Are You With Me or Against Me?
Brent Smith
The better question, really, is "Are you with Jesus or against Jesus?" We are generally familiar with the Lord’s statement in Matthew 12.30, "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." This was said in a context where Jesus was accused of being empowered by Satan to cast out demons. Jesus responded by showing that He and Satan were opposite forces engaged in a spiritual war and that man must choose a side.
We have seen that statement of our Lord taken out of context by individuals who felt like in order to be on "their side" you had to be with them on every point. There was no room for disagreement. Side bar – we have to be with Jesus on every point.
We might not be as familiar with what Jesus said in Mark 9.40, "For he that is not against us is on our part." The disciples had forbidden a man from casting out demons in the name of Jesus because he was not with "their group." Now friends, this has nothing to do with fellowshipping false religions. The man was obviously a disciple of the Lord, a servant of God, for he was empowered by God to cast out demons. He was not, however, known to them, a companion or even acquaintance. But he was on the Lord’s side.
Someone may not agree with us on every point of judgment; is that person on the Lord’s side? A man may have attended a different school; is he on the Lord’s side? Perhaps someone is of a different race, nationality, geographical location, socio economic background – it really just doesn’t matter. If he or she is not against us, he is with us. Whose side are you on? The Lord’s?
