Friday, June 13, 2014
Matthew 12:30 He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.
TAKING SIDES
I don't really follow professional basketball. I didn't even realize the playoffs were on until the other day. So while the fans of the teams involved will be excited and eagerly watch the finals, I won't. While the winners will be elated and the losers disappointed, I won't be affected. I'm not involved one way or the other. It's a neutral issue to me.
Has anyone ever told you, "I'm not religious. I don't take sides." The thought is that a person can be neutral toward God. Rather than deciding that Christianity is true and Islam is false, or that there is no God and therefore they are on the side of atheism, people believe they can choose not to get involved and therefore be unaffected.
It doesn't work. No one is neutral toward Christ. Jesus says, "Whoever is not with me is against me" (Matthew 12:30). Those who believe they are not taking sides are actually opposing Christ, since they do not believe in Him. Jesus came into the world on the side of everyone. He fulfilled the demands of the Law for every sinner. He hung on the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, and His resurrection means that the whole world is justified before God. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Forgiveness and eternal life are a free gift to all. By God's grace, through the preaching and hearing of the Word, may many more believe and be on the Savior's side.
