Sunday, February 23, 2020

A House Divided


Mark 3:22-26 The teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He (Jesus) is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.”

The context in which this exchange occurred was the religious authority of the time, condemning the practice of God Himself based upon the “letter of the Law”, instead of the “heart of the Law”. What is the intent? Denominational differences of Christian churches are based upon doctrinal differences and interpretation of Scripture in peripheral issues to the Gospel of Salvation and God’s Commandments. They remain united in the main tenets of Christian doctrine. Fallen mankind is highly susceptible to distractions, the pursuit of pleasures and secular materialism by existential philosophy. We can easily lose sight of what is truly important in life.

Matthew 12:25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”

President Abraham Lincoln once stated, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.” St. Augustine of Hippo said it well, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” Trusting in God and His holy Word with unity in Christ must be the primary guiding precepts. May we strive to be on God’s side and align our thoughts, words and actions with His righteous Word, Will and Way in a house unity.


In Christ, Brian

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