46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” ~ Luke 6:46-49
Today, we come to the end of the Sermon on the Mount. We read in v.46, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say? The people gathered there at the Temple during that Feast of Tabernacles called the Lord Jesus, "Lord" which means “master.”
The people there that day admired the Lord, but admiration was not enough. Their problem was not their admiration, their problem was they did not believe the Lord Jesus to be the Messiah. Patronizing the Lord Jesus has never been His desire.
This brings up a pertinent question, "How close do we have to be to get saved?" In John 1:12 we read, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” If we want to be included in the family of God, we've got to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord over sin and death.
In John 6:40 we read, “This is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life.” In Acts 4:12 we read, “And there is salvation in no one else; there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
In Romans 10:9-10, we read, “9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Believe in the Christ who is Lord, who overcame death.
These people the Lord Jesus was addressing here were the most religious people, but the answer is not how good we can become. The Lord Jesus says, "we have to recognize our sin, we must see that we are so spiritually bankrupt, blind, and starving, that we are broken over our alienation from God." This is the word that He refers to in v.47.
In v.47, we read, "As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like." We come, we hear, and we put into practice. What they had come to hear that day was the Sermon on the Mount which was teaching about us coming to the end of our self-preservation, and coming to the One who would go to the cross to bridge the enormous gap between us and God created by our sinfulness.
In v.48, the Lord Jesus continues by saying, "They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built."
In Israel during the summer, many of the rivers dry up, leaving a sandy bed empty of water. But in winter, after the September rains had come, the empty river bed became a raging torrent. Many, looking for a site for a house, found an inviting stretch of sand there, only to discover when the winter came, that they had built their house in the middle of a raging river which would sweep their house away.
On the other hand, the wise man searched for rock which would provide a much better foundation. When the winter weather came their house stood strong and firm and secure. In both cases the parable teaches the importance of laying the right foundation for life; the only true foundation is placed in the teachings of the Lord Jesus. When a flood came the deep foundation endured the torrential rains.
In v.49 we read, “But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” The words heard here were the words describing us coming to the end of ourselves and depending upon our Savior's ability to preserve us and make choices for us as we bow our will to Him and His definition of all things.
God has provided for us in the Lord Jesus Christ what God He from us in the Old Testament Law. The good news is that Christ is not only our pardon, He is also our perfection. He measured up to the truth and substantiated it. Being made right in God's eyes and living a life the Lord Jesus died to give us could not be produced by our efforts. In His mercy, God has provided His Son as a substitute for us. Christ’s substitution is crucial for us becoming right with God and to live the life the Lord Jesus died to give us now.
This has made it possible for you and me to have a personal relationship with God. The foundation to this relationship is the Lord Jesus Himself. He is also the foundation to our ability to learn from God the wisdom we need in order to make wise decisions.
Many have attempted to make Christianity about us either earning and/or maintaining God's favor. This is impossible. I like the way Max Lucado describes Christianity when he says, "It is easier to raise your sail than it is to row your boat."
