40 minutes in the wilderness....

This morning I was trying to think out the perplexing mix of ideas floating around in the church today. Along the way I ran into these passages among others.



Mark 9:38-41

Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us [38 ] 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.” [39 ] 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. [40 ] For the one who is not against us is for us. [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. (Mark 9:38-41 ESV)

It's interesting Jesus says whoever gives you a cup of water to drink, not whoever you give a cup of water to drink. The blessing comes to those who welcome someone "who belongs to Christ".

By this I don't mean to imply there is anything wrong with giving a cup of water or food to someone outside the body of Christ. I think the focus is on those who don't welcome you because you belong to Christ.

Matthew 10:14 ; Mark 6:11 ; Luke 9:5; Luke 10:11 Say much the same thing.

Back to the main point of the passage the ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) has the following commentary:

Mark 9:40 the one who is not against us is for us. Paul makes a similar argument in Phil. 1:17–18. The disciples are to focus on their task and leave the rest up to God, not being quick to criticize others who also follow Christ but who do not belong to their group. (Such generous acceptance, however, does not apply to those who do not follow Christ at all; see Matt. 12:30.)

Mark 9:41 will by no means lose his reward. God notices the smallest of deeds, and the giving of water to those who proclaim the gospel will be rewarded by God himself.

I put the longer passage in so you can get the context. Just mouse over it and click more:

Phil 1:9-30

The is a tough message embedded in this passage....

[20 ] as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. [21 ] For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ..... [27 ] Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, [28 ] and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. [29 ] For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, [30 ] engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Rom 1:16-17 comes to mind...

The study note also then leads you to:

Matt 12:30-32

On the surface it seems to say something different: Matt 12:30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

vs.

Mark 9:40 For the one who is not against us is for us.

But if you spend time reading the context you can resolve it.

Finally, this last passage it will lead you deeper into the following aspect of salvation...again from the ESBSB

Matt. 12:31–32 blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. The sin is attributing to Satan what is accomplished by the power of God, and doing this through the flagrant, willful, and persistent rejection of God and his commands. This sin is committed today only by unbelievers who deliberately and unchangeably reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit in calling them to salvation. (See further the extended note on Luke 12:10.)

And the Luke 12:10 note adds:

Speaks a word against … will be forgiven versus blasphemes against … will not be forgiven. Jesus closes this occasion of teaching his disciples (v. 1) with one of the most enigmatic, debated, and misunderstood sayings of his ministry. Key to understanding this passage is the distinction Jesus makes between, on one hand, the extreme case of blasphemy against “the Holy Spirit” and, on the other hand, the lesser case of speaking in an dishonorable way against “the Son of Man.” One who asks to be forgiven for disrespectful words hastily spoken against Jesus (the Son of Man) will be forgiven. (Note, e.g., Peter's rejection of Jesus [see 22:54–62] and his subsequent restoration [John 21:15–19].) But blasphemy against the Holy Spirit—that is, the persistent and unrepentant resistance against the work of the Holy Spirit and his message concerning Jesus (cf. Acts 7:51)—this, Jesus says, will not be forgiven. The person who persists in hardening his heart against God, against the work of the Holy Spirit, and against the provision of Christ as Savior, is outside the reach of God's provision for forgiveness and salvation. Christians often worry that they have committed this sin, but such a concern is itself evidence of an openness to the work of the Spirit (see also notes on Matt. 12:31–32 and Mark 3:29).