 physical sense and strength and those kinds of things like Samson but unlike Samson Samson wasn't

00:18:33 fantastic but I think Hercules was probably much worse I don't think that Hercules is in heaven 1.00

00:18:38 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 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 g gods if we're talking about a divine council we're talking about angels cherubim those kinds

00:18:53 of things and fallen angels being lowercase g gods then fine there are other gods in that sense

00:18:59 but there's only one true god who created all of the things so jesus is above all the other

00:19:06 lowercase gods baal molek all these other gods which i believe well i i i don't think it's just

00:19:14 made up. I don't think all these false gods that we see in the Old Testament are just made up.

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

00:19:22 angels, is I do think there is a sense in which there are other gods. But they're lowercase g

00:19:27 created gods. They're fallen angels. And so in that case, it's the supremacy of Christ. He is above

00:19:32 them. And then there are other cases in the sense of if we're talking about capital G God, then

00:19:38 it's the exclusivity of Christ that there are no other gods in that creator type sense. So Jesus

00:19:45 doesn't play nice with false gods. He doesn't play nice with false religions. This is a descriptive 0.60

00:19:52 text and it's immediately to his disciples in the first century, first generation Christians. It's 0.71

00:19:58 for us, but immediately to them. And because this context in the first century was a pagan

00:20:05 polytheistic context and there's also judaism and many religious rulers who hated christ

00:20:13 and turned against him produced false witnesses to get him crucified all those kinds of things

00:20:19 being a christian in the first century was going to mean persecution it will always mean some level

00:20:26 of difficulty some challenge some suffering in all times in all places there's always a cost we

00:20:33 talked about this last week always a cost to discipleship the cost of discipleship but in the

00:20:39 first century i believe that that cost was uniquely high so what does that mean and what does that

00:20:45 mean for us what it means is it the description jesus is providing of breaking up families number

00:20:54 one what we've already established this is not his primary aim there's a difference in jesus coming

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

00:21:06 there's a difference in Jesus coming to unite people with God but because men love the darkness

00:21:12 and he comes as the light of the world and men love the darkness because their works were evil

00:21:16 there's as a as a necessary byproduct of this union with God it creates as a consequence division

00:21:24 with men right so that's the first thing is jesus chief aim was not to bring condemnation and it was

00:21:30 not to divide families number two getting a little bit more contextual all these families breaking up

00:21:37 what jesus is telling his disciples that was historically true it was absolutely true and

00:21:44 sadly it was fairly common in the first century and so they needed to be aware this is what it's

00:21:51 going to be like ordinarily not universally not in every case but it will be somewhat the norm

00:21:58 there will be many households and many marriages and many families that will actually divide so

00:22:05 not just division with with civil rulers or with religious rulers someone somewhere out there but 0.84

00:22:12 there will be division stark severe division in your own families and that was absolutely true

00:22:21 and not only was it true in the first century but i think that principle is is normative not just in

00:22:28 the first century but in any place where you have first generation christians and and we've seen

00:22:36 this kind of like pan out without within church history wherever the gospel goes to a new place

00:22:44 a new country a new nation a new people and it's and it's coming for the first time initially

00:22:49 in that context where the gospel is introduced for the first time to a people who have never heard

00:22:57 the gospel before there tends to be an incredible amount of division and division not just in the

00:23:04 culture broadly or politically or religiously but even in at the level of the family there are 0.94

00:23:13 families that break apart you see muslim nations where the gospel comes to a nation that is um has 0.67

00:23:20 been islamic for centuries and and if god would be so kind to send a christian revival there

00:23:28 evangelists and a bunch of muslims are converting getting saved i've talked to muslims who are like 1.00

00:23:33 yeah my parents um they tried to kill me when i converted to christ they put poison literally they 1.00

00:23:40 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 authorities and i was imprisoned and beaten you know and that's that's actually a pretty common

00:23:51 story um when when the gospel comes initially to a place that is ravaged by spiritual darkness

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

00:24:08 at least not at any significant number christians among that people in that place ever before so

00:24:15 wherever you have first not just the first century this was true in the case of jesus speaking to his

00:24:20 disciples but wherever you have not just the first century but first generation christians in any

00:24:26 place in any century um you will experience in the beginning there will be incredible division

00:24:32 now here's my point my point is that this text which is descriptive not prescriptive

00:24:38 and which is for us but not immediately to us having established all that this text should

00:24:45 not be used by christians in america to um to assuage the conscience and justify ourselves

00:24:54 console ourselves for division in our families that should not be normative in all places for

00:25:02 all times once the gospel has taken root in a culture among a people and you've had multiple

00:25:12 subsequent generations of christians faithful christians and centuries of christianity you

00:25:18 should not have in terms of it being normative a bunch of broken families you shouldn't

00:25:26 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 are following christ and because of that decision and that fidelity to christ um their their family

00:25:41 is broken up and their kids grew up and don't serve the lord or their wife left them or this

00:25:47 like and you know what but that's just that's what jesus promised and that's that's what the

00:25:53 bible says he'll turn you know from now on the household of five there'll be two against three

00:25:58 and three against two no no i refuse to believe that i i refuse to believe that jesus is saying

00:26:05 that for all peoples in all places in all times if you have if you're fruitful multiply

00:26:12 lie right children are a heritage a blessing from the lord and blesses the man whose quiver is full

00:26:18 so if you believe the word of god and you're seeking to obey the word of god and having

00:26:23 several children that jesus is telling us in this text that it's russian roulette and that if you

00:26:30 have five children or more you can expect about a 50 percent ratio of about half of your children

00:26:37 going to hell and abandoning the faith and abandoning you and being estranged and never

00:26:45 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 what Jesus is saying. I don't think Jesus is saying, well, you need to get married because

00:26:57 it's good. You need to have many kids because it's good and you should expect half of them

00:27:02 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 christians in a polytheistic context and in this this judaizing context with religious rulers in

00:27:22 israel who are trying to crucify me and spoiler alert if you've never read the story they end up

00:27:29 being successful in that context uh yes following me will there will be a heavy steep cost to 0.72

00:27:38 discipleship and it won't just be division in the broader culture but division even at the level of

00:27:45 the family that that would be normative i think that's what jesus is saying but as the seed the

00:27:52 mustard seed grows into an all-encompassing

00:27:56 encompassing tree as the leaven works through the whole batch of dough

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

00:28:05 and centuries go by then that should not be the case and here's

00:28:10 the deal historically it wasn't it wasn't and we should be

00:28:15 encouraged by that in europe for centuries the norm was my

00:28:20 parents are christian and i'm christian and my kids are christian and the family was not broken

00:28:27 up the households were not divided like the whole society the whole culture was christian

00:28:32 it was because that's what happens with a society that has a gospel seed planted that matures

00:28:40 over centuries now today this is now making it relevant for us what about us i do think

00:28:47 to give some pastoral application i do think that we are in a unique moment that we are in a post

00:28:55 christian context here in the west now i'm praying by god's grace that that he would be merciful

00:29:01 and that the tide would turn and i think that there are some signs not that guarantee that's

00:29:06 going to happen but there are some signs of hope lots of lots of signs that are discouraging and

00:29:13 disheartening but there also are some signs of hope and so i don't think that we should

00:29:17 ultimately utterly despair i think that the tide could turn however if you're in a context so our

00:29:24 context is not like a muslim country like i described earlier or the first century in rome

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

00:29:36 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 nation a post-christian society or a christian country but that's currently in the midst of

00:29:51 apostasy that describes america that describes much of europe they're even further along in that

00:29:56 apostasy it's even worse because we're currently living in that moment a return to historic 0.93

00:30:04 Christianity. So in our context, you could talk about Jesus and the exclusivity even of Jesus 0.89

00:30:11 and not necessarily experience stark division in your household, in your family. Because we have

00:30:18 had Christianity here today. The language is kind of there. It's not utterly foreign. It's not utterly

00:30:24 foreign. But if you begin getting back to historic Christianity and what the Bible would actually

00:30:33 teach in regards to some of the idols of our day I talked about this last week then because we are

00:30:40 not just Christian nation but in many ways a post-Christian nation then I think you actually

00:30:45 could experience some of those divisions even at the level of a household even at the level of

00:30:53 a marriage for instance let me give an example biblical patriarchy so we are again it's not like

00:31:03 our American context is, you know, Christianity is not a novelty for us. But historic Christianity

00:31:10 for this particular generation kind of is a novelty. Historic Christianity in our context,

00:31:17 in our nation, has been lost for so long that most people, when they hear, this is the Bible's

00:31:25 historic biblical view of marriage and husband and wife. Most people today, because we have

00:31:35 abandoned that for a few generations at this point, for most people today, even professing

00:31:42 to be Christians, they would hear that as utterly strange and foreign. And that actually could be

00:31:50 because feminism is such an idol people worship it that actually could pan out to be a point of 1.00

00:31:57 division even division in the household even at the level of dividing a marriage that actually 1.00

00:32:04 is possible in our context today and the whole while you know the two spouses dividing and and

00:32:12 the one that is that is kicking at the goads and rebelling against the bible's view of patriarchy

00:32:18 the whole time that person claiming blue in the face claiming i love jesus i'm a christian 0.70

00:32:24 i'm a christian my favorite thing about christianity is um that it empowers women

00:32:31 you know you're like what what christianity are you talking about you know the christianity that

00:32:36 that says you can be anything you want to be and that men and women are equal and anything you can

00:32:42 do i can do better i can do anything better than you right that was one of my favorite worship

00:32:45 songs growing up so what what are you talking about but let's just be honest that has been

00:32:50 christianity for all intents and purposes in our western context for about 70 years

00:32:57 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 immense there's always a cost to discipleship following jesus requires our willingness to

00:33:14 take up our cross to embrace suffering for his name's sake that suffering comes in many forms

00:33:21 but one of the main forms is division a sword divide that division will be with the world

00:33:29 someone somewhere out there but in some cases it will be division even at home with the family

00:33:38 I don't believe Jesus is saying that in all times in all places in all generations forever no matter

00:33:45 what children having children being fruitful and multiplying is a crapshoot and you can just kind

00:33:52 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 biblical teaching I believe that that's not a prescription but a description of wherever

00:34:04 Christianity comes in a first generation, first generation Christians. So it was true, it was going 0.97

00:34:11 to be exceedingly true in the case of who Jesus is immediately speaking to, his disciples in the

00:34:18 first century. I think it is also very, very similar to that description of breaking up families

00:34:25 even in other centuries, not just the first century, but in other centuries when the gospel

00:34:29 goes to a new nation, a new context, and it's making first generation Christians. And although

00:34:37 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 have that effect, not saying always, not universally, but it could have that effect of breaking up even

00:34:48 marriages and even estranging children, breaking up families in a nation where it's not first

00:34:55 generation christians where the gospel has been there for a long time but a nation that is post

00:35:01 christian that has abandoned the christian faith so that any any person who embraces historic

00:35:08 christianity looks like it looks foreign it looks like they're out in left field and um and in some

00:35:20 ways i think the division in that context so a a non-christianized context you're going to have

00:35:27 some divided families and a post-christianized context where it's been christianized and then

00:35:33 christianity at least historic christianity biblical christianity has been thoroughly

00:35:38 abandoned that could actually i'm not saying this as as a hard fast rule but it's as a possibility

00:35:45 that could actually be even worse because then you actually have a culture a populace that's

00:35:53 immunized to christianity they actually have um other places it's like well we christianity is

00:36:03 foreign but in a post-christian society they've had just enough of christianity to think they

00:36:10 know what it is to think that they're the expert i mean how many times have you talked to someone

00:36:14 who has terrible theology they're a raging feminist or they're a raging dispensationalist

00:36:19 or whatever and and so at some point in the conversation you hear them say something like

00:36:24 this well i i have been a christian for 40 years having my you know 15 minute quiet time every day

00:36:34 i've been a member of you know blank church you know usually like first baptist or 17th baptist

00:36:44 you know or whatever like for for 40 years i've taught sunday school and you're gonna come and

00:36:49 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 like that go and watch the interview between tucker carlson and tel avid ted ted cruz

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

00:37:06 podcasts in the world so i'm not making up some kind of rare case that's hyperbolic that never

00:37:11 happens he literally he it was an appeal right when you're arguing there's different logical

00:37:15 fallacies one is um is a claim to authority when you're like basically what makes it a logic

00:37:21 logical fallacy is when you're saying just believe me bro uh because of my title so what was his

00:37:28 claim to authority in that moment he wasn't claiming he had authority as a state senator

00:37:32 he wasn't saying his political position gives him authority his claim to authority is he's like

00:37:39 I grew up in church and went to Sunday school. Remember that line? For those of you who watched

00:37:43 the interview, I've gone to Sunday school. I've been going to Sunday school my whole life since

00:37:49 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 verse that's not in the Bible, you know, knows who bless Israel. And Tucker Carlson, he's, I like

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

00:38:05 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 he's like really the bible says that support the government of israel support netanyahu the bible

00:38:19 what verse is that where's that in the bible and he immediately says where it is in the like he

00:38:23 knows the answer to the question but he also knows that tel aviv ted does not know the answer to the

00:38:28 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 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 that, I mean, that aired live, not live, but to millions of people. And so what I'm describing

00:38:47 is not some obscure example that, you know, it's a one in a thousand scenario. No, this happens

00:38:53 all the time. In a post-Christian context, in some ways, the division could be even more severe

00:38:59 Because you have people who are immunized to Christianity.

00:39:04 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 They're the most Christian of any Christian that's ever Christianed, you know.

00:39:21 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 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 You know, like the meme is like, you and I are not the same. 0.94

00:39:48 You don't like it for this reason.

00:39:49 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 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 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 something like that and in a in a post-Christian society that has enough Christianity immunization

00:40:12 injected into their, like our society has had enough Christianity vaccines

00:40:17 to basically be at the point now where you say something like that, and they're like, 0.66

00:40:23 what witchcraft are you uttering? I'm like, what do you mean witchcraft? This is what every society

00:40:28 has always believed, whether you were Christian or not, for thousands of years. And they're like,

00:40:32 you just said the most heinous, like, do you worship the devil? I said, I just said, I think

00:40:38 women should be mothers and be at home and not be in politics say you are you casting an 0.97

00:40:45 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 foreign so all that being said I'm going to land the plane all that being said my point is Jesus

00:40:57 is not prescribing what to do not until the end of the text when he says take up your cross that

00:41:02 is a prescription but the the middle the majority of our text is a description where jesus is not

00:41:09 saying what we should do but he's saying what will happen i don't believe jesus is saying this will

00:41:14 happen in every place at every time with every generation of christians i don't believe that's

00:41:20 the point i believe that in places that are saturated with the gospel that become christianized

00:41:26 like the West historically was, Europe and America, then you can have prolonged periods of

00:41:33 time, centuries even, where great-great-grandparents love Jesus. And great-grandparents love Jesus. And

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

00:41:46 generation after generation where you don't have divorce, or it's exceedingly rare. Families remain

00:41:53 intact. The parents love Jesus. The kids love Jesus. The grandkids love Jesus. And I believe

00:41:59 that that's the goal. That that has happened. And by God's grace, it could happen again. And that's

00:42:06 what each of us should be hoping for. So we should not be, especially for mothers. Here's another

00:42:12 pastoral application for mothers. You should not be tossing and turning in bed at night, 0.99

00:42:16 thinking that the probability

00:42:21 is that one or more of your kids 0.98

00:42:25 are going to reject Christ and go to hell.

00:42:28 I don't believe that that is the Christian instinct.

00:42:34 I don't believe that's God's will for mothers.

00:42:36 I don't. 1.00

00:42:37 I believe you should be defaulting.

00:42:40 That doesn't mean it's a promise.

00:42:43 It doesn't mean, I should say,

00:42:45 it doesn't mean that it's a 100% guarantee,

00:42:48 but you should be defaulting

00:42:49 on the general principle

00:42:51 that ordinarily,

00:42:53 if you and your husband are both Christians,

00:42:56 that your children will grow up to be Christians

00:42:59 if you raise them in the fear 0.98

00:43:01 and admonition of the Lord.

00:43:01 You should, that is,

00:43:04 that should be the default posture of a parent.

00:43:08 So not entitlement, not presumption

00:43:10 that God owes me.

00:43:12 It's not that, it's not arrogance,

00:43:13 but it's also not insecurity and fear half of our kids will probably grow up and go to hell

00:43:19 no it should be a restful position a hopeful position a trusting position in the lord

00:43:25 that if both parents are covenant christians and we love the lord and we're seeking to raise

00:43:33 our children in a christian manner then we should trust that generally speaking normally

00:43:39 ordinarily our kids will grow up to be christians i think that that's the normative pattern of

00:43:46 scripture and we have texts of scripture that that god keeps steadfast covenant to the thousandth

00:43:53 generation of those who love him and obey his commandments and so we should trust that we should

00:43:59 not be fearful with our kids but we also shouldn't be apathetic and lazy so we should be diligent in

00:44:06 raising our children but not diligence that comes out of insecurity and fearfulness and what Jesus

00:44:13 is describing here it was true Jesus never lies but he does not say in this text this will always

00:44:20 happen in every generation in every century in every place forever no matter what until I return

00:44:27 that's not in the text that's to come away with that interpretation is to eisegete that's to read

00:44:34 into the text something that Jesus did not explicitly say. So I think we should take the

00:44:39 text seriously, the words of Jesus seriously. I think in our historical context, being a post-Christian 0.91

00:44:46 nation, we should take these words especially seriously and not be surprised when we have

00:44:52 in-laws and out-laws who maybe think that we went crazy and that because we hold to this theology

00:45:02 or that historical Christian, you know, position that,

00:45:05 well, like you're a part of a cult.

00:45:08 It's like, yeah, you would think that

00:45:09 because you're a part of a cult called liberalism.

00:45:13 You're a liberal. 1.00

00:45:15 You're a boss babe feminist. 1.00

00:45:17 And you disagree with everyone 1.00

00:45:19 throughout all of Christian history

00:45:22 until the last like 40 years. 0.97

00:45:26 So of course you think that. 0.92

00:45:27 But because we're in this post-Christian society, 0.90

00:45:29 we shouldn't be surprised when there's division,

00:45:31 even in extended families even in households but that does not mean that it has to be that way

00:45:38 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 from him but if he would be so kind we've had christianity in the west before where generation

00:45:54 after generation after generation feared the lord and where families were not broken up maybe some

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

00:46:07 at all-time lows where divorce was foreign unheard of and that children grew up and loved the lord

00:46:14 just like their parents did that that is i'm not just talking about something that might happen in

00:46:21 some crazy post-millennial pipe dream i'm talking about something that already did happen it happened

00:46:27 here and happened not that long ago if we pan out we're thinking generally speaking it was fairly

00:46:35 recent it happened here and it happened recently and by god's grace it can believe it or not it

00:46:42 can happen again we're not promised it's going to happen again in our generation or even in our

00:46:48 children's generation but it can happen and we should work for that to happen that that the

00:46:56 knowledge of the glory of God would cover the whole earth as the waters cover the sea, and that

00:47:01 our nation particularly would be so saturated in the Christian faith and fidelity to Christ

00:47:09 that it becomes normative that marriages stay together and that children grow up honoring

00:47:14 their parents and worshiping the same God that they do. That should be the goal. And our text

00:47:19 today, there's nothing in our text today that says that that somehow is impossible and can't happen.

00:47:24 So let's finish with denying the cross is denying Christ.

00:47:29 Jesus says this, whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

00:47:33 Whoever finds his life will lose it.

00:47:35 Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

00:47:38 I wrote in your notes this, the cross here is not meant to represent suffering merely in general, just general suffering.

00:47:46 it is specifically the symbol in this case this context the cross is a specific symbol of shame

00:47:53 and death and self-denying true christianity is not easy believism it is total surrender

00:48:01 in short to deny the cross in that sense the cross representing shame from the world

00:48:09 that denies Christ or death to the world that denies Christ or self-denial to your flesh

00:48:16 that seeks to go against Christ and that sense in the cross representing that

00:48:22 if you are to deny that cross then it is to deny Christ to deny the cross in that sense

00:48:30 is a denial of Christ.

00:48:32 R.C. Sproul used to say,

00:48:35 when Jesus calls a man, 0.99

00:48:36 he bids him come and die.

00:48:40 When Jesus says to take up the cross and follow him,

00:48:44 and if we were to deny the cross,

00:48:45 that ultimately is to deny him.

00:48:48 The cross in this context

00:48:49 is not just speaking about general suffering.

00:48:52 Because here's the thing.

00:48:54 To a large degree,

00:48:55 general suffering is something

00:48:56 that's outside of our control.

00:48:58 You can't sit there

00:48:59 and have cancer for instance and say that that by default of having cancer which is a form of 0.91

00:49:07 suffering then you've embraced your cross to follow jesus well pagans get cancer atheists

00:49:14 get cancer that doesn't necessarily mean that the key here and i'll go back and read the text

00:49:19 the key here is suffering and we saw this in the case of persecution and now we're seeing in the

00:49:25 case of suffering. It's for Christ's namesake. It's for Jesus' namesake. Whoever finds his life

00:49:33 will lose it. And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. It's not just losing your life.

00:49:40 There are lots of ways to make life go poorly for yourself. There are lots of foolish decisions that 0.97

00:49:45 you can make. And there are lots of people who either by foolishness or just by happenstance, 0.96

00:49:52 They lose their life.

00:49:54 Literally, physically lose their life.

00:49:55 Get into some accident and die.

00:49:58 Or have their life destroyed financially or relationally or whatever it may be.

00:50:03 There are plenty of people who have lost their life.

00:50:06 But they didn't lose it for Christ's namesake.

00:50:11 What Jesus has in view here, the cross is not just losing your job.

00:50:15 General examples of suffering.

00:50:17 Getting sick.

00:50:19 Losing a child.

00:50:20 The cross here represents taking up your cross specifically, meaning bearing the reproach of Christ,

00:50:28 being willing to be publicly associated with the cause of Christ for Christ's namesake,

00:50:35 bearing a reproach from the world, being mocked by the world, being shamed by the world,

00:50:40 specifically because of your voluntary, deliberate association and fidelity to Jesus.

00:50:48 That's the cross in view here.

00:50:50 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 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 ultimately has not just denied the cross but his denial of the cross really is a denial of Christ

00:51:20 himself and then that references back to last week's text where Jesus says if you will not

00:51:27 be willing to name me before men then I will be ashamed of you and deny you before my father

00:51:36 and that's not just some crazy hypothetical jesus is being quite serious that in the final analysis

00:51:43 if we deny christ before men he will deny us before his father and that does not mean that

00:51:49 we lost our salvation but that simply serves as an evidence and proof that we never truly belong

00:51:55 to christ to begin with we may have sat in a christian church we may have done some christian

00:52:02 things outwardly. But if we're not willing, if we're willing to deny Christ by denying our cross,

00:52:08 we're not willing to suffer any reproach from the world whatsoever. When the going gets tough,

00:52:13 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 to publicly name Christ even at the cost of shame and rejection from the world knowing that by doing

00:52:32 this by accepting the cross we are accepting Christ and if we accept Christ that's an evidence

00:52:39 that he has truly accepted us and we know that that reproach from the world can come and in the

00:52:47 most severe cases even as division and reproach from among our own families that's not prescriptive

00:52:54 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 ways that we disciple our children the ways that we foster healthy christian marriages but we should 0.96

00:53:07 recognize wherever there are first generation christians there will be division not just

00:53:13 culturally but even in families and sadly because we live in a post-christian context here in

00:53:18 america anyone who is a first generation the first generation for a while in the last three

00:53:24 or four generations first generation historic christian not just christianese but historic

00:53:31 christian may experience division even in the context of the family and so it shouldn't surprise

00:53:38 us but it's not fatalistic it's not written in the stars that's not what the text is saying

00:53:43 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 that way it's because our nation for generations now has abandoned christ to where for all intents

00:53:54 and purposes those who are prescribed to historic christianity really are first generation christians

00:54:02 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 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 that our nation would repent. I do pray, Lord, that historic Christianity would be embraced.

00:54:19 That liberalism, pretending to be Christianity, would be rejected. Secularism with Christian

00:54:27 aspects would be rejected. And Lord, I pray that we would be, in your kindness, the generation that 0.92

00:54:34 returns, returns to traditional Christianity and to the truth of your work. And Lord, we pray that

00:54:41 our children would embrace that too, that you would use us to train up our children in the fear and

00:54:46 admonition of the Lord, and that they would embrace the Christian faith, embrace you as Savior,

00:54:51 and that there would be a new heritage

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

00:54:56 and extends to our children

00:54:58 and to our grandchildren

00:54:59 and so on and so forth.

00:55:01 But we pray that that would be the legacy

00:55:03 that we leave behind.

00:55:05 And with us, in many cases,

00:55:07 it being first generation,

00:55:09 that we would not be surprised

00:55:10 if in-laws and parents

00:55:13 and aunts and uncles

00:55:14 or brothers and sisters reject us,

00:55:17 that we seek to be wise,

00:55:19 that we feel that pain and grieve but that we wouldn't ultimately allow that to scare us into

00:55:26 being convinced or deceived that somehow we really have embraced something for when the reality is

00:55:35 that no it's everybody else has embraced something for the christianity today christianity light

00:55:42 a neutered hamstrung christianity modern christianity that's the foreign substance

00:55:48 that's the outlier and so lord i pray that you would encourage us and that we would look to

00:55:56 historic christian figures throughout the ages and what they believed and what they taught what

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

00:56:05 to think maybe we're crazy that we would be reminded and encouraged by you that we're not

00:56:12 and that we would stay steady,

00:56:15 stay to the task

00:56:17 and not abandon the faith.

00:56:18 We pray these things in Jesus' name.

00:56:20 Amen.

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The NXR Podcast - July 13, 2025

THE SERMON - Truth Will Always Cause Division

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