He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

Matthew 12:30

What does it mean to be against Christ?  If words mean anything, according to Christ Himself, ‘he who is not with Me is against Me.’  To be ‘with’ Christ is to embrace Him as the Gospel offers Him as Savior and Lord.  What does it mean then, ‘He who is not with me is against me?’  It does not always mean that we do anything against Christ in any overt way.  We may not be bitter against Him in word or deed.  We may not dispute His claims or deride His followers.  It may mean that we simply do nothing to embrace Him, believe on Him, or trust Him.  Christ declares, ‘no man comes to the Father but through me.’  Therefore, if we do nothing, in a de facto way, we reject Him.  There is no neutral ground.  This is why we make so much of Christ.  He is the Great Divide of all of humanity.  At Christ, we divide to salvation or damnation, acceptance with God or rejection, life or death, heaven or hell.  Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the One Mediator between God and Man.  Embrace Him and be with Him, not against Him.  It is the most important matter you will face today.

Our Great and Gracious God,
we rejoice that Christ our Savior
has set Your truth clearly before us.
We praise You that by His statements,
we understand where the critical issues lie.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

Matthew 12:30

What does Christ mean when He speaks in our text of ‘gathering with me?’  When Christ was describing His purpose, He said, ‘and other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.’  He speaks of gathering together his people.  On the night before He went to the cross, during His High Priestly Prayer, He said, ‘Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.’  On several occasions, Christ articulated His purpose to gather together all that the Father had given Him.  Therefore, this must be the gathering to which He refers in our text.  How can we ‘gather’ with Christ?  We do so by promoting His Person and His work.  The mission of the Apostles was to bear witness of Christ throughout the world.  It has become the mission of all believers in every age.  By life and lip, by the verbal and non-verbal, in every situation of life Christ’s people are gathering with Him as they proclaim Christ everywhere.  This is our high privilege and our holy calling.  It is not the exclusive purview of the preacher or the missionary, but rather extends to every believer.  We are by our daily interactions with others, as we reflect Christ, gathering with Him, until all of His are one.

Our Gracious God and Our Savior,
we rejoice that we have the great privilege,
to be part of Your grand work.
We praise You, that daily, we encounter those
whom You are gathering unto Yourself
 and have the opportunity to point them to Christ.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

Matthew 12:30

Christ is not someone about Whom we can be neutral.  We often encounter groups who are promoting various agendas.  The more ardent proponents declare, ‘If you are not promoting our agenda, then you are against us.’  This is a claim that there is no neutrality about whatever the issue happens to be.  In the light of that position, we come to Christ’s statement in our text, ‘he who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.’  This is a serious statement and not one to take lightly.  Christ did not always say easy things.  The question becomes, what does He mean, and where do we land in terms of being with Him or against Him?  What does it mean to be with Christ and to gather with Him?  What does it mean to be against Christ?  We do not want to lightly pass over these questions because they mean the difference between being with God or against God; to be His friend or His enemy; to be accepted with Him or rejected by Him.  Before we pursue this text any further, let us spend some time today dwelling on the depth and the gravity of it, ‘He that is not with me is against me.’

Our Gracious Master and our God,
we rejoice that You set before us
the most serious issues of time and of eternity.
We praise You that by Your Holy Spirit,
You bring us to contemplate them
so that we may arrive at the conclusion
which most glorifies You.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

Matthew 12:30

What does it mean to be against Christ?  If words mean anything, according to Christ Himself, ‘he who is not with Me is against Me.’  To be ‘with’ Christ is to embrace Him as the Gospel offers Him as Savior and Lord.  What does it mean then, ‘He who is not with me is against me?’  It does not always mean that we do anything against Christ in any overt way.  We may not be bitter against Him in word or deed.  We may not dispute His claims or deride His followers.  It may mean that we simply do nothing to embrace Him, believe on Him, or trust Him.  Christ declares, ‘no man comes to the Father but through me.’  Therefore, if we do nothing, in a de facto way, we reject Him.  There is no neutral ground.  This is why we make so much of Christ.  He is the Great Divide of all of humanity.  At Christ, we divide to salvation or damnation, acceptance with God or rejection, life or death, heaven or hell.  Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the One Mediator between God and Man.  Embrace Him and be with Him, not against Him.  It is the most important matter you will face today.

Our Great and Gracious God,
we rejoice that Christ our Savior
has set Your truth clearly before us.
We praise You that by His statements,
we understand where the critical issues lie.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning