|
||||||
| SERMON #191 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes, MAT 7:24-29. This is a continuation and the conclusion of the series on the Sermon on the Mount. This sermon of our blessed Saviour is so precious! Take notice that those who hear His Sermon, and do His sayings are like the man who built his house on the rock. Those who hear His sayings and do not do them are like the man who built his house upon the sand. Do you understand that when we hear the sayings of Jesus and do not do them, we are defying His authority? We have not understood the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ when we do not do as He commands. Read again the last phrase of our text: "For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." All authority is given unto Him. In MAT 28:18 Jesus came and spake unto His disciples, "...saying, All power [authority as it is in the Greek] is given unto me in heaven and in earth." He is the only authority. People cite so many authorities in the world today. Most of them are stealing the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no authority in the world today except Jesus Christ. He is the only authority, and look how we defy that authority when we hear His sayings and do them not. That sets His authority at nought. Let's consider how the Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5 through 7 follows through with perfect continuity. We see in MAT 5:17-19, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Which commandments is Jesus talking about? They are the law and the gospel which hang upon loving God above all and loving one's neighbour as themselves. This is the law of love that is emphasized throughout the Sermon on the Mount. If we slight one of the least of these, we are slighting the authority with which the King of kings has spoken. Now we get a little glimpse of the meaning of our text. If we hear and do, we are building on the rock; we are building on Christ and on His authority because we are submissive and in subjection to the authority of His Word. If we hear and do not, then we have slighted the authority with which He has spoken. That is building on the sand. In the application of our text we must hold it in the context in which it was written. The connecting word Therefore directs our attention to what Jesus has just said in the previous verses;V:24 begins, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them...;" it is also the summary of the entire Sermon on the Mount. It directs our attention to the doctrines and teachings of the law of the gospel. It directs our attention to His teaching of the law of love. MAT 7:22-23 says, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." They will come with their rich experiences, who they are, and what they have done according to their human reasoning, but not according to His sayings. Jesus will answer them with His straight forward and unequivocal statement, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." He didn't know them because they didn't do what He told them to do. They are the ones who used their human reasoning, doing what was right in their own eyes. They heard His sayings and told everyone they believed in Christ, but they defamed Him, they platted a crown of thorns and placed it upon His head, saying "Lord, Lord." They didn't do what He said. That is the emphasis of the Sermon on the Mount. These principles as Jesus taught them do not mean we are going to merit anything by works, but we have a call to enter the strait gate as we see in V:13-14. It is a call to give up that which pleases self and live by the golden rule. The connecting word "Therefore" connects the words of our text with His denouncing an empty profession made by those who follow false prophets who teach only a legal repentance. Much of the preaching today teaches only a legal repentance, i.e., a sorrow over the consequences of sin without a sorrow for sin itself. People are told to feel sorry for their sins to escape hell. They want to come into heaven by the way of the blood of Christ for a pardon with no desire to walk in the strait and narrow way. Jesus is warning against this type of repentance, i.e., desiring Christ's blood for a pardon with no desire to come to the fountain for cleansing from sin itself. Some people make a great profession with no desire to serve the Lord; they have never come to a remorse over their sins because they have offended the Holy Father. They don't understand the sinfulness of sin; they are only fleeing from its penalty. To those people Jesus will "profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." In other words, you have never turned from your sin; you are still working iniquity. You have heard what I said, but you have not done it. Take notice of MAT 7:21, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Those who have come to truly fear the Lord will enter His kingdom, i.e., His service in this life. A very precious example is given to us when the angel of the Lord spoke from heaven as Abraham raised his hand to thrust the knife into his son to sacrifice him in obedience. GEN 22:12 says, "And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." You see, we must be able to put everything on the altar, not in a legalistic way, but in holy reverence for the will of God. We must act from a motivation of love, not only hearing His sayings, but doing them. The connecting word therefore demonstrates that our text must not be construed to refer only to the atoning blood of Christ, but it must be held in context with what Jesus had just said in V:21, but also in V:23. Many take a passage of Scripture or a portion of a text and preach endlessly what they believe. They often completely ignore the context, take it out of context, and therefore, omit the meaning of the Holy Spirit in that verse. We must watch for this. Watch the context of MAT 7:21, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Then it follows through with MAT 7:23. Jesus is not presenting Himself as the Redeemer, tenderly wooing sinners to Himself, but as a Righteous Judge saying to the hypocrites, "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Our text teaches that anyone who thinks they are saved by trusting in the blood of Christ for salvation while disregarding the spirit of the law of love is deceiving himself. Plainer language cannot be spoken in this matter. People may talk about all manner of wonderful experiences saying, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" Their experiences are no greater than those of the children of Israel. The Israelites saw the wrath of God coming upon the Egyptians and sparing their own nation; they put the blood on the lintels of their doors so the destroying angel would pass over and spare their first born. Think of the experience they had at the Red Sea; they saw the pillar of cloud that separated them and Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea opening to let them go through. Think of the experience the Israelites had when they sang the song of Moses. "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness," 1CO 10:4-5. Those were tremendous experiences, but their unbelief caused them to perish in the wilderness. They refused to do what God had spoken. It is so important that we understand this. Fearing God and striving to do His will is not an indication we will merit anything by works; neither is it an indication that we can claim salvation because we have done these things. Jesus is teaching us that rebellion must be broken, and our will must be dissolved in the will of God as the exercise of saving faith. The foundation referred to in our text, "for it was founded upon a rock" is not the same as the foundation referred to in 1CO 3:11, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." Some pastors preach on our text calling Christ the foundation based upon 1CO 3:11. That is not the foundation referred to in our text. These verses must be kept in the context in which it is written. Then we can understand what the gospel is telling us. This verse is not excluded, but it is not the foundation that is emphasized in our text. The foundation to which our text is referring is altogether different. It is the same as found in 1TI 6:17-19, "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good [They not only hear but do.], that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." Do you see the foundation we are speaking of in our text? Luke's counterpart in LUK 6:48 speaks of laying our foundation upon the rock. The word foundation and word rock are two different words. It is not speaking of the same thing as 1CO 3:11. In that instance Christ is counted the foundation. In this instance it is speaking of a foundation which we lay upon the rock, i.e., those who are "...rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." The Lord wants us to build a good foundation for our hope. That foundation is a holy reverence for the Word of God in its full context. It is important to distinguish between the various ways in which the word foundation is used in Scripture. We may not take a portion of Scripture out of context and make a religion around it. That is the source of many false religions today. Let's see how the Scripture distinguishes between the uses of the word foundation. We find a reference to a foundation in Hebrews. The word foundation is also used to teach that we have no vital Godliness until the "...foundation of repentance from dead works," HEB 6:1, has been laid. We must turn from the works of sin whereby the "foundation of repentance" is laid, and that becomes a foundation. The word foundation is used in our text to distinguish between the wise or the foolish builders. When one builds a building, the foundation is not usually in sight. In other words, the foundation upon which I build the hope of my salvation is not open and naked to the world. Others cannot look into my heart and soul and see the foundation I am building on, the basis for my salvation. If you go to fifty different churches you may find fifty different foundations. They are found within, not revealed to the world. The basis upon which I base my salvation, i.e., my foundation, will determine whether I am a wise or foolish builder. The professed Christian not only builds, but may build much faster because he has not taken time to dig deep, and lay his foundation upon the solid rock. The counterpart to our text in Luke says to dig deep. We must dig deep into the Word of God to find His sayings and His will that we may do His will with holy reverence. If one does not do the digging into God's Word to know His will, he is laying his foundation upon the sand, not doing God's will. The wise are not distinguished by, "He that heareth these sayings of mine and understands them"! The wisdom of this world is measured by how much one understands. You can go to a university to take the whole course and your score will determine how well you learned the material. That is not the increment of measurement which Jesus uses. He is speaking of the wise builder, and it is not based on how much we understand. The wise are not distinguished by, "He that heareth these sayings of mine and believeth in me"! Have you ever heard a preacher go on and on about how all one needs to do is believe? That is not the measurement by which Jesus will determine if we are a wise or a foolish builder. What our text is saying goes much deeper than that. Jesus is saying there are millions who have died claiming to believe in Christ who have never put the law of love into practice. They believe in Him according to their human reasoning; they will come in the Judgment Day saying, "Lord, Lord." Sure they professed to believe in Him, but did they? They didn't practice the law of love; they had no reverence His authority as King of kings. See this in MAT 7:22-23, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Preaching from such passages as JOH 3:16 or ACT 16:31 with all the emphasis on the word believe while remaining silent on the verses which insist upon repentance, forsaking sin, denying self, and the call to obedience to the law of love is what Jesus warned of in MAT 7:15-21. They are the false prophets. Jesus was warning of this very gospel when He said, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Jesus qualified this by saying in V;21, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." It is so important to realize that it is not just by raising your hand or by walking the isle to profess, "I believe in Christ," that guarantees you will enter the kingdom. No, Jesus says in MAT 7:21, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." It is so important that the preaching of the gospel is preaching the whole counsel of God. It is a devastating thing to take a portion of Scripture out of context and make a religion of it. The authority of The Word is called into question when one willfully serves sin instead of Christ. When Jesus speaks, He speaks with authority. When Jesus says, "Love your neighbour as yourself," it is not an option. In the Lord's Prayer we read, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." At the end of the Lord's Prayer Jesus says, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses," MAT 6:14-15. Jesus is telling us we are to not only hear what He says, but we are to do it. If we don't, we are unbelievers; we are coming against His authority. MAT 7:28-29 says, "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." We must understand the authority with which He spoke these sayings. He has been given all authority. Good works are not to be taught as meritorious, but as the exercise of saving faith which is our evidence of its genuineness. JAM 2:26 says, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." That is a solemn thing. Faith without works is as dead as a body without a soul. The obedience of faith is the exercise of saving faith; the doing or exercise is the life of the obedience of faith which demonstrates that it is alive. The exercise of saving faith will not only reveal that love is the true motive for good works, but it will also be used to separate the sheep from the goats on the final judgment. Love of our neighbour must be the motive whereby we bring him the cup of cold water. If we do it to earn heaven, we have the wrong attitude. Then our heart is not right. When we see a person in need, we must reach out to them in a humble, loving spirit. Love must motivate us to reach out to our fellow man. We are to reach out to those in prison or sick because we see their need; we feel sympathy, and the love of our heart reaches out to help them. That is the proper motive; it is not on the basis of merit. This is what will separate the sheep and the goats on the great judgment day. JOH 5:28-29 tells us, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." Do you see the separation of the sheep and the goats? Is it because one has experienced justification in this life? No! We will not be saved by works, but neither will we be saved without works; without the labor of love which is the fruit of the Spirit, we are not able to claim salvation. Those are solemn realities that are not very well understood today. It is those who have served the Lord in this life who will serve Him in the life to come. We see that in MAL 3:17-18, "And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." Where is the separation between the righteous and the wicked? It is between those who serve the Lord and those who do not. That is not a legalistic, slavish servitude. It is based on the heart's desire to do the will of God. We see our fellow man, and our heart's desire is to do unto him as we would have him do unto us. It is a motivation of sympathy and love. That is a Christlike spirit. The word Therefore tells us that the distinction between those who observe the law of love and those who do not distinguishes between the exercise of saving faith and presumptuous sin. We must understand the great difference between saving faith and presumptuous sin. Presumptuous sin is the great transgression. HEB 10:26-27 says, "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth [we are sinning presumptuously, and], there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Do you see the tremendous distinction between presumptuous sin and faith? Do you see that we cannot just hear His sayings and not do them? That would not be building on the rock. We have to understand in our own soul why the Word of God says that if we sin willfully, there is no pardon. Those are strong words, but the words of Scripture are stronger and undeniable. Why is there no pardon? It is because it is trampling upon the blood of Christ! If we claim a pardon based upon the blood of Christ, if we ever knew what it was for Christ to step under the wrath of the Father in the way of obedience to pay the penalty of our sin, we would see how grievously displeased the Lord is with sin and how pleased He is with obedience. The sinfulness of sin is the greatest enemy we can have. Then we cannot sin willfully; we cannot lightly esteem the least of His commandments because we see how grievously it displeases the Lord. HEB 10:28-29 says, "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" Do you see how grievous it is to hear His sayings and slight them? That is trampling on the blood of Christ and His perfect sacrifice where He came in such humility. He bowed Himself before the Father in perfect obedience so His righteousness might be imparted to us. When we sin willfully, we trample on that precious blood which was shed through obedience, that holy covenant of peace which was obtained through the blood of His cross; we count the sacrifice wherewith we were sanctified as an unholy thing if we sin willfully. Jesus is talking about this in our text when He speaks of those who are building upon the sand. To hear His sayings and not do them is sinning after having received the knowledge of the truth! Those sins are presumptuous sins! Those who hear His words and ignore them are building upon the sand; they sin willfully when they hear His words and do them not. How do we discern in our own fold between the sheep and the goats? Where do we stand? We all offend in many things; we see how short we come, but the identifying mark is found on those who fear God. Do we fear God? Do we understand that one must have such a holy reverence for the will of God that from our heart we are able to put everything on the altar, like Abraham, to do His will? Or do we slight His commandments? Can we willfully and idly slight them? The precious blood of the covenant was shed for the appeasing of God's wrath upon sin. To preach the whole counsel of God we must teach the need to do these sayings of Jesus as the Apostle Peter taught in 2PE 2:20-22 with the same faithfulness as we preach JOH 3:16. 2PE 2:20-22 says, "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ they are again entangled therein [They are taken in the power of sin again], and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. [Why? They are sinning willfully against knowledge.] For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness [to have heard His sayings], than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." In other words, they have proven to be a dog; they have proven themselves to be a sow. Why? After they have escaped the pollution of sin by the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, they turned from Him and became entangled in the things of this world again. They were overcome. It would be better for them to not hear Jesus' sayings than to hear them and not do them. Their end is now worse than their beginning when they didn't know. The distinction between the exercise of saving faith and the damning power of unbelief is the difference between hearing only, and observing to do the will of God under the law of love. In the following passage of Scripture the children of Israel are in the wilderness talking about taking possession of the promised land. NUM 13:30-31 says, "And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we." By faith Joshua and Caleb pleaded with the people to not rebel against the Lord because they had knowledge of the Lord's will; the command was to go up, go forward, and they refused to do it. NUM 14:7-10 says, "And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us [if we have a right attitude and observe to do His sayings], then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. [What a powerful testimony of God's faithfulness to a rebellious people.] But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel." The Lord was wroth because the people had seen all the wonders God had done, and they would not "do" His sayings. The last end of them was worse than the first. To willfully sin and rebel against God's revealed will is as the sin of witchcraft. 1-SA 15:22-23 tells us, "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice [it is better to obey these sayings of Jesus than to plead His blood as a pardon for disobeying!], and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king." Willful disobedience is the sin of witchcraft. It is a most damning sin to slight God's commandments and His wrath upon sin while we seize upon the death of His Son as our claim to the inheritance of eternal life. The Lord is not pleased when we willfully disobey and then come before Him and plead the blood of Christ for a pardon. That is what the Lord Jesus is teaching us in the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. We are not to trample on the authority of His sayings. Unbelief and disobedience are as synonymous as saving faith and the obedience of faith. You cannot separate faith and obedience, but neither can you separate disobedience and unbelief. In ROM 16:25-26 we read, "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith." All of this mystery of salvation was made known to you and me "for the obedience of faith." We may not trample upon it. Disobedience, i.e., unbelief, prevented the Israelites from entering the promised land. See how Scripture speaks of "them that had sinned" synonymously with unbelief which is a damning sin. HEB 3:17-19 says, "But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." Do you see the connection between sinning and unbelief? They are one. The Israelites could not enter into the land because they did not believe; it was a damning sin. These Israelites had more, and richer, experiences than any man today can claim. Their rebellion in light of these very experiences is what invoked the Lord's displeasure! If we claim to have experienced God's love and nearness, the Lord will call us to account for this very experience if we rebel against Him. The Israelites sinned with knowledge and against light, love, and mercy. "And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? [All these rich experiences will now only testify against them!] I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they," NUM 14:11-12. The Israelites had experienced many wonders in the land of Egypt. They were delivered from plagues; they escaped through the parting of the Red Sea while Pharaoh's men perished. They saw with wonder how water came from a rock as a symbol of Christ; they drank of it, and it followed them through the wilderness. With this experience and knowledge, the Lord held them to account. "How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?" In other words, how long will it be before they obey Him? If they believe, they obey. Then the account goes on in V:12, "I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they." The Lord did not destroy them all at once because Moses pleaded the honor of God's name. Moses knew God's name would be dishonored if the heathen heard that He had destroyed all of them. We will never be able to please God by keeping the letter of the law, but as the Apostle Paul said in ROM 7:21-22, "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man." The evil that is present becomes the grief and the sorrow of our heart. It is not a liberty to set God's law at nought; Christian liberty is to be delivered from the power of sin. That term Christian liberty is so perverted today. It is used to justify actions against the Word of God. We are to delight in the law of God after the inward man, i.e., from the innermost desires of the heart, and anything we do against it is cause for sorrow. That brings us back to the throne of grace to ask forgiveness crying, "Lord forgive me!" Then the cry of our heart becomes that of PSA 130:3-4, "If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared." As we learn to see the plague of our own heart, we gain a holy reverence for the Lord and His will. As a result of our fallen nature, all of us have the inclinations of the flesh rising up in our hearts, but as our text says in V:25, "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock." When it is our heart's desire to do the will of God, the law of God is the delight of our heart. Then when all the rain descends, all the evil emotions and inclinations of the flesh rise up in our heart, we don't fall because we are not walking after the flesh. We do not follow those evil inclinations because we walk after the Spirit; we are founded upon the rock which is the Word of God. The rock is the Word, i.e., the sayings of the Lord Jesus Christ; when we walk after the Spirit, we will not fall into the temptations or follow the evil inclinations that rise up in our heart. We all have them, but we don't follow them; we don't wallow in them. "And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand." All these inclinations that rise up in the heart will cause us to fall if we are not founded on the Word of God, or the rock. Those who are not founded on the Lord Jesus Christ have not dug deep into the Word; they have not cherished the things of the Lord because they have not come to serve the living God. Therefore, they fall into lust, bitterness, and all the evil inclinations of the heart. Those who are founded upon the sand and human reasoning, walking in their own strength, do not do the law of love. They will not be able to stand the storm because their foundation is not founded on the Word. There is no delight in their hearts to do the will of God. They are not as fearful of sin as they ought to be; they become excusing. They excuse themselves and others because they are fallen creatures. That becomes the basis for doing what they know is sinful. There is no foundation, and the result is "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it," MAT 7:27. What was so dreadful about that fall? They fell from their first love. Christ must be our first love! He is the first and the last, He is the Alpha and Omega, i.e., the A though Z of our affections, He is the beginning and the end. They fall from this love of Christ to wallow in the mire and filth of sin. The last state of that person is worse than the first. The great question for us is, which inclinations do we follow? We must examine our heart; we have the inclinations of the Spirit and the inclinations of the flesh. Sometimes that becomes such a battlefield. If we have not dug deep and become founded upon the rock which is the Lord Jesus Christ, whose Name is the Word of God, we will fall. What course do we follow when the evil inclinations arise in our heart? ROM 8:1-5 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit." Is that the inclination which we follow? By nature sin is a law unto us, the pattern of our life. We must become free from that pattern and pattern our life after `the law of the Spirit of life in Christ', i.e., a daily exercise of the law of love which will deliver us from the law of sin. When we learn to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, we will be founded in Christ. The words of Christ, His sayings, are the foundation upon which we build. Then we can be delivered from all the influences that arise in our heart against the law of God. The law of sin means that those who "are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh." There is the conversation of their soul; that which traffics our heart and mind will be either the flesh or the Spirit of Christ. There is an old saying which is in fact an old fable, that seeing is believing. That is a lie! That was the philosophy of the High Priests when they hung Jesus on the cross; MAR 15:32 says, "Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him." The Israelites would not believe until they saw. They could sing the song of Moses when they saw the dead Egyptians on the shore. Before they crossed the Red Sea, they murmured against God and Moses. They could believe when they saw water coming out of the rock; but before they saw they murmured. They did not stand the trial of faith. Demanding to see before believing is presumptuous sin; that philosophy is unbelief. The truth of the matter is obeying is believing! Abraham obeyed, and he was the father of the faithful. The angel said, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me," GEN 22:12. Obeying in the face of absolute impossibility is believing, that's faith. When the Lord told Moses, "Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward," EXO 14:15, he obeyed, and the waters disappeared. In the face of total impossibility, Moses obeyed in faith, and the children of Israel followed him. Obeying is believing. This study on the Sermon on the Mount has been the most precious to me of any I have ever done. Our text says, "...For he taught them as one having authority..." What is believing? It is not only hearing but also doing the things God's Word teaches us. Now remember MAT 7:29; this is the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. "For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." The authority of the Word allows no gainsaying. There is no such thing as a commandment being just a little one. If we are willing to trample upon the Word of God for something with which we can trifle, how much more will we trample upon His Word if it is a major thing? The more trifling the matter, the more grievous and provocative it is to the Lord. If we are willing to trample on His Word for what we think is a trifle, in effect we are saying, "The authority of the Law Giver doesn't even deserve our respect." The more trifling, the more offensive. If one of my employees whom I had entrusted with large amounts of money would be found taking one dollar which I had left lay on my desk, it would be more offensive than if he had taken a thousand dollars. To think he would breach my confidence for such a trifling amount would be so provocative. To think he would slight my confidence for such a trifle would make it so I couldn't trust him under any circumstances. We must see this same principle in the way of the gospel. The Lord has said that we are not to slight the authority of His Word because He taught as one having authority. If we have not learned one other thing from the Sermon on the Mount, may this stick with us the rest of our days; when we slight the least of His commands, it is His authority we are slighting, "For he taught them as one having authority." Amen. |
|
