Jesus Sent a Sword
In Matt 10:34, Jesus said that he didn’t come to send peace on earth. Jesus sent a sword, instead. A sword is for cutting things, not mending them in peaceful reconciliation.
The sharp two-edged sword of the word of God, in Heb 4:12, divides things asunder that are closely connected. It divides the soul from the spirit, and the joints and marrow. That is precision cutting.
From the very beginning of the Bible you see that God is a divider. God divided the light from the darkness. He divided the Day from the Night. And, he divided the waters above the firmament from the waters below the firmament. A little later, he carved out a people for himself.
Likewise, we are to be divided from some things.
Use His Sword To:
Cut Away Error
The Lord divides truth from error. Everything the devil says is a lie; there is no truth in him. Jesus, on the other hand, is truth. There is no lie in him. They are mutually exclusive. You can’t make peace between a lie and the truth.
Our loins are girt with the truth to protect us from all lies. If the Bible shows you that you have believed a lie, cut that lie off. The Bible is much easier to understand when you cut away the errors you used to believe. Every time the Bible reveals an error to you, cut out the error and go with the truth.
Cut Away Sin
The Lord divides sin from righteousness. All unrighteousness is sin, 1 Jn 5:17. If it’s not right, then it’s sin. There is no middle ground. There is no peaceful way to keep a sin in your life, when you are trying to live righteously.
Every saved person has a new man and an old man. There is just no way for these to get along with each other. There is no peace between the new man and the old man. When the old man raises his head and cries to have his desires met, show him the sword and tell him to shut up. Crucify the old man. That’s the only remedy for that guy.
Cut Away Wrong Associations
In 2 Cor 6:14-18, we are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. There is no communion of believers with unbelievers. Light has no fellowship with darkness. Christ has no fellowship with the Devil. Righteousness has no fellowship with unrighteousness.
One of the gravest mistakes I made in my early Christian life was thinking that I could live in two worlds at the same time. You can’t love the world and love the world to come at the same time. Your love for the things of this world and its worldly pleasures will draw you away from your love of God. In the context of Matt 10, even some familial relationships will be severed when you choose to follow Jesus.
Summary of Jesus Sent a Sword
Jesus gave us his sword to cut away things that hold us back from our peaceful relationship with him. Use this sword to cut away error, and sin, and wrong associations. Then your life with Christ will be much more peaceful.