Jesus clearly wants us to soberly meditate on the differences between those who are His people and those that are not. A large portion of Christ’s teachings make these contrasts. I listed thirty-nine of these clear demarcations here. You will best appreciate this article after reading the first.
Why is it so important to meditate on the many contrasts Jesus made between those who are His people and those who are not? There are at least five truths we can benefit from as we ponder this emphasis on only two kinds of people.
Salvation is urgent. We must get right with God through Jesus!
These many contrasts Jesus taught anticipated His death and resurrection and the building of His Church. Those who repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to take away their guilt and shame become God’s people. They become citizens of His kingdom, a part of His Church. Everyone else remains cut off from their Creator, condemned, and outside of the kingdom. It is damning to continue in sin without God.
Every single person has either been made right with their Creator through Jesus, or they still remain in sin and condemned, separated from God. Whether from a Christian home or an atheist’s home, whether from a poor desert tribe in North Africa, from a mega city like Manila or Shanghai, or a small town in rural Canada—every single person desperately needs to get right with God through Jesus Christ.
Are you one of God’s people? Have you taken up your cross to follow Jesus? Have you begun to bear fruit of repentance in your life? Do you now serve God, or do you still serve sin, self, and wealth? Have you begun to build your life upon the foundation of Jesus and His teachings or are you still following your own way? Have you been made right with God through Jesus?
Another truth that we glean from these contrasts in Jesus’ teachings is that–
Life is about God and our relationship with Him.
Nothing is as important as knowing the Son of God and serving Him. Present and eternal blessings come from being one of God’s people, one of His sheep. Present and eternal suffering remain the lot of those who continue in sin and separation from God.
These are not just doctrines to fill our heads with, but truths to move our souls and guide our lives! There are eternal consequences for our decisions. The wrath of God, the fires of hell and eternal judgment–these are real! And salvation from these is made possible in Jesus.
Life is about God, our relationship with Him through Jesus His Son. That relationship affects everything in this life: how we spend our time, energy, and resources; how we make decisions for our family; and what we choose to do and not do. Life is about God and what it means to be one of His people! This relationship we have with God through Christ is now to be our center of gravity, our core, our purpose for living.
There is a stark contrast between us and those who are not yet God’s people. We must not downplay or attempt to hide this contrast. It is something to remind ourselves of continually.
Jesus pounded away on this theme of two types of people. Why? Another reason is that—
We must maintain an awareness of the extreme danger faced by unbelievers.
People that do not know Jesus Christ are in spiritual darkness and don’t even know it. They are in a state of intense and eternal spiritual thirst and starvation. They are slaves to sin, deceived, and live this difficult life without God. If they died right now, they would go straight to hell and face eternal torment. This is true of every person who does not know Christ as Lord and Savior.
Our sinful flesh would much rather not think about these hard truths. Our flesh does not want to carry the burden of this knowledge. We don’t naturally take action to try to reach people with the Gospel. Our sinful hearts would much rather be distracted and forget about this extreme need all around us.
Sometimes we need a reality check. Stop and think about your parents, children, grandchildren, and your other relatives. Are they made right with God through Jesus Christ? Which type of person are they? Are they without God and condemned, outside of the kingdom of God? If they are still in darkness, are you earnestly praying for them? Are you striving to reach them? Are you seeking to love them to Christ? Does their continued rebellion against God break your heart?
We must learn to live in the reality that every person that we see, meet, and interact with each day is an eternal being whose greatest need is to get right with God through Jesus. They desperately need Jesus Christ!
Another reason for this emphasis of Jesus on this contrast is—
We need constant reminders about the riches of God’s salvation.
These many passages point out God’s radical salvation accomplished through His Son, Jesus Christ. We now know God’s light, love, mercy, forgiveness, truth, joy, hope, peace, security, deliverance, cleansing. These provide a vivid contrast to the darkness, loneliness, hopelessness, bondage, fear, anxiety, guilt, shame, and lies which we once knew. As we read the Gospels, Jesus frequently mentions the wealth of privilege that we enjoy.
We have every reason to worship Jesus with everything we are and have. We have every reason to give our lives to Him as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1-2). Do you have this kind of heart? Is your heart full of gratitude today for what Jesus has done for you?
Our spiritual privileges must move us to action.
One major way that we can worship Christ in gratitude for what He has done for us is to take His final command to His disciples seriously:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20).
Gratitude moves us to worship, reminds us of what we possess in Christ Jesus that most around us don’t have. It moves us to do what we can to change this by God’s grace. Jesus commands us to act. It is no accident that the Gospels close with this commission from our Savior.
What can we do when we realize that we have been apathetic, even cold, about the extreme spiritual needs of those around us? What can we do to begin to have God’s heart for the lost that Jesus so clearly communicated in all of these contrasts?
A powerful prayer
Jesus gave a way to align our heart with His. He gave us a command to keep to enable us to step up and out in making disciples. His command is a prayer:
“When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Mat 9:36-38).
Begin praying for the harvest, for souls, for individuals. Begin praying for God to raise up laborers for His harvest. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray as a church. As you do this, you will see that God will not fail to work in you and make your heart more like His. God will use you to help others move from the path of destruction to the narrow way of life.
