Yes, Yes and No, No

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us to “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” . Our trumpet must produce a clear sound. A mixture of “Yes” and “No” is double-mindedness. Such people cannot receive anything from the Lord, but must cleanse their hearts, as James writes.

We have all received grace from God at some point in time to say “Yes” to Jesus, and that “Yes” must never fall silent in our lives. We must continue to say “Yes” to Jesus, to Him who loved us and gave His life for us. This becomes a “Yes” to the works that God has prepared for us, that we should walk in them without any complaining and disputing. Then we will be sure that the building of our lives stands on the solid rock, and will never be shaken again. But this requires that there must be a clear “No” when we are tempted by the desires of our flesh to do the works of the flesh, and a clear “Yes” to put to death the deeds of the body when God reveals them to us by His Spirit. Great zeal and resolve are required here.

Moses learned from his mother who he was, and when he grew up, he chose to say “No” to becoming a great man in the world of his time. “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” .

Paul also had experience with what was considered great in his day, but after he met Jesus on the way to Damascus and had given his clear “Yes” to Him, there was only one longing in him, namely to know Him. He was gripped by Jesus Christ, and through that, he also taught us to say a clear “No.” He writes to the Romans: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” . Paul did not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He had the Son of God, Christ Jesus, as an example and, together with his brothers, he preached Him who was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him was “Yes.” And when it came to the promises, they had their “Yes” in Jesus, and therefore Jesus also received their amen—may it also be done in us—to the glory of God. .

Jesus was clear when He was tempted by the devil. After forty days of fasting, the devil appeared with all the glory of the world. But Jesus’ clear “No” was unequivocal: “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”’” . Even when He felt that His soul was troubled, and He was uncertain about what He should say—He wished to be saved from this hour. Then He exclaimed: No! “. . . for this purpose I came to this hour.” . Once again, there was a clear “No” to Satan. Let there always be a clear “No!” to Satan in our lives too, in all various temptations. Jesus had the power to lay down His life in order to take it again. Through the Holy Spirit, we also have the power to do so.

The spirit of the times influences people to be free, free from traditional norms, liberated from old limits and boundaries— just to live out what they desire, according to the lusts of the flesh. People are increasingly losing the ability to say “No” to what destroys, and “Yes” to what brings peace and joy in life. Peter exhorts us to flee from the corruption in the world that comes from lust. We must learn to say “No” to ourselves—to flee from what corrupts. Here lies the beginning and continuation of partaking of a divine life. Jesus says: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” . This opens the door to that which is new, where I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. May this pervade everything we do.

Bjørn Nilsen