Sunday Sermon

"Are You For Him?"
[Mark 9:33-50]
June 11, 2006 Second Reformed Church

Are you for Him? Are you on Jesus' side? Would anyone know to see you, to be with you, to talk with you, that you are a witness to Jesus Christ?

Jesus was walking with the disciples, and He explained to them, a second time, that He was going to be handed over, suffer, die, and rise on the third day. But they didn't understand, and they were afraid to ask Him what He meant. So, instead, they began to argue among themselves -- and Jesus had gotten ahead of them and hadn't heard the argument, though He knew very well what they were arguing about. Still, He asked them what they were arguing about.

And the twelve told Jesus that they were arguing about who was the greatest among them. They were arguing about who among them was the most humble, the most Christ-like, the most likely that God would hold up as lowly servant of the year. And Jesus told them that they had it all backwards, "Whoever wishes to be first, must be least of all and a servant of all."

Paul wrote, "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a things to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross" (Philippians 2:4-8).

Let us understand, first, this morning, that God does not consider greatness as we do.

Remember, after God rejected King Saul, God told Samuel to go to the house of Jesse, and there he would find God's anointed king. So Samuel went to the house of Jesse and had him call forth his sons, and they came, one by one before him, beginning with the oldest. And each time, God told Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as a man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (I Samuel 16:7).

Samuel went through each of Jesse's sons, and each was rejected, and Samuel asked if he had no other sons, and Jesse said that he did, David, the youngest, the tender of the sheep, but, surely, God didn't want him. But God said, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he" (I Samuel 16:12).

And again, Paul said, "For consider your calling, brothers; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God" (I Corinthians 1:26-29).

Brothers and sisters, we have to stop being impressed with the big and the mighty, with the wealthy and the powerful: God does not consider greatness as we do. What is great in the eyes of God? That we receive a young child in His Name -- that we receive those who the world would push aside as unworthy and unimportant, that we would receive them in the Name of Jesus Christ, in the Name of the Father.

Understand, God has not called us to be doormats -- to just do whatever anyone says or asks of us, but God has called us to take our eyes off the glitz and the worldly glory that is paraded across our TV screens -- He has called us not to be concerned with our own greatness, but instead with faithfulness, with growing deeper in the Word and the Wisdom of God. God does not consider greatness as we do.

Then John spoke up, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we forbid him, because he does not follow us." "Teacher, we found people preaching salvation in Jesus Christ Alone to the world, and we told them to stop, because they were not members of our denomination." And Jesus said, "Do not forbid him. For no one who is able to do [works of] power in my name [and] will be able to quickly denounce me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink for the sake of Christ, amen, I say to you that he shall not lose his reward." "Do not forbid him. If he's preaching salvation in Jesus Christ Alone, let him preach, for that is the Only Gospel, our Only Message, the Only Salvation of the world."

Let us notice secondly, that salvation is in Jesus Alone. Our salvation is not in our programs, or our liturgy, or our denomination, or in the translation of the Bible that we use, or in the hymnal we use, or anything else that is not Jesus Christ Alone. Anyone who bears the Name of Christ is His; anyone who believes in Jesus Christ Alone for Salvation is His. We are not to stop anyone from preaching that Gospel based only on other differences we have. No Christian will seek to shut down other churches that are preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

However, there is a spirit of what is called, "toleration," that says there is no absolute truth; nothing we do or do not do matters to God. That is a lie of the devil. It is good and right to have denominations, to have disagreements and debates within the Body of Christ. Paul wrote, "I hear there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized" (I Corinthians 11:18b-19). Why? "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known" (I Corinthians 13:12). The sin that remains in us clouds our understanding, so no Christian, no denomination, will understand everything perfectly on this side of glory.

"That's right;" some argue, "that's why we shouldn't discuss doctrine." No, that"s a lie of the devil. Peter wrote, "always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" (I Peter 3:15b). If a Baptist minister preaches salvation in Jesus Christ Alone, we ought not stop him, but encourage his preaching. But a Baptist minister will say that it is not right to baptize infants, whereas we in the Reformed Church in America believe it is right to baptize infants. The baptism of infants doesn't save them or us, but we ought to know what we believe and why we believe it. We ought to be able to explain why we hold to one position or interpretation, rather than another.

Salvation is in Jesus Christ Alone, and we ought to rejoice in everyone who preaches that Gospel. And once we have believed, we ought to understand what God has revealed -- to the greatest degree possible, and know why we believe what we believe.

Thirdly, let us see that we ought to purposefully, actively fight against our sin as we also keep from leading others into sin.

Jesus said it would be better for a person who leads another into sin "if the upper largest millstone was [placed] around his neck and he was thrown into the sea." Did you hear Him? It would be better for a person to be murdered, than to live and lead another into sin. Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across the sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves" (Matthew 23:13-15). And Jesus turned to Judas, during the Supper, and said, "For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born" (Mark 14:21).

Sin loves company; it desires others to join in and celebrate in rebellion against God. We dare not do it. We ought to strive to protect those around us that we do not lead them into sin. Part of being faithful to Christ means leading others out of sin.

And we, also, are to keep ourselves from sin. Jesus quite graphically said that if our hand or foot or eye leads us into sin, we ought to throw it out, for it is better to enter the Kingdom of God mutilated, than to be cast, instead, into the everlasting hell, "where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched."

The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, said that it is a good thing that Christians don't believe and follow their Bibles, otherwise, they would be a people of cripples.

Of course, Jesus did not mean that we ought to literally mutilate ourselves; He was talking about the spiritual fight, and being willing to go to whatever lengths necessary to keep from sinning. If we love Him, losing a foot or a hand or an eye, ought to be nothing. What would that look like? If you can't go to the public pool without lusting, don't go. If you can't go to the movies without taking the Name of the Lord in vain, don't go. If you can't play cards without being a bad steward, don't play. To a large degree, it will be different from person to person. The point is, if you know that something presents a strong temptation to you to sin, stay away, don't do it, set restraints on it.

It's better to cut those things out, then to suffer eternally in hell, don't you think? If we would rather have our sin and not believe in Jesus Alone for salvation, we will reap eternal suffering in body and soul -- Jesus said, the worm will eternally eat the flesh of those in hell and the fires will eternally burn the flesh of those in hell.

Let us hold fast to Christ and His Salvation. Let us purposefully, actively fight against our sin as we also keep from leading others into sin.

Our text ends, this morning, with Jesus drawing a parallel to the sacrificial system. Jesus said, "All are salted for fire." Just as the sacrifices of animals were prepared to be offered up and burned to the glory of God, so each person is being salted and readied for the fire. We, Christians, are told to prepare ourselves, even as we are being prepared, as living sacrifices. "I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1).

Salt was used to purify and give flavor to the sacrifice, and Jesus told us to "have salt in yourselves." We are to give ourselves day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, wholly devoting ourselves to the Word and Will of God -- that is our spiritual worship. As we faithfully learn and do all that God has revealed to us, believing in Jesus, and empowered by the Spirit, we become whole and holy sacrifices, pleasing in the sight of God.

But is not just we, but all, who are salted and sent through the fire: "For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now, if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw -- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire" (I Corinthians 3:11-15).

We were created for the glory of God. Those who never receive the Foundation of Jesus Christ, have only their works, which will all burn away, and they will burn eternally with them. We who receive the Foundation of Jesus Christ will survive the fire and be saved by Jesus Alone and, to whatever degree we gave ourselves wholly to the Word and Will of God, those things will remain to the Glory of God and as a reward.

Are you for Him? If we are for Christ, we will look at greatness the way God looks at greatness, we will believe and embrace all those who believe in Jesus Christ Alone for salvation, we will purposefully, actively fight against our sin as we also keep from leading others into sin, and we will give ourselves wholly to the Word and Will of God.

Let us pray:
Gracious God and Savior, we long to be holy like You, increase our desire to make You great and us small in everything we do and believe. Glorify Yourself in us and give us Your joy. Lead us and teach us to build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ with gold, silver, and precious stones. For it is in Jesus' Name we pray, Amen