I was wondering what Jesus meant in Mark 9:38-40 where John told Him of a man who was casting out devils in Jesus’ name but forbade the man from doing so because he didn’t follow with them. How does the verse “For he that is not against us is on our part” apply today? I know that many people claim and preach Christ, but also preach false doctrines, though they do many works in His name. What does “for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me” mean? Does that include the false teachers of today? Thank you for your thoughts!<\/p>\n\t
“Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.” But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is on our side<\/em>” (Mark 9:38-40).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
First, take note of what is\u00a0not<\/strong> said. The man was casting out demons, but there is no mention of his teaching false doctrine. The only thing John is upset about was the fact that the man was not one of the followers of Jesus. By this, John is not accusing him of not believing in Jesus or not following after the teachings of Jesus; rather, this man wasn’t one of their number.<\/p>\n
What Jesus is pointing is that if a man is not against Christ, then he must be for Christ. Keep this in mind and look at what John later says, “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son<\/em>” (II John 9). Thus, the implication is that when Jesus said that this man was for them, he was teaching proper doctrine that was in accord with what Jesus wanted to be taught. This was not a false teacher who was casting out demons. Think about it. If the man was a false teacher, then by whose power was he casting out demons? It wouldn’t have been his own because mere men do not have such power. It couldn’t have been God’s if he was teaching falsely because God would not have supported a false teacher. Nor could it have been the Devil because demons are on his side anyway (Matthew 12:27-28). The only logical answer is that he was casting out demons by the power of God, and God was lending him strength because he was teaching the truth.<\/p>\n
The real lesson being taught is that truth is truth. If a person opened his Bible and learned from its pages what was necessary for salvation and for worshiping God and he began to teach his friends and neighbors and then formed a congregation that followed the teachings of the New Testament, then a church of Christ has been established. It doesn’t matter if the man never had seen another church or not. It is the truth that creates it — nothing more or less. This is why the church has never ceased to exist despite several concerted efforts to suppress it over the centuries. All it takes is an honest heart reading the Bible and it blossoms once again.<\/p>\n
This passage also shows that the concept of succession, where a denomination claims to be the “real” church because it can trace its heritage from one church to another all the way back to the apostles is nonsense. While the church spreads rapidly when Christians teach others to follow Christ, it is not a requirement. A person can learn what is needed on their own by simply reading their Bibles and studying its pages. It might go faster with an experienced Christian pointing out the critical areas, but it can be done and has been done independently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I was wondering what Jesus meant in Mark 9:38-40 where John told Him of a man who was casting out devils in Jesus’ name but forbade the man from doing so because he didn’t follow with them. How does the verse “For he that is not against us is on our part” apply today?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[300,478],"class_list":["post-5950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-denominations","tag-false-teachers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35403,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-if-while-i-encourage-christians-i-end-up-encouraging-members-of-a-false-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":5950,"position":0},"title":"What if, while I encourage Christians, I end up encouraging members of a false religion?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have recently finished another article about letting our acts and voices continue to confess Christ throughout our lives.\u00a0 I was wondering though, what if I end up encouraging someone from a false religion to do more for their denomination?\u00a0 My aim is to encourage Christians, but it's always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45854,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-we-only-teach-people-who-will-join-the-local-congregation\/","url_meta":{"origin":5950,"position":1},"title":"Should we only teach people who will join the local congregation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I am writing for some advice.\u00a0 I live in a city and worship just outside the city in a small town.\u00a0 I have a passion for sharing the Gospel with the lost.\u00a0 While at a congregation in the city, I was blessed to share with people who often\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8117,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/may-christians-make-use-of-denominationally-sponsored-preschools\/","url_meta":{"origin":5950,"position":2},"title":"May Christians make use of denominationally sponsored preschools?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In our area, we have many preschools and pre-kindergartens that are located in the buildings of different denominations. Some are government-funded and some are just private schools. These schools are like any other in that they are preparing the children for kindergarten. The only Bible teachings are just Bible\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60388,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/those-other-sinners\/","url_meta":{"origin":5950,"position":3},"title":"Those “Other” Sinners","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Robert F. Turner \"And John answered and said, `Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us'\" (Luke 9:49). Answered what? The word may mean, \"began to speak\" but Vine says, it is always \"where something has preceded,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69718,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/unity-among-brethren\/","url_meta":{"origin":5950,"position":4},"title":"Unity Among Brethren","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Sewell Hall via Biblical Insights, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014 Jesus prayed, \"that they all may be\u00a0one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us\" (John 17:21). This prayer was not for unity among denominations, nor even for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21399,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-jesus-omniscient\/","url_meta":{"origin":5950,"position":5},"title":"Was Jesus omniscient?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question that I hope you can answer for me.\u00a0 Last night I heard a man preach that Jesus was not omniscient while on earth. I asked him after the sermon to explain passages like John 16:30 where the disciples state that Jesus knew everything.\u00a0 He said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5950\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}