Building On The RockSample

  

True or False?

As Jesus wraps up the Sermon on the Mount, He lays out a very difficult but very important point. He has been teaching on the way of discipleship and concluded with the narrow and broad road. Now He says that as you travel this road you may meet both true and false disciples: “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” (Matthew 7:21). 

Discipleship, like many other things, can be imitated by going through the motions. Do you practice what you preach? Or as the current business watchword goes, do you walk your talk? We need to hold sound doctrine, but we also need to live sound doctrine. Our behavior needs to line up with our belief. How are you doing in that department? Does your behavior line up with your doctrine, or do you need to correct your course?

The Lord expands this point in the most severe terms: “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!’” (vv. 22-23). These false disciples will claim to have done ministry activities, but the Lord will respond with these devastating words: “I never knew you.”

These are frightening words, and we must take them seriously. The New Testament teaches us we can have assurance of salvation (John 5:24; 1 John 5:13), and that is an amazing gift. However, it also teaches us to examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). Eternal salvation is the most serious matter. If we have any cause for doubt, we need to pause and look in the mirror. If we are building our lives on the rock, we need to clearly see the difference between the true and the false, and we must be sure we are on the narrow road.

But we must not leave the Sermon on the Mount on that note. We will go back to where we began. How is your building coming along? Are you building on the rock, and are you making progress? Consistent progress is a sure sign of genuineness. These pages give us truths to build on. They are the fundamentals of Christian behavior. May God give you the grace to build these truths into your life.

Prayer: Lord, show me any hint of hypocrisy in my life, any lack of reality, and give me the courage to correct it. Let the fruit of my life be genuine, and may I never lead anyone astray by hypocrisy. Let me build on the rock.