Let's take our Bible now and
find Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. I'm taking the title for the
message from verse 51. Of Luke 12, verse 51. Suppose ye that I am come to
give peace. That is, he's asking the question.
You think that I am come to give peace on earth. He said, I tell
you, no. Now this sounds shocking, doesn't
it? It is to most religious people.
I tell you, no, but rather a division, a sword that divides, the sword
of the word of the Lord. Now I'm taking the title for
the message from verse 51, the title of the message, not peace,
but rather division, not peace. but rather, division. We read
earlier from Matthew chapter 10, where the Lord said, "...think
not..." That is, change your thinking. "...think not that
I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword." Now, does that shock you? The Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, that's the power of God unto salvation, divides. The truth of God always divides. It divides the sheep from the
goats. It divides the elect from the
reprobate. The primary purpose of the Lord
coming among men was not to make peace among men. That's not why
He came. but rather to make peace for
His elect, to reconcile His elect unto God, to make peace for His
elect with God, and He did so only by the sacrifice of Himself
whereby He reconciled us unto God, so making peace. Colossians chapter 1 says this,
verse 19 and 20, For it pleased the Father that in Him should
all fullness dwell, Having made peace through His blood. He's the only one that can reconcile
and make peace. Don't ever say, don't ever be
guilty of saying this. I'm trying to make peace with
God. Forget it. Forget it. You can't do it. Peace
is only made through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
then again we read in Romans 5, where Paul said, being justified
by faith, we have peace with God only through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, is it any wonder that He
brings true peace with God through His sacrifice. His name shall
be called Wonderful Counselor of the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father. He is called the Prince of Peace. The Lord is also called the King
of Peace. Hebrews 7. He's called the King
of Righteousness, but we talked a lot about that in the book
of Romans in our study. He's the King of Righteousness.
The Lord is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. He's the King of Righteousness,
and after that, He's called the King of Salem, which is the King
of Peace. He's the Prince of Peace. He's
the King of Peace, and He came to bring peace. and make peace
for us with God, but He did not come to bring peace among men."
Not at all. We read in Romans chapter 10,
also in Ephesians chapter 6, the gospel of God is called the
gospel of peace. And then in Romans chapter 15,
we read this, verse 33, the God of peace, the God of peace be
with you all, and then He says, Amen. You remember when we were
back in Luke chapter 2, what the angels said upon the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ, God manifested in the flesh. The
angels proclaimed glory to God in the highest, on earth peace,
on earth peace and good will toward Men, not man, not mankind,
men. There is peace with God only
through the Lord Jesus Christ. It's peace by His sacrifice for
us. One God, one mediator between
God and men. Who is that one Mediator that
has one sacrifice, that has one way of salvation? Who is one
Lord, one faith, one way? Who is that none other than the
Lord Jesus Christ? One Mediator between God and
men, that is the God-Man Mediator. Now what the Lord is teaching
the disciples here and us is the fact that His Kingdom, His
Kingdom, the Kingdom of the gospel, that his kingdom that he was
setting up was not a kingdom of this world, it was not an
earthly kingdom. but rather he was setting up
a eternal spiritual kingdom. He was not setting up a temporary
kingdom of great pomp and outward peace. That's what many thought
in his day, that he would crush the dominion of the Roman and
bring in a peace among men. But the Lord didn't come to make
peace among men, to bring outward peace and tranquility among men. His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom,
an eternal kingdom, not a carnal one or an earthly one. Now this
is so, this is true. There will never be peace among
men as long as they are sinners on this earth. You ever wonder
why? You watch the news, and you read
the paper, and it's this guy shot that guy, and that guy shot
that guy, and that guy robbed that guy, and this war over here,
and this country here doing this, and this country. Why is all
that going on? S-I-N. There'll never be peace
among men. The Lord Jesus Christ declares
He did not come to give peace among men. There's much fighting,
killing, and war because of the wickedness within the heart of
every fallen sinner. Do not look for peace among men
in this world as it stands now because there's too many. All
of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Lord
must come again and destroy this earth and everything in it to
make a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth and righteousness in the Lord
Jesus. We read this in 2 Peter 3, looking
for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the
heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements
shall melt with the fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to
the promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness. The effect of righteousness.
I'm thinking of a scripture here. Let me see if I can find it for
you. I'm going out on a limb here.
Here it is, Isaiah 32, 17, "...the work of righteousness shall be
peace." The work of righteousness shall
be peace. Whose righteousness is Isaiah
writing about? Isaiah 32, 17. The work of righteousness
shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness,
and assurance forever. He said, My people shall dwell
in a peaceable habitation, that is in Christ, in sure dwelling,
in quiet resting places. That's our refuge in Christ.
Outside of Him there is no peace. There is no peace whatsoever. Now, two divisions in the message
this morning, verse 49 and verse 50, forms the first one, and
then the second division, verse 51 and verse 52 and verse 53. Let's go back here to verse 49,
we learn how focused the Lord Jesus Christ was about His eternal
mission to finish the work of redemption the Father gave Him
to do and how truly how the Gospel truly always affects His people
like a burning fire. Verse 49 and verse 50 of Luke
12, I am come to send fire on the earth. The fire of His Word,
the fire of His Spirit, the fire of the Gospel, and what will
I if it be already started, kindled in the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And then verse 51, he talks about
being baptized. I have a baptism to be baptized
with. Now I know for sure he's not
talking about water baptism. How am I straightened or pained
till it be accomplished? What's he talking about here?
Talking about being baptized in the wrath of God, thereby
making peace for us. The Lord says, verse 49, I'm
come to send fire on the earth. This is one of the many reasons
the Lord Jesus Christ came. To send fire. Listen to John 10. One of the
many reasons. John 10.10 says this, "...the
thief cometh not, but for to steal, to kill, and to destroy."
The Lord said, I am come. I am come that they might have
life, and that they might have it more abundantly. You remember
from the reading of Luke 10, Luke 19 verse 10 rather, the
Lord said, I am come. I am come to send fire. I am
come that they might have life. I am come to seek and to save
that which is lost. And then in Matthew 20, 28, the
Lord said, Even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto,
but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. He
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Now aren't you glad He came?
The Lord said, I am come to send fire. The gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ has a fiery, burning nature about it because it is
the power of God unto salvation. If He ever kindles that fire
of the gospel in your heart, it never will go out. It will
keep burning and burning and burning and burning in your heart,
warming your heart, comforting your heart. The gospel and the
word of God is an enormous, fervent, flaming fire. Jeremiah said,
is not His Word like a fire, saith the Lord? When you read
the Word and you hear the Gospel preached, you who have that fire
kindled in your heart, does not it burn within you? Does not
it warm your heart? The Gospel is a burning fire. It's the theme of intense devotion. A matter that stirs the souls
of believers. Our comfort, it's our joy, and
it is our life. We just warm ourselves by the
fire. Now, when I was a little boy,
I grew up in Boy Scouts. Out where I grew up in the Rocky
Mountains, we were out in the mountains camping all the time.
And one of the first things when we started to set up camp, you
know what we did? We built a fire. We built a fire. And we'd always sit around that
fire. Oh, you've done this, haven't you? You sit around that fire,
and you put out your hand. And you warm your hand. And then
sometimes you'll even turn your backside to that fire, and you'll
warm that backside. You see, that's the way the Gospel
is. You get near that Gospel, and
that Gospel burns within your heart, your mind, your soul,
your affection, and all these different things. The Gospel
of Christ is a burning fire, life-giving fire, sent from the
altar of God to burn in our soul. You remember those two men on
the road to Emmaus that met the risen Lord? And He started preaching
the gospel unto them, beginning in Moses, and all the Scriptures
He opened to them and preached unto them the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the thing concerning Himself. You remember what they
said later? Did not our heart burn within us when He opened,
when He talked with us by the way, and while He opened the
gospel unto us? And that's the reason I read
over here in the book of Isaiah. When Isaiah saw the Lord high
and lifted up, as we read earlier, don't turn back there, let me
just read it to you. In Isaiah chapter 6, that was Isaiah's
experience. when the burning fire of the
gospel came within his heart and soul. Isaiah 6 verse 5, Then
said I, Woe is me! I am undone, I am a man of unclean
lips. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For
mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew
one of the seraphims, the messengers of God, having a live coal in
his hand." What is that? That's the gospel. That's the
gospel. which he had taken off the tongue
from the altar at the altar of sacrifice, the blood sacrifice
of Christ. And he laid it upon my mouth
and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity
is taken away, and thy sin is purged." That's exactly what
happens when God sends the fire of that Gospel through the preached
Word by the power of God the Holy Spirit to the heart of the
sinner. I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I
if it be already kindled? The second thing he says in Luke
12 verse 50, but I have a baptism to be baptized with. and how
am I pained or straightened till it be accomplished." We see here
how determined the Lord Jesus Christ is to accomplish our salvation. No one and nothing could stop
Him from going to Jerusalem and dying for our sins according
to the Scripture. Let us ever keep in our mind,
in our heart, the willingness and the love of the Lord Jesus
Christ to lay down His life for the sheep. You remember in John
10, He said, No one takes my life from me. I have power to
Lay it down. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
from the Father. Turn there in John chapter 10
and let's read those verses. John chapter 10 for just a moment. John chapter 10 verse 15. knoweth me, even so I know the
Father, John 10, 15. Other sheep I have, which are
not of this fold, them also I must bring. They shall hear my voice,
there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father
love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
He laid down his life for the sheep, his elect. No man, verse
18, taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, I have power to take it again, this commandment
have I received of my Father." He dies the willing sacrifice
to put away our sin. And by way of prophecy in Isaiah
50, it says that He set His face like a flint toward Jerusalem
and no one could turn Him from it, not even Peter. Remember,
turn over to Matthew 16. Remember when the Lord said on
more than one occasion, I must go to Jerusalem, I must be betrayed,
I must be killed, I must suffer, I must be raised again? Matthew
16, 21. Matthew 16, 21. From that time
forth, Jesus began to show unto his disciples how that he must
go unto Jerusalem. He was straightened. fixed, and
suffer many things of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and
be killed, crucified, raised again the third day. And Peter
took him." Now imagine this. Can you imagine the arrogance
of Peter here? Peter took him and began to rebuke
him, saying, Lord, we don't want you to die. Peter, I must die.
If I don't die, you're not saved. You'll never have salvation.
"'Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be.' But he turned
and he said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan, for thou art
an offense unto me. Thou savorest not the things
that be of God, but those that be of men. You see, the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ, this is God's lamb. This is God's
sacrifice for sin. You see, the Lord said, I'm straightened. I have a baptism to be baptized
with. How am I straightened till it
be accomplished? The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Him being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. God decreed
that He would come, that He would die as a sinner's substitute,
and everything that God decrees It might come to pass. Everything
that God has decreed, it will come to pass. He said, I've spoken
it, I've purposed it, I will do it. How the Lord Jesus Christ
was straightened in His mind, in His heart, and in his purpose
fixed to accomplish our salvation. This baptism that he's talking
about here is not water baptism. He'd already experienced that
at the hands of John, remember? When he came to John the Baptist
and said, I want to be baptized, and John said, well, you need
to baptize me. And the Lord said, no, suffer it thus to be so that
we might fulfill all righteousness, And the Lord Jesus Christ was
immersed in baptism, and came forth, and the Spirit of God
descended upon Him. And the Father spake from heaven,
and said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Hear ye Him. So we know that He's already
been baptized with water baptism, but this baptism here that He
is talking about is a baptism of God's wrath. The wrath of
God being immersed completely, totally immersed with the wrath
of Almighty God against our sin that was laid upon Him. We read
about it all through Scripture by prophecy. Isaiah 53.10, let
me just read that to you. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
Him, He was wounded for our sin, bruised for our iniquity. He
hath put him to grief." Who put him to grief? It pleased God
to bruise him, to baptize him in his own wrath. When thou shalt
make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, his
elect, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied by his knowledge. My righteous servant
shall justify many, thee many, for he shall bear their iniquity. The Lord Jesus Christ must be
baptized in the holy wrath of God in order to put away our
sin. That's what happened at Calvary.
Christ died for our sin according to the Scriptures. Zechariah
13 tells us about it, about the sword of God's justice. Zechariah
13, 7. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts. Smite
the shepherd. That's what happened at Calvary.
Smite the shepherd, O sword of my justice. Awake against my
shepherd, and smite the shepherd, saith the Lord of hosts. That's
what happened at Calvary. And then the Lamentation of Jeremiah,
Lamentation 1.12 talks about the Lord Jesus Christ being baptized
in the wrath of God. Is it nothing to you, all ye
that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done in me wherewith the Lord
hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. How could the Holy God be angry
with His Holy Son? Boy, that's a good question.
Answer that one for me. It's only as He stands as our
substitute being made sin for us. And being made sin for us,
being made guilty for our sin, the holy wrath of God falls upon
the Lord Jesus Christ without any mixture of mercy. He's baptized
totally, completely immersed in the wrath of God and He drinks
a cup of damnation dry. Therefore, there is now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ. This is exactly what happened
at Calvary upon the cursed tree, when the Lord Jesus Christ was
made sin for us, baptized in the holy wrath of God, being
made guilty for our sin. Christ also suffered once for
our sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us unto God. Thank God for Christ and Him
crucified. Paul said, I'm determined to
know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Now look at the last word in
Luke 12 verse 50. He said, I'm straightened, I'm
pained, I'm fixed till it be accomplished. Now I love that
word, don't you? Accomplished. Salvation is something
that's accomplished. Not by you. You can't accomplish
salvation. Salvation is something that's
accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ alone. You remember Hebrews
1-3? When He had by Himself purged
our sin, He sat down on the right hand of the throne of God. Now
that word accomplished there, as it's in the Greek text, And
the Greek word is the same exact word that's found in John 19
verse 30. And there it's given to us in
three English words. In the original it's one word.
Where the Lord said in John 19 verse 30, it is finished, same
word, accomplished. Salvation is accomplished, redemption
is accomplished, justification is accomplished, righteousness
is established by the Lord Jesus Christ. His death was not a defeat. Victory. His death was not a
failure, an accomplishment. His death was not an attempt
to put away sin. He put away sin by the sacrifice
of Himself. Never think of the atonement
of the Lord Jesus Christ as a failure. All those for whom He died, their
sin is gone. No one can perish in hell for
whom the Lord Jesus Christ made full atonement. Call His name
Jesus, He shall save His people from their sin. He died for our
sin according to the Scripture. And here's another prophecy concerning
His accomplished salvation, His accomplished redemption. Daniel
9 verse 24, 70 weeks are determined upon the people and upon the
holy city to finish transgression. That's what He did. He finished
transgression. Secondly, He made an end of sins
He made reconciliation for iniquity to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal up the vision, the prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy One. He is the anointed of God. anointed
as prophet, priest, and king to put away our sin. Therefore,
we must never view the blood atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ
as an attempt to put away sin or as an effort to save His people
from their sin. I preach a victorious redemption. I preach a redemption and salvation
that's accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ alone. And I love
that scripture where it says in Isaiah 42, 4, He cannot fail. You see, our Savior is no failure.
No failure. Now, if you say like a lot of
people in religion say, they say this, well, He died for all
the sins of all men. And He made salvation a possibility. If they would meet certain conditions,
my friend, that's not what this book teaches. The Lord Jesus
Christ made definite atonement for a definite people, and He
put away their sin, and He justified them by His blood. And in time,
He will call them out to Himself, and they cannot perish. They'll
be lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the second thing, verse
52, Verse 51 and verse 52 and 53 in Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter
12. Notice what he says in verse
51. Suppose ye that I am come to
give peace on earth? Question. I tell you, no, nay,
but rather a division, a sword, a sword that divides. The gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ divides families, brothers, sisters,
father, son. The gospel divides churches,
houses, family, friends, communities. It does. It did in his day and
it does in this day. Let me show you. Take your Bible
and find John chapter 7. John chapter 7. John chapter
7 verse 40. Many of the people Therefore,
when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is that
prophet. This is John 7 verse 40. Others
said this is the Christ. Some said, shall Christ come
out of Galilee? Have not the scripture said that
Christ cometh of the seed of David out of the town of Bethlehem
where David was? So there was a division among
men because of him. A division, not over personalities,
over truth, over truth. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ? Now, stay right there in the
book of John. Turn over to John chapter 9. Remember the man that
was blind and the Lord took some clay and put it on his eyes and
He healed him on the Sabbath day? In John chapter 9 verse
13, they brought this man to the Pharisees Him that aforetime was blind,
John 9, 14. It was the Sabbath day when the
Lord Jesus made clay and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees
also asked him how he had received his sight. And he said unto them,
He put clay upon my eyes, I washed, and I do see. Therefore said
some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth
not the Sabbath day. referring to the Lord Jesus,
this man. Others said, how can a man that is a sinner do such
miracles? And there was a division among
them over who He is and over what He did. One other scripture,
turn to John 19, when the Lord said just above
what we read a moment ago, in John 10 verse 19 rather, John
10 verse 19, where he said, no man takes my life, I have power
to lay it down, I have power to take it again. Verse 19 says,
there was division therefore again among the Jews for these
saying, and they said, he has the devil and he is a mad man,
why would you even hear him? And then they took up stones
to stone him when he said, I am my father, we are one. This is exactly what the Apostle
Paul tells us in the epistle to the Galatians about the dividing
offensive nature of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians
5.11 Paul said, And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision,
that is salvation by the deeds of the law, why do I suffer persecution? Then is the offense of the cross
ceased. A gospel that is not offensive
to the natural man will not save a flea. Hear me now. A gospel that's suitable to the
palate of the fallen, fleshly, sinful man when it's preached,
a gospel that is suitable to him that's not offensive to him is
a gospel that cannot save. My pastor always used to say
this, if you remove the offense of the gospel from the natural
man, you remove the power of the gospel to save. Because when
you take the offensive part of the gospel away, You've changed
the message. The gospel of Christ is the power
of God unto salvation. Now, if you preach in such a
way to make men feel better about themselves, we have this positive
mental attitude. If you just do the best you can,
God loves everybody, and just do the best you can, and everything
will be okay. That's not going to offend anybody,
is it? But my friend, If I preach to please men, I'm not the servant
of Christ. I must preach what God said in
His book, that we are sinners, that salvation is in Christ,
accomplished by Him, and salvation is all of His grace. Now that's
offensive to the natural man, but it's not offensive to those
who know themselves to be sinners saved by the grace of God. When we insist, as the Scripture
does, that salvation is totally by the will of God, by the act
of God, by the work of God, by the power of God, salvation is
always determined, accomplished, and applied by God, men, especially
religious lost men, get all bent out of shape, all up in arms
against the truth of God's gospel. Now if you think I'm being extreme
in this, just find your religious friend, in the next day or so,
in the next week or so, or when you're gathered around your Thanksgiving
table, around your friends and families who do not believe the
gospel, and tell them the gospel of God's grace, boldly declare
the sovereignty of God in salvation, that God elected a people in
eternity unto salvation, and that the Lord Jesus Christ died
to make atonement only for them, and you'll have a battle on your
hands. Now, you own if they're a believer. But if they're just
religious and lost, now you roll up your sleeves. It's time to
bare knuckles. A knuckle sandwich for lunch.
You see, I've experienced this so many times over the years,
where he talks about a father and a son. When I tried to tell
my poor old lost religious dad the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, I thought he was going to hit me right between the eyes.
He got so angry and mad and upset at me. My mother did the same
thing. They disowned me. What did I
do? I told them the truth. You see,
the gospel is a dividing message. There will always be a division
among men over the gospel. Among men. Because the gospel
is offensive to the natural man. The gospel always divides the
sheep from the goats. Why is the gospel so offensive
and divisive? Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God. It will not receive the things
of the Spirit of God. Now, I want to quit and close
with three things. I give you three reasons why
the gospel is so offensive. Number one, the gospel declares
plainly that salvation is by the grace of God alone, not by
the works of men. This offends man's ability and
self-worth. Fallen sinners still think that
God needs their help to save them. Now we see this pictured
all the way back in Genesis chapter 4. Why did Cain get so angry
with Abel, his own brother, so as to murder him? You remember
why? Abel brought the blood sacrifice
that pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Cain brought the fruit
of his hand. God had no respect to that offering. And there was a division, Cain
and Abel. And that division is still going
on today. You see, grace in works. You
cannot preach salvation by grace and salvation by works. You cannot
do it. And this offends, when we say
that salvation is by grace alone, this offends man's will and man's
ability. Secondly, the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ declares in plain terms that we are sinners, guilty
and ungodly, and wicked before men, this offends man's self-righteous
religious pride, does it not? Does it offend you when I say
that you're a sinner, that you're guilty, that you're wicked and
ungodly before God? You're a preacher, you're just
describing what I am. I have to say amen to that. But
the good news of the gospel, you know, it's not offensive
to a sinner to call him that. Because the good news of the
gospel is the Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Read the
article on the back of the bulletin later today. Thirdly, the gospel
declares in plain, clear terms that salvation is of the Lord,
that it comes by the revelation of God the Holy Spirit, and this
offends man's wisdom, his intellect. The carnal mind will not receive
the things of God. You may tell me, I've got a college
degree, someone might say. I've got a master's degree or
a doctor's degree, and you are telling me that I can't figure
this gospel out? That's exactly what I'm telling
you. The gospel is a mystery of God that must be revealed
to your heart by God the Holy Spirit. Because a natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, they are foolishness
unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. Now, if you're not offended when
the gospel is preached, it's only because God has done a work
of grace in your heart, revealing to you that you're a sinner,
and that the Lord Jesus Christ is everything in salvation. That's the only reason you're
here today. You want to hear that God saves
sinners. May the Lord be pleased to bless
His Word to your heart, And may you be blessed to say with Paul,
I am not ashamed of the gospel, for I know whom I have believed,
and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have
committed unto him against that day. What have you committed
unto him against that day? I have committed everything concerning
my salvation to the Lord Jesus Christ, and he has accomplished
everything for his people. Now, don't be surprised. if your
religious friends get upset when you tell them the gospel of God's
grace.