(Luke 9:46-56 NASB) And an argument arose among them as to which of them might be the greatest. {47} But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, {48} and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for he who is least among you, this is the one who is great." This is the text we dealt with when we last came to Luke's Gospel. That lesson had a four part title, "You Must Be Born Again", Upside Down and Backwards", Be Careful How You Treat God's Children" and "He'll Not Lose Even One". A brief review of the first three sections of that sermon will bring us directly to our text for today.
The title, "YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN" came from Jesus' declaration in Matthew 18:3 that unless you are CONVERTED AND BECOME like a child you cannot enter the Kingdom of God. In other words A PERSON MUST BE BORN AGAIN TO GO TO HEAVEN. The saved have become something they were not before, new creatures in Christ Jesus. They have, by the working of the Spirit, become childlike. I mean they have been made to know their own personal weakness and sin. They understand their total dependence on God the Father through faith in Christ for salvation. This person no longer strives for greatness for his heart has been turned away from temporal things. Rather, he or she has come to rest in his Fathers lap, as it were, willing, by grace, to do His bidding while depending on grace and mercy for everything pertaining to life and godliness. The Christian is a totally dependant child and is happy to be so.
Secondly, we learned that it is the childlike person who will be great in the Kingdom or God. Not the proud, the powerful, or the self promoting but the humble and the personally weak. This person will be exalted and used in the Kingdom of God. God's ways are "UPSIDE DOWN AND BACKWARDS" when compared to the worlds.
Then third we spoke of Christ's warning to "BE CAREFUL HOW YOU TREAT GOD'S CHILDREN." In Matthew 18:6 Jesus said, "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea. {7} WOE to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but WOE to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!" This text goes on to speak of self mutilation being a better option than causing one of God's children to sin against their conscience or the revealed word of God. "Be careful How you Treat God's Children". This warning, I believe, reminded John of something he and the others had done and it alarmed him. Had they been guilty of what Christ had just warned them about? Had they been guilty of not receiving one of Christ's "Little Ones?" John's response to Christ's words is found in Luke 9:49 which is our text for this morning.
"And John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons IN YOUR NAME; and we tried to hinder him BECAUSE HE DOES NOT FOLLOW ALONG WITH US." {50} But Jesus said to him, "DO NOT HINDER HIM; FOR HE WHO IS NOT AGAINST YOU IS FOR YOU."
John and the others had encountered an Exorcist, a man who was actually casting out demons in Jesus name. This reminds us of the Seven Sons of Sceva who tried to cast out Demons in Jesus name but got the surprise of their lives. Look with me to Acts 19:13-16.
(Acts 19:13-16 NASB) But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, ATTEMPTED to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches." {14} And seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. {15} And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I RECOGNIZE JESUS, AND I KNOW ABOUT PAUL, BUT WHO ARE YOU?" {16} And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Now what was the difference between these seven men and the one in our text for today. The difference was conversion. The man John encountered was saved by faith in Jesus while the seven in this passage were not. The seven were USING JESUS' NAME as a tool or a magic incantation. The man in our text was actually accomplishing exorcisms IN the name of Jesus. Let me try to explain the difference.
One can take Jesus' name to his lips physically and speak it, for instance, at the close of a prayer and yet not pray in Jesus name. One can come into the church and use Jesus' name in hymns, conversations, recitations and prayers and still go away having done nothing in Jesus name. Much of what we see on so called Christian television is done "In Jesus Name", so they say. But in reality it is not true. For what they do and say is not true to the Scriptures and therefore does not honor God or His Christ.
First, to do something in Jesus' name one must have been saved, born again. In addition one must have the Honor, Glory and praise of God the Father, Son and God the Holy Spirit as his goal or he has done nothing in Jesus' name. To do anything in Jesus' name is to do it for the same reasons and to the same end that Jesus would do it. He did all things to the glory of God the Father. His meat and drink was to do the will of God. This is what He lived and died for. This is what it means to do something in Jesus' Name. To say you are doing, praying, speaking in Jesus name is to declare that you stand in His place doing what He would do, saying what He would say, praying what He would pray all with the same motivation Christ had, the glory of God.
The seven sons of Sceva, thought, as many do today, that religion was a formula of some kind, something that could be adopted and practiced by anyone who would use the right words or do the right things. They discovered differently. They had no power over or protection from the forces of evil, because they were not the children of God by faith in Jesus. True religion and the power that accompanies it begins on the inside and then begins to express itself on the outside.
The man encountered by John and the rest of the Apostles was the real thing. He was a true believer. He was converted. He had faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah if not knowledge of His having arrived personally. Based upon his faith in Jesus and with God's glory in mind he was actively seeking the destruction of Satan's kingdom and the establishment of God's. However, it seems he had no knowledge of the Apostles and did not follow them or practice his faith exactly like they did. Or, maybe he did know about them and simply chose to go his own way, a different, but acceptable way as he followed, served Jesus, and worked in His Name.
Note the reason John gives for trying to stop this man from casting out demons in Jesus name. "We tried to hinder, (stop), him BECAUSE he does not follow along with us." Apparently the attempt did not work, the man kept right on working for Jesus as he saw fit. He obviously believed that WHAT he was doing and the WAY he was doing it was right, good and pleasing to God. And Jesus declared, indeed commanded, "DO NOT HINDER HIM FOR HE WHO IS NOT AGAINST YOU IS FOR YOU."
There is a similar incident recorded for our instruction in the Old Testament. I do not have time to fill you in on the context. You can read that on your own. What I want you to notice is Moses reaction to those who asked him to stop two men who were not doing things like they were usually done.
(Numbers 11:23-29 NASB) And the LORD said to Moses, "Is the LORD'S power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not." {24} So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent. {25} Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And it came about that when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again. {26} But TWO MEN had remained in the camp; the name of one was ELDAD and the name of the other MEDAD. And the Spirit (who goes where it wants to and none can predict or restrain it) rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied IN THE CAMP. (Instead of at the tent like the rest.) {27} So a young man ran and told Moses and said, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying IN THE CAMP. (That is, they are not here like the rest but over there. They should be here with the rest of us if they are going to prophesy.) " {28} Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, answered and said, "Moses, my lord, RESTRAIN them." (Make them stop!) {29} But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD'S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!" Moses said, in essence, the same thing Jesus said, "Do not hinder them for he who is not against you is for you."
Jesus did not counsel the Apostles to go and do what this man was doing in the same way he was doing it. Nor did He instruct them to insist that this man conform to the ways and practices of the Apostles. Rather, He said, leave him alone, he is working for Me. He is not My enemy, therefore, he is not your enemy just because he marches to the beat of a different drummer in things not essential to salvation. Things not clearly revealed, not laid out in detail in specific detail.
So, what's the point? What does any of this have to do with us?
The lesson Jesus teaches us has to do with receiving all of God's Saved Children as Brothers and Sisters in Christ. It is a warning against thinking ourselves exclusive. It is warning against getting it in your head that your denomination or your individual church is so right in everything that any one who deviates from your chosen path can't possible be saved. It is a lesson that calls upon us to be tolerant of other Christian people, and Denominations that are truly Christian but do not follow along with us in everything. Christ does not demand we conform to one another in these things but that we do not despise each other or hinder the work of true Christians.
We've already established that this man was a Christian. What does that mean? It means that he was born again by the grace and mercy of God through faith alone in Jesus Christ. It means he had been convicted of his sins against God and had cried out for forgiveness and salvation through Christ. That makes him my Brother no matter what Denomination he is involved with. Then the text takes us to a consideration of his work for the Kingdom of God. We are told that he cast out demons in Jesus Name. I won't go into a new explanation of what that means. Suffice it to say he lived out and practiced his faith with the glory of God in his eye. But he did not live out and practice his faith exactly like the Apostles did.
Did he worship? I have no doubt that he did but he did not worship in the same place the Apostles worshiped. Yet, Christ says don't get in his way, he is your ally simply because he is not your enemy. He is working for Me in his own way therefore, he is your helper and friend. Maybe the Apostles were Baptists and this man was a Presbyterian. Maybe this man still held to Old Testament ideas concerning the Sabbath while the Apostles were free in their hearts to play softball on Sunday afternoon.
If you were to go to each ones respective worship services you would likely find major differences in the way the service is conducted. In one place you might find a very lighthearted and casual atmosphere and in the other a very formal reverent and quite one. Our Brother Vater from Puerto Rico was offended during his visit here by the casual atmosphere and women in shorts. Yet, he looks upon as Brothers and Sisters engaged in the same work. In one church the songs they sing are from the Psalter exclusively while in another they use an overhead projector and just sing choruses, theologically correct in the wording, but just choruses.
One illustration that brings the application of today's lesson home to us has to do with alter calls. In most Baptist Churches you will find an extended alter call at the end of each service. It consists of an appeal for men, women, boys and girls to come to the front of the building to receive Christ as Savior, or to rededicate ones life to Christ or to present ones self for Baptism. In our church you will find no such thing. Why? We do not do alter calls because there is no such thing found in the Bible. One may search for a lifetime and never find the requirement that one change his geographical position in a building to be saved. Rather, convicted and miserable sinners are called upon to go to Christ, look to Christ, run to Christ, come to Christ, believe in Christ. Likewise Christian people who need to get things right with the Father are to go to God through Christ. And where in the building is Christ located? Everywhere of course. Where in the world is Christ located? Everywhere of course. The Biblical command to sinners is to believe in Him now right where you are whether in the Church building or in the park. Today is the day of Salvation and the place is wherever you happen to be when God calls you to Himself.
If this is true then where in the world did the practice of giving an alter call come from? It was invented by an evangelist named Charles Finney about one hundred years ago. I has no Biblical or Apostolic origin. Therefore I cannot with good conscience practice alter calls. However I delight in sending all who hear my voice to Christ and to Him alone.
What does all this say about churches that use alter calls? Well that would depend on the particular church. It is likely that most of the Baptist Churches that use the alter call do have the foundational truths that make up the Gospel in place. So far as that is true they are truly Christian and in at least some minimal way further the kingdom of God and bring glory to Him. Jesus says to us "Do not hinder them for if they are not against you they are for you." He doesn't require us to join in their practices nor are they called upon to conform to ours. Rather we can leave each other to God. He will sort it all out.
I believe we see here what creates Denominations among those who are really Christian. We serve the same Christ, the same God and read the same Bible. However, in things not essential to salvation but essential to peace in our respective consciences, we differ. I cannot worship in good conscience as they do and they cannot worship in good conscience as I do so, we gravitate toward those of like mind and practice. Looked at in this way Denominations are very good things for they allow people of differing opinions and stages of maturity a place to worship in peace. Further, so far as we seek God's glory according to the direction of His truth we serve each other and Christ at the same time. This is true even if we have no physical fellowship with one another because of our differences.
What conclusions must we draw from this? Am I counseling that we embrace every one who calls themselves Christian? I answer no to that. The Later Day Saints call themselves Christian but it is not true for they believe they are saved by what they do or do not do. That is a religion of works and no where near Christianity. Roman Catholicism claims it is Christian however it is not. They do not believe that salvation comes by the exercise of faith in Jesus alone plus nothing. They believe salvation comes by Baptism and other so called sacraments which removes the faith from the Christians realm. So, no, I am not advocating the embracing of everything that calls itself Christian.
Rather we must guard against developing a party spirit. We must never think ourselves exclusive and alone in the Christian world. We must tolerate, leave alone and refuse to speak ill of churches and people who are, at the core of their beliefs and practices, truly Christian and that by the Bible's definition. Whether is be an individual or a church if they are seeking to destroy the kingdom of the devil by the promotion of the kingdom of God and doing that for the Glory of God they are our friends. We don't have to agree with their methods or use them ourselves. We must refuse to be dogmatic where God's word is not clear.
Beloved we must be willing to die for things essential to the Christian faith. At the same time we must be patient and loving toward those who proceed differently in things indifferent or non critical. (Luke 9:50 NASB) But Jesus said to him, "Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you."