By: Mike Kelly
Retired Pastor
Today, we find ourselves ending this 7-month study of the Sermon on the Mount as found in Matt 5-7. I hope you have gained a new appreciation for what it means to truly follow Christ.
As you have seen, it takes walking away from the crowd and living life on the edge of society. It takes turning your back on the values our world proclaims and following the teachings of Jesus where he constantly turns things upside down with his words: “But I tell you…”
These next verses are a warning from the previous section that ended with Matt 7:20: “Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
Matt 7:21-23 warns that: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one 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 drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
So what happened? It would seem that prophesying and driving out demons and performing miracles ought to count as doing the will of the Father.
Let’s face it, if we saw someone working miracles and driving out demons, we’d probably think they were spirit led, doing the work of the Father on earth.
The key to understanding this set of verses is found in V24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
This warning is for the many, many people who claim to be Christians but who don’t have a real saving relationship with Christ. While they may look and talk the walk, they lack the transformation of a true relationship.
They act the part, but like actors, they are not real. They are fake “believers” who are identified by the fruit of their walk.
Living a life of faith comes from a relationship with Jesus. Without that, all we are doing is faking it. Kind of like the “whitewashed tombs” that Christ spoke about. They look good on the outside but are filled with dead men’s bones, totally lacking in true life.
How can we know if our relationship is real? One way is by how we handle crises. Do we remain firmly committed to doing the will of the father or do we fall apart?
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. (Matt 7:24-25).
Conversely, if our faith is fake, we will not be able to stand firm when the storms come. “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (v27).
Now, not everyone is going to stand firm in every trial. Sometimes we will fall short of what God had for us in a particular situation.
That’s why he gave us 1 Cor 10:13 ‘No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
What happens when we fall short? If we get back up and fall in his arms, we are secure in our faith. But some, when trials come, fall and walk away.
Their faith was in something other than Jesus. Most likely, their true view of God was as a bubble gum machine and when he quit just giving blessings to them, they gave up and walked away.
Is your faith in his blessings or in Him? To walk in this upside-down kingdom of Christ’s requires true faith. Not just in God’s blessings, but also in our trials and temptations. And it takes Christ’s power in us to live righteously in this unrighteous world. Are you walking under your own steam? Or Christ’s power?
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Mike Kelly is the founding pastor of Bryan’s Grace Community Church (retired) and Board Chairman of Bryan’s Sanctuary Homeless Shelter and Williams County’s Compassion (free) Medical Clinic.