Being Neutral

The message was brought by Rev. Eddie Foster on August 18, 2024.

Matthew 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

It is impossible to be neutral to Jesus Christ.  We are either on the Lord’s side or the devil’s.  We’re either following Jesus or have rejected him. There is no middle of the road; to say you’re there means you’re on the devil’s side.  We cannot be ashamed of Jesus and all he’s done for us.  God’s been good to us. The Pharisees were against Jesus. In this chapter several miracles happened and they didn’t like it. Jesus knew their thoughts. We will never fool the Lord.  Read this chapter to see everything that’s going on.  Being neutral to Jesus is impossible. If I ask you a question like are you a Democrat or Republican and you don’t respond, it doesn’t mean you aren’t one or the other. It only means you refused to answer. Silence regarding Jesus Christ is a vote against him. Don’t be ashamed to be identified with him.  Never tell someone it’s not their business.  Speak up for Jesus!

There have always been attempts to stay neutral.  The U.S. tried to stay neutral in both WWs.  They couldn’t.  Politicians are not neutral on subjects even if they claim to be. They have made up their mind. Many in the Bible were not ashamed but some were.  In the Old Testament Deborah the judge spoke of this in writing about the tribes of Israel. Some of them did well while some didn’t.  Elijah challenged the people in I Kings 18:21 with this question:   How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.  What did they do?   And the people answered him not a word. Their silence meant they were trying to remain neutral. But they couldn’t.  In Revelation 3 we’re told that being lukewarm spiritually makes God sick.  Each church in Revelation represents periods of time in the church age. We are in the Laodicean age.  People want to be in the church without identifying with the body of Christ. To be part of THE CHURCH you must be born again. Otherwise, churches become lukewarm. If you’re hot, you’re on fire for the Lord.  If you’re cold, you are in a position to realize your need. But if you’re lukewarm, you think you’re alright. This makes God want to throw up. Be on God’s side, opposing the devil. It’s been said that when good men do nothing, evil triumphs.  Take a side.

Back in the Civil War at times there were brothers on opposite sides.  There’s a little story about a man wearing the coat of one side and the pants of the other.  He got shot from both sides.  It’s sort of like he was trying to walk the middle of the road. It didn’t work. There was a man in Saltville everyone called Big A.  He couldn’t read a lick but carried a Bible everywhere he went.  When asked why he said “I want people to know whose side I’m on.”  If people can stand up for all the ungodly things they stand for today, we should be able to stand up for Jesus Christ.  Joshua told the people in his day to choose you this day whom you will serve. This country is going downhill. The only answer is to turn to God. I want others to know I’m serving the Lord. Pilate asked what he was to do with Jesus. That question is still relevant.  What will you do with Jesus?

This question requires action. You can’t be saved doing things like keeping the Ten Commandments. Even if you kept nine and messed up in one, the Bible says you’d be guilty of all.  You can’t “live like a saint” 364 days and mess up one day. You’ve messed up.  God doesn’t keep a checkmark list. We fail. We’re guilty.  We’re all sinners in the eyes of God. We’re not perfect but that’s what God requires. How do we meet that?  Jesus Christ was perfect. We must all accept Jesus as Savior; he makes us perfect in the eyes of God.  It’s our move. God didn’t sin against us; we sinned against him. He provided the Way and it’s our move to accept it.  Joining a church won’t do it because the Lord will not look at the church roll book.  He has his own roll book; it’s called the Book of Life. Your name must be written there.   Being baptized won’t save you. Salvation comes before baptism. Whether you accept or reject me doesn’t matter. You MUST DO SOMETHING WITH JESUS CHRIST.  You can’t dodge this question. What will you do with Jesus?  The choice is yours.