What Hills Are You Dying On? (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: If we make anything but the Gospel “the main thing”, we sacrifice Church (big C) unity by vainly embracing nonessentials.
SCRIPTURE: Mark 9:38-41
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
I’ve really looked forward to addressing this passage because it teaches such an encouraging truth. However, it’s also been a hard one to chew on this week because that truth comes with so much conviction. It’s a truth about Christian unity that I both know and love, but it’s also a truth that I know I need reminded of...because too often I love myself too much. This morning, I want to walk through the passage by first looking at the issue and then considering Jesus’ response. Then we’ll hit a few takeaways before sharing the Lord’s Supper together. The gist? If we make anything but the Gospel “the main thing”, we sacrifice Church (big C) unity by vainly embracing nonessentials.
I. THE ISSUE (vs 38)
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”
Greatness Connection. This passage comes in the middle of a teaching unit we began looking at last Sunday night. There we saw this conversation get started because the disciples had been debating about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus then sat them down and flipped their understanding of greatness on its head. You want to be great? Serve. No service is too lowly, nor anyone too undeserving. The emphasis was on humility, and this passage continues with that thought.
“Stop! Not us!” John, either because he felt bad about doing this and wants to confess a little to Jesus, or because he’s hoping this zealous act was an “exception” to the rule, tells Jesus about trying to stop (there’s is no indication here that it worked) a man from casting out demons in the name of Jesus. Why? Well, that’s really the issue here. Right? Look at verse 38 again; it lays the reason out for us: “...we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” He wasn’t one of the twelve, or at least not one who was in the immediate group that physically followed Jesus throughout his earthly ministry. That’s the issue. He wasn’t part of their group, so they opposed the ministry he was doing...even though (and we’re going to get just a bit more into this in a second) they admit he was doing it in the name of Jesus.
So, how did Jesus respond?
II. THE RESPONSE (vs 39-41)
39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us.
In short, He said “don’t do that”. His explanation then teaches some very important truths. As is largely the case, extremes are dangerous because they often lead to rejecting other vital truths. In this statement, there are at least two laid out. They’re straightforward, but so worth remembering because not only are they easy to slip into, but they have also always been pervasive--and are no less so in our society today. This is not advocating blind universalism, nor blind denominationalism (and those words look more complicated than they are☺).
Not Blind Universalism. This verse is not advocating blindly accepting everyone who claims to be a Christian at face-value and supporting what they do. Even in the New Testament, we have many examples of false teachers coming from within the local churches. They claimed to be followers of Jesus, but did not teach the Gospel: God is holy and loving; we are sinners deserving Hell; Jesus willingly chose to die for sins, in our place, as our only hope of salvation, and if we believe the truth about Him (that He is God and our savior) and give Him control of our lives, we will be saved...and our lives will be transformed into His image. That’s the key right there. The Gospel unites all believers, but not all who claim that title hold to that truth.
Paul wrote this warning to the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 11 “3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough... 12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” These people gave every impression of being “good Christians”, but they taught lies.
We cannot forget this. There are people all over the world who claim to be Christians, but do not teach or live by the Gospel--so their claim is false. In our society, we have many who take Christianity as a banner under which they trumpet prosperity messages, turning Jesus into a genie making Christianity about us; or make it a political platform to garner votes; or use it as an excuse to start protests. Look at their teaching. If it is not the Gospel, they are wolves in sheeps clothing.
Jesus gives the counter teaching to the one in verse 40 in Matthew 12:30 “30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” This is not a contradiction. It’s making this truth we’ve talked about here on a number of occasions very clear: you cannot be indifferent to Christ. There is no middle ground. You’re either for Him, or against Him. If you’re serving anyone or anything but Him, by default, you’re opposing His authority and His salvation.
BUT, if you’re serving Him...you’re serving Him! And that unites you with everyone else who is serving Him. We call that the Church (big C), the body of Christ. Like we quote when we say our pledges at VBS, Jesus’ kingdom is “one brotherhood, uniting all Christians, in service and love.” And that seems to be the case here. Which brings up the second extreme to avoid.
Nor Blind Denominationalism. Notice the disciples’ complaint again in verse 38. This man wasn’t part of their group, but he was casting out demons “in the name of Jesus”...and it seems to be working (which, on a related side note, is something nine of the disciples had just failed to do)! Remember the story of the Son of Sceva in Acts 19? “13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” These men tried just using Jesus’ name as a magical incantation...and needless to say, it didn’t work out for them. That’s like the nominal Christianity we were talking about before. They said the right words for the wrong purpose--their own selfish agenda.
We know nothing about this man. But he gives every impression of being someone who is serving Jesus. And Jesus Himself said, “he’s for Me”. The reason for the disciples trying to stop him had nothing to do with him being wrong, but had everything to do with him not being in the right group, and Jesus condemns this. ‘Don’t stop him! He’s doing something incredible for Me, in My name. Is he going to turn around and curse Me tomorrow? He’s not against Me; he’s for Me.’ (paraphrase).
Modern application? A denomination is a branch of the Christian faith. Yes, not everyone who claims to be a Christian is, and there are false religions out there which use similar terminology to mean entirely different things. We need to be aware of that. However, those who believe the Gospel...are on the same team as us regardless of the denominational title on their church’s sign.
True Service of Christ. In verse 41, Jesus said, “41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” Service done for Christ does not go unnoticed. Do you see the connection between this and what Jesus had just told the disciples about being great? We’re called to serve the least of these, and even the smallest act done for the sake of Jesus, in His name, for His glory, is rewarded in Heaven.
This man...he’s casting out demons in Jesus’ name! Yet, the disciples try to stop him. There’s a lot to take away here.
TAKEAWAYS
1. Christianity is not a competition! We need all the help we can get! According to “the google”, there are nearly 7,000 people in Bonne Terre, and about 2,500 in Terre Du Lac. That’s almost 10,000 people just in our immediate little area! Even if every church was overflowing, there would still be many who needed a place to go. I make statements like this pretty often, and I want to clarify I’m not saying I don’t want people to come and worship and grow with us at Providence. I most definitely do! Yet, we should pray not that “our church” would be filled at the expense of “theirs”, but rather that all would be overflowing and more would be added for His glory!
Spurgeon put it like this, “It is insanity that would stop any man from doing what God enables him to do; and we ought to be the very last to forbid others from doing it.”
2. The difference maker is Jesus--not a specific local church affiliation. I am not saying denominations are pointless. In a way, they actually support this teaching right here. Some nonessentials are still very important, and denominations allow an opportunity for people who differ on nonessentials a chance to avoid counterproductive disagreements. They also allow for differences in modes of worship...which are all equally valid...to be expressed. Nevertheless, what every legitimate denomination must agree on is the difference maker...is Jesus. Period. Emphasizing anything else is making that more important than Jesus.
3. So, don’t major in the minors. Satan would like you to. That serves his purposes just fine. Keep God’s people focused on nonessentials, and the life-changing Gospel is not being spread. Yet, what kind of witness are we having if we’re squabbling over issues that do not affect eternity? You need to have convictions on the truth of Scripture, but convictions about nonessentials (non-salvation binding issues) are sometimes worth discussing, but never worth fighting over, and never worth devoting our lives to. I’ve debated within myself whether discussing those nonessentials here today would be more instructive or distracting, so I’ll just list a few as examples: modes of baptism, church polity (do we have deacons or elders), forms of worship (contemporary or traditional), or interpretations of some of the more complicated images in the book of Revelations. None of these impact the your salvation. Keep the main things the main things.
4. And remember, there is a hill worth dying on--and Jesus did that. The Gospel, the Gospel, the Gospel.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:3-6
Consider it a sneak peek for tonight, but let’s close this discussion by considering the last words Jesus speaks in this chapter: “50b Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” Know the truth. Love the truth. And don’t let your personal preferences distract you or others from the truth.
COMMUNION CONNECTION
Darla asked me late last month which Sunday I would like to have Communion on this month. Looking forward to the passages we’d likely be covering, I really wanted to do it on this Sunday. You want to talk about what unifies believers? This is it! When we come together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we’re doing this in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice. This is for believers, but we do not exclude any believer from any denominational background because what unites us is this truth: Jesus is our Savior. If you believe that you a wretched sinner, and Jesus, who is God-in-the-flesh, came to die for your sins, and only His saving Grace could ever save you, and He now has control of your life, we’re united together!
Being consistent with where we are right now, I want to read this morning from Mark’s account of the Last Supper.
Mark 14: 22-24 “22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”
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