A few weeks ago another pastor told me, "Dan, things are not going the best at my church. It seems there is always controversy and division over something or someone. But, I guess church fights are normal. From what I understand, it is unusual for a congregation to go more than two years without a significant church-wide conflict." I left that meeting with two thoughts in my mind. #1) I was very grateful. It has been over five years since I became the pastor of this church, and if we have had any significant church-wide conflicts during this time, I must have slept through them. Oh, there have been things about which we have had different opinions and there are times when we rub each other the wrong way, but overall, we've enjoyed a marvelous spirit of unity within this church during the past five years. That has been true, even though there have been significant changes and numerical growth during this time. In act, as it has probably been over twelve years since there has been any major conflict in this church, it is indeed something for which to be grateful.
The second thought I had made me a bit uneasy. Is the unity and freedom from strife we enjoy a gift of God, or does it exist because we are doing something wrong? Am I as a pastor and you as a congregation making compromises we should not make just because we are afraid of causing conflict? Do we sometimes shade the truth and not really say what we believe simply because we don't want to offend someone? Should we be more willing to confront each other sometimes, rather than maybe pretending things are just fine? In other words, are we full of the Holy Spirit, or are we just overflowing with "Minnesota niceness?" Yes, I was grateful that this church has so little conflict, but wondering if that is totally a good thing. When I read our text for this week, my perspective changed a bit. Jesus tells us that "every house divided against itself will not stand," and I realized that is true for this church. Oh, I still think we are probably too motivated by "Minnesota niceness" sometimes, but the Lord reminded me in a fresh way how important unity is to the church of Jesus Christ. If we fail to recognize that we are on the same side, that another believer in Jesus is never the enemy, then we have fallen into one of Satan's most effective traps. A true unity in the Lord is something we must never take for granted, and something for which we ought always to pray and work.
As we continue our journey through the Gospel of Matthew, we come to Matthew 12:22-30. Let's pray that the Lord would today help us understand in a fresh way what it means to be truly united for His glory as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.
Let's start by walking through our text. Matthew records for us another conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees, the religious leaders of His day. It starts when Jesus casts out a demon. Matthew 12:22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. Now, maybe you are the type of person who doesn't believe there are such things as demons. But remember, the Bible clearly teaches there are, and I think contemporary experience confirms this is the case. This certainly doesn't mean that everyone who has a problem of some type is struggling with a demon, but at times a demon can take possession of a human being. After Jesus had healed this man, 12:23 says All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" Or could this be the Messiah? The people are still skeptical, but they are starting to wonder. Matthew's whole Gospel is written to persuade us the answer to that question is "Yes" Jesus is the Messiah.
The Pharisees then make a very serious charge. 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons." Beelzebub is another term for Satan, and the Pharisees claim the only reason Jesus can command demons is because He is empowered by Satan himself. People who feel threatened sometimes say ridiculous things. I think of the woman who was running for the state senate in Florida this year who claimed her opponent on the ballot was really dead, and that the man campaigning against her was an imposter. She did not win on Tuesday. Maybe next time she'll try running for office in Minnesota. (Just kidding.)
Matthew then gives us Jesus' response. He begins by refuting the Pharisees' ridiculous charge with two points. First He says, 12:25b,26 "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?" His analogy is clear. Internal conflict destroys kingdoms, cities and households. It would be suicidal for Satan to give Jesus the power to cast out demons. It is ridiculous to claim Jesus is on Satan's side when he is clearly working against Him. Secondly, Jesus says, 12:27 "And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges." Again the logic is clear. Exorcism of demons was something the Pharisees accepted as a valid ministry when one of their group did it. How can they condemn Jesus for doing something for which they would applaud others? It is a bizarre double standard. Then Jesus adds, 12:28a "But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God,..." Not the spirit of Beelzebub. 12:28b "...then the kingdom of God has come upon you." When Jesus drove out demons, He did so without the magical rituals of the other exorcists. Instead, He did it with raw authority, commanding demons to do as He willed. This is further proof that He is indeed God's chosen Messiah.
Jesus continues His response with another analogy. 12:29 "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house." The Lord is not giving us a lesson on how to rob someone's house, but this verse speaks of Jesus' very direct attack upon Satan's kingdom. There are many human beings in captivity because they are being influenced and/or deceived by the forces of evil. Jesus drives out demons in order to free people from the lies, emptiness, fear, and hopelessness which characterizes the kingdom of darkness. Despite the Pharisees' blasphemous accusation, it is clear which side Jesus is on. He is for good and against evil. He is on God's side and opposed to all that stands against God. Then Jesus concludes by reminding us that neutrality in this great battle is impossible. 12:30 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters." In World War II, Sweden and Switzerland tried to remain neutral in the battle between the Nazis and Allies. It may have been a noble goal, but in reality their refusal to oppose Hitler and the Third Reich meant they ended up giving aid and comfort to one of the most evil regimes in human history. Without Swiss banks, for example, Germany would have had a much more difficult time financing their war effort. To not be for the Allied cause really meant these "neutral" countries were working against them. In the same way, the Pharisees' failure to embrace Jesus as the Messiah means they are really working against Him, and are not on God's side, but on Satan's. It is not possible to be neutral about Jesus. That is true not just in the 1st Century, but in every age, including our own. If we fail to embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are on the opposite side of God, giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
Now, there are a number of interesting things we learn from this text. Matthew's main point is to convince his readers that Jesus is truly the Messiah, despite any argument to the contrary some might make. The passage also gives important insights into the great spiritual battle between the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and the forces of darkness. But, this morning I want to focus on the lessons for us today about church unity which flow out of Verse 12:25b "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand." This is the verse Abraham Lincoln quoted in a speech in 1858 when he was running for the U. S. Senate against Stephen Douglas. It is one of the most famous speeches in American history. As a boy, I knew Lincoln said those words before I knew Jesus had. Though he was not a Bible scholar, I think Lincoln correctly understood two princples of what Jesus said which are very important for Christians today.
#1) True unity requires agreement on essential truth. In his speech, Lincoln was talking about slavery. Listen to what he said: "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe the government cannot endure permanently, half slave and half free. I don't expect the Union to be dissolved, I don't expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other." Now, I don't know how much American History you remember, but Lincoln gave this speech less than three years before the Civil War started. At the time he spoke, 1858, slavery was legal in the southern states, and outlawed in the north. Lincoln said that is not going to last. Either slavery will one day be banned everywhere, or it will be permitted everywhere. Of course, within five years President Abraham Lincoln would abolish slavery throughout the United States with his Emancipation Proclamation. There could be no true unity in our nation as long as there was disagreement over such an important issue as slavery.
In a similar way, unity in the church requires agreement about Jesus Christ. That is really the point of what the Lord says in Verse 30, "He who is not with me is against me." Either Jesus is the Messiah or He is not. Either Jesus is the eternal Son of God who has died on the cross and rose from the dead to be our Savior, or He is not. There can be no true unity when there is disagreement about Jesus Christ. Some folks have a vision of unity where everyone pushes their beliefs under their rug, holds hands, and sings, "Kum Ba Ya" or "We Are the World." Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, New Agers, atheists, it doesn't matter, we are all one big family. Wrong, that doesn't work. True unity is rooted in a common belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Now, that doesn't mean we can be rude to people of other religions. Because all human beings are made in the image of God, we should treat everyone with love and respect. But, we must not pretend we are all on the same side. As Jesus said, "He who is not with me is against me." All true Christians are on the same side, against the rest of the world.
Now, of course, just wearing the label "Christian" is not an adequate basis for unity. There are quite a few folks who insist on calling themselves Christians, but who really are not believers in or followers of Jesus. Remember you can go to church, be a nice person, get baptized, recite the Apostles' Creed, or sing praise songs with great enthusiasm, and still not be a Christian. A genuine Christian is someone who has stopped trusting in himself, has stopped thinking he is good enough the way he is, and has put his/her trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If we have not done that, we are not Christians, we are not on the same side as Jesus Christ, and we are not on the same side as those who are believers in Christ. The practice in this church, and many others, is that everybody, no matter what they believe, is welcome to attend our worship services. But, only those who claim to have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, are invited to become members of this church. We are convinced that a common faith in Jesus Christ is the only basis for true unity.
A belief in the authority of God's Word, the Bible, is another essential truth which is a foundation of unity in the church. Yesterday there was a letter to the editor in the Duluth paper written by a supposedly Christian pastor. He accused all of us who believe that homosexual actions are sinful, of being hateful people who are in some way partly responsible for the cruel beating and death of Matthew Shepard, the college student in Wyoming who was a homosexual. As I read the letter, I thought: "Are this pastor and I on the same side?" I don't think so. He obviously doesn't accept the authority of Scripture, which any objective scholar would concede teaches that it is sin to be involved in homosexual behavior. Without agreement that the Bible is our common authority, there is no basis for unity in the church. Everyone would then be playing by different sets of rules. It would be like having a football game where some of the players are playing two-hand touch, while others are playing tackle. Without allowing the Bible to serve as guide and authority as to what we are to believe and how we are to live, we will never experience harmony. The house will remain divided, because true unity requires agreement on essential truth.
#2) The principle which Lincoln clearly understood was that a lack of unity is a big deal. Whether we are talking about a nation or a church, conflict and division tend to be very destructive. Strife and division should not be a normal part of church life. It is not OK for a church to be a battle zone. Instead, love and grace should characterize the Christian church. Sure, there will be times when we disagree with each other. Of course, there will be times when our words or actions irritate or hurt someone else. But, our disagreements should not turn into battles where we hurl verbal or physical spears at each other. The church should be a place where we handle our differences in a spirit of love. As we said last week, there are times when we need to be very firm as we confront another Christian about wrong beliefs or sinful actions in his or her life. But, as Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:24-26, confrontation needs to be done gently.
Now frankly, church battles which occur today are often over non-essential issues. Doctrinal error or immoral actions usually have little to do with the fights. There is a church in Tennessee called "Left Foot Baptist Church." It got its name a number of years ago when the Baptist church in that town split after a conflict. The congregation practiced footwashing, which meant that following Jesus' example, they would wash each others' feet during the worship service. A controversy rose over whether the right foot or the left foot should be washed first when washing someone's feet. Those who thought the left foot should be first eventually left the church and formed their own congregation which became "Left Foot Baptist Church." Is this the type of issue which should divide a church? Of course not! But, are the conflicts which divide so many churches today any more valid? I wonder. Today there are battles going on in churches over whether people should stand up or sit down when the Doxology is sung. One survey reported that the most common issues of conflict in churches today are what style of music should be used in worship service, whether leaders of the congregation should be called elders or deacons, and whether the people should sit in pews or chairs on Sunday mornings. Excuse me, but those don't seem like questions upon which the Christian faith stands or falls. When it comes to issues like this, there is nothing wrong with having opinions and expressing them, but these are not the things for which we should be ready to go into battle.
Because when we do, it creates a lack of unity which prevents the church from doing what God has called us to do. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, the church is a body with many parts, each one being important. When we work together, we are able to encourage each other and accomplish what the Lord desires us to do. When we work against each other, when we bicker, and argue, and fight, and divide, we neglect to do what we are supposed to be doing. In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy demands that Linus change TV channels and then threatens him with her fist if he doesn't. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they are nothing, but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold." "What channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?"
Friends, can we get organized like that? Are we committed to unity in Jesus Christ? We live in a very troubled time. More and more people are expressing a real antagonism toward Christianity. Many Christians feel discouraged and overwhelmed. We need to encourage and support each other. People who are not believers are confused. They lack a sense of moral direction and purpose in life, and they have no hope. Many are afraid of what the future will bring. Many should be because, without Jesus Christ, they are headed for eternity where they will experience God's wrath and punishment. People desperately need the truth, love and hope the church of Jesus Christ has to offer. God has called us to be salt and light in the midst of a dark world, but too often we are so consumed with our conflicts, we don't have time to do that. I have mentioned before that when a group of thoroughbred horses face attack, they stand in a circle facing each other, and with their back legs kick out at the enemy. Donkeys do just the opposite; they face the enemy and kick each other. So often we act like donkeys in the church. We ignore the real enemy and attack fellow believers. That is wrong. A house or a church divided against itself will not stand. We need to remember whose side we are on and join together in striving, by God's grace, to make a difference for His glory!
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