Chapter 83

“I Am Come to Send Fire on the Earth.”

“I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.” (Luke 12:49-53)

            In Luke 12:49 the Lord Jesus Christ makes a statement that must be shocking to many as they read it. “I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?” What does that mean? I do not pretend to know all that is contained in this passage of Scripture, but there is much here to cheer the hearts of God’s elect, inspiring us with devotion, zeal in the cause of Christ, and joyful assurance and hope with regard to everlasting glory. And there is much here to strike terror in the hearts of rebels against the King of Glory and those who merely pretend to serve him in this world.

            The Lord Jesus Christ is our Master and Lord, yet he washed his disciples’ feet. But that is not all. If we are his, if when he comes again he finds us watching for him and serving him, our Master and Lord declares that in that day, in all his robes of glory, he shall gird himself and serve us (Luke 12:35-37). What a remarkable declaration of grace!

Rebels Warned

            Then, in verses 38-40 our Savior issues a warning to all who yet believe not. Believers are people who live in the anticipation, hope, and expectation of the Lord’s return. We are watching for him. Only the unbelieving imagine that he delays his coming. Suppose the Son of God were to appear in his glory as you read the words on this page. — Where would you be? Have you lived all your life as if you were your own master? Do you refuse to bow to Christ, refuse to be his servant? Where will you be when the Lord Jesus returns in his glory? — Read verses 41-44 if you dare.

“Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom [his] lord shall make ruler over his household, to give [them their] portion of meat in due season? Blessed [is] that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.”

            What rewards Christ has in store for his own eye has not yet seen, ear has not yet heard, and heart has not yet conceived. We cannot begin to imagine the glory that awaits us in heaven! If we are Christ’s servants and the servants of our brethren in this world, he will make us rulers over all that he has in the world to come. I have no idea what that means; but it’s got to be good. It is a matter of absolute certainty. We shall reign with Christ forever! But that is not true of all.

“But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for [him], and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.” (Luke 12:45-46)

Hell’s Horrors

            I have no idea what the horrors of hell are; but horrors they are! What horror, what terror, what everlasting torment shall be the punishment of every unfaithful steward! — The preacher who is untrue to his professed calling! — The professed believer, who says that he is a child of God, and a servant of Christ, and yet is unfaithful to his Master and Lord! The evil servant is pictured here as that man or woman who is religious, but self-serving, self-righteous, judgmental of others and cruel.

            Read the Lord’s words again, and tremble. We are often accused of exaggerating about hell and the wrath of God in the world to come. But, the fact is, these things have not yet been spoken of adequately by any mortal. Read the Book of God. You will find in the Holy Scriptures expressions about hell, the wrath of God, and the torments of the damned that are unparalleled in the writings of men. Hell is a bottomless pit, a place of unquenchable fire, gnawing worms that never die, blackness, darkness, abandonment, everlasting hopelessness, fire and brimstone, torment, and death, an everlasting dying under an everlasting curse!

            No, we do not overstate the matter. These are the words of him who loved as never a man loved, of him who is the most tender, gracious, compassionate spirit in the universe. “The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is net aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.” Added to everything else, those who find themselves in hell will forever be tormented by the fact that it is their just due!

“And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not [himself], neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many [stripes]. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few [stripes]. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:47-48)

            Let each judge for himself or herself what talents, abilities, and opportunities the Lord God has put in your trust. We must never be content to have done this or that. We are responsible to serve our Master, our Lord, our God in proportion with the talents, abilities, and opportunities he has given us. Who among us is not humbled, broken, and ashamed before God when he thinks of this?

            But this passage speaks distinctly of those who serve themselves and not God who made them. Great talents, gifts, abilities, and opportunities are great responsibilities. They are to be feared rather than coveted. Those who seek great things for themselves seek great damnation for their souls.

Gospel Fire

            “I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I if it be already kindled?” (v. 49) — The Son of God did not come to send peace on the earth but a sword. Nothing in all the world is more unifying than the gospel of the grace of God; but nothing is more divisive. And it is our Lord’s intention that it should be. The language of this passage in the original is very, very strong. John Trapp very accurately paraphrased it: “I am come to send fire on the earth. Let the fire kindle as soon as it will. I am contented. I know much good will come of it.”

      The gospel of Christ is not a creed enshrined in a temple, but a fire burning in the soul. The gospel is not a theological system entombed in the brain, but a fire erupting in the heart. The gospel is not an icy system of ceremonies and rituals, but a fire burning in the earth.

      Our Savior here tells us that the gospel is an ardent, fervent, flaming thing — a subject that stirs enthusiasm — a theme that rouses intense devotion — something that excites men’s souls — stirs them in the depths of their beings. The gospel does this both in those who love it and in those who hate it.

      Men may be and often are indifferent about religion; but no one is indifferent about the gospel. It is a fire, the fire that our Lord Jesus came to send on the earth, the fire he was anxious to light by his death, resurrection, and exaltation, and by the out pouring of his Spirit upon all flesh.

            But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished” (v. 50). How anxious our Lord was to suffer and die for us! How anxious he was to glorify the Father by his sacrifice as our Substitute! How anxious he was to redeem and save his people! How anxious he still is to bring us to glory. And as the direct result of his work at Calvary, there is a division among men. The gospel we preach is a fire in the earth, a dividing fire. Read verses 51-53.

“Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.”

      This is exactly what Paul tells us in Galatians 5:11. The cross of Christ is an offence to men. It always has been and always will be. The clear, simple preaching of the gospel, the message of the cross, the doctrine of the crucified Christ is an offence. It divides men. It divides friends. It divides families. It divides churches. Why? What is there in the gospel that causes such offence? The offence of the gospel is the fact that it is a declaration of salvation by grace alone, without works. — It offends man’s dignity, because it addresses all men as sinners. — It offends man’s wisdom, because it asserts that salvation comes only by divine revelation. Christ cannot be known by anyone, except he reveal himself to you and in you. — It offends man’s pride, because it declares that the only way of salvation is substitution, particular and effectual redemption, and imputed righteousness. — It offends man’s love of self, because it demands surrender to Christ as Lord. — It offends man’s sense of self worth, because it declares that salvation is by grace alone, distinguishing, free, sovereign, irresistible, effectual grace.

            This gospel by which we are saved, this gospel which is always so divisive is the good news of heaven. It is “how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,” not the mere fact that Christ died, but “H-O-W that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-3). He died as or voluntary Surety, our justice satisfying Substitute, our effectual, sin-atoning Sacrifice. The gospel of Christ is the revelation of God as a just God and a Savior, the revelation of the righteousness of God in the exercise of saving grace (Isaiah 45:21; Romans 3:24-26).

The Comparison

            The Master says, “I am come to send fire on the earth.” — “Is not my Word like a fire? Saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29). How can the gospel be compared to fire. If you read the Book of God, you cannot avoid being struck with the extraordinary doctrine of the gospel revealed in its sacred pages. If ever the Lord God applies it to your heart, it will cease to be matters of curiosity, philosophy, and religious theory and debate. It will grab your soul, pierce your heart, and radically and forever change your life.

      Perhaps that which first overwhelms the heart of a sinner in the experience of grace is the wondrous revelation of the love, mercy, and grace of God in Christ. What sweet, golden words these are: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16; 1 John 3:1, 16; 4:9-10). Pause, O my soul, and think about the love of God! — Eternal, Electing Love! — Undeserved, Free, and Unconditional Love! — Redeeming, Sin-atoning Love! Everlasting, Unquenchable Love! — The Son of God loved me, and gave himself for me. Imagine that!

      This is the wondrous revelation of the gospel: — The love of God is revealed and known only in connection with the most astonishing display of justice, wrath, and severity imaginable — The sacrifice of God’s own dear Son! If ever you come to know God, if ever God reveals his Son in you, if ever you learn the gospel, it will come to you like fire and ignite a fire in your soul. That is what Isaiah tells us he experienced (Isaiah 6:1-7)

            The gospel of the grace of God is the sword of the Lord. And it is fire. It cannot sleep. The truths of the gospel — Blood Atonement — Free Justification — Complete Forgiveness — Salvation by Grace, are not just words and religious slogans. They are living principles. Like the breath in our lungs, they cannot be contained. They must break out. And when they do, they break out like fire in the earth. As soon as you confess the gospel of Christ in the ears of men, you will see the meaning of our Lord’s words, “I am come to send fire on the earth…and (with the fire) division.”

            But in Luke 12 our Lord Jesus is primarily talking about the preaching of the gospel. He who makes his ministers a flame of fire, puts fire in them. The fire in the preacher who is sent of God is not merely the fire of emotionalism, or the fire of brilliant intellect, or the fire of passionate oratory. It is something far greater. It is the power and influence of God the Holy Spirit upon his servants. The Holy Ghost sent down from heaven anoints all true evangelists, and is the true power and fire of every true gospel ministry. I will leave it to others to explain or debate that fact; but that is the fact.

            God Almighty makes his ministers a flame of fire; and when they preach the gospel, the effect is always the same. It causes a division. Some believe and some believe not. And those who believe not always turn upon those who believe in a mad rage of fury, just as Cain did upon Abel.

      The gospel, like fire, is wondrously pure. There is no mixture of impurity, error, or unrighteousness in it. It is free from every alloy of earth. And it is altogether spiritual. Christ, our Altar, is a spiritual altar, not a carnal one. Our sacrifices to our God are spiritual sacrifices, offered from spiritual motives. We worship God in the Spirit.

            The gospel, like fire, gives light. It gives the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. It sheds light upon our hearts and teaches us about ourselves, exposing our sin. The gospel gives us the light of God’s salvation, light about the world and time, and light about judgment and eternity.

            The gospel, like fire, has a great testing quality. Nothing tests earthly things like fire. And nothing tests spiritual and heavenly things like the gospel (1 Corinthians 3:13). By that which is written in the Book of God, and by that alone we test and prove every doctrine, every ordinance, every religious practice, and every religious trend.

            The gospel, like fire, is cheering and comforting. Those who have experienced it find that the cold of this world no longer pinches as it once did. We may be poor, but the gospel’s fire takes away the chilliness of poverty. We may be sick, but the gospel gives our souls joy even in the body’s decay. We may be slandered and neglected, but the gospel honors us in the sight of God. The gospel, wherever it is experienced in the heart, becomes a divine source of matchless consolation.

      Fire is tremendously aggressive. So is the gospel of Christ. Take a few live coals, put them down in a pile of dry straw, and tell the fire, “I have given you a pile of straw to burn. Now burn, burn away to your heart’s content. That straw is yours. But you can go no further. You must burn only this pile of straw. Give off no sparks or flames. Ignite nothing else.” While you are talking so foolishly, you will soon find your barn in a heap of ashes. Fire is aggressive. It is never naturally contained. So it is with the gospel. It spreads as naturally as fire and licks up everything in its path, wherever the Wind of Heaven blows it.

      As fire ultimately prevails, so the gospel of Christ shall prevail. It is clearly revealed in Scripture that as the world was once destroyed by water, it will a second time be destroyed by fire. It is predestined that earth and all the works that are therein shall be burnt up, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Fire will win the day. The oceans roll and roar, as it were, in great pride, and laugh at fire; but fire will lick up the waters of the sea with its tongues of flame. All the cities, and nations, and elements of the earth shall soon be consumed with fire.

      So it is with the gospel. The seas of iniquity shall ultimate dissolve before our God and his Christ. The day shall soon come when the fire of the gospel shall make the whole world to be a burnt-offering unto the Lord God Most High.

            One more comparison: — Like fire, the Gospel consumes (Psalm 39:4, 10-11). When the Lord God, by the application of the gospel, makes a man to know his end, the measure of his days, and how frail he is, he is consumed by the revelation. Blessed Savior, send your fire, and consume my unbelief, my pride and self-righteousness, consume my apathy and indifference, my love of the world, consume my heart, consume my life!

“Now, for the love I bear His name,

What was my gain I count my loss;

My former pride I call my shame,

And nail my glory to His cross.

Yes, and I must and will esteem

All things but loss for Jesus’ sake:

O may my soul be found in Him,

And of His righteousness partake.”

Don Fortner

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