Jesus, Not Doctrine, Divided

What Did Jesus Do?

Do you think I have come to give peace on earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
Luke 12.51

“Doctrine divides!” well, at least perhaps among those to whom doctrine matters. Among liberal Christians, who are really liberal something-other-than-Christians, doctrine doesn’t matter all that much, so it is hardly divisive; they proudly proclaim a “Big Tent” which welcomes all manner of pluralistic and syncretistic belief. Not surprisingly, the liberal non-simply can’t understand why Christians make such a big deal about doctrine. But, in fairness to the liberals, it is not doctrine that divides.

What really separates the Christian from the liberal something-other-than-Christian is really Jesus himself, who is the great “Divider.” Folks who agree on essential tenets of who Jesus is, and what He did, find plenty of common doctrinal ground. But a great gulf separates Christians from liberals, a breach as great as the divide between Heaven and Hell.

The thing is, Jesus came to divide; so we shouldn’t be surprised that He causes division. And if Jesus came to divide, then those who seek to faithfully follow Him are, as a consequence, dividers. Oh, we pursue, we long for, unity in the Body of Christ. And we are solemnly commissioned by the Lord himself to go and seek to make disciples of all nations. The problem with liberals is that while they may be disciples, they are only part-time followers of Christ at best, being careful to give equal (Actually more than equal) time to other lords, and any disciples they make will be disciples of pretty much anyone/thing than Jesus.

The question of where people stand on the question of Jesus is hardly knew. Public opinion on the Lord was sharply divided from the beginning. There were those of the opinion that Jesus was a lunatic. (Mark 3.21) Others were convinced Jesus was possessed at the very least (If not a demon himself!). (John 8.52) Then there were the Jews who tried to disown Jesus by accusing Him of being one of the despised Samaritans! (John 8.48) Some, like the woman of Samaria and others, believed Jesus to be a prophet. (See John 4.19 and Matthew 16.14) Others, seeing in Jesus a greater resemblance to particular men, argued that He was John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Jeremiah.

It was Peter, of course it would be brash, outspoken Peter, who opened up the “great divide” about Jesus by declaring of the Lord, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16.16) Peter did not come by this knowledge of who Jesus was by reading any books, hearing any sermons, or any other means employed by flesh and blood to obtain knowledge. Rather, Peter’s belief was imparted directly by revelation from the Father. There has never been, nor will there ever be, a Christian who comes to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and the only Savior and Lord, by any route other than the gracious revelation of the Father and the activity of the Holy Spirit. (See 1Corinthians 12.3)

I’ll tell it to you plainly, there is no peace apart from peace in Jesus; there is no unity other than in Christ. One is either on board with the Lord, or cast away and cut off completely; which is why the Father sent the Son to rescue those utterly lost without Him. So it is that three will be against two and two against three, father will be against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. (Luke 12.52-53) The bottom line is that Jesus came to divide His from the world, and this alone is enough to make the world hate us (John 15.19)

To be sure, we are not to be aggressive or offensive about our faith. Our proclamation of the Gospel should be gracious and winsome. In truth, the Gospel itself is offensive enough to the world, no matter how irenic our words. The only “sword” we need is to profess our faith in God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son; that is more than enough to divide Christians from the world. That’s what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenminstries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4