The Decision We All Must Make

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions…”

The original quote is that “Hell is full of good intentions or wishes.”

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

The point is that there are many people who will think they are okay with God, but Jesus didn’t come and die for us to just be okay with Him or have good intentions regarding God and His Word.

The separatists who separated themselves from God…

There was a group of devout believers who saw God’s people assimilating to the culture around them. They were blending God’s Word with the world’s standards.

So they separated themselves from the culture and taught others to do the same. They cared deeply about obeying God and living holy lives. They taught the people of God that holiness was not just reserved for God’s House and spiritual leaders, but that God desired for everyone to seek to live a holy and separated life.

The problem is eventually their teachings that were used as guardrails became the law itself. And their obedience wasn’t about honoring God, but honoring themselves.

The separatists who seprated themselves from God—The Pharisees.

They had good intentions, but eventually Sin and Satan twisted their hearts to make their holy living a sense of self-righteousness instead of a dependence on God.

In Luke 2 we see a devout man who reveals that Jesus will bring peace with God to man, but that peace would also cause division between God’s people and the world around them.

Luke 2:22–38 “22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” 36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

This passage and the Old Testament command to bring the firstborn to the Lord is where we get the practice of Baby Dedication.

This starts out as a very sweet moment with Simeon blessing God for having seen the Messiah. Then it ends with this sweet and wonderful moment of Anna prophesying of the redemption that God was bringing into the world.

But in the middle of it all, just as Mary and Joseph are soaking in Simeon’s words of praise…it turns.

Joseph and Mary are marveling at what was being said, the situation changes...Luke 2:34–35 “34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.””

Following Jesus will unite you with God, but it will divide you from the world.

Falling and rising is a reminder that the cross is a leveling agent. There are some that feel unworthy to be saved and Jesus comes to raise them up with hope. There are some that feel like they are good and should be considered for their good works, and Jesus comes to humble them.

But for all who receive Jesus, He raises them up to eternal life. Even the ones who have to be humbled are raised up with hope and joy instead of pride and fear.

Regardless Jesus demands a decision. You will either follow Him or forsake Him.

You are either turning towards Jesus or turning away from Him.

There is no such thing as a casual follower of Jesus. Those who seem to casually follow Jesus have are not following Jesus, they are following a Jesus of their own making.

That’s the offensiveness of the cross. You have to make a decision about Jesus. Some try to compromise and make it like they can pick and choose how to follow Jesus.

Many approach with Christ like purchasing a car. You have all these different packages.

The 2026 Ford F-150 has 9 different trim levels.

XL, STX, XLT, LARIAT, TREMOR, KING RANCH, PLATINUM, RAPTOR, and RAPTOR R.

And then you can build you own within these models picking what you do or don’t want and of course you get to play with colors.

Following Jesus is like the OG Model T. You can have it in any color you want so long as that color you want is black.

You can come to God anyway you want, so long as the way you want to come is through total and complete surrender to Jesus Christ.

So you can get along with people in the world to a point. But eventually following Jesus is going to separate you from the people of the world. You’re going to make a statement about homosexuality, sex outside of marriage, abortion, drunkenness, appropriate language and jokes, you’re going to be honest when someone else would hide a mistake, you’re going to be kind when others would be vindictive or angry…something should separate you from others.

You will rise among men or God and consequently, you will either fall among men or among God.

Conflict will reveal your level of commitment.

Mary is a perfect example of us. Yes, her sword was not only the ridicule of the world, but watching a Son that she loved and raised be rejected and killed in the most cruel way possible.

But every one of us will face the sword not just from the world, but from Jesus Himself.

Hebrews 4:12 “12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

You just think you’re ready to follow Jesus. Or you begin to think that you are killing it and immediately you learn that there is a sin in your life that you missed.

Sanctification is a process. God is shaping and forming you more and more every day.

As you spend time in the Bible, God is going to confront you. If you’re not feeling confronted at some point when you read God’s Word, you’re not paying attention. God is going to confront sin in your life as you read His Word.

Mary is the perfect example because she shows us what we should do when the sword pierces us—we remain steadfast with Jesus. We endure the sword.

Next Step: Move intentionally instead of sitting on good intentions.

Your rising or falling is based entirely on whether of not you are actively turning towards Jesus or away from Him.