Matthew 10:21-22……Working

Matthew 10:21-22……Working

10:21“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 All men (Not every person, but all types of people and ranks of society) will hate you because of me, (Christian beliefs.) but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (For Complete Expository and Applications get the Book) 

Extended Sermons

“Prepares believers how following Christ will bring opposition from the most unexpected places, so don’t get caught off guard.” ⇒ What Jesus is saying is that it’s going to get real personal, in ways you can’t begin to imagine. People are going to turn on you, even people in your own family. But don’t cave in. Don’t let betrayal break your obedience. Don’t let rejection rewrite your identity. Don’t let the fear of losing relationships cause you to lose your resolve. Jesus is making it perfectly clear Your loyalty to Him will be tested at the deepest relational levels. Not just by strangers. Not just by culture. Not just by people who openly oppose your faith. Not just critics outside the church. But by family who don’t understand God’s calling on your life. Sometimes it’s siblings you grew up with who can’t handle the seriousness of your faith. Or a spouse who feels threatened by your newfound devotion because it exposes their own sinful life. Sometimes it comes from children who resent your boundaries because your obedience interrupts their fun. Sometimes it comes from relatives who remember who you used to be and can’t reconcile that with who God is shaping you to become. Sometimes it comes from a fellow brother or sister in Christ who think your faith is “too over the top,” because it confronts the lukewarmness they’ve settled into. Sometimes it comes from society who pressures you to stay the same, to fit the mold, to not “go too far” with your faith.

“Even today, believers can expect hatred and opposition from the world. No ones likes being told they’re a sinner who’s heading for hell unless the repent and accept Jesus as Savior.” People don’t like admitting their sin anymore today than they did back then. No one wants to hear that they are dependent on a Savior. When we expose peoples’ sinful heart either in words or actions, its natural inclination is to resists and fight back. Thus, persecution. When people realize it is the living God you are presenting and not some idol that makes them feel good, they are going to turn on you, even people in your own family.-(MSG) We should expect the world to ridicule and criticize us for our outmoded mindset. We should expect this because those who dislike the idea of submitting to a sovereign God believe that they must destroy anyone who speaks for the cause of Christ. They resort to ridicule and intimidation. This should not unnerve us or make us fearful because it is exactly what we should have expected.

“This is not saying that Salvation is earned by human grit or willpower. Were Saved by Grace through faith. But rather endurance in persecution is the evidence of true Saving faith.” → Jesus isn’t saying “if you don’t try hard enough you won’t make it. But rather that genuine faith inherently possesses a divinely sustained resilience that survives persecution. Nor is Jesus demanding perfect, unbroken bravery in every single moment of life. But rather a final. Overriding loyalty to Him over the course of one’s life. Even Peter while under pressure denied knowing Jesus three times, along with the other disciple’s who all fled at Jesus’ arrest. Yet they were restored.

   Additional Notes & Applications