Are you a close friend who experientially knows the Lord in a personal sort of way, or still a real enemy of God?
"For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son." Rom. 5:10
Outside at So Cal high schools, Lonnie Frisbie used to preach this: “Jesus said, ‘You’re either for Me or against Me.’”
..explaining in other words, you’re either God’s friend or God’s enemy. I have some friends who made a good decision and got saved after praying with Lonnie there. Have you yet seen the movie Jesus Revolution.. cuz in Dana Point, Laguna, Costa Mesa, that was pretty much my experience during the 70s?
But whaaat!? I’m certainly not one of those Jesus Freaks that I used to mock while playing volleyball outside. I was raised in the Roman Organization there, so does that mean I’m against God?
Nobody I know really wanted to be against God ever.. even though we used His name to cuss with. So in a small town home meeting nearby after a short Bible study.. I repented and became one of those "born agains" a real Christian.
If you’re not a friend of God, then guess what.. by default, you’re an enemy of God as the Bible describes you. Romans 5:10 says, “For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son” (nlt).
The Apostle James said that “whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4 nkjv).
So, where do you really stand spiritually? Have you also repented of sin and received God's free forgiveness? Have you turned to, accepted, and received Jesus.. or just put that off?
Are you a friend of God through Christ today, or perhaps running from Him? If you are not the friend of Jesus Christ, then guess what.. you indeed can come into a relationship with Him by simple faith. You can have all your sins forgiven. You can go to Heaven when you die instead of splitting that real place called Hell wide open.
Nothing bad about going to Heaven and knowing early that you will enter.. be accepted there.
Are you saved as the Bible uses that word saved? That can happen right here and now. Jesus died on the cross for your sin, and then He rose from the dead. There were many eyewitnesses after He came out of that dank hole in the ground.
Jesus stood in the gap if ya will, for you and for me. We all have sinned against God the Father, says the Bible. Jesus died in your place and in my place (it was a physical death at Calvary, a substitutionary death due to sins committed in the body.. that you and I committed cuz He never sinned once).
Listen, if you’ll turn from your own sin and believe in Jesus, you too can be forgiven and know having an assurance of salvation inside, Yep, gettin' all the doubt out.. without any doubt. You'll know inside that you're going to Heaven when you die. Now is good. Start a close friendship with God today!
Because Jesus Christ (of the Bible) really cares.. He boldly shares. He uses Christians in our day. He loves people like we should love all types of people.. and He respects their decisions. We too should and boldly share the gospel.. leaving the results up to God. He is the only One who can save a person.
I love how Christ never courted ambiguity or any foggy non-clearity. Where eternal destinies were concerned, He refused to speak in half-tones or therapeutic Hallmark-type comforting vagueness. His words were to the point, yet gracious, but they were never evasive. He wasn't there to merely trigger people with the truth or dilute and water down the Message.. but several were offended by what He said.
Do you speak with the sword of the word? Not that any of us want to religiously divide or maim people with the Scriptures like those Pharisee-types used to do (and still do in our day).
In a world that prefers gray over black and white, right and wrong, great spiritual flexibility and moral soft (non)focus, Jesus draws a line as sharp as a sword:
“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”
(Matthew 12:30, nkjv)
This is not rhetoric meant to intimidate. It is truth meant to rescue. Christ exposes the myth of neutrality because neutrality, when it comes to God, is itself a decision.
Is There A Crisis, So To Speak, That Reveals The Inner Heart Condition?
Matthew 12 marks a decisive rupture in the public ministry of Jesus. Up to this point, He had proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom—God’s promised reign arriving in history through the presence of the King. His miracles authenticated His message. His compassion adorned His authority. Blind eyes opened. Demons fled. Broken lives were restored.
Then came the moment that forced the nation to choose.
“Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.”
(Matthew 12:22, NKJV)
The crowd felt the weight of it. This was no ordinary miracle. Messianic hope surged:
“And all the multitudes were amazed and said, ‘Could this be the Son of David?’”
(Matthew 12:23, NKJV)
That question—Could this be the Messiah?—hung in the air like thunder before a storm.
The Pharisees responded not with humility, but with hostility:
“This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
(Matthew 12:24, NKJV)
Unable to deny the work of God, they demonized the Worker back in the day. They still do.
Truth Has a Logic That Unbelief Cannot Escape
Jesus answered their accusation calmly, dismantling it piece by piece:
“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation… If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?”
(Matthew 12:25–26, NKJV)
Evil does not undermine itself. Darkness does not drive out darkness.
Then Jesus tightened the net:
“And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?”
(Matthew 12:27, NKJV)
The argument collapses. Their theology caves in under its own inconsistency.
Finally, Jesus states the unavoidable conclusion:
“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
(Matthew 12:28, nkjv)
The King had arrived. The kingdom was no longer theoretical. It stood before them in flesh and blood.
Why Jesus Has Eliminated the Middle Ground -- He Lays Reality Out Clearly
There was a timing.. a precise moment that Jesus declared this:
“He who is not with Me is against Me.”
Why so absolute? Because the stakes are ultimate.
To receive Jesus as Messiah required repentance—a change of mind about righteousness, authority, and salvation itself.
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
(Matthew 4:17, NKJV)
Jesus taught that He alone is the Way.. The only entrance for people into God’s Kingdom. It's not earned, it was not achieved by external law or rule-keeping, but by inward regeneration by faith. Have you experienced this total transformation inside? In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), Jesus exposed a righteousness deeper than mere moral behavior—a righteousness of the heart given as a free gift from the Father.
The proud, nonrepentant, know-it-all Pharisees could not accept this. They were so jealous. So many had gone after Christ with His sound teachings.
To do so for them would mean surrendering their self-made piety, poser spirituality, their control, their status, and their man-made certainty. And so most of them resisted Christ with His good message.
But resistance to revealed truth is not neutrality—it is rebellion. It creates in people an even harder heart.
John MacArthur rightly observes, “False religion is not merely wrong; it is hostile to the truth because it competes with the glory of Christ.”
Is There A Question That Still Decides Eternity?
Later, Jesus posed the question that still divides humanity in our day:
“But who do you say that I am?”
(Matthew 16:15, nkjv)
Every person answers this question—not merely with words, but with life.
Modern research echoes the ancient problem. Barna studies consistently show that many Americans admire Jesus while rejecting His exclusivity, authority, or definition of truth. He is celebrated as a moral teacher but resisted as Lord.
Yet Jesus never offered Himself as an accessory to our lives. He demands allegiance.
Billy Graham said it plainly: “Jesus Christ demands total commitment. He asks for nothing less than all.”
To be “with Him” is to gather—to align one’s life with His truth, His mission, and His authority. To refuse Him is to scatter—to drift from truth, fragment the soul, and oppose the grace meant to save.
There is no custom Christianity. No negotiated gospel. No Christ on our terms.
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
(Acts 4:12, nkjv)
Or as the old hymn goes...
“Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling.”
He's Given Us Time To Count the Cost -- That And Clarity Are Mercy
Jesus’ words are not cruel; they are kind. He removes the illusion of safety in indecision.
As Charles Spurgeon warned, “To remain undecided for Christ is to be decided against Him.”
Christ draws the line because love demands truth. Eternity allows no illusions.
“He who is not with Me is against Me.”
The line still stands. And grace still invites us to cross it—toward the King.
Those in Scripture Who Opposed Jesus as the Messiah
Below is a biblically faithful, sober list of individuals and groups who were against Jesus—by belief, words, deeds, or allegiance—despite varying levels of knowledge and responsibility.
Religious Leaders
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The Pharisees – Rejected Jesus’ authority; attributed His works to Satan (Matt. 12:24; John 8:44)
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The Sadducees – Denied resurrection and rejected His teaching (Matt. 22:23)
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The Scribes / Lawyers – Tested Him, resisted Him, and sought His death (Luke 11:52–53)
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Chief Priests – Plotted His execution (Matt. 26:3–4)
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Annas and Caiaphas – Presided over His illegal trial (John 18:13–14)
Political Authority
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Herod the Great – Sought to kill Him as an infant (Matt. 2:13–16)
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Herod Antipas – Mocked Jesus and treated Him with contempt (Luke 23:11)
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Pontius Pilate – Knew Jesus was innocent but condemned Him to appease the crowd (Matt. 27:24–26)
Disciples and Associates
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Judas Iscariot – Betrayed Jesus knowingly (Matt. 26:14–16)
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Peter (momentarily) – Rebuked Jesus’ mission and was called “Satan” for opposing the cross (Matt. 16:22–23)
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The Disciples (at times) – Misunderstood and resisted His mission (Luke 9:44–45)
Crowds and Public
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Many in the Multitudes – Followed for miracles but rejected Him when truth offended (John 6:66)
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Jerusalem Crowd – Chose Barabbas over Christ (Matt. 27:20–22)
Spiritual Opposition
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Satan – Tempted Jesus directly and opposed His mission (Matt. 4:1–11)
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Demons – Recognized His authority but resisted His reign (Mark 1:34)
Implicit Opposition (By Silence or Fear)
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Secret Believers – Afraid to confess Him openly (John 12:42–43)
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Rich Young Ruler – Loved possessions more than obedience (Mark 10:21–22)
Soul-Winners Who Understood the Hour
Throughout church history, God has raised up men who refused to blur the line Jesus Himself drew. They preached Christ plainly, knowing that eternity leaves no room for ambiguity. Their voices still echo because truth does not age.
D. L. Moody once said:
“Decisions are constantly being made for eternity. And those decisions are made in time.”
Moody understood what Jesus declared in Matthew 12:30—delay is itself a verdict. Every heart moves either toward Christ or away from Him.
Billy Sunday, the fiery evangelist of the early 20th century, put it with characteristic bluntness:
“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.”
Sunday knew that proximity to religion is not the same as submission to Christ. One must be with Jesus—not merely around Him.
Billy Graham, whose life was spent calling millions to decision, echoed the words of Christ with pastoral urgency:
“There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.”
Graham preached what Jesus taught: neutrality is an illusion. The soul is always leaning—toward light or toward darkness.
He also warned:
“The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life without purpose.”
And purpose begins when one bows to Christ as Lord.
Greg Laurie, a modern evangelist shaped by the Jesus Movement, captures the same truth in contemporary language:
“You can reject Jesus, but you can’t avoid Him. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Laurie often reminds hearers:
“Being a Christian is not just believing in Christ—it’s belonging to Christ.”
That is precisely what Jesus meant when He said, “He who is not with Me is against Me.”
Even Charles Spurgeon, though not an altar-call evangelist in the modern sense, pressed the conscience relentlessly:
“To sit still and wish and hope and desire is to perish.”
And again:
“If you do not love the Lord Jesus Christ, you are in arms against Him.”
These men were not harsh. They were honest. They understood that love tells the truth, especially when eternity is at stake.
The Line Still Stands
Jesus Christ still stands before every heart, asking the same question He asked long ago:
“But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15, NKJV)
To be with Him is to repent, believe, follow, and gather.
To refuse Him—by defiance, delay, or silence—is to stand against Him.
As the old hymn so simply declares:
“Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me..”
The invitation remains.
The line is still drawn.
The King is still calling.
“He who is not with Me is against Me.”
And today—now—is the day to choose life. Come to.. come back to God through Christ His sinless Son.
