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| "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: 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. Mt 7:24 25 |
The privileges of hearing God's word obligates God's children to do the Father's will.
Few are unfamiliar with this passage in the Sermon on the Mount.
Many have been bombarded with sound bytes.
But look again... is it saying what is popularly understood?
Matthew 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.
22 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?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Please note... it is at the end of the long sermon on the mount. Much has been said and heard. It is time to sum up, to conclude. It is wonderful to hear such profound teaching - "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" - the privileges of hearing God's word obligates God's children to do the Father's will.
Here are a few thoughts.
Who is Jesus Christ addressing?
- Those who have openly claimed Jesus Christ as their Lord. These most certainly are not the dead in trespasses and sins, i.e. those in enmity against God.
- Apostle Paul stated categorically. "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 1Cor 12:3.
- They are those that have preached in Jesus' name. And in Jesus' blessed name, they have even performed miracles and wonderful works. Those dead in trespasses and sin would not ever associate themselves with Jesus like that.
- Then who is Jesus dealing with? God's children, everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord. Jesus Christ is addressing them on a vital matter. Their confession of Christ shall not get them into the kingdom of heaven. It is doing the will of the Father who is in heaven.
- These are disobedient to the will of God. Too many don't believe this stark reality the Lord Jesus is dealing with. They insist that God's children, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, are obedient to God, therefore, if they are not obedient, they are not God's children, to begin with!
What issue is Jesus addressing?
- It is about entering the kingdom of heaven. It is distinct from entering heaven itself after resurrection... where the Father is.
- The former is conditional upon DOING the will of the Father. The latter is conditioned solely upon the finished work of Jesus Christ. The former deals with the temporal salvation; the latter with eternal salvation by God's free and sovereign grace alone.
- Not everyone that professes Christ's lordship [and only God's children can do so!] shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
- The entrance into the kingdom of heaven is conditioned upon doing the will of the Father.
- Not doing the will of the Father amounts to doing work of iniquity.
- The very mention of the doing of the will of the Father implies that those addressed are God's children. Only those children that do the will of the Father shall enter the kingdom of heaven. Those who don't shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. (The kingdom of heaven IS NOT the same a heaven!).
Who are turned away from what, and when?
- To be turned away presupposes a prior coming before Christ, professing Him, claiming to be His, associated and identified with Him.
- God's children who do not do the will of their Father are turned away by Christ. They are not confessed by Christ but denied before the Father. Mt 10:32-33
- "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." Mt 12:50. Doing the will of Jesus' Father in heaven is equivalent of doing Jesus will! He acknowledged and received such.
- Christ the Lord is ashamed to be associated with children of God who do not do the will of their Father. They shall have no part in the kingdom of heaven that Christ has established. He came to do His Father's will. He associated with those who do the same. He knew not those who don't!
When does this turning away occur?
"In that day" - on the great judgment day at the end of the Jewish world.
A picture of that is painted in Mat 25:31-46.
- Mt 24-25 deals with the end of the Jewish world, ending with the judgment of the sheep and goats of the one same shepherd.
- The sheep and goats DO NOT represent the elect and the non-elect; they represent God's children who are obedient and the disobedient respectively.
- It is not about the judgment at the end of the human world. For that see Rev 20:15-21
- They are not turned away from eternal heaven itself. On the great judgment day, such shall be resurrected unto eternal glory... which is not conditioned on anything but the free and sovereign grace of God alone.
The parable following confirms this
a. They who do the will of the Father spoken through his Son are delivered from the great destruction to come. That deliverance is conditioned upon their work of doing the will of their Father.
- Those who do the will of the Father are likened to wise men
- Those who don't do the will of the Father are likened to foolish men…
- Which one are you? Where do you build your house?
- The outcome depends on whether one does the will of the Father or not.
That's salvation conditioned on obedience to doing the Father's will, i.e. temporal salvation through the obedience of God's children, those whom God has bestowed eternal salvation by God's free grace in Christ alone.
It is not the eternal salvation and entry into eternal glory which is solely and wholly conditioned upon the redemptive work of Jesus Christ ALONE, plus nothing, NOT even your believing, for your believing is an effect of the salvation FREELY bestowed on you when you were still dead in trespasses and sins.
Nevertheless, your believing and obedience to the Father's will is evidence of your spiritual state.
