For and Against
Devotions for Growing Christians
For and Against
Luke 9:50 - He who is not against you is for you.
Luke 11:23 - He who is not with Me is against Me.
These two verses from the Gospel of Luke could easily be mixed up and interchanged. In fact, because they sound so similar they have often been misquoted. Close your eyes right now and see if you can quote them correctly!
These quotes from our Lord Jesus may even appear to be contradictory - at first glance. A closer examination, however, reveals that they are quite different, and this difference has enormous significance when it comes to the implications for Christians today.
What Jesus DID NOT say
In Luke 9:50 Jesus did not say, "He who is not against Me is for Me." That would be contrary to everything the Scriptures teach about the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. There are many world religions that are not opposed to Christ as a good and exemplary man. He is even high on the lists as a great teacher or prophet - but this does not mean that these religions are for Christ. In fact, they are adamantly against Christ as the only means of approach to God.
As another example, take the ethical teachings of Jesus. These teachings are extolled by "good" people all over this country and beyond. But this doesn’t mean that every upright American is for Christ. Try starting a discussion on what Jesus said about who is on the "narrow road that leads to life" and who is on the "broad road that leads to destruction.." (And remember - these statements come from Christ's well-known ethical Sermon on the Mount - beloved and quoted by upstanding people everywhere.)
It will soon become quite obvious that these “broad-minded” people, who are supposedly open to all philosophies (including the teachings of Jesus), are actually closed-minded. They are actually against what Jesus said about who are the saved and how they are saved. The fact that Jesus indicated that most people reject the narrow way to life and are on the road to damnation is intolerable to their way of thinking. Their professed position of being for Jesus and His ethical teachings is actually a position against Christ.
Now let's consider what Jesus did not say in Luke 11:23. The Lord did not say, "He who is not with you is against you." If that were the case, would we be able to trust anyone - even fellow believers? Would any church fellowship or ministry survive? Let's face it. It's not only unbelievers who "don't see it my way." Christians have a hard time agreeing with each other on lots of things!
Aren't you glad that everyone who doesn't see eye to eye with you is not against you? There are many believers (and non-Christians as well) who are not against us, even though they are not for us in everything we preach and practice. (By the way, if you're looking for the perfect church where everyone sees everything exactly as you do, you can be sure of two things about that church: first, it is very small. And second, you'll be looking for another church shortly, because the unity won’t last!)
Seriously, however, we need to be very careful of fellowships that demand total agreement in all areas. One of the characteristics of a cult is that if they’re not in 100% agreement with the leaders - in every detail and every area of faith and practice - they are suspect! That is not biblical Christianity. The Bible teaches the unity of all believers, but it does not call for uniformity of all believers. We can be united in the purpose of serving Christ without being in total agreement in all the details. Jesus did not say, "He who is not with you is against you." The fact that others are not with us does not necessarily mean that they are against us! As growing Christians, we need to clearly see what Jesus did not say as well as what He did say.
What Jesus DID say
When we consider what Jesus did say in Luke 9:50 and Luke 11:23, it’s very important to realize that we’re dealing with two different contexts. The context of Luke 9:50 is about Christian practice - its not a question of a critical Christian doctrine!.
- Christian Service
The subject is the practice of doing good works in the name of Christ. Verse 49 refers to an incident in which the disciples observed someone who was exorcising demons in the name of Christ, even though he was not one of the Twelve. They tried to stop him because the man was not part of the "in-group" of disciples. But Jesus told them not to hinder such service because "He who is not against you is for you."
In this context, the Lord was not indicating that as long as people don't actively oppose us, they are on our side - no matter what they do or believe! No! He was teaching that those who are involved in good works in the name of Christ are not against us, but rather for us - even though there may not be complete agreement between our group and their group. In the parallel passage in Mark 9:40, the Lord included Himself in the circle of the disciples.
In context, then, Luke 9:50 is not a stamp of approval on all religious zealots as long as they don't positively oppose us. Rather it’s a stamp of disapproval on us if we actively hinder those involved in good works done in the name of Christ! Even when we don't entirely approve of their ministry and methods, and even when we're convinced that the Lord is with us more than He is with them! Because we all have a strong natural tendency to put down those who don't "see it our way," most Christians are disobedient to this command. No wonder God warns us, "If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other" (Galatians 5:15).
It has often been said that the Christian army is the only army in the world where soldiers shoot one another instead of the enemy. That statement may be an exaggeration, but it’s not without truth. How sad and shameful, when fellow believers bad-mouth and nit-pick at each other. The new commandment that our Lord Jesus gave to us was to "love one another" (John 13:34). The Lord indicated that the world would know that we are Christians "if we have love for one another" (John 13:35). The early Church was so obedient to this new commandment that the pagan Roman world was forced to say of the 1st century Christians, "My, how they love one another!" Can the world say that of Christians today? Sadly, in most cases it can not. In fact, in many cases the reaction is, "My, how they fight with one another!"
Today we think nothing of breaking the Lord’s “new commandment.” Oh, we love the other believers in our own social and sectarian circles, or who think the way we do, but all too often we don't even try to love believers who don't see eye to eye with us. We try to talk them into doing the work of the Lord our way - and if they don't, we assume they’re wrong. We may say that we're just trying to help and correct them, but “help and correct” is often just a euphemism for "criticize and hinder." But Jesus said that we are not to hinder them. Why? Because, in the context of good works done in the name of Christ, "he who is not against you is for you."
It is important to recognize that Jesus didn’t say that we had to join the church or ministry of everyone who is not against us. There may be some very good doctrinal reasons why we could never enjoy completely happy fellowship in such a group. And the Lord didn’t say that we had to change our convictions about how the Lord's work should be carried out. Christians have strong convictions, for example, as to financial and administrative procedures, forms of church government and modes of baptism.
Finally, the Lord Jesus did not say that we had to sponsor the ministries of Christians who don't do it or see it our way. Christians may disagree as to how best to carry out the great commission in foreign lands or the inner city, for example. Some Christians are more concerned about literature distribution than TV or internet evangelism. Some are more concerned about college age ministries than children's ministries. We are free to support the ministries of our own choosing - but we’re not to hinder other ministries that are doing good work in the name of Christ, just because we don't agree on methods! We are not to hinder them with actions or words!
Let’s stop shooting fellow soldiers! Just because they are not in our unit does not mean they are not in the Lord's army!
If the Lord Jesus had not checked the disciples' wrong attitude at this point, a number of individuals would have been left in the spiritual bondage of demon possession. Apparently that reality had not dawned on the disciples, and - amazingly - it hadn’t bothered them in the slightest! Jealousy and spiritual pride were factors in their blindness. They couldn’t cast out one demon (v40), whereas the man they tried to hinder was singlehandedly casting out many demons! It's hard not to be jealous when other Christians who are not in our circle of fellowship are more successful than we are in ministry.
Then the disciples began to argue about who would be the greatest (v46)! The Lord rebuked their spiritual pride by using a little child in His lesson on humility. We need to take off our blinders and see how much we resemble the disciples. Because of our petty jealousies and spiritual pride, we spend more time taking pot-shots at other Christians than we spend on reaching out to the hundreds of souls all around us who are in spiritual bondage.
- Christian Doctrine
Well, then, where do we draw the line? Is there ever a time when we should speak out? Should we ever hinder religious leaders or ministries with whom we disagree? Yes! We must hold the line on the centrality of the doctrine of the Person and work of Christ. Why? Because in Luke 11:23 Jesus said, "He who is not with Me is against Me." When it comes to the doctrine of the deity of Christ, there can be no neutral ground. If a person is not positively for Christ, that person is against Christ. The Lord went even further and said, "He who does not gather with Me, scatters." If a person is not actively involved in serving Christ, then that person is actually a negative influence on the work of the Lord. This is not to say that every believer who is not a "super Christian" and totally involved in a life of Christian service is working against Christ - but if there is no evidence of some kind of "gathering" for the Lord, questions might be raised. According to the Lord Jesus, those who only profess to be Christians are involved in the scattering work of Satan!
In this connection, it is important once again to note the context of this Scripture. Observe that the context of Luke 11:23 is Christian doctrine, rather than Christian practice - in contrast to the context of Luke 9:50. The Pharisees had accused Christ of overpowering demons by the power of Satan. This was a direct attack on the Person and ministry of the Son of God!
The Lord Jesus proceeded to show them that they were not only wrong, but illogical as well. He said, "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?" (v17-18). In no uncertain terms, the Lord made it clear that there are two kingdoms that are opposed to each other - the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of Satan. Everyone is in one kingdom or the other. There is no neutral third kingdom for a person who wants to sit on the sidelines and watch. If a person is not with Christ in the kingdom of God, that person is involved with the kingdom of Satan, and is in opposition to Christ! Such an individual may not have blasphemed the Holy Spirit, like the Pharisees to whom Jesus spoke in Luke 11. (Notice the context of the parallel passage in Matthew 12:24-32.) However, that individual is still a slave in the kingdom of Satan, and is working against Christ.
Within the kingdom of God we can maintain a neutral stance with fellow citizens, even though we may not cross our theological “t's” and dot our theological “i's” the same way they do. In fact, as we've already seen, we are to be neutral, and we are not to hinder them when it comes to service done in the name of Christ. But we cannot be neutral when it comes to the doctrine of the Person and work of Christ, for this is the bull's eye of the target that Satan wants to destroy. A person who preaches a distorted doctrine of Christ is either an active member of the kingdom of Satan, or a sadly misinformed believer. In either case, we must expose the error as we protect and proclaim the doctrine of the Person and work of our Lord Jesus.
Drawing the line is not always easy. When is a self-proclaimed Christian ministry not really a Christian ministry, or no longer a Christian ministry? Where is the precise line between the critical bull's eye area of Christian doctrine, and those areas that are not as critical?
While drawing the line is not always easy, the Lord has given us two basic guidelines. Remember - in Christian service: "He who is not against you is for you." And remember - in Christian doctrine: "He who is not with Me is against Me."
- Dave Reid