Every preacher has stories of sermons gone wrong or heard wrong. I have my share. “Ooh, didn’t mean it to come out that way” or “I’m pretty sure I didn’t say that” or the occasional sermon that just bombs. But as far as I know, I’ve only had someone walk out on me once, and that was when I was preaching from today’s text.
It’s a hard passage. Jesus says three really hard things. 1) Some people will be thrown into the fire. 2) Some people who think they deserve heaven will get locked out, and 3) Some people will find their whole lives come crashing down around them.
Three years ago, on Easter Sunday, I was going to preach from this text, and I introduced myself to a new person during the greeting time. I reached out my hand to her and she held up the sermon copy and said, “Haven’t you ever read the verse: ‘Judge not lest ye be judged’?!”
I said, “Umm ... yes ... actually I preached on that text last week.”
She had angry tears in her eyes, and she said, “Well that is certainly not reflected in this sermon!”
I don’t remember the rest of the conversation, but I do remember that I got out my pen and made some quick edits to the sermon during the song time. I also remember that this lady was gone before it was time for me to speak.
Obviously, I’ve thought a lot about this experience this week. Why didn’t I ask Matt to preach this one? So in honor of Ms. Walker-outer, I want to make sure we all see the connections between the beginning of chapter 7 “Do not judge others and you will not be judged” and the end of chapter 7 with burning branches, closing doors, and collapsing houses.
However, before we can make that connection, we need to make sure we really understand what Jesus is saying here in the end of his most important sermon. And what he has to say is a little shocking. If go down to the basics of all three little stories, they all follow the same basic plot.
First, people are doing good things and have good expectations. People are worshiping or prophesying or building a house or even casting out demons and working miracles. In general, we would say these people are successful. They are highly religious. They look good, and they seem to be doing really good things. These are the people we expect to get God’s approval and blessing.
But in all three stories, Jesus pounds home one point again and again. The inside matters more than the outside. Actions matter more than words. And simple day to day love matters more than flashy public actions. Again and again, Jesus says these upstanding religious people will be rejected and destroyed because they did not “do” Jesus’ teaching.
In fact, that word “do” is probably the key word for our passage. Jesus uses the Greek word “do” 11 times in Matthew 7.1 If we translate the Greek very literally, it sounds like this:
Whatever you want others to do to you, then you do that to them (7:12).
Every good tree does good fruit, and a bad tree does bad fruit (7:17).
A good tree can’t do bad fruit, and a bad tree do good fruit (7:18).
Every tree not doing good fruit is cut off and thrown into the fire (7:19).
Only the one who does the will of my Father ... will enter the kingdom of heaven (7:21).
Many will say ... Didn’t we ... do many miracles in your name (7:22).
Everyone who hears my teaching and is doing it is like the wise man (7:24).
Everyone who hears my teaching and is not doing it is like the foolish man (7:26).
As Jesus concludes the longest and most important sermon we have in the Bible, he has one concern on his mind: “Do it. Actually do it. Live this out. Don’t just listen and walk away. Don’t just listen and be amazed at me. Do it. Doing it is what matters in the end.”
Jesus gives three specific warnings. First, he says, “Look out for people who talk good but don’t act good.” Some people are happy to speak for God but live for God. It’s the living that really matters, not the talking. It’s the life not the words.
Second, he says, “You can say everything right. You can be completely orthodox. You can get an A+ in systematic theology. You can even accomplish amazing results for Jesus and still miss the boat.” Jesus is talking about very religious, very “Christian” people. People do lots of stuff in Jesus’ name - sometimes amazing things, sometimes very religious things - but that doesn’t mean that they are actually in Jesus or that Jesus is in them.
Third, Jesus tells this story about the two guys who built houses. Everything looked the same on the outside. These are two decent guys who are trying to provide a home for their families. When their houses are finished, they might look exactly the same. Both seem to be good, strong, well-built houses. But one of them falls apart because it has a bad foundation.
Jesus says that all of life depends on building our lives on Jesus. Life depends on Jesus, but not in a sappy, pie-in-the-sky, let’s-sing-a-worship-song way. Life depends on actually DOING what Jesus teaches. Believing without doing is not believing. Praising without doing is not praising. Thanking without doing is not thanking. Repenting without doing is not repenting. Trusting without doing is not trusting.
Jesus is saying, “If you really think I’m Lord ... If you really believe I am the Messiah, the Christ ... If you really think I’m a great teacher ... If you really think I have authority ... then DO IT. Do what I’m teaching. Live like I’m telling you to live.”
Life depends on Jesus’ life becoming real in our lives. This is trust. This is the solid rock that is not shaken in the storm. We follow Jesus. We trust Jesus enough to live like Jesus. That is building our house on the rock. That and nothing else.
Let’s pause for a minute and think about some ways that we often get this wrong. In my sermon study, these days, I’ve been going back into the traditions that formed the Church of the Nazarene.
Phineas Bresee was the first pastor of a Nazarene Church. He said we Christians often get confused about being a Christian really is.
We might think giving or serving the poor makes us a real Christian. But we may give away everything we have and accomplish nothing.
We might think avoiding obvious outward sins makes us a real Christian. But we may avoid every sin we know and still be dark hypocrites inside.
We might think holy, religious actions like prayers and songs of joyful thanksgiving make us a real Christian. But it could be “the form without the life ... doing it for show.”
We might think separating ourselves from “sinners” and anything that “hints of sin” makes us a real Christian. But Bresee reminds us that Jesus “was so kind and tender and loving with sinners that ... he was [called] a friend of ... sinners.”2
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism added another important warning: “‘What is the foundation of my hope? ... [Is it] my orthodoxy, or right opinions, which, by a gross abuse of words, I have called faith? ... Alas! what madness is this! Surely this is building on the sand, or, rather, on the froth of the sea!’”3 We can have all the right beliefs and have none of Jesus in our lives.
Now think back to the beginning of this sermon. I promised to explain how this passage fits with the “Do not judge” passage. I think the connecting point is around two words: outside and inside.
A tree might look good on the outside - lots of branches and beautiful green leaves. But only a tree that is good inside produces good fruit. I can’t help thinking about John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” The point is to stay so rooted in Jesus that his life flows through our life and becomes real in us. The point is to live out Jesus’ life in our daily life.
Not everyone who calls out “Lord, Lord” and does many good things will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Beware of the forms of religion without the power. Beware of success without faithfulness. Beware of the spectacular, big deeds without the little unnoticed acts of service and love. Beware of having all the outside stuff without the inside stuff. As Paul said, “The Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power” (1 Corinthians 4:20).
A good looking house is not necessarily good. A good looking life is not necessarily good. For real goodness, we’ve got to look inside and dig deep. We’ve got to go all the way down to the bedrock. To be a real Christian, a real Christ-follower, we have to look deep inside ourselves and ask, “Why am I really doing this? Am I actually trusting Jesus in this area of my life? Am I really living out Jesus’ life in my day to day life?”
It’s our everyday life that counts. Jesus is echoing our Old Testament lesson: “So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 11:18-20).
Build your whole life around Jesus and his way of life. Don’t leave anything out. Live Jesus. Live in Jesus. Live for Jesus. Live through Jesus. Live like Jesus. Live Jesus in everything you do and are. This is the strong foundation that will hold up in any storm.
Here’s the deal, though. We can’t judge other people’s lives on this because we can only see the outside. But Jesus keeps saying what he cares about is inside, below the surface. Jesus cares about the roots, the motives, the foundations. We can’t see that deeply into other people’s lives. There is only One Person who can see that deeply - God.
And we’re in luck. The Season of Lent begins this Wednesday - Ash Wednesday. During Lent, we open our hearts to God and let him look deeply in and reform us from the inside out.
At Greenhouse Worship this week, Tori said that Lent is our annual reminder of our stupidity. That’s not a bad summary of Lent. Once a year, for about six weeks, we return to the basics of life and Christianity. We face up to the fact that we have been stupid - like the foolish builder. The greek word for foolish here is “moro,” which is where we get our English word “moron.”
We spend so much of our time acting like morons. We know that money won’t make us happy. We know that we need to sleep more and spend more time with our families. We know that buying this or that is a waste of money and space and energy. We know that watching one more movie or TV show is not going to contribute anything positive to our lives. We know that porn or that sexy movie is going to make it all the harder to keep our own body in the right places. We know that donut is going to find a permanent home in our midsection. We know that a little more time in prayer will make a big difference in our life. We know that serving is more satisfying than playing and giving is better than receiving. We know that gossip hurts everyone. We know that grace is worth the personal sacrifice. We know that Jesus way is the best way. We know what is good, but we don’t do it.
Lent is our time to let God’s Spirit take us on a tour of our inward self. We let God search us and try us and clean out the dark places in our hearts. Lent is the original camp meeting, the original revival service. For about 1700 years, Christians around the world have set aside six weeks as a special time to repent of our failure to follow Jesus well and to commit ourselves to following Jesus anew.
But sometimes, fasting in Lent can kind of become a game. We try to find the funnest, or coolest, or most impressive thing to give up for Lent. I challenge you to be serious about Lent this year. Let Lent be a serious part of your faith journey. This year, we’re going to try something different - a rotating fast. Each week, Tori, our Master Faster, will explain our fasting focus for the week (sleep, food, electronics, money, etc.), and then it’s up to you to decide how exactly you fast for that week.
Here’s the point. We want to use fasting as a spiritual discipline. Use this time to draw closer to God. Let your Lenten fasting open up space in your heart and mind to reconsider how you’re living. As you give something up, pick up something else that’s good. Don’t just sleep less and work more. Maybe you’ll pray together with your family. Maybe you’ll join a small group. Maybe you’ll wake up early and watch the sunrise or sit in a park. Use this time to build your life more on Jesus, to build Jesus more into your life.
Here is the gospel of Jesus Christ. God loves us all. But we are morons - fools. We trust in all kinds of things instead of Jesus. But God has not given up on us. God’s Spirit is always working in our hearts to show us how we have gone astray and to bring us back. Because Jesus died on the cross, our sins and our stupidity can be forgiven and washed away. We can live a new life. With God’s Spirit in us, Jesus’ amazing life can become real in us. We can actually live out Jesus’ love and grace and truth. This is good news. Let this good news change you. Let the God of good news revolutionize your life. Open yourself during Lent. For just six weeks, give God some free space in your life and let God refocus you on Jesus.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
1 comment:
Good one Sharon!=)
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