Build Your House on The Rock

[Sue J Love]

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27 ESV)

Beginning with verse 13 in Matthew 7, Jesus talked about a narrow gate – one that is restricted, that has regulations, which is hard (not easy), but which leads to life with God, and life eternal. And he contrasted that with a gate that is wide (all encompassing), and the way that is easy, which leads to destruction. And those who enter by that gate are many, while those who enter by the narrow gate that leads to life with God are few who find it.

He was speaking of the true gospel message versus a false gospel message. The true gospel teaches the necessity that our faith, which comes from God, results in us dying with Christ to sin and now walking in obedience to his New Covenant Commands. The false gospel makes no such requirements, and that is why it attracts more people, for it tells them that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ will guarantee them eternal life with God.

And then Jesus warned us against false prophets (pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.) who pose as Christians in order to deceive the people with their lies. We will recognize them by their fruits. So we are to test everything we hear, read, or think we see, in prayer, and against the teachings of the Scriptures, as read and understood in context. And we are to pay close attention to their words, and to their actions, to see if they are of God.

And then Jesus talked about how we can’t just give lip service to him and expect that is going to get us into his heaven. In other words, we can’t just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ with our lips but then go on living in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord in direct disobedience to his New Covenant commands. Many will hear him say, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness,” because they didn’t obey God.

And all that leads up to the passage of Scripture from Matthew 7:24-27. In other words, we have to be our Lord’s true sheep who listen to him and who follow him in obedience (John 10:27-30). We are the ones who are promised eternal life with God, that we will never perish, and that no one can snatch us out of our Lord’s hand. This promise is not for all who merely give Jesus lip service but who do not forsake their sins and obey his commands.

For we are wise who hear the words of the Lord and who are DOING what they teach us, who build our lives on Jesus Christ and on his word. Then, when the trials and temptations of this world are upon us, we will not cave to temptation or be taken out by our trials, but we will stand firm in our faith and in our commitments to serve our Lord in ministry, despite whatever the devil may throw at us, and despite how we are treated by others.

Yet, for those who hear the word of the Lord, but who are NOT DOING what they teach us who believe in Jesus, that we must do as followers of Christ, then when the temptations of sin and the trials and tribulations of life come upon them, they will not survive, because their lives are built on sinking sand and not on Jesus Christ and on his word. And all who do not obey the Lord and who continue in deliberate sin will not have eternal life with God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

My Sheep

An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based off John 10:1-30 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.

 

[Still Learning]

As I understand it, Jesus tells us that HE is the Gate. And since we are saved by God's grace which is accessed through our God given faith in Jesus, I would say that God's grace through faith in Jesus is the Narrow Path that few find because most people have a hard time looking to Jesus and what HE DID alone, because they are prideful, and they think they get into the Kingdom of Heaven through behaving well enough that they will merit saving. And THAT view, I would say, is the Wide Road which leads to the Wide Gate that ends in destruction/condemnation. So, I would say that the Wide Gate which most people, from pretty much all of the world's false religions, get to by taking the Wide Road of self-righteous meritorious works. And, sadly for them, this is the way to destruction/condemnation.

Jesus makes it clear that NOBODY gets into the Kingdom of Heaven, where the Father is, except through Himself and His sacrificial death which cleanses believers of ALL of their sins.

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)​

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So, where salvation is concerned, me must look to the Savior to get us into the Kingdom of Heaven, and NOT our behavior. But even though we are saved by God's grace which is accessed through our God given faith in Christ, we were created in Christ (saved) to do good works. It's just very important that we recognize that our good works don't save us, but are a RESULT of having already been saved.

Please, always remember that our salvation isn't contingent on our meritorious good works, because we are saved by looking to Jesus in faith, and NOT by our works.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:8-10 )​

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It couldn't be made any more clear than that. Our salvation is NOT contingent on our own meritorious works. And it's equally clear that we are to do good works because we were saved to do them. Just don't look to them as the reason you should be saved. That kind of self-righteous pride will only get you condemned because, once again, that is the Wide Road to destruction. We've got to go through Jesus.

All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will NEVER drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall LOSE NONE of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone WHO LOOKS TO THE SON AND BELIEVES IN HIM shall have eternal life, and I will raise THEM up at the last day. (John 6:37-40)​

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Remember that, pertaining to getting saved, Jesus just said that His Father's will is that we look to Jesus in faith, not our meritorious good works. Looking to your own self-righteous good works is WRONG! It'll only get you rejected and condemned.

Not everybody who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will get into the kingdom of heaven. But ONLY those who do THE WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven will enter. On the Judgment Day, many people will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name and expel demons in your name and do lots of miracles in your name?’ Then I’ll tell them, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you people who do wrong.’ Everybody who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise builder who built a house on the rock. (Matthew 7:21-24)​

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That shows us PERFECTLY what looking to your own meritorious self-righteous good works will get you. It gets you rejected and condemned.​

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I've said it before and I'll say it again and again, where salvation is concerned, we MUST look to the Savior and NOT our behavior, because we are saved by how we believe, not by how we behave. I pray that you are blessed by this teaching.​