Hearing without Doing

Sermon Transcript

I confess I can sometimes be a bit glib, my wife would even say foolish, in how I respond to some words. Words like “expiration date” for example, don’t necessarily stop me from eating that salsa in the fridge. Words like “fuel tank low” don’t necessarily make me stop at the next gas station if I think there’s really another 50-60 miles worth of gas in that tank even after that warning light comes on. And words like “dangerous driving conditions” don’t necessarily make me stay home if I’ve got somewhere I want to go. I grew up in Pennsylvania and learned to drive in the snow, after all. And part of the reason I feel free to hear these words, and not change my actions in accordance with them, is because I’ve done it plenty of times without negative consequences. I mean, there was that time I did run out of gas while driving and only got into a gas station because by the grace of God I was going downhill and ran out next to one. And then there was the time I was sick for 24 hours after eating some expired food. And then there was the time I tried to brake in the snow and watched helplessly as my car kept going into the bumper of the car in front of me. In these cases, it turned out that my hearing of the words, but not acting in accordance with them, did have some negative consequences.

 

Jesus spoke a lot of words. Luke tells us that Jesus taught in all the synagogues (Luke 4:15), Jesus himself said he was anointed to proclaim good news (Luke 4:18), and Luke tells us the people were astonished at Jesus’ teaching (Luke 4:32). Jesus even said that the reason he was sent was to preach (Luke 4:43), and in the section in Luke on which we’ve been focusing in recent Sundays here in chapter 6, Jesus has been preaching a sermon on a plain. Today we’re looking at the conclusion of his sermon, and in it Jesus addresses a question: Are Jesus’ words like the words “expiration date” or “fuel tank low” or “dangerous driving conditions”? Are they the kind of words you can hear, and not do, and still be ok for the most part? There is grace after all, and nobody’s perfect. So surely it’s ok to hear what Jesus says and to kind of selectively obey it, right? Or, will that lead more to the running out of gas, 24-hour sickness, car accident-type outcomes? Might it lead to an even worse outcome? Today we’re going to look at what Jesus himself says about the consequences of how we respond to his words, and he shows us that The one who hears the words of Jesus and does not do them will come to ruin. These words are a bigger deal than “expiration date,” “fuel tank low,” and “dangerous driving conditions,” and the consequence of ignoring them is far worse than a 24-hour bug, running out of gas, or a fender bender. So we’ll look in this passage at the problem of hearing without doing, the alternative to hearing without doing, and then finally at the outcome of hearing without doing.

 

The problem of hearing without doing

 

Jesus introduces the problem he plans to address in this last section of his sermon on the plain in verse 46: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” Jesus realizes that in this crowd of people hearing his sermon, there are some who call him Lord, and yet do not do what he says. In so doing he identifies a phenomenon that has continued to occur in every age of the church, in every place in which Jesus has been named: Some profess faith in Jesus while not doing what he says. Not everyone who says they are a Christian is a Christian, and the proof is in their actions: Do they do what Jesus says? That’s the difference between merely calling Jesus Lord and actually submitting to Jesus as Lord. Someone may call Jesus Lord for a variety of reasons: Their parents taught them that Jesus is Lord, or, similarly, someone might view Christianity as part of their cultural heritage, and so call Jesus Lord in a way similar to how someone whose family cheers for the Eagles says, “Go Birds!” even if they don’t care about the team.

 

Someone who didn’t grow up with any kind of Christian background may call Jesus Lord because they want something from Jesus or like something about Jesus, even though they aren’t willing to do what he says. We began planting this church when I was 28, and though at least some people thought I was mature enough to lead a church plant at that age, I apparently wasn’t mature enough yet to have developed the habit of flossing. I’d go to the dentist twice a year, they’d ask me if I’d been flossing, and I’d say, “no.” I remember one hygienicist asking me, “You mean like, you haven’t been doing it very often?” and I explained, “No; I mean I haven’t done it once since my last appointment six months ago.” But in the early years of the church plant we also had a number of Penn Dental students involved, and finally, they convinced me to start flossing. I thought, “You know, this probably is something I should add to my life if I want to be healthy,” but I didn’t submit to dental floss as the Lord of my life. I still floss pretty consistently 10 years later, but if there’s any night I don’t feel like doing it, I feel totally free not to. And this is how some today treat Jesus: They think, “Ok, I get it; to live a full life I do need to engage my spiritual side, and I see Jesus can help me there. I should add him to my life if I want to be healthy in the fullest sense of the word.” They might even join a church, like the person who resolves to get fit joins a gym, and in so doing, they call Jesus Lord. But on the days they don’t feel like doing what he says, they do what I do on the days I don’t feel like flossing: They do what they want, rather than what Jesus says.

 

They may even be very emotionally affectionate in their profession of Jesus as Lord! When Jesus asks, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord?” he’s emphasizing that profession of Lord. At the time they didn’t have bold or italics, and so if they wanted to emphasize something, they’d repeat it. It’s as if Jesus is saying, “Some of you cry out to me passionately and speak loudly of me as Lord, but you don’t do what I tell you.” Passion is no substitute for obedience. Elsewhere Jesus speaks of those who even prophesy, cast out demons, and do many mighty works in his name, who he nonetheless never knew, because they did not do what he said (Matt 7:21-23). You can raise your hands in worship, go on missions trips, blast Christian music, get a Bible verse tattoo, serve on multiple serving teams at church, and post Bible verses on your social media, but if when the rubber meets the road, you don’t do what Jesus says, then you are showing that you haven’t actually submitted to Jesus as Lord.

 

Coming at the end of this sermon on the plain, Jesus first and foremost has in view the things he has said in this sermon. If when someone wrongs you, you refuse to forgive them, you aren’t doing what Jesus told you. If you won’t give generously to others without expectation of return, you aren’t doing what Jesus told you. If you insist on making harsh judgments of others, you aren’t doing what Jesus told you, and so on. But bigger picture, what Jesus tells us encompasses the whole Bible. Jesus quoted from the Old Testament, the part of the Bible written before he came, as if it were the words of the Holy Spirit (Mark 12:36), and that’s his Spirit. Then he promised to give that same Spirit to his disciples, who then wrote new words of scripture under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the writings of whom form the New Testament, the rest of the Bible (John 14:26, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 3:16). So if scripture says something, and you don’t do it, you aren’t doing what Jesus told you.

 

And what Jesus is making abundantly clear to us here is that he is not ok with that. He raises the question in verse 46 because he sees it as a problem. He’s not interested in people who call him Lord who don’t do what he says. Insecure leaders want followers no matter how the followers live, but Jesus is not an insecure leader. He doesn’t need followers. You aren’t doing him any favors if you call him Lord and don’t do what he says.

 

I understand you may be here today and you don’t yet call Jesus Lord; we’re glad to have you. If that’s the case, I trust you’ll see here that Jesus is more concerned that you submit to him as Lord than that you parrot the words, “Jesus is Lord.” But to you who do profess Jesus as your Lord, examine yourselves: Do you do what he says? When push comes to shove, and you’re in those situations in which you know really clearly what scripture commands, but you want to do otherwise, what do you follow? The words of Jesus in scripture, or your own desires? Do you find yourself explaining away the words of Jesus to fit them to your desires, or do you submit your desires to Jesus’ words? 

 

Hearing without doing is a real problem. Jesus saw it in his crowd, and in every place in which there are people who call upon Jesus as Lord, the problem reoccurs. Some call him Lord with their words, but show that they aren’t submitting to him as Lord with their actions. But hearing without doing is not inevitable. Let’s look next at the alternative to hearing without doing.

 

The alternative to hearing without doing

 

In verse 47 Jesus describes those who come to him, hear his words, and do them. It’s interesting the first thing Jesus says about such people is that they come to him. On one level, that’s obvious: Jesus is walking around on earth without amplified sound or audio recording technology. So if you want to hear Jesus, you have to come to Jesus. Back in verse 18 we read of how this great crowd came to hear him, and apparently some in the crowd still did not do what he said. It’s clearly possible to come to him and not do what he says. But today the opposite is also possible: It is possible to hear Jesus without coming to him. You can come to a gathering like this and hear the word of Christ through the reading and preaching of his word. You can read the Bible for yourself. You can even listen to a recording of someone else reading the Bible in your headphones while you ride the subway or go for a run. 

 

It is possible, then, to try to detach the words of Jesus from the person of Jesus. Some today read things like love your enemies, turn the other cheek, judge not, condemn not, forgive, and give, and say, “Yes; I love that. That’s how I choose to live,” without ever coming to Jesus. But that’s also not what Jesus is after. This passage shows us the insufficiency of merely calling Jesus Lord, but it doesn’t deny the necessity of doing so. The first and most basic thing Jesus tells you to do is to come to him. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” he says (Matt 11:28). Jesus says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:29). He’s not interested in people doing some of what he says, but not doing the most important thing he said: Believing in him as Lord and Savior. Doing some of what he says without doing that will only get you condemnation.

 

Because here’s the deal: What we’ve all already done is disobeyed what Jesus says. That means according to the standard of God’s perfect justice, we’re already guilty, and no amount of doing good can change that. A murderer can’t unmurder someone by going and being kind to five more people. On top of that, we don’t have the power to do what Jesus says. We aren’t only guilty of sin; we’re slaves to sin by nature. Telling a sinner to just go do what Jesus says apart from coming to Jesus by faith would be like telling someone to fly without giving them wings. In order for us to be forgiven for all the ways we already haven’t done what Jesus said, and in order for us to be forgiven for all the times we will fall short of what Jesus says, we first needed Jesus to perfectly obey those very commands for us. We needed Jesus to love his enemies, to do good to those who hate him, to pray for those who abused him, to turn the other cheek, to judge not, condemn not, forgive, and give, and then we needed Jesus to suffer the judgment we deserved for all the ways we have not done those things. That’s what Jesus did when he died on the cross for us, and because he did, God rewarded him with eternal life when he raised him from the dead. He’s the man who dug down deep and built his house on the rock, so that even when the waters of God’s judgment rushed over him for our sins, he was not shaken. 

 

And so now everyone who truly comes to him by faith is forgiven of their sins, and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit, who enables them to do what Jesus says. That’s the obedience Jesus is after. He’s not interested in a righteousness you developed on your own by doing your best to do what he says. That righteousness is filthy rags to him (Isaiah 64:6). He already told us in Luke that he came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). And now he’s telling us that if sinners really do repent and turn to him for salvation, those same sinners will not only come to him, but they will hear his words, and they will not only hear his words–they will do them. Pastor Tim Keller used to say that religion says, “I obey; therefore I’m accepted,” but the gospel Jesus proclaimed is, “I’m accepted, therefore I obey.” You don’t do what Jesus says so that Jesus will accept you. You do it because you’ve already come to him, been accepted by him, and now joyfully submit to such a wonderful Lord. But if you start to say, “I’m accepted, therefore I don’t have to obey,” you’ve missed the message of Jesus.

 

Imagine you’ve committed a heinous crime–let’s just use murder again. You feel awful about it, and you know your life from this point forward is now ruined. You deserve a lifetime sentence, perhaps even the death penalty, and you know you’ve been caught. On top of that, you show up to court, and it turns out the judge is the father of the person you murdered. I know that’s a conflict of interest, but grant me some homiletical license. So you see the judge come in, he’s the father of your victim, but then, to your amazement, far from throwing the book at you, the judge offers to serve the life sentence for you, so that you can go free. You deserved a lifetime sentence, and the very person you committed the crime against instead chooses to serve it for you so you can go free, out of sheer mercy toward you. How likely would you be to say, “You know; that judge has a few other kids. Now that I know I can get away with it, let me go knock one of them off too”? So Jesus says if you can call him Lord, and you can profess to believe that you deserved hell for your own sins, but he who you’d sinned against saved you by suffering the judgment your sins deserved on the cross, so that you could be forgiven, if you can say you believe all that, and then just go right back to committing those same sins, it shows you don’t really believe all that.

 

So the first aspect of this alternative to hearing without doing is coming to him by faith. Then those who come to him also do hear his words. Hearing is not sufficient evidence that you’ve truly come to Jesus as Lord, but it is necessary. Relationship with Jesus is a fundamentally word-centered relationship. Not all religions are like that; some are more fundamentally driven by meditation, rituals, or traditions. But Jesus is not a vague spiritual force. He’s a person who speaks, and those who follow him come to him, hear what he says, and do it. I’ve already alluded to the ways we hear Jesus speak now–through the preaching and reading of the Bible. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you have a relationship with Jesus if hearing biblical sermons and at least hearing the Bible read aloud, if not reading it yourself, are not basic habits of your life. You won’t persevere in doing what Jesus says if you don’t persevere in hearing what Jesus says. Here’s a question to talk about over lunch, or kids this would be a great question to discuss with your parents: What changes might you need to make to your life to make sure you’re regularly hearing the words of Jesus?

 

But then, of course, the alternative to hearing without doing, is not only hearing, but doing. So Jesus describes one who not only comes to him, and not only hears his words, but does them. That’s as simple as it sounds: Sometimes it does take some work to rightly interpret and apply what Jesus is saying, but once the interpretation and application are there, those who submit to Jesus have only one option: Do. What did Yoda say to Luke? “There is no try; there is only do.” Jesus tells you to forgive that person; you forgive them. Jesus tells you not to have sex with that person; you don’t. Jesus tells you not to lie; you tell the truth. This is Jesus’ simple portrait of a disciple, and here’s what we should expect the life of a disciple of Jesus to look like: Their life is centered on him–they come to him. They are regularly hearing his words. And they do what he says.

 

Now Jesus tells us here’s what everyone who does that is like: They’re like someone building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. He’s going to contrast this man with the one who hears without doing in verse 49, so let’s just notice the differences. First, this man digs deep, while the man in verse 49 just sticks his house on the ground without a foundation. He didn’t just dig–he dug deep. The image here is one of hard work, and we learn from this that those who do what Jesus commands often find it to be difficult. Loving your enemies sounds great, but go ahead and face real hostility from someone and tell me how easy it is to not only not take revenge on them or ignore them, but to turn around and sincerely desire their good, pray for that good, and then give to them what is good. To follow Jesus is to follow the path of the cross, the path of self-denial, and it is hard. Jesus says elsewhere that’s why few take such a path (Matt 7:14). 

 

It’s hard, but it’s good. Don’t you find this to be true in life? The best, most life-giving, most joy-inducing things you can do are also the hardest things. Under following Jesus, the two hardest things I’ve done in my life are parenting kids and pastoring a church, but they’re also the two most joyful things I’ve done under following Jesus. So Jesus says here that everyone who comes to him, hears his word, and does it, everyone who takes the hard path of doing his words and builds their lives on the rock of his words, experiences this: When the flood arose, the stream broke against the house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 

 

Notice that the doers of Jesus’ words are not spared from floods; the streams break against both houses. The doers of Jesus’ words still face suffering in this life, but when the suffering comes, they are not shaken, because they built their lives on the words of Jesus. If you do what Jesus says and love your enemies, then when new enemies come, you aren’t shaken. You know Jesus said that blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil on account of the Son of Man! So you can rejoice and be glad in that day, and leap for joy, as Jesus tells us to, because you know your reward is great in heaven (Luke 6:22-23). When you weep, and you will weep in this life if you follow Jesus, you can still stand, because you know Jesus’ words that blessed are you who weep, for you shall laugh. When you are hungry in this life, you can still stand, because you know Jesus’ words that blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied (Luke 6:21). When you build your life on the words of Jesus by both hearing and doing them, it gives you stability, though everything around you is flooding. You know what’s true, and you know what to do.

 

I remember a sister here talking about how it was hard for her to relate to some co-workers because they were so anxious about the latest news. She wasn’t judging them; she was just admitting honestly that she’s not anxious about those things because she’s building her life on the words of Jesus. Maybe you struggle to experience that same level of peace, but do you see here that there is a real path to it? When floods come, go back to what you know to be true: The words of Jesus. What does he say is true? And what duty does he call me to today? If you can build your foundation on those two simple questions, and do what he says, it won’t make your life easy, but it will bring stability to you amid the floods.

 

And you will stand, even when the final flood, the flood of God’s judgment, comes. Scripture tells us that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil (2 Cor 5:10). The flood comes on both houses, and so both those who do the words of Jesus and those who don’t will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. But those who have done what Jesus says will receive the due reward for the good they have done in heaven. They will stand in that day, because they built their lives on the solid rock of Jesus’ words. Now if you know the Bible well or you’ve been around this church much, this idea of a final judgment based on whether we do what Jesus says may raise some questions for you: “Wait; I thought eternal life was a gift, not a reward for what we’ve done?” “I thought we were accepted by God because of Jesus’ righteousness, not our own?” Yes and amen. If we are asking what is the legal basis or meritorious cause for our acceptance with God, the answer cannot be our doing of what Jesus commands, because our doing cannot cover for our past sins, and our doing still falls short–sometimes we don’t do what Jesus commands, and even when we do, our doing is tainted by mixed motives, and still falls short in some ways of the perfect standard God’s law requires. So the demand of God’s law must be met by Christ–by his perfect doing, and by his suffering the penalty my sins deserved. As Citylight Manayunk’s pastor, Matt Cohen, says, “All our doing proceeds from his done.”

 

And yet, what Jesus is teaching us here is that real doing will and must proceed from his done if we are to be judged righteous on the last day. The proof that his righteousness has been given to us as a gift that makes us righteous in God’s sight is that we do begin to live righteous lives. We are justified by faith alone, but that faith never remains alone in them that are justified. It produces good works as we do what Jesus tells us to do. And with the legal demands of God’s law fully satisfied in Christ, God is pleased to accept and reward our sincere obedience to the words of Jesus, though it is always accompanied by many weaknesses and imperfections. 

 

When people look at your life, they should not think, “Ah yeah he’s a Christian, but he doesn’t really do the things Jesus commanded. I guess that’s ok though because God is gracious and all.” Of course, unbelieving people sometimes misunderstand what Jesus commands, but generally they should be able to look at your life and say, “I’m not sure I believe all that Jesus stuff–but she clearly does. She does what he commands.” Parents, you can’t ultimately guarantee the salvation of your kids, but if your kids do end up rejecting Jesus, make it your aim that they can at least say this: “I don’t believe in Jesus, but my dad sure did. My mom sure did.” And kids, can I just encourage you that this is the foundation you want to build into your life, starting today? Come to Jesus by faith, and then make it your impulse to do whatever he says. That’s a habit that will serve you well when the trials of life do inevitably come.

 

Those who live like that, those who come to Jesus, hear his words, and do them, everyone who does that, will be able to withstand life’s trials, and will ultimately stand in the final judgment, because their lives were built on the solid rock of Jesus’ words. That’s the alternative to hearing without doing. Let’s look last, then, at the outcome of hearing without doing.

 

The outcome of hearing without doing

 

So in verse 49 Jesus tells us of the one who hears and does not do. Interestingly he doesn’t say they come to him, although obviously in some sense they did come to him to hear this sermon. They also do hear him! So these people Jesus is about to describe sit in church services and hear the preaching of the word. They may even podcast sermons, watch YouTube videos on theology, read their Bibles, and read books on theology! They hear, but they don’t do. And typically such people don’t broadcast their disobedience. They don’t come out and say they hate their enemies, but they find ways to chip away at their reputation when they aren’t around, and they definitely don’t take time to pray for their good in private. They probably don’t pray much in private at all. They don’t tell everyone that they’re keeping all their money for themselves; Jesus tells us our giving is to be in secret anyway, so they can keep their lack of giving a secret as well.

 

What’s this person like? Jesus says they’re like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation. That sure sounds easier than digging deep and building the house on a rock. There’s a plot of land: What’s to stop us from just sticking a house on it? It’ll take less work, and we can see the results faster. Work smarter, not harder, right? That sounds good…until the flood comes. In this case, working harder would have been smarter, because though it was nice to enjoy the house quickly, when the flood came, verse 49 tells us that the house fell immediately, and the ruin of the house was great. So Jesus tells us elsewhere not only that the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few; he also says the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many (Matt 7:13-14). Remember the beatitudes that Jesus kicked off this sermon on the plain with, some of which I’ve already alluded to today? Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. And woe to you who build the nice house on the ground the easy way with no foundation, for when the flood comes, you will mourn and weep.

 

It’s just easier to not do what Jesus says. It’s easier to only give to those who can give to you in return. It’s easier to just cut your enemies out of your life than it is to love them. It’s easier to give in to your sinful desires than to fight them. It’s easier to assert yourself than it is to deny yourself. But if you aren’t building your life on the firm foundation of Jesus’ words, you are still building on something, and is it really stable enough to withstand the floods of life? If you don’t orient your life around obeying Jesus’ words, you do orient it around something. Something still drives you, something still motivates you, and something still dictates your decisions. Perhaps it’s money; what happens when the stock market tanks? Perhaps it’s your career; what happens if AI takes your job? Perhaps it’s your friends; what happens when they move, or decide to be friends with someone else? Perhaps it’s your health; what happens when the cancer diagnosis comes? Perhaps it’s even your family; what happens when conflict comes, or even death? Build your life on these changing things, and your life will only be good until the changes inevitably come. 

 

And, of course, none of them will be able to save you from the coming judgment. In that day, not even a passionate profession of Jesus as “Lord, Lord” will do you any good if it is not accompanied by good works done in obedience to the words of Jesus. Hell is the ultimate great ruin to which you will be consigned if you call Jesus Lord and hear his words, but do not do them. Of course, this does not mean that if there has ever been a time in your life when you called Jesus Lord and did not do what he said, you will be consigned to hell. By that standard, Jesus would be the only one in heaven. Remember that he came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, and we see in 1 John for example that when we sin after becoming believers in Christ, we confess our sins, and God’s promise is that he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He even says there that “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). He then goes on to say, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). So the blood of Christ is clearly sufficient to cover the sins we commit even after coming to him as Lord and failing to do what he says.

 

But there is something he tells us to do when we realize we haven’t done what he says: Repent. Confess it, rest upon him for forgiveness, and resolve by the power of the Spirit to walk in a new direction. If you refuse to do even that, and just go on not doing what he says, then whatever your profession, you should expect to be condemned by him at the final judgment (cf. Heb 10:26-27). So if you are here today and you know there are things Jesus commands you to do in scripture that you just aren’t doing, don’t despair. Repent. Come to him, hear what he says, and do it. Build your house on the rock, and you will stand in the judgment. 

 

There is a Psalm in the Bible that teaches a similar lesson to what Jesus is saying here. It’s the first Psalm of the Psalter, Psalm 1, and it speaks there also of a tree planted by streams of water, that yield its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not whither. In other words, though changing circumstances come, it remains unshaken. But then the Psalm says the wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away, and here’s the outcome: “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment” (Psalm 1:5). So what’s the difference there, in that Psalm, between the righteous who do stand in the judgment, and the wicked who don’t? The Psalm tells us at the beginning: “Blessed is the man…whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” So do you see what Jesus is doing here? He’s putting his words on the same tier as the law of the LORD. He’s saying his words are the fulfillment of the law of the LORD, the true exposition of it, and so it is the one who hears his words and does what he says who will stand in the judgment. 

 

Let me close, then, with a few brief points of application on how we can help one another not only hear what Jesus says, but do it. First, parents: Teach your kids what obedience is, and require it of them. Notice Jesus says there are only two possible responses to his words, two kinds of people: Those who do what he says, and those who don’t. Be ready and willing to recognize when your kid simply didn’t do what you told them. And don’t let them form a habit of hearing your words, not doing them, and experiencing no consequences. You don’t have the power to make them obey, but God has given you the ability, and the responsibility, to discipline them when they disobey. Jesus requires them to do what he says, and you can train them for discipleship to him by requiring them to do what you say. So definitely teach them Jesus’ words; they should hear his words from you regularly–when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. But don’t let them think it’s safe to hear them without doing them. You know that’s not the case–Jesus says here that will ultimately lead to their ruin. And you can teach them that not only by telling them, but by disciplining them. Discipline imposes a measured, temporary amount of pain now, to save your kids from far greater, eternal pain later. If you aren’t sure how to discipline wisely, by all means grab me or one of our elders after the service and we’d be glad to help you work out the details in your parenting situation.

 

And just as parental discipline is good, it is good when a church is willing to say to someone, “Hey I know you say you’re a Christian, but you aren’t doing what Jesus said, so we cannot recognize you as a Christian by receiving you into or keeping you in our membership.” Though that’s painful, it warns them of the danger they are in if they continue down that path! Jesus shows us here where that path leads: Ruin, and if we want to really love that person, rather than just trying to make sure they say we loved them, then we will want to warn them not to continue down that path! Sometimes Christians struggle with this–they say, “Well hey, they say they’re Christians; who am I to judge?” But scripture explicitly tells us that it is those inside the church whom we are to judge (1 Cor 5:12-13). Communicating to people with both our words and our actions that you must actually do what Jesus says if you want to stand in the judgment is the most loving thing we can do in light of these realities Jesus teaches us here. Insecure churches, like insecure leaders, want growth at all costs–fast results, like a fast house built on a ground with no foundation. But let’s be a church that cares more about helping people actually follow Jesus than about getting fast, visible results, that leave people thinking they’re on a path to life while they remain on a path to ruin. Let’s care more about peoples’ eternal state than about the instant gratification of more impressive stats. Let’s do the hard work of digging deep to find what Jesus actually says, and by his grace, let’s do it.

And let’s be a church, that beyond the formal process of membership and discipline, is committed to helping one another do what Jesus says. Let’s cultivate the kinds of relationships with one another in which we say things like, “I’m really struggling to do what Jesus says with my finances. Would you pray for me and help me figure out why?” We recognize that it is hard, but we also recognize that Jesus has given himself for us, that we might be forgiven of our sins, and that we might be set free from their power. He’s given us his righteousness to cover our lack of righteousness, he’s given us his Spirit to change us, and he’s given us one another. If you actually want to grow in doing what Jesus says, grab two or three of your fellow members, tell them how you want to grow in that, ask them to speak true words of Jesus to you about that, and ask them to follow up with you in a week to ask how that’s going. When you find yourself tempted to not do what Jesus says, call them and ask them to pray for you. If you do not do what Jesus says, call them, confess it, and ask them to help you repent. If you see another of us not doing what Jesus says, remove the log from your own eye, but then point it out, and warn them of the danger of continuing in it. Don’t let your brothers and sisters call Jesus Lord and not do what he says. Don’t let yourself call Jesus Lord and not do what he says. Everyone who comes to him, hears his words, and does them, will stand through trials in this life, and will stand in the judgment of the life to come. But the one who hears and does not do them will come to ruin, both in the trials of this life, and in the judgment of the life to come.