God’s Word-The Sure Foundation

Transcript

GRM 800
7/14/2002
God’s Word—The Sure Foundation
Matthew 5-7
Gil Rugh

I want to direct your attention to Matthew chapter 7. Was thinking as I looked at the buildings, they had put out front along 84th Street, the one house that was falling down, the other house that was standing firm. Then in the program that they did on Thursday night with the set up here on the platform with the house falling down, the other house standing firm, the significance of that truth, so simple, so clear. Yet I wondered how many of the people driving back and forth on the busy road in front of the church, seeing those houses, had any understanding of the significant truth that was represented. Did they understand when Jesus spoke that truth regarding the foundation and the collapse, He was talking about matters relating to the eternal destiny of every man and woman on the face of the earth?

I want to talk about those matters with you. It’s interesting to me; Jesus’ most famous sermon is probably the Sermon on the Mount that’s recorded in Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7. Jesus chose to conclude that sermon with the verses that we read earlier at the end of Matthew 7, beginning with verse 24 and running through verse 27, speaking about building a house on the sand or building a house on a firm foundation, and the reality that if you build on the sand that house will be destroyed in the coming storm. If you build on the solid foundation it will stand. He is anticipating ultimate eternal issues here, of eternal destiny.

Turn back to Matthew chapter 5. We call this section the Sermon on the Mount because of what is said in verse 1 of chapter 5, “And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain and after He sat down His disciples came to Him and He opened His mouth, and He began to teach them.” Very simply it’s a Sermon on the Mount because Jesus went up on a mountain and sat down with His disciples and began to teach them these truths. They are truths related to a kingdom that He is going to establish some day. They are truths related to who will be able to enter that kingdom. He began with the very familiar beatitudes, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the gentle, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, describing that inner joy and fullness of life, genuine happiness that comes to those who’ve entered into the salvation that God has provided and now belong to Him. The Sermon is describing if you will, the entire Sermon, the character and conduct of those who belong to the living God. In so doing He’s going to be drawing a distinction between those who will become part of the kingdom that He will establish some day, and those who will be closed out and doomed to destruction. Really not very popular themes today. Yet if you mention the Sermon on the Mount most people in our country at least have heard of the Sermon on the Mount, heard of Jesus and the beatitudes, and yet very few have stopped to consider what Jesus is doing in this Sermon is drawing a line, separating all humanity into one of two groups: those who are going to destruction and those who are going to enter into eternal life.

Jesus proceeds after describing the blessedness of those who have entered into the salvation that God has provided. He tells them in verse 13 they are the salt of the earth; in verse 14 you are the light of the world, speaking to His disciples. The theme of this Sermon is probably found in verse 20, and if you keep that in mind it will help put the rest of what Jesus says into proper context. In verse 20 He says, “for I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom that the Old Testament had promised that the coming Messiah would establish on this earth. He came to offer that kingdom to the nation Israel, but they refused to receive Him as their Messiah. So humanly speaking that kingdom was postponed. There is coming a day when Jesus will set up a kingdom on this earth. He is describing in this Sermon all who will enter into that kingdom, really, He is describing the character and conduct of all who enter into the salvation that God has provided for those that will believe in Him.

In verse 20 Jesus makes very clear that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Remember Jesus told Nicodemus on another occasion in John’s gospel chapter 3, unless you are born again you shall never see the kingdom. For the Jews the scribes and Pharisees were the most righteous people on the face of the earth. They were people who meticulously studied the Old Testament scriptures, and not only tried to do everything that the Old Testament scriptures required, and the Law given to Moses demanded, but they even added a lot of requirements to even be more religious than even the scriptures would have required. Jesus said unless you have a greater righteousness than the scribes and Pharisees you are lost, you will be excluded from the kingdom. Another way of saying you will be doomed to destruction. Because the Jews understood very clearly that when the Messiah came to establish His kingdom there would be a sifting judgment, and all those not going into the kingdom would be cast into outer darkness, into the fires of an eternal hell. Matthew writes about that as Jesus describes it more fully in Matthew chapter 25, particularly.

We’re going to need a greater righteousness that the righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes. The righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes was a righteousness that was external. They were extremely religious. They were very moral people, as you would look at them. They walked the line very carefully. But they had a problem. Their righteousness was a righteousness of their own works, their own doing. They were the best religious people of their day, and they couldn’t get into the kingdom by their righteousness. What is demanded is a righteousness that comes from God; a righteousness that changes the heart and brings God’s righteousness to the inner person, and by that means transforms the life and conduct of the person who has entered into God’s salvation.

That’s why Jesus goes on in verse 21 to draw a contrast then. You’ve heard that you should not murder, but I tell you that if you have hate in your heart you are guilty of murder before God. The law says you should not commit adultery, but I tell you that if you’ve lusted in your heart, you are guilty before God. As Jesus taught on another occasion, Mark chapter 7, it’s out of the heart that proceeds all kinds of sinful behavior like immorality and so on. Until you’ve dealt with the heart it’s just a superficial, external righteousness, and that is not acceptable before God. It’s the explanation of why He is carrying this beyond where the Pharisees were. Pharisees are like most religious people are today. They think if they do their best, if they’re good, if they don’t do terrible things, when it comes to the end of the road God is going to accept them. But Jesus said that’s just not true. There’s no religious person today who has a greater righteousness than the scribes and Pharisees had. In fact, the Apostle Paul said in writing to the Philippians in Philippians chapter 3 that he was as righteous as you could get by keeping the Law; and yet he came to understand that he was lost and without hope. There is no religious person today who by their religious activity or good works could supercede that kind of righteousness. But it’s all righteousness that is earned by our own efforts, and it’s not sufficient. God is looking at the heart, what is the condition of the heart. Has the heart been cleansed, has the sin and guilt of the heart been dealt with.

Jesus goes on to explain in His continuing discussion in this Sermon the matters of the heart must be dealt with. You come down to verse 48, at the end of chapter 5; “therefore, you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” You’ll note the standard is not the scribes and Pharisees, the standard is not the good people and religious people you know. What is required is the perfection of God Himself. You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. I can only remember talking to one person who was adamant that they were not a sinner. They had no guilt. Couldn’t shake them on that. But neither could I find anyone who knew them who agreed with them. So, it’s easy to be righteous or self-righteous in our own eyes, but it’s how God sees us, it’s how God says we are that matters. What is required is His perfection, which is a righteousness beyond what can be accomplished by our own human efforts, like the scribes and Pharisees were trying to do.

He moves into chapter 6 as we have it, beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them. Otherwise, you have no reward in heaven. Again, it was a practice of the very religious people of the day. They went to the synagogue to pray because they wanted to be seen. When they were going to give money in a special cause they liked the music to play, draw attention to what I’m doing. It’s sort of like us today. You get up on Sunday morning and say oh boy I wish I didn’t have to go to church, but if we don’t go you know so-and-so will know we’re not there, people in our Sunday School class will wonder I wonder where they are. We better get out of bed and go otherwise it will look bad. You know that’s the kind of righteousness the Pharisees were worried about. We better get to the temple, or we won’t be seen. We easily slide into this kind of mentality. Am I here today because I’ll look bad if I don’t come? Well, that would be practicing my righteousness before men. We say well then, I should have stayed home, I wish you would have let me know earlier. No. The solution is we have to get right with God to be doing what we are doing because of the work that God has done in our lives. He’s not saying we shouldn’t pray; He’s not saying we shouldn’t give. He’s saying the motivation in the doing of this ought not to be to please men or be approved by men. But we are to be acting out of our true character, as those who have become children of God, as those, that Jesus said to Nicodemus, have been born again. So that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, a new creature, and old things have passed away and new things have come. It comes from our hearth. It’s not a matter of trying to conform my life to a set of practices; it’s a matter of living out what I am in my very nature. As the Apostle Peter says, in God’s salvation we become partakers of the divine nature; in my very being I now have become a child of God.

Continues on down through chapter 6 and come to verse 33 “but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” Jesus has talked in the preceding section about the futility of earthly wealth and earthly riches. Don’t lay up treasure for yourself on earth where it’s easily lost and destroyed, in verses 19, 20 and 21. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Those treasures are permanent and eternal, and where you treasure is there your heart will be also. You see His concern is the condition of our heart, and where our heart is focused. Don’t worry about the things of this life. Don’t fret about tomorrow. Verse 34 “do not be anxious about tomorrow.” What is to be the focus of my life? Seek first His kingdom, His righteousness. What I desperately need is God’s righteousness. God’s testimony is there is none righteous, no not one. There is none that does good. Everyone has turned aside from God. God’s statement is we have become worthless. That’s God’s evaluation. There is none righteousness. You say who are you to judge? I can’t judge in that sense, but God can.

In fact, it’s interesting. We talk about judging and look how chapter 7 begins; “do not judge lest you be judged.” I think if there is one verse that is almost universally known, even more than John 3:16, it is judge not lest you be judged. How often have you said to someone something about their conduct, and they’ve come back, judge not lest you be judged. They may not know where it is in the Bible, but they know that’s a verse that they want to hold onto. Judge not lest you be judged. We ought to put this in the context, because down in verse 6 Jesus is going to say “do not give what is holy to dogs and do not throw your pearls before swine.” You just told me not to judge, now I have to make a distinction between the dogs and swine and others, between those who would disregard the truth that is taught to them (that’s the pearls that would be cast before swine). Don’t try to make those who do not belong to the living God conform their life to what His Word says. There’s a judgment that has to be rendered.

Furthermore, as Jesus continues in the section we’re going to focus on for the remainder of our time, He tells us in verse 15 to beware of false prophets. He tells us you will know them by their fruits, the beginning of verse 16. He tells us that again in verse 20, you will know them by their fruits. So now I have to exercise my judgment. He tells me there’s a broad gate and a narrow gate and you’d better enter the narrow gate because everyone going in the broad gate is going to hell. Now I have to exercise judgment and discernment. But didn’t He say in chapter 7 verse 1, do not judge lest you be judged. I do not believe Jesus was a fool, I do not believe He was talking in circles, when He said do not judge lest you be judged. Remember what He said back in chapter 5 verse 20? Unless your righteousness surpasses the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you’ll never enter the kingdom. The scribes and Pharisees were great in passing judgment on other people.

Down in verse 5 Jesus rebukes the hypocrites, you hypocrite take the log out of your own eye first, then you can deal with the problem in your brother’s eye. We’re dealing with what we would call judgmentalism. It’s not meaning we ought to become undiscerning and never make judgments, but we ought not to be judgmental, we ought not to be arrogant and proud thinking we sit in judgment. Ultimately God is the only judge. But we are to be discerning and exercise the proper kind of judgment. We tell our children there are differences in the family among siblings. We tell them don’t you worry about your brother; don’t you worry about your sister. You worry about yourself. But then we’ll turn around and tell them I expect you to look out for your brother. Well, what do you mean? Didn’t you just tell me not to be concerned about them? We say put it in the context. Why didn’t you keep your little brother from going out into the street? Because you told me not to worry about my brother. We say wait a minute, you’re not going to turn that around, you know what I meant. So, if we pay attention, we’ll know what Jesus meant.

He says don’t be judgmental, don’t think that because you go around and pass judgment on other people’s conduct and behavior that makes you righteous. The Pharisees and scribes thought they were righteous. In chapter 23 you know what Jesus will say? He says” you are like an open grave, full of dead men’s bones.” You stink. You’re polluted; you’re vile on the inside. Yet you’ve whitewashed the outside and you go around passing judgment on other people. But passing judgment on other people does not make you righteous. That’s the judgment He’s dealing with.

When He comes to verse 13, He’s ready to conclude this Sermon, and He does it by drawing a series of contrasts. Issues are clearly black and white, right and wrong. In a series of comparisons, He puts everyone into two categories, in a group that does not have God’s salvation and will go to destruction, and the group that does have God’s salvation and is going to blessing in the kingdom. It could not be any simpler, it could not be any clearer. It’s like these children, to be singing about a foundation and we see a representation of a building and a house falling down and a house and we say oh that’s clear, that’s simple. Even a child can understand it. Understand your eternal destiny hinges on that simple truth. That’s what Jesus does beginning in verse 13. Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction. Many are those who enter by it. There is a broad gate and a broad way. Most people are going to go in that wide gate and travel down that broad way, and the end of that road is destruction. The gate is small, the way is narrow that leads to life and few there are that find it.

You know sometimes Christians are criticized as being too narrow, too exclusive. Sometimes we may go beyond what scripture says, but we want to be careful. Jesus was very clear here. The gate that leads to life is narrow, the road to life is narrow, and most people will not find it. The contrast is clear. There are many that go in the wide gate and travel the broad way to destruction, there are few that enter the narrow gate and travel the narrow road. Now you’ll note, you enter the gate and thus you travel the road. You might have looked at the Pharisees and scribes and said look, they’ve restricted their lives greatly. They don’t eat certain foods, they don’t go to certain places, they pray at a point in time, they observe certain religious occasions, and they are absolutely meticulous, and you know what? They’ve entered the broad gate, they’re on the broad road, and they’re going to end up in hell. Remember unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees you will not enter the kingdom. Because in spite of all their religious activity and good works you know what? The Pharisees are on the road of good works. They were going to get to heaven; they were going to enter the kingdom by doing good things. But you must be perfect as God is perfect; and God says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Everyone entering the broad gate, entering through that wide, broad gate and traveling that broad road is trying in one way or another to be saved by their good works, by the things that they do. I’m not that bad a person; my God would not send people to hell. We may have strong convictions about that, we may firmly believe it, but reality is reality. Jesus said that wide gate, that broad road that many are entering, and traveling is going to end in destruction.

There is a narrow gate and a narrow road. They’re hand in hand. When you enter the way of God’s salvation, then your life is changed, and you are traveling a different road. That leads to life, eternal life, the enjoying of God’s presence forever. In John chapter 10 Jesus said He is the door, and you must enter by Him. I am the door. He said in John 14, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” That’s how narrow the gate is. There is only one way, only one gate. “There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” Anyone who is ever saved must recognize their sinful condition and turn from their sin to Jesus Christ to be saved. That is narrow. There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Saying the same thing. There is only one way to God that is through Jesus Christ. That is a narrow gate. The encouraging thing is anyone anywhere can enter that gate. It’s just not for Americans, it’s just not for a certain race or nationality. Rather, “come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest,” Jesus says. But you can’t come any other way.

So that’s the narrow way and the broad way, life and destruction. It’s black and white, it’s either or. Well, I don’t know, I haven’t entered either gate yet. I’m giving it consideration. Jesus said if you are not with Me, you are against Me. You’re already on a road. You realize hey I came through the broad gate; I’m on the broad road. I’ve got to get on the right road; I’ve got to go through the narrow gate. That’s when I turn and place my faith in Christ. I’m born again. I enter the narrow gate. Now I’m on the narrow road.

That being the case, verse 15, “beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” False prophets. These are people, not the atheist, not those who say I don’t believe in a God, I don’t believe in Jesus Christ, I don’t believe in the Bible. They are not wolves in sheep’s clothing, those are just wolves, they are clearly recognized. They don’t claim to believe anything. The wolf is a wolf. But when you dress the wolf up in sheep’s clothing, now you have someone who is pretending to be something he is not, like the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Israel. Oh, we believe the Word of God, we believe the scriptures, we believe……and on they go. They were wolves in sheep’s clothing. Read Matthew 23. Most scathing denunciation of Jesus’ entire life, and it’s given to the most religious people of His day, the leaders of the nation that God has chosen for Himself, the nation Israel. People come and they claim, oh no I want to teach you the truth. Happens today. People go to church, go to synagogue, go to the religious places and they are assured if they do this they will be accepted before God. Why else have religion if there’s no God? Why have religion at all if there’s no need to be accepted before God? What religions are trying to tell people, this is what is necessary to be accepted before God. Even people who have no religion have convictions. They’re sure they will be all right because of their personal conviction. Wolves in sheep’s clothing are those who claim to be telling you the truth, but they’re telling you a lie.

Turn back to Jeremiah chapter 6. The prophet Jeremiah prophesied about 500 years before Christ in the days of the Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah chapter 6. He talks about the religious condition of his day, and verse 13 of Jeremiah 6. Jeremiah’s right about the middle of your Bible, just let it fall open a couple of times like I did, and you hit it. Jeremiah 6 verse 13, “from the least of them even to the greatest of them everyone is greedy for gain and from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely.” You’ll note the religious leaders, prophets and priests, deal falsely. They have healed the wound of my people slightly, they’ve not dealt seriously with the spiritual condition, saying peace, peace, but there is no peace. One of the marks of a false teacher, a false prophet, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, he’s always telling you you’re all right. He could have written the book, I’m Okay, You’re Okay. God says I’m okay. You’re not okay. False prophets, false teachers say what we want to hear. We want to hear we’re okay, do your best, God is a God of love, He loves you, and He will not reject and punish anyone. Just do your best. Peace, peace, but there is no peace.

In chapter 8 of Jeremiah, verse 11 we’re told that a prophet and the priest, everyone practices deceit. Verse 11, “they heal the brokenness of the daughter of my people superficially saying all is well, all is well. But there is no peace.” You know reality doesn’t change. You can be dying of a serious disease and go to the doctor, and he says you’re okay, fine, don’t worry about it. Come and tell me, look I heard I’ve been diagnosed with this disease and I’m going to die. Don’t worry about it. I think you’re fine. Look good to me. Reality doesn’t change one bit, does it? Yet somehow people go to church, and someone stands up in a suit or a robe and says, "God loves you just as you are, and He will accept you some day into His heaven and His kingdom." and we go away and say oh it’s good to hear that. That’s what was happening in Jeremiah’s day. The nation was broken spiritually, in desperate condition, and the preachers, everything’s fine. But it wasn’t fine.

One more passage here, Jeremiah 23. Very important in a day when people do not want to hear about judgment. They have never wanted to hear about judgment. People never want to hear about hell. We think in our day people have become sophisticated, they don’t want to hear about a coming judgment, they don’t want to hear about the fires of hell. But you understand people have never wanted to hear that. They didn’t want to hear it in Jeremiah’s day. That was 2500 years ago. Jeremiah chapter 23 verse 16, “thus says the Lord of hosts. Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility. They speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, the Lord has said you’ll have peace. And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart they say calamity will not come upon you.” Marks of false teachers: there’s no coming hell, there’s no coming judgment, you’re fine. God says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, not even one. There’s none that does good. We say who are you to tell me? Judge not that you be not judged. I am no one. Simply passing on to you what the living God has said, and what He says is truth. Not truth because I say it, not truth because someone else says it, it’s truth because God has said it. Jesus said in praying to His Father, your Word is truth. Those who say you won’t end up in calamity, you won’t go to hell, and you won’t be judged by God, they’re telling you a lie. Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Back in Matthew chapter 7, you’ll note that verse follows what He had just said about the broad gate, the broad way leading to destruction; the narrow gate, the narrow way leading to life. Now watch out for the wolves in sheep’s clothing who would tell you otherwise, who would tell you you don’t need to go through the narrow gate and travel the narrow road. You can get to life by going through the broad gate and traveling the broad way. Beware of false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing.

You will know them by their fruits. He repeats that both in verse 16 and again in verse 20. “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so every good tree bears good fruit, but the rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” You see there’s a constant emphasis here, there’s judgment coming, there’s judgment coming. Now here these teachers are presented as trees, fruit trees. You either bear good fruit or bad fruit. That reveals what kind of tree you are. You can take a crabapple tree and hand oranges on it. To someone who doesn’t see well it may look like an orange tree. But it’s not; it’s a crabapple tree with oranges hanging on it. There is a difference. It’s in the nature of the tree. You’ll know them by their fruit. What is the fruit? Two things, in the context. He’s going to go on to talk about His Word in a moment, those who hear and respond to His Word. It’s what they teach as well as how they live.

How do we know who’s genuine? You come to this church and this preacher stands up and says he’s telling the truth. I go to another church down the road and say don’t listen to him, I’m telling you the truth. How in the world do you know? Well listen to me. That’s the same thing they said down the road. I don’t have anybody down the road in mind, that’s just an expression. How you know is, are they telling you the truth of God. Look in Matthew chapter 7 verse 13. Am I telling you there is a narrow gate, or is Jesus Christ telling you there is a narrow gate? Am I telling you to beware of false prophets, or is Jesus Christ telling you? The Word of God is the final arbitrator, the final authority. Do we know them by their fruits, what they’re teaching line up with the Word of God? They’re saying there’s no coming judgment. The Bible says there is. They’re liars. There’s not an eternal hell. The Bible says the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever in Revelation 14. Hmmmm. Who do I believe? God or man? You know them by their fruits.

The Pharisees could look very good, they cleaned up their life, they wouldn’t practice homosexuality, they wouldn’t practice immorality, and on it goes. A certain element, you want to be careful. You know hanging up oranges on that crabapple tree; some people think oh it’s got to be an orange tree. But if it is examined carefully, you’ll see no it’s not. It’s a trick, it’s an illusion, and it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. You’ll know them by their fruits.

Verse 21, “not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven”. Well see there, you are saved by works, do your best and you will be saved. No. Look over in John chapter 6 verse 40, John chapter 6 verse 40. As you turn there, I will read it to you quickly. Jesus says, “this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life.” “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. This is the will of my Father, which is in heaven that you believe in the Son of God.” In I John chapter 3 verse 23 we are told that God commands us to believe in His Son. So very simply the one doing the will of the Father who is in heaven is the one who believes in the Son of God and now lives his life as a result of that relationship and lives his life by faith.

Back in Matthew 7, “not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons, in your name perform many miracles. And I will declare to them, I never knew you.” Not that I don’t know you anymore, I never knew you. We never had a relationship. But wait, we call you Lord. We cast out demons. We do miracles. You’re workers of lawlessness. What is lawlessness? It means rebellion against God. You have continued in your rebellion against God, you have refused to believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, you have refused the truth that He gave. You practice lawlessness. You see it could get very confusing. Now you got people who call Jesus Lord who can do miracles, mighty works, and they’re wolves in sheep’s clothing. Let’s be very careful that the Word of God is the ultimate authority and I have submitted myself to it.

Then we come to verse 24; “therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them may be compared to a wise man who built his house upon the rock.” So, you see he hears these words of mine and acts upon them. It’s not the hearers of the Word that will be righteous before God, but the doers of the Word. James chapter 1, James wrote that we are “not to be hearers only.” Those who just hear the Word but don’t act upon it, James says, “they deceive themselves, they delude themselves.” They’re like the Pharisees, they’re like religious people who think because they read the scriptures, because they hear the Word of God preached, because they go to the synagogue or church, because they’ve been baptized, of course I’m saved. Sometimes I talk to people, and they’re offended because they think I’ve implied they’re not saved. I go to church; my church is as good as your church, maybe better. I’m as religious as you are; I’m a very good person. Do you hear the Word of God? Have you responded to it? The Word of God says you are wretched and vile, a hell-bound sinner, separated from God on your way to destruction. Your only hope, God commands all everywhere to repent. For He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness. He’s furnished proof by raising the one who will be the judge from the dead. Couldn’t be any clearer.

A great concern, there are still multitudes of people assured they’re all right, I’m going to go to heaven, I know it will all work out. When the God of all has said it’s not okay, it won’t work out. Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them may be compared to a wise man who built his house upon the rock. The rock is what? The truth of God, the Word of God, Jesus Christ. You cannot separate the Word of God and God. You cannot separate Jesus Christ from the scripture. We don’t have time to go to the verses, but Jesus said those who have rejected Him reject His Father. When you reject the Word of God, you reject God. So, these words of mine become the foundation, those who hear and believe. Jesus Christ Himself is the foundation as we heard sung. In I Corinthians chapter 3 verse 11, “there is no other foundation that can be laid but that one which has already been laid which is Christ Jesus.” The truth concerning Him and salvation by faith in Him alone.

The rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew and burst against that house. It did not fall for it had been founded upon the rock. I take it the storm we’re talking about ultimately is the coming judgment. We talked about at the beginning of this section in verses 13 and 14, ending in destruction or ending in life, the bad tree ending in the fire, those that were not genuine being commanded to depart from me. In Matthew 25 that will be elaborated, depart from Me into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. So now the storm comes, destruction is sure, the ultimate time is the coming judgment when God will judge not only deeds, but the motives of men’s hearts, the secret things of the heart, the scriptures say, will come under judgment. Our true character will be revealed.

“Everyone who hears these words of mine,” verse 26, “and does not act upon them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. The rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew and burst against that house, it fell and great was its fall.” You’ll note the multitudes now that have begun to gather are astonished Jesus is teaching with such authority. This is truth. You can build a house; we did a building here recently and I thought boy I wish we could take the money and the time they’re spending in this foundation and do it up where it would do some good. You have somebody go to build you a house and say look; I don’t want to spend money on the foundation. Nobody sees that, nobody comes to my house and says let’s look at the foundation. Let’s put the money where it will count. I was watching a biography on TV of a well-known man, two weeks ago I think, and they quoted the man and here he is standing there. Know what the quote was? It’s not what you are that matters, it’s what people think you are. Image is everything. But you know you could put all your money in that house and the houses are there and you look at one house and say it looks good. This other house looks good; too, in fact I think it looks better. They put more money in the windows, they put more money in the siding, and they put more money in the kind of roof they put up. I think that’s a better house. But looks are deceiving because if there’s no foundation, we’ve all seen this in the rains and floods in other places, we’ve seen million-dollar homes sliding down the mountain. Why? Because they didn’t use good quality materials? They had better quality materials than I have in my house. You know what they didn’t have? A foundation that would stand.

Don’t be deluded. We look around at each other and say well yeah, I’m as good as they are, our church is as good as theirs, I lead as good a life, I… So did the Pharisees, but they were on the road to destruction.

Well, the kids have sung it; it’s truth that’s simple enough for a child. But you know what? You can sit here and hear the Word of God and go to hell, because it’s not the hearers of the Word that become righteous before God, but the doers. The issue is not have you heard the Word, but have you responded in faith to the Word? Do you really understand and believe that you are a sinner lost and without hope on your way to an eternal hell? But only by the grace of God who has provided His Son to suffer and die on the cross to pay the penalty for sin do you have hope. Have you ever turned from your sin and everything else you’re trusting, your best works, your baptism, your church membership, turn from it all and said Lord I have nothing. But I am placing my faith, my full confidence and hope for time and eternity in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. Until you do that you have not entered the narrow gate. You’ve come through the broad gate and are on the broad road and you can be assured there is only one end—destruction. You’re building a house, it may look great, you may be giving it lots of attention, being very careful with everything you do, but you’re building it on sand, it will not stand when judgment comes.

The glorious message is there is a Savior, there is a narrow gate, and you can come through. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son in order that whosoever believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life. You see the constant contrast in scripture? Not perish, have life; destruction, life; fire, the kingdom. I trust that you’ve believed the simple message the kids have proclaimed, and Jesus Christ declared to be truth.

Let’s pray. Thank you, Lord, for the truth of your Word. We’re not dependent upon men’s ideas, the preaching and teaching that men have devised out of their own imaginations. We can come to the Word that you have given, and issues of time and eternity are settled. Thank you that there is a narrow gate, a door of hope for lost sinners, and by simply believing what you have said we can be forgiven our sins and enter into life which is eternal. For we thank you in Christ’s name. Amen.