Sermon – Matthew 12 – Are You With ME or Against ME?

Is it possible to remain neutral when it comes to religion; and truly not take sides?
Can a person be neither for or on God’s side; but also not be against Him?
Does a person have to announce their loyalty to know who they are working for or against?
When it comes to faith – both personal/private and public/corporate – you are either working with God or against Him … you are either growing closer to Him or moving further away … you are either being a good example for others to see or giving true/good believers a bad name … you are either reading, studying, praying or you aren’t … Jesus is the Lord of your life or He isn’t … you are either building His Kingdom – the universal Church and the local church; or you are ignoring the Great Commission and focusing on self – your own kingdom.
The fallen world has bought into the lie that says you can be neutral – that you don’t have to announce or pledge allegiance – that you can remain neutral and neither serve God or be against Him – that in the end, it just matters if you are a “good person” and you’ll still make it to Heaven, if any such place actually exists and if not, then it doesn’t matter.
The world – the devil – other lost people – they don’t want you to give yourself fully to God and serve Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. They want you to think you can neutral and still have His blessings and rewards … but again, those are lies.
As believers, we know that isn’t true; and in the two passages we will look at today, it is clear that people are either working for God or against Him; and they can do that actively or passively.
The two passages that make up most of this message is Matthew 12 and Luke 9. The main verses are Matthew 12:30 and Luke 9:50; and on the surface, it might appear that they are contradictory; but we know that Scripture doesn’t do that.
Matthew 12:30 (NLT) … “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”
In Matthew 12:22-37, Jesus is dealing with the Pharisees who are claiming that He is only able to cast out demons because He gets His power from Satan (Beelzebub). They are claiming that Jesus is in league with the devil or the Holy Spirit is evil – regardless, it isn’t a good thing they are saying.
Also, in that passage, Jesus says what the unforgiveable sin – blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; and that a tree is identified by its fruit … that a good person produces good things from their heart; and that a evil person produces evil things from their heart … and that all will give account on judgment day for every word they say; and those words will either acquit or condemn.
In Luke 9, the apostles see someone using Jesus’ name to cast out demons and they wanted to stop him because he wasn’t one of them. Jesus tells them not to stop him – he was helping people.
Luke 9:50 (NLT) … But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you.”
In one situation (Luke 9 / Mark 9) you have someone that was doing good work (IN JESUS’ NAME); but this person was not with Jesus (and the apostles) day in and day out. They were spiritually close to Jesus, but not physically in His presence. They wanted and were doing similar things as Jesus.
In the other situation (Matthew 12) you have people – the Pharisees – that were around Jesus physically, but were not united with Him spiritually. They did not want the same things Jesus did; and eventually plotted His death.
Spiritually speaking, there are just 2 camps a person can belong to; and you must ask yourself, which one you belong to … and they can be worded in a many ways; but in essence, are the same:
Saved – unsaved.
Sheep – goats.
Wheat – chaff.
Saint – sinner
Believer – unbeliever
Those heading to Heaven – Those heading to Hell
Those on the straight and narrow – those on the path to destruction
Those working for Jesus – Those working against Him.
You don’t have to be “steeped” in sin or living a life of the “big sins” … but, if you are not with Jesus, then you are against Him.
If you are not actively working with Jesus – if your life isn’t completely under His lordship – if you are not sowing seeds, watering seeds, and gathering, then you are – by default – in league with the devil and are dispersing and working to undo what the saints are doing. The saints are working to build the Kingdom, both across the world and in community … are you helping?
If you are not (actively) involved in the fight against evil, then you are passively supporting it.
Just like if your spiritual health isn’t improving – you are passively getting (spiritually) sicker / weaker. You have to be on the upward trajectory or you start sliding backwards.
Even if you have great morals, an honorable character, are an upstanding citizen, you give of your time and money; but don’t have Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you are in the wrong camp.
Good works don’t save you; but if you are saved, then good works will come from your new life, which is grounded in Christ Jesus. Without Jesus, those works are as filthy rags.
You cannot be a Christian and still cling to or have loyalty to the world or your old sinful life.
You cannot have two masters! … (see Matthew 6:24)
This isn’t new – people have long wanted the benefits of knowing God and being able to reach out to Him when they are in trouble; or claiming a church home, at least when it is convenient; but they also want their old life and to do what they want and ignore God’s requests … perhaps its that fire insurance we’ve talked about or they want to look the part and fool people, regardless of their intentions, they do not follow God or love Him with everything they are.
1^st Kings 18:21 (NLT) … Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.
Joshua 24:15 (NLT) … But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.
Some people want to compromise … they want some of what God offers, but they also want some of what the world offers … whatever is easier or more convenient at the moment is what they seek out or cling to or serve or promote.
James speaks of the double-minded man and says (1:8) … Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
When it comes to our faith – our spiritual life / health – we must pick a side and that needs to be God’s side for obvious reasons – and we must remain loyal. We can’t flip-flop and then wonder why our lives are in turmoil – why we don’t have lasting peace and joy.
We need to be spiritually close to Jesus and have our life’s work be devoted to Him. We don’t need to see other Christians as adversaries because they don’t belong to our church – for they are still building the Kingdom. We do however need to call to repentance (and if the case has it – for people to come home here – those who are not working for Jesus or are even working against Him. We know who these people are and we know who in our own lives we need to reach out to).
In the past year, we finished our Revelation study – we know who the winning side will be – and even with the future being foretold, some will sadly choose the wrong side.
Each person must choose a side … there is truly no neutrality … we are either siding with the devil; and working against God (passively or actively) … or we are siding with God and actively working to lead others to Him; while growing in our own spiritual health daily … choose wisely; for our actions have consequences, some good and some not … some just affect us, but some affect others and their eternity … leave home and your family so others can spend eternity with theirs.