This is a much longer post than normal, but I thought I would post the transcript for today's sermon, in case anyone might be interested.
Before we deal with that further, I want to talk about our passage for today. If you have been here more than a couple of weeks you know that we have been making our way through the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7. And today we find ourselves at the conclusion of that sermon. Before you actually turn to the passage, I would like you to humor me just for a moment and I would like you to listen to the way I heard this passage for many years, because I think it is one of those passages that we sometimes remember differently than how it really is. Maybe this is the same way that you have heard it and maybe this is how you have heard it taught. Maybe you still think of it this way, or at least, maybe this is the way you live it. So, just listen for a moment to how I translated this passage for many years:
"Everyone then who believes in Jesus is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who does not believe in Jesus is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Some of you are already shaking your heads. Let me remind you, that is the translation that I developed in my own mind. This is what I heard, not necessarily what is written. Unfortunately, I don't think that is an uncommon translation, at least in practical terms. I would be willing to bet that in casual conversations with other Christians, you have at least come across some similar variation of that same translation. I have heard countless people talk about their life being built on the rock of Jesus Christ, meaning that since they believe in Jesus, they feel confident that they have built their life on a firm foundation and they will one day be in heaven as a result. On a very practical level, that is what many Christians hope Jesus meant. But it is not what he said.
Now, I would like you to turn to Matthew 7:23-27 and read with me and listen carefully to how Jesus really concludes the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:23-27
“Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!” (Matthew 7:24-27 NET)
Do you see the important difference? Do you understand the implications of those differences? Jesus is not asking for belief, he is proclaiming the importance of obedience.
There is always an interesting tension in our faith - the tension between grace and works. We understand that there is never enough that we can do to earn our salvation. No matter how good we are and how many good things we do, we can never be good enough to earn our way into heaven, thus the need for, and the gift of, grace.
But, if we study scripture, even a little, it is clear that Jesus does, in fact, make demands of those who would choose to call themselves Christians. When people came to Jesus to ask him how they could inherit eternal life, Jesus never responded with "believe in me," instead he made demands - demands that required action. And they were seldom easy demands! Jesus did not call people just to believe in him, he called people to follow him. And to follow him requires us, sometimes, to do difficult things. Following Jesus means doing the things that he has instructed his followers to do. It means obedience, even obedience to difficult commands. If you think that Jesus only asks us to do easy things, you need to go back and re-read Matthew 5, 6, and 7! Remember, our passage this morning is the end of a sermon filled with difficult teaching. If you haven't yet, I would encourage you to read Matthew 5, 6, and 7 through in one sitting. Even if you have, I would encourage you to do it again, and think about all that Jesus says and ask yourself - Does Jesus make demands of his followers? Does Jesus make demands on me?
In American Christianity, there is a pervasive notion that belief and faith are synonymous. Our country is filled with nominal Christians, if they are Christians at all, that cling to the hope that belief is enough. They have sold themselves on the mistaken notion that God's grace will save them merely because they believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for their sins. See, belief that Jesus is the Son of God, and belief that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and belief that he rose from the grave and belief that we are saved by grace and belief that belief in all those things will get us into to heaven, requires nothing from us beyond intellectual knowledge. Belief requires no action. Belief requires no obedience. Belief requires no repentance. Belief requires no sacrifice. Belief requires no transformation. Belief is relatively easy.
But Jesus never said that belief was enough. Belief does not build you a house on rock.
I want you to turn in your Bibles to James 2 and I want you to read with me what James has to say about belief and about faith. Many of you have probably heard this several times before, but I think it is worth another reminder. We will start reading in James 2 verse 14, and as we read keep in mind what Jesus said about the wise builder.
James 2:14-26
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that – and tremble with fear. But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “ Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (James 2:14-26 NET)
Do you think that belief is enough?
Do you really believe that God expects nothing from us?
Hebrews 11 is often called the Hall of Fame of Faith. It is filled with brief descriptions of the great heroes of faith. Throughout the chapter it highlights what made their faith so great, and you know what they have in common? Their faith caused them to do something.
"By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice..."
"By faith Noah... Constructed an ark..."
"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance...
"By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin."
"By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies."
The difference between belief and faith is action. If you read Hebrews 11, you quickly realize that it is filled with people who took action as a result of their faith. It is filled with people who did crazy things, things that did not make sense, things that the rest of the world saw as foolishness - they did those things out of obedience, having complete confidence in what God promised.
And because of the actions that they took, actions that were the result of their faith, it was credited to them as righteousness.
Some would like to believe that Jesus makes no demands on us. Some would like to stop at "saved by grace" and argue that there is nothing we need to do. Some would like to believe that where they are is good enough. But before we get all caught up in quoting Ephesians 2:8 and 9, we should be sure to include verse 10 as well and understand that verse 10 is every bit as important as verses 8 and 9:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
If you are not willing to embrace the reality of verse 10, that you were created to do good works, then you don't really understand verses 8 and 9. While it is not works that save us, it is our works that show the reality of our faith. If we refuse to do the very thing that we were created for, how can we claim to have a faith that saves? If our faith does not cause us to be obedient to the teachings of scripture, do we really have faith?
In Philippians 2:12-13 Paul wires this:
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Philippians 2:12-13 NIV)
He does not say, "Hey, since you guys already believe in Jesus, you're good. You should just kick back and enjoy the fact that you are saved by grace and you really don't need to do anything else."
In fact Paul tells us that we should never be content, that, despite being saved by grace, we should never feel as though we have done enough. God's grace should motivate us to do everything we possible to please our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In Philippians 3 he describes it like this:
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:7-14 NIV)
Paul understood that he was saved by grace, but he also understood that he had a calling on his life. He understood that the Philippians had a calling on their lives. And he understood that every Christian that would come after him, would have a calling on their lives as well - a calling that would never be perfected while we were here, but a calling that we all must pursue with everything that is in us. We are all called to do the works were created for us to do for the glory and honor of God our Father.
Have we been saved by grace? Absolutely! We have been saved by grace to do good works for the pleasure of God the Father!
Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount by comparing two builders - the one who built on rock and the one who built on sand. The difference between the two is not a matter of belief. The difference is a matter of obedience. Does Jesus make demands on the world? Maybe we could say "the world" is too broad a term, but clearly Jesus makes demands on those who would choose to follow him. So after three chapters of some difficult teaching, it seems to me that Jesus is challenging us to make a decision - we have to make a choice - are we going to be believers, or are we going to be followers? Jesus has delivered in these three chapters some difficult, and, at times, unpleasant teaching and he ends by proclaiming the need to obey that teaching. Do we have the kind of faith that describes those in Hebrews 11, in the Hall of Fame of Faith? Do we have faith thar Paul describes as "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see"? Do you have faith that leads you to obedience or have you simply become content to be a believer? Do you continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling? Are you pressing on toward the goal that God has called you to? Or are you hoping that belief is enough?
The Sermon is finished and Jesus is demanding a response!
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