A Warning About Serving & Sinning | Mark 9:38-50 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series)

Well, I hope you have a Bible in your hands.

And if you do, meet me in the Gospel according to Mark in

Chapter 9, as we come to the conclusion of this chapter

together and trust that the Lord will indeed speak to us as He

always does. You know, one of the beauties of

taking a book and going by chapter by chapter, verse by

verse, is that you were held captive to what the text has to

say in that particular day, over that particular week.

And it makes it exciting because it causes us to see the entirety

of the Scriptures. But it also shows us that God is

harmonious in his thinking, in his will, in his desires for us

throughout the Scripture. And so I'm I'm excited to come

to this text and you might hear and see some very familiar

thoughts, especially we've been coming to Bible study on

Fridays. But even as we go through these

texts and we just do what we need to do and see what the Lord

is saying, in his Providence, he can also emphasize certain

truths. It's unplanned, right?

It's not that we're trying to emphasize these truths, but even

as we're just honouring the flow of thought and we see a

repetition or an emphasis, take heed to that and lean in and

say, Lord, we're trying to discover all that you're trying

to say. And here we are in the season

where we're seeing and hearing very familiar truths at this

time. And so I'm going to lean in and

perhaps you're trying to say something to me.

Perhaps you're trying to say something to us as a church.

And I believe that will be particularly true as we come to

this text beginning in verse 38 and Mark 9, verse 38.

Mark 9:38

Let's read this together, 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.

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. For the one who is not against

us is for us. 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.

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to

sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung

around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

Father, we submit ourselves to the Word.

Lord, our hearts are in desperate need of your help and

understanding your Word. And so we pray that you would

indeed open our eyes. And we pray, Lord, that it would

materialize in lives molded and transformed into the very thing

that you desire from us. So, Lord, we just pray that

there be a particular grace in the delivery of this word, and

there be a grace in the reception of it.

Lord, we ask that your presence would manifest in our midst and

if there's any end goal of this, that Lord, we would indeed draw

closer to you. This is our desire and our heart

cry as a church in your presence on this day.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Amen. In the verses that you and I

just read, Jesus pronounces to to whoever statements.

The 1st is located in verse 41 where Jesus says for truly I say

to whoever gives, whoever gives. And the second one is in the

next verse where Jesus says whoever causes, whoever causes.

And it's in these statements that we see Jesus giving, in

essence, warnings. They're in the format of

warnings and they address aspects of our relationships

with other believers. Whoever gives, whoever causes.

The one facet you can say focuses on how we as believers

should serve and serve with other believers, and the second

deals with the danger of sinning against or sinning with other

believers. And this is essentially the

format of what Jesus is saying. This is the summary Jesus in the

scriptures that we will discover and unpack today is giving

warnings about serving and about sinning and the goal of Jesus.

Words here are no different than they were for the original

disciples, that in understanding what He's saying here, we would

be renewed in our minds. And being renewed in our minds,

we would be made more holy and acceptable in our spiritual

worship. So let's deal with these two

warnings, shall we? Warning number one warning about

serving. Why is John bringing up this

random event up? At this point?

It seems to be a diversion from what Christ just finished

teaching His own, but upon meditation it makes complete

sense. Let me remind you, because we

had a break last week and the week before where we left off,

Jesus finished saying there in verse 37, whoever receives one

such child in my name receives me.

Whoever receives me receives not me but him who sent me.

In other words, however you treat the most insignificant,

vulnerable weak among believers, you essentially are doing it to

me the way you treat other Christians.

Jesus is saying, in essence, is the way you are treating me.

And then all of a sudden, John seems to just bring up something

that doesn't make sense as a response to what Jesus just

finished explaining. He seems to reach back to a

recent episode, and he's asking Jesus for some clarity.

A teacher. We saw someone who was trying to

cast a demon out in your name, but we stopped him.

We stopped him. Why would John bring that up?

What's the relevance? Here's the relevance.

He just heard Jesus saying. However you treat other

believers, you treat me. It seems like John has a very

tender conscience because he remembers something that just

took place. He remembers that the disciples

stopped, or in other words rejected somebody who claimed to

minister in the name of the Lord, and he wants to know

whether or not what they did was correct.

Did we mess up in light of what you're just saying now?

Jesus, did we mess up? And what we did with this

unnamed disciple, this person who was trying to serve you and

honor you and the Lord, we should thank God is going to

give a response to this. And the reason why we should

thank God for this response is because John's concern here

might be a concern for believers today, might be a problem that

some believers are dealing with today.

In what sense? While there is some serious

servants of Christ who don't know how they should relate or

identify with other believers who are not immediately in their

context of spiritual service or worship, those who are not

directly connected to their world, to the body of believers

that they serve with, how do I view others?

How do I relate to others who might not be part of my specific

expression of service and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ?

And there are a variety of reasons why people struggle with

that. But let me present to you one

simple struggle that some have. They have trouble admitting.

They have trouble admitting that God could be at work beyond

where they are involved. Or worse, worse, worse, worse.

You have some people who actually believe down deep

inside though they would not admit it and are convinced that

they have monopoly on God's power and favor in their arena

of influence. God is only really working here

at NBC, right? That kind of thinking, and it

can, it can be expanded to network of churches or

denominations that think that way.

We have the monopoly of God's wisdom, we have the monopoly on

God's favor, We have the monopoly on God's power.

And it can dwindle down to the individual believer who

constantly measures themselves up against other believers who

share in the same gifting that they have.

Maybe you do struggle with that. Maybe you don't.

Regardless, Jesus wants to give clarity of how we as believers

should identify and relate to other believers who might not be

closely related to your day-to-day or weekly spiritual

expressions of worship. Look what he says here in verse

39. But Jesus said, do not stop him,

do not stop him, For no one who does a mighty work in my name

will be able soon after work to speak evil of me.

In other words, what the Lord is saying here is that a person who

performs acts of mercy that are undeniably empowered by me

cannot at the same time testify against me.

What Jesus is trying to say is if you want to know who's on

your team, just look at the fruit.

Just look at the fruit. If you want to know who's on

your team, just look at the fruit.

Now, I'm fully aware that the same Jesus who said this is the

same Jesus who warned that on the final day you will have

many, not some. Every time I think about it, it

terrifies me. Many on that day who will stand

before the Lord and argue their innocence, argue their

righteousness based on the performance that they had on

earth and the resume that they had is quite impressive Prophecy

and the casting out of demons and supernatural endeavors.

And Jesus will also say in response, I don't know you, I

don't know you. Have we met before?

And I'm also aware that like the sons of Skeva and Axe, where

there are some who take the name of Jesus as a mere formula and

utilize it and do ministry in that name, though they are void

of the convictions that that name demands.

But what Jesus is saying about this unnamed man who was

attempting to cast out a devil and was stopped is that he was

no phony disciple. He was not a wolf in sheep's

clothing. Now Jesus is is defending him.

In a sense, Jesus is confessing that he was legitimate, and if

you look closer to what John is saying on behalf of the

disciples, you get a better idea of what he is dealing with.

The complaint that the disciples had against this outsider was

not about what this man believed.

It wasn't. Look again here in verse 38,

John said to him, Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons

in your name and we try to stop him.

Why? Because he was not following

who? Us.

He was not following us. Jesus.

He's not part of our group. He's not part of our spiritual

elite roster. Who does this man think he is to

have the approval and freedom to do ministry without us first,

guaranteeing it? He's not part of us God.

He's not part of us Lord. And so we attempted to stop him.

And Jesus says don't stop him. You made a mistake in doing

that. And this is so important to

determine because what the Lord is saying here is not a proof

text that we should partner with absolutely anybody just because

they bear the name Jesus. Regardless of what they believe.

Jesus is not giving an ecumenical defense.

Oh yeah, anybody who has a cross, anybody who claims to

believe in the Bible. Anybody who claims to believe in

Jesus and just just go along with them and and dismiss

everything else. That's not what Jesus is

teaching what Jesus is teaching based on John's own confession.

He's not following us, the Lord says.

And you perceiving other genuine Christians, be careful of seeing

them as competitors and rivals instead of partners and friends.

That's what Jesus is saying. Be careful looking at other

genuine believers and seeing them as opponents and seeing

them as challenges to you instead of seeing them as Co

laborers, though they may not be immediately associated with you.

This is what Jesus is conveying, and this is a wonderful place

for us to examine our own hearts.

We have a duty to look at the fruit of other people claim

Christ, other ministries? Other churches?

Do they have true fidelity? Are they truly honorable?

Do they truly submit to the word of God?

But what Jesus is saying here is also a warning, because if we're

not careful in the name of so many things like discernment, we

can end up actually fighting against other believers, when in

fact we should be working with them.

And the disciples are a perfect example of how that can happen.

Again, I told you, what's the real reason?

Here? They see that they're not

following them, but think about the context further.

How is it that they're thinking this way?

Well, they just finished doing what?

Why did Jesus teach about receiving Little children?

Receiving. Why do you teach about true

greatness? Because at the end of their

trip, the disciples were fighting amongst themselves

about what? Who's the greatest?

Who's the greatest? Now think about it.

If they're willing to fight each other, if they're willing to

bring down one another in order to exalt self, is it difficult

to understand that they're willing to actually fight others

outside of their own group? It's not difficult.

And so there's an issue of pride here, and it's spilling over

into other streams of ministry, other people of God.

But it's even deeper now. Think, think, think, think.

Even wider than that. What did they try stopping this

man from doing? Casting out a demon?

Remember, they're very specific. We saw this man trying to cast

out a demon, and we try to stop him.

Well, think again. The previous verses, when Jesus

came down with the close three descending from the Mount of

Transfiguration, he came to the disciples.

And the disciples failed to do what?

They failed to cast out a demon. They failed to cast out a demon.

Jesus teaches them about the power of faith and prayer.

They go on a trip, They're talking about themselves.

Who's the greatest? And John brings up this incident

where he says we saw somebody trying to cast out a demon and

we try to stop them. I suggest to you that in light

of all the evidence that we have up to this point, that the main

reason why these disciples try to stop this man was because

they were intimidated by him and they were jealous of him.

This man could do something we could not do.

This man was able to accomplish something that we could not

accomplish. So let's try to stop him.

This insecurities bubbling over and now is affecting others.

So let's pause from analyzing this historical moment and look

at our own selves. Can I ask you a question, my

beloved brother and sister? How do you respond to the

success of other Christians around you?

Often times when we hear about our relationship with other

believers and the need to check our hearts, it tends to be

overwhelmingly about the need to reflect in humility in light of

the failures and the mistakes of others.

And that's important. We need to we need to be gentle.

We need to be kind. We can't be puffed up.

But how often do we hear of the need to check our hearts in

light of the inspirationally successful and spiritual people

around us that are very fruitful, that are very loved,

that are very much praised and sought after?

What does our heart feel about those kind of believers?

That's what the Lord is getting at here.

And the disciples need to deal with this very quickly.

Because if we don't deal with this in our own hearts, if we do

struggle with insecurity, if we do struggle with jealousy, if we

begin to see people that God is using amongst us as opponents

rather than partners, you know what that will end up doing.

If it's unhinged, if it's not combated with truth and the

power of the Holy Spirit like the disciples in some way, you

will stop it. It will so irritate you, it will

so eat you up inside that if you're not careful, it will go

from a feeling to actually friction.

And so I don't know how the disciples try to stop this man.

I don't know if they just interrupted the whole thing and

said you got to stop this, You're not part of us.

And down deep inside, the real motive of this correction is

this guy's bothering me because he did something we couldn't do.

You know how people can do this today?

They can do it in many ways. It can be as seemingly innocent

as you and I criticizing a ministry, criticizing a brother,

sister, and the Lord in our own church.

Criticizing them to others as a way of diminishing the

reputation in order for us to look better.

And it can be as aggressive as making moves to disqualify

others from ministry so that I no longer stand in the shadows

and I can now shine so that other people can see what they

fail to see and need in me. And I'm sure that you're aware

that there are many creative ways where we can stop something

or someone that God is blessing because we realize that we are

not the vehicle of blessing that God is using for his glory.

Disciples try to stop this man. What was the real reason?

It's so obvious. They're already dealing with

their own struggle. Who's the best?

And now there's somebody out there that's showing that they

can actually do what they could not do, and it killed them

inside. And Jesus said, don't stop him.

What are you doing? And one of the ways to combat

this, because we are all susceptible, even the greatest

servants of God, the most godly people, can be visited by this

temptation to look at others and to feel threatened by them.

But how do I combat that? How do I deal with that?

How do I rescue myself from envy, determining my behavior

and determining the depths of relationships I could enjoy,

instead severing those relationships?

I think one of the ways to do it is to is to see people the way

Jesus sees people. Look what he says in verse 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. So again the Lord is re

emphasizing and revisiting what he taught.

Before John bring up this scenario and he's saying let me

remind you again of what true greatness is in the Kingdom of

God. But but it's more than that.

I believe the Lord is communicating something even

deeper because he says, for truly, I say to whoever gives

you, whoever gives you disciples a cup of water to drink because

you belong to Christ. Let's just pause there.

I love that phrase. You belong to Christ.

These disciples are so stubborn. They're so slow and learning.

They're so irritable in a sense, just like you and I.

And yet Jesus, even in this moment, says you belong to

Christ. You still belong to me.

You know you're not getting it, but you still belong to me,

loving parents. You know what that feels like

with your children, do you not? You don't abandoned them and

disown them because they're not getting it right away, even

after months or years. Here's the Lord saying

indirectly you belong to me. If you struggle in this area,

realize that God is merciful even to you and gracious towards

you. But he says here, for truly I

say to Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you

belong to Christ will by no means lose His reward.

Hey, you try to stop a man for casting out a demon.

I'm telling you, never mind that extravagant thing that even if

somebody comes and gives you a cold glass of water on a hot

Middle Eastern day, I will see that servant and I will keep in

mind I have to reward him. It shows the absolute value that

Jesus has for all of his servants.

It shows how he views all of his service.

Significant in the human standard.

Insignificant according to human standard.

Casting out demons or giving out glasses of water and cleaning

the tables in the basement after fellowship.

I see them and I will reward them.

Wow. And the impression that's

supposed to make on us is, how am I supposed to comfortably

live with the idea that this servant of God is a threat to me

or my opponent when Jesus values them so much, when he esteems

them so much, when he thinks so highly of them, when he will

reward them? Do you want to know how you can

save yourself from relational pain and allowing your problems

internally because of a lack of approval in your own life and

your own upbringing? Or whatever the case may be?

Ask God. Take the word, staple it over

your eyebrows and may His mercy help you see people the way

Jesus sees people. You know, I read a verse.

I was reading First Corinthians not too long ago, and there was

a verse that stood out to me. And it's it's a it's not even

the full verse. It's the last part of a verse

that changed me. That's what the word of God is

supposed to do, right? It just touched me and

ministered to me. It impacted me on that one

Tuesday afternoon, just opening my Bible on my desk.

Can I share it with you? Turn with me to 1st Corinthians

chapter 811. Here's what Paul is doing.

He's speaking to strong believers and weak believers.

The strong believers are those who understand their freedom in

Christ, and they understand we can go to the market and we can

buy food, that we're dedicated to idols because they're not

really gods and we can eat freely without our conscience

being disturbed. The weak believers are not like

that. You would think that the weak

believers are those who have that freedom and the strong

believers are those who are a little bit more meticulous.

You know, the weak believers, according to Paul, are those who

who see those kind of things, and it bothers them.

How can you be eating that food? It's halal, right?

How can you be doing that? That's dedicated to a false God.

And Paul's, Paul's trying to bring some guidance here, right?

He's trying to give some instruction.

And what he wants to do is he's not coming down hard against the

weak believers. He's speaking to the strong

believers saying, hey, listen, you stronger believers, you have

to understand that though you have these rights, there's a

greater thing than your rights. And that's the law of love.

It's a law of love. And so don't be a stumbling

block for the weak believer. Don't do things in the name of

your right that would cause their conscience to be pricked

and for them to feel disturbed. And he says this phrase again.

Why? To motivate the believers to

live in the law of love, he says.

And so by your knowledge, this weak person is destroyed.

This is the phrase the brother for whom Christ died, the

brother for whom Christ died. That phrase just ministered to

me so deeply. You strong believers understand

something the person that you're dealing with here, no matter

what you feel about them, no matter what your criticism is,

no matter how much they might be infringing on your spiritual

rights, no matter what. I want you to frame how you deal

with them, how you speak to them, how you respond them.

In light of this, Jesus shed his blood for them.

The eternal Son of God came into this world and paid a high price

for that brother. Oh, you might not think highly

of them. Oh, you might be much more prone

and willing to speak down about them.

But understand how Jesus values them.

He bought them. If you really believe that, to

see the great and heavenly value that Jesus places on that weak

believer, yes, they might annoy you.

Yes, they might cause you to be very much willing to vent to

others about how annoying they are.

But be careful. Jesus shed his blood for that

brother. If they truly belong to Christ,

if they truly have conviction, if they have fruit, yes, they

have some weaknesses. Remember this.

Christ bought them. When I saw that, I said Lord,

Amazing. It's amazing what your Holy

Spirit is trying to get in me. To see people the way Jesus sees

them. That will change you.

That will change you if you really believe it.

So Jesus gives warning about how we as believers should serve

with one another. Listen, we are all partners in

this thing, yeah? And from time to time, as we're

doing the work of the Lord, let me give you a heads up.

You might step on somebody's tone.

They might step on yours. Jesus shed his blood for them.

Forgive them. Forgive them.

Love them. Be patient with them.

There is a cross that is stained with royal blood.

And there are hands that were pierced and feet that were

pierced and a side that was pierced for them.

I hope we can see each other this way.

Yeah, I hope. If not, may the Holy Spirit help

us. We are walking in this thing

together, moving forward together, needing one another.

And the and the God of this Bible can so work in you and I

that when somebody graduates, when somebody's promoted with

somebody's praise, when other people praise them, you don't

have to act like Saul. Saul had no problem with David.

I mean, Saul even rejoiced that David killed Goliath.

He loved it. All of Israel loved it.

But according to Saul, Israel loved that a little bit too

much, because the moment that the song started going out, what

did they say? Saul has slaying his thousands,

but David his what, 10s of thousands.

You know your Old Testament. And Saul was bothered by that.

I had no problem people praising David.

But when they start praising David more than me, Oh yeah,

people can love David. People can appreciate David.

But if they love David and appreciate David and talk about

David more than me, now we got a problem.

That's flesh. That's flesh.

That's not Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is.

Look at what God is doing in that person for his glory.

Hallelujah. Do it more, Lord, do it more in

them. And if I can have any part in

it, let me do it as well. But Lord, if you're in your

sovereignty, choosing them, gifting them, opening doors for

them, then I say yes and Amen. That's Holy Spirit warning about

serving how we serve with believers, how we serve God

alongside believers. But now we come to warning about

sinning. Put your seatbelts on verse 42.

Whoever causes now, this is the second.

Whoever. Jesus continuing his thought

here, there's no break of thought.

He's continuing based on this, based on this scenario that John

presents. Whoever causes one of these

little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him

if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he was

thrown into the sea. Now here's what's happening.

In the same way that there is great reward reserved for those

who do acts of service toward other believers, somebody gives

you a cup of glass, a cup of water to another because you

belong to Christ. There's reward for them.

In the same way that there is great reward reserved for those

who serve other believers in like manner, there is also great

punishment reserved for those who sin against other believers.

Jesus, in mentioning the little ones.

He's not speaking about actual small children, Not primarily,

at least. Little children is a picture of

weak, vulnerable, trusting, sometimes newer believers.

This is who Jesus has in mind primarily, and it says here that

to be responsible for intentionally persuading.

Listen to my words very carefully here.

To be responsible for intentionally, intentionally

persuading or causing another to stumble is highly offensive in

the sight of God. So unacceptable is it in the

sight of our holy God that for one to have a selfish or

careless attitude about their sin and its effect on others,

Christ said it would be worse to live in that kind of state and

it would be better for you to actually die a horrific death.

Not my words, The words of the Master, for somebody to cause

one of his children to fall. It's better for you to tie a

giant weight around your neck and to be launched into the

heart of the ocean and to drown very strong language.

And if anybody takes the words of of Jesus seriously at this

point, they would want to know, well, how can I avoid the severe

consequences that the Lord is alluding to?

And that's a right response. And take heart, because the next

few verses will spell out the solution to living free from

this dreadful fate. Here's the summary.

If you and I want to avoid leading others into

unrighteousness, then you first have to eliminate the

unrighteousness in yourself. If we want to be protected from

being the reason why other people sin, then Jesus is about

to explain and you got to deal with the sin in your own life

first. So he gives us very, very common

and familiar passage of strong Radical Exhortation verse 43.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter crippled, then with two hands to

go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to

be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to

sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter

the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown

into hell where the worm does not die and the fire is not

quenched. Your hand, if it causes you to

sin, slice it off your feet, amputate it your eye, pop it

out, let it shrivel up and die. What's Jesus speaking about

here? Self mutilation?

Oh, you have some ancient church people who believe so.

No, Jesus is speaking metaphorically here, of course.

And the metaphor here is to illustrate the intensity and the

drive and the inflamed ambition to go to war with your sin, and

to identify and find the source of any temptation and to kill

it. That's what Jesus is describing

here. And he he takes his time to

actually elaborate on these different body parts.

Why? To communicate that we must look

for all. We must scan every part of our

lives to see What is it that's causing me to sin?

What is it that's pulling me deeper Into Darkness and away

from light? What is that thing?

So here's how you can translate it.

If there's anything that you are doing that's causing you to sin,

cut it off. If there's anywhere that you're

going that's causing you to sin, never go again.

If there's anybody, this is probably the hardest one.

If there's anybody that's constantly alluring you and

tempting you with no sign of a tender heartedness towards your

faith, your God, the truth, sever that relationship.

If there's anything that you're eating, tasting, hearing,

watching, that's entertaining sin in your life, more and more

uproot it, throw it away and never turn back.

This is what Jesus is speaking about.

This is actually the call to discipleship.

And you might want to What does that look like?

What is that actually? How is that lived out?

How do I live like that? And I thought of one example

that came to my mind because I heard it far back.

It was a man who was. I don't know if he was speaking

out of this text, but the idea of what a true disciple looks

like, and he gave this example of his own life where he said

that he hates getting a haircut. I don't know what kind of

experience he had for him to hate getting haircuts, but as an

adult he hates getting haircuts. He he dreads it, he tries to

prolong it as much as possible, and one day he has to go to a

place. And it's not his usual place.

The usual place he went to, it wasn't available.

So he goes to this place and there's this young lady who

offered to cut his hair. And so he's a married man.

He has children, And he got his haircut.

And he enjoyed a lovely conversation with this woman.

And something happened to his heart because when he realized

that he needed to get his hair cut again, he was actually

really excited about it this time, really excited about it

because he thought, you know, I can talk to this woman.

I really enjoyed my conversation with this woman.

So he goes again. And then from there, he

developed this kind of friendly relationship.

But now he's like, looking forward to getting his hair cut.

And he realized something's wrong.

Something's wrong here. I should not be feeling this way

about someone who is not my wife.

So you know what he did? He never got his haircut there

again. He cut it off.

If your hand causes you to sin, you cut it off.

If your foot is causing you to sin, you cut it off.

If your eyes causing you to sin, you pluck it out.

That's just one example of many of what a true disciple does,

and perhaps that was helpful. But maybe what's unclear to you

and I is the caution here about hell.

Hell is mentioned here because having a great millstone tied

around your neck and being thrown into the sea is better

than going to hell. Hell is a real place.

Hell is a dreadful place. Hell is an eternal place.

I know that liberal theologians would have you believe

otherwise. No, no, no.

Hell is real, Heaven is real, and hell is just as real.

God created both and it is a place of unquenchable fire.

It is a place of internal and external torment and is a place

where God will express his eternal wrath and justice

against those who have denied the gospel.

That that's clear. We believe that is a church.

But what again might be unclear is what does the warning about

hell have to do with followers of Jesus Christ who have been

saved by grace? Jesus is speaking to his

disciples, and so some would use this as a proof text to say what

you can lose your salvation. You can lose your salvation.

Moment you lie, your name is erased, the book of life.

And you do better that week, it's written back again.

You get into a little scuffle or you get irritable because you

didn't have breakfast and somebody's taking too long and

you want to go out for lunch and so you throw a little tantrum

and God forbid you get hit by now.

You were saved before that, but now you're not saved.

That's not salvation. That's not the power of the

gospel. Not because I feel something

about that truth. It's because I'm convinced that

the truth says if he saved you, he's keeping you.

What about the verse, though? What about the verse?

There's a warning here. If you don't deal with sin,

you're in danger of Hellfire. And I believe the best way to

explain this is in this following thought.

If someone does not have the radical attitude and approach in

dealing with their sin and the way Jesus just described.

If one is unbothered or unconcerned about leading other

true followers of Christ away from the will of God, if their

sorrow in their disobedience is merely for worldly reasons and

God is not in the equation, then such a person may not be a

believer to begin with. And that person, no matter what

kind of creed they adhere to concerning the person of Jesus

Christ, is in fact in danger of hell.

You know what you learn from this?

One of the strongest marks of a person who is truly born again

of God. One of the strongest marks

according to Jesus standard of the discipleship is this.

That a true follower of Christ is known by how they view and

how they tolerate sin in their daily lives.

That's how you identify a true Christian.

One of the main marks I present to you not what you say merely

about Christ, not how much you like Christian worship music.

No, no. The one of the strongest marks

that you belong to Jesus. Don't tell me about Jesus.

Let's talk about sin. Let's talk about your sin.

Let's talk about sin. How do you feel about sin?

What's your attitude towards sin?

Show me the scars of you going to war with sin.

Because Jesus said if you really belong to me, this is what you

will live like. And yes, we stumble along the

way and yes, we do miss make mistakes.

So if you're hearing this and you said I've made mistakes with

my hands, I've done wrong things with my feet, I have looked at

things that I should not have looked at, that's possible for a

Christian to do. The case that I am making here

is what's your attitude toward it, though?

What does it make you feel? What does it do in here?

That's what makes a difference. And so if you can say with

confidence now I hate my sin. I want to go to war with sin.

Why? Because I love my Lord more than

anything. I want to honor him and worship

him. He saved me.

How can I drink from this cup when he himself drank the cup of

wrath on behalf of my soul? How can I?

And even in those seasons where you might struggle and you feel

weak in your spirit, down deep inside, you know this is not

where I'm supposed to be. A person who's not a Christian

doesn't think like that. A person who's not a Christian

can even hear a message like this.

And you have plans to send this week and nothing is going to

stop you. You have every reason to be

fearful. Because if you don't seek to go

to war with sin that visits you or a limb tries to grow again

and drive you into another direction.

If and you see that you're saying, oh, you're back again,

I'm going to war with you once more until I give my dying

breath. You have every reason to sit

back and tremble right there. The message of hell, Where did

it go? I've had people tell me.

Not too many people, but people still who have told me, you

know. I want to be using hell too much

to motivate people. Hey, hey.

I'm not coming. Do you think?

I just came up here, so you know, I think I'm going to talk.

This is Jesus. This is Jesus.

Clearly, Jesus knows something more than you.

For him to speak about hell as a motivator, to pursue salvation

and to pursue holiness in Christ.

Who? What did Jesus save you and I

from? A lonely life.

A prosperous life as a result of your salvation.

A disease free life. What did Jesus?

Jesus saved you from hell. He saved you from hell.

People will be going to hell if they don't repent and believe

so. I have every right.

I know we like to put hell in the peripheral of our thinking.

And like, yeah, we're orthodox Christians, so we have to

mention it. No, no, I like to think about it

because I know Jesus saved me from it.

I'm delivered for I have all the more reason not to rejoice.

He saved me from my sin. He did save me from a lonely

life. He did save me from a life

that's void of purpose. He did.

But he also saved me from eternal punishment.

And I'll put an extra note to your singing, extra strength in

your voice. I'm safe from wrath.

I'm safe from separation from God's glorious and loving

presence. So Jesus says here this is what

a true disciple looks like. And then he concludes something

with something quite interesting, one that has caused

much of debate in terms of interpretation.

Look at verse 49 for everyone will be salted with fire.

Now if you have the King James, the new King James, it would

read with an addition that yes, everyone will be salted with

fire, but that that there will also be a seasoning of salt on

sacrifices. Something along those lines.

And the reason why the ESV and the NASB omit that phrase

whereas the King James and the new King James includes it, is

because those two word for word translations, right?

People ask what's the best translations get the translation

that seeks to translate the closest thing to the original

language. You have word and paraphrase,

translations, NIVNLT, and then there are word for word

translations, ESVNASV, King James, New King James.

And why am I doing this? Because the ESV and the NASB,

they're getting their source of manuscriptal evidence and

translation from a different family of manuscripts, some that

are much older than the ones that the King James and the new

King James derived from two different families of

manuscripts. Well, do we have contradictions

here? No, just slight variations of

certain verses, including this one.

Nothing that will deal with doctrinal major foundational

truths. I argue that even if you have

the ESV, which we preach from, you can still come out with the

same understanding that you would if you have the King James

of the new King James. What does Jesus mean when he

says for everyone will be salted with fire?

Well, let's deal with the context.

Up to this point, he's been talking about hell with

unquenchable fire, eternal fire. So the fire he's speaking about

here cannot be disassociated with the judgment.

OK, that's clear. So is Jesus saying everybody is

going to hell for everyone will be salted with fire.

Well, can't mean that. Then we're all in trouble.

Let's pack up and go home. What helps is verse 50 where he

says salt is good, salt is good. But if the salt has lost its

saltiness, how will you make it salty again?

Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.

So the salted with fire here in verse 49 does mean everyone will

be salted with fire. But with what kind of fire?

There is a fire of unquenchable eternal judgment.

But clearly in Jesus. Next thought.

Next point in describing the quality of life of believers.

There is a salting with fire. Listen very carefully.

That is purging and purifying. It's a purging and purifying

fire that as a result of that work creates in you a new inner

and even outer substance. So there's no neutrality, right?

Everyone is going to be salted with fire in the same way that

there's no neutrality in where you stand with Jesus Christ.

Let me remind you here, verse 40.

Go back to verse 40 quickly. For the one who is not against

us is for us. No middle, huh?

No. Yeah.

Jesus is a nice guy. OK?

Is he Lord? No, He's.

No, no, no, you're you're against him.

Oh, Jesus is a prophet. But Jesus is a good teacher.

OK? Are you for him or are you

against him? There's nothing in between.

There's no third option. There's no neutrality with the

person of Christ. I'm either on his side or I'm

against him. No matter how nice you are about

him, he has determined the standard of which you are for

him, and anything outside of that standard, you're against

him automatically. None.

My rules, The rules of the perfect Lord.

Everyone will be salted with fire.

Everyone. Everyone.

And the one will be salted with eternal fire for the rejection

of Christ. The other is for those who have

received Christ and their inheritance.

Is that the Holy Spirit does a burning work in you.

He melts and molds and cleanses and purifies.

And the result of that burning work is that you become

something else. And one of the things that you

and I are is salt. Salt.

He continues this metaphor with salt.

Salt is good. But if the salt has lost its

saltiness. Jesus taught about you and I in

the Sermon on the Mount. We know it.

We have teachers about it, we've memorized it.

It's second nature, almost, or true nature.

You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.

Salt light. Same idea.

Are you speaking about believers?

Being salt. But as much as you and I inherit

this life of being salt in the world, which means that there's

a preventative power, there's a healing power, There's a

flavoring power, there's a responsibility on our end.

Yes, we received that because he has salted us.

But we have a responsibility because, look what he says.

If the salt has lost its saltiness, it's possible for me

as a believer to lose those properties, those heavenly

properties that make me who I am as a Christian.

Then he goes on to say, have salt in yourselves.

So are you commanding me to do something that's outside of my

power? By the grace of God, he helps

you. But I have a conscious decision

to make. As a believer, I am to be a

salty person. Not in the negative sense.

I am to be a salty person. So you've heard it, Christians.

I'm ending here. You've heard it your whole life.

If you've been a believer your whole life, you are the salt of

the earth. You're the light of the world.

And we, we know the the interesting studies about here's

what salt does, naturally speaking, here's what light

does. And then we parallel that with

spiritual truth. Wonderful, but have you ever

asked a question? But what does it actually mean

to be solved? I know what Real Salt does, and

you can make clever points of what that translate into

spiritually, as Christians we heal the world.

As Christians we prevent the world from erosion as that's.

But what does it look like? Like how has it lived out?

Have you ever thought what Jesus is about to say?

Because Jesus here explains one of the qualifiers, one of the

realities of what it means to be solved.

Have it? Has it ever come to your mind

and your interpretation of what it means to be the salt of the

earth? You ready for this?

Have salt in yourselves and be at peace?

Be at peace with one another? What does it mean to be salt?

Be holy? You don't swear.

You don't do this. That's what it means to be salt.

Being salt means many things. You know what Jesus has in mind

in describing what it means to be salt?

Out of all the things he could have said, being at peace with

one another, what makes Christians salt?

How we deal with one another. That's that's what makes the

world say, wow, there's flavor here.

Wow, there's healing here. Wow.

There's preservation here. Wow.

There's something different here.

How is it measured? Being at peace with one another?

So we have a full circle here, do we not?

You have the disciples fighting one another.

And there's another. Guy's like let's get him.

Hey, you cast a demon. We couldn't.

But you know what? You're not part of us.

That's the reason why you can't do ministry.

And Jesus brings into full circle.

Hey, disciples, you've been called to be salt.

You want to know how you're going to be effective as salt.

Get along. Get along now.

Here's we can go into the next hour which I will not do to you

to talk about what it means and how it is that we can be at

peace with one another. Look at us here.

I mean, I rejoice every time I come here.

Every single time. The different faces, the

different colors of skin, the different backgrounds, the

different ages. It's amazing here.

This is really a miracle. How is it that we can gather

here with all the variety and get along?

Because we're here under the banner of the Lord Jesus Christ

that's why. But let's get practical here,

because even people under the banner of what do they do?

They step on each other's toes and they're intimidated by one

another and oh, you're doing this.

And I know. Let's turn to James.

In closing, I'll give you a summation of how we can know

perpetual peace. And as a result of perpetual

peace, we can know saltiness and true witness in this very

depraved age. James and James Chapter 3 and

James 3 · chapter mention

this has come up recently in our Bible study.

That's why I opened up with how I opened up, because this will

be very familiar to those who attend on Fridays.

I brought this up recently and perhaps the Lord wants us to

hear it again. Look here at verse 17.

But the wisdom from above is first what word do you see?

Pure. Pure is first pure, then.

Now look what happens as a result of purity.

The next thing following pure is then what?

Peaceable. Peaceable.

So James is describing the fruit of heavenly wisdom.

And the first thing that he says is that heavenly wisdom will

produce in you as a believer, Purity, purity.

And then following purity. Notice what he says.

Peaceable. It's peaceable.

Not just internal peace, but relational peace.

You ready for this? How can I know?

Peace? Please pay attention, please.

How can I know peace in my marriage?

How can I know peace in my friendships?

How can I know peace with my relatives?

How can I know peace in my church, in the ministries that

are part of, in my church, with the church as all?

How, how, how, how, How? You need purity.

You need purity. You can't have peace unless

there's purity. So what do you mean purity?

Like sexual purity, modesty, honesty, the purity that James

has in mind is the opposite of what he describes in verse 16.

Look at verse 16 for where jealousy and selfish ambition

exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice that's

the opposite of peace. So the purity that James has in

mind is that which is in us, that is void of jealousy and

selfish ambition. That's what purity is according

to James in this context. So how can I know peace in my

marriage? How can I know peace in my

church? How can I know peace in my

business partnerships? How can I know peace?

How can I know peace? Well, all the parties involved

have to be free from jealousy and selfish ambition.

You have to be free from that. It's an attitude thing.

It's an outlook thing. It's a thing just like the

disciples who are what? Struggling with the very things

James is talking about, selfish ambition and jealousy and Jesus.

Like, hey, you're supposed to be at peace with one another.

That's what makes you salt in the earth.

And you know how that peace is achieved.

You got to get that thing out of you.

You got to be cleansed from this ambition.

Self seeking, self exalting, self praising, self loving

attitude that has to die and listen when that dies.

When we crucify that in our own hearts, day by day, day by day,

by the power of the Holy Spirit, you know what we receive as a

result. The reward of that peace.

Peace. You want to talk about church

split? You want to talk about church

friction? A lot of the times it's not

because of doctrinal issues. Those are legitimate reasons to

have confrontation. Most of it is about selfish

reasons, personal preferences, issues about this and that.

You did this, you did that, and things are destroyed.

There's no peace. I'll tell you why there's no

peace because there's no purity. And you know what the beauty

about this wisdom is that James talks about, that results in

purity, that results in peace and gentleness, and open to

reasons full of mercy. When you go back to verse five

of chapter one, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God.

Lord, I'm honest enough to say before you that as a servant of

yours, I have not taken heed about your warning of how I

should serve and serve with other believers.

It's because I have these issues.

Can you give me this wisdom that gives me this purity, that gives

me this peace? That's what this is all about.

These disciples who wanted to be effective and wanted to be great

would not be able to go very far because they didn't have salt in

themselves. And why didn't they have salt?

Because they didn't have peace. And why didn't they have peace?

Because they lacked purity. This can save your marriage.

This can save your marriage. Both parties need to be pure,

free from jealousy, free from selfish ambition.

This can save your friendships. This is why is there always

tension and drama in your friendships.

Probably because there's lack of purity in it somewhere.

At one party or both not being pure.

Same with the church. May God preserve us.

May God cleanse us. May God heal us.

Do you receive like this? Listen, don't get down.

Be excited. Wow, peace is possible, but it

can only come from purity. Can we ask God for this purity

in our ministries? And again, our marriages and our

friendships and our businesses? Lord, please.

We've heard your warning about serving and about sinning.

And if you're in this place and you don't have the strong

confidence that yes, I have this radical attitude toward my sin,

I hate my sin. I loathe my disobedience.

Then ask the Lord to change your heart.

Ask the Lord to open your eyes. Ask the Lord to see how

beautiful and awesome He is. That would make everything else

seem so disgusting and evil in light of His Majesty.

Father, as a church, we've heard your word, and we sincerely pray

right now, no matter how tired or hungry we might be.

In this moment, we give you our reverence and prayer, and we

ask, Lord, help us be salt, Strengthen the purity of this

Church. Help us be at peace with one

another. Help us.

Never forget that the way to peace is purity, and the way to

that purity is you depositing a way of thinking known as wisdom.

Lord, we rejoice in you and we want to be more like you.

And that's our request and praying.

Change us deeply. Do surgery in US whatever needs

to happen for us to be more like your son.

We thank you, Lord, for this time as a family.

We give you glory and thanks in Jesus name.

Amen. Amen.

Church, let's stand. Let's worship this God.

And if you need to even pray, say, Lord, I heard you, I want

to be more like you. Please do that work.

And I want to leave here different.

He's here. He hears us.

He's a good God. You belong to Christ.

You belong to Him. He doesn't give up on us in our

weakness. He keeps us and perfects his

work in US.