Built to Last: Faith That Obeys

Reading from God’s Word:

Luke 6:46–49 CSB

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say? 47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great.”

Introduction

This month, we’re talking about being equipped for service.

Equipping: not about filling positions or keeping people busy.

Equipping begins at a much deeper level than skill or assignment. It begins with submission to Jesus as Lord.

In our text, before Jesus ever sends people out to serve or entrusts them with responsibility, He wants to know, Will you obey me?

A person who will not obey Christ cannot truly serve Christ.

You can admire Jesus and still resist him.

You can talk about Jesus and still ignore him.

You can be involved in all sorts of religious activity and yet remain unequipped for the work of ministry.

And that is why today’s text in Luke 6 is at the heart of what we’re trying to accomplish this month. Equipping begins with who we obey.

Let’s go back to Luke 6:20. This passage reminds us who Jesus is talking to in this section.

Luke 6:20 CSB

20 Then looking up at his disciples, he said: …

Disciples: his learners or students.

These aren’t pagans or hostile skeptics.

They are religious people who have intentionally attached themselves to Jesus.

They follow Him. They listen to Him. They admire Him.

It’s not hard to see why:

No one ever taught like Jesus taught.

No one had ever spoken with so much authority.

No one had ever healed the sick, cast out demons, and displayed the power of God the way He did.

So, the crowds were fascinated.

They were drawn in & impressed.

Many of them believed Jesus spoke for God.

Some might have even began believing He was the Messiah.

These people accepted the Old Testament as truth.

They worshipped the true God.

They were actively looking for the fulfillment of God’s promises.

And yet, Jesus does not congratulate them for all this.

Instead, in v. 46 he stops them with a question that should have pierced their hearts:

Luke 6:46 CSB

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?

Jesus is confronting self-deception.

They were comfortable calling him “Lord.”

And that is high language. Respectful and reverent.

It meant “teacher” or “master.”

But Jesus exposes their fatal flaw: they confessed him with their lips while resisting Him with their lives.

It is very possible to be religious and lost.

to admire Jesus and still reject Him.

to be fascinated by the truth without ever submitting to it.

So, Jesus is calling for obedience that flows from repentance and faith.

And here, to make his point unmistakable, He gives one of the clearest images he ever gave:

A house, a foundation, and a storm.

One life stands. One life collapses.

And the difference is not how religious the house looked, but whether it was built on obedience to His words.

Am I just a hearer who admires Jesus, or a disciple who obeys Him?

The Danger of Verbal Faith Without Obedience

Let’s go back to Luke 6:46.

Luke 6:46 CSB

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?

The people are calling him Lord, not once, but twice: Lord, Lord.

On the surface everything sounds right. But… he’s asking:

Why do you say it and then ignore it?

This is the danger of verbal faith — faith that sounds correct but never reaches submission.

Again, many in the audience followed and listened to him. They were as close to the truth as a person can be without actually surrendering to it.

Close is not enough.

If I’m going to call Him “Lord,” but refuse His authority, then I’m dealing with self-deception.

Now notice this: Jesus does not say, “Why do you call me Lord and fail sometimes?”

He says, “why do you call me Lord and do not do what I say?”

So this is about the direction of one’s life.

We can never obey flawlessly, but we can obey willingly.

And I want you to see how this connects to being equipped for service.

A person who will not submit to Christ privately cannot represent Christ publicly.

A person who resists obedience cannot be equipped for ministry.

And so, the church does not suffer from a lack of talent as much as it suffers from a lack of surrendered hearts.

Because until we surrender our heart, we may be religious, but not ready.

We may be active, but not equipped.

We may be close, but not safe.

And that is why Jesus presses this question so sharply — because eternity is at stake.

Obedience is the Foundation of a Life That Lasts

If v. 46 defines the problem, these verses provide the solution.

What we’ll see here is how carefully Jesus defines a disciple.

There are three marks, and none of them can be removed.

Luke 6:47 CSB

47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them:

This is the life oriented toward Christ.

This is the life that:

turns away from self

abandons false confidence

approaches Christ as the only source of life.

to hear his words is more than exposure — it is reception, understanding, and submission to His teaching.

to act on His words is obedience — doing what the gospel commands.

Obedience is not an add-on to faith - it is the evidence of it.

Now, v. 48a:

Luke 6:48 CSB

48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.

This man dug deep.

This speaks of repentance, seriousness, and a willingness to deal seriously with sin, self deception, and spiritual bankruptcy.

When you dig deep, we’re not talking about a surface-level response to Jesus.

This is the person who has gone all the way down — down into the truth about themselves, and down into the truth about Christ.

The foundation matters more than the house.

The house represents a person’s religious life — faith, worship, involvement, visible Christianity.

But, the strength of the house is determined entirely by what you can’t see.

The foundation is Christ

The foundation is repentance, faith, and submission to His authority.

The foundation is hearing his words and obeying them.

Let’s look at the next part of v. 48:

Luke 6:48 CSB

48 When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built.

When the storm came.

Floods come. Pressure hits.

There will be tests we must endure as we go through life.

And here, we read that the house stands.

Why?

Not because it was impressive.

Not because it was busy.

Not because it was admired.

But because

Luke 6:48 CSB

48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built.

A life built on obedience to Christ is prepared to endure.

God equips people who are anchored.

God entrusts responsibility to those who are grounded.

God builds his work through people whose obedience runs deeper than enthusiasm.

When we are anchored, we are not easily shaken.

We are steady, faithful, reliable, ready.

This is the kind of disciple Jesus is forming — not just hearers of truth -- but servants who obey Him.

Hearing Without Obedience Leads to Collapse

Now, finally, v. 49a:

Luke 6:49 CSB

49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.

This is the tragic alternative.

And what should stand out to us is how similar the two people are on the surface.

Both hear the same words

Both build a house

Both appear religious

Both are exposed to the same storm.

The difference is not knowledge, it is not exposure, it is not proximity to the truth.

The difference is obedience.

The second person hears Jesus, but does not act.

He builds quickly.

Conveniently.

On the surface.

No digging.

No repentance.

No submission.

No foundation.

And, for a while, everything looks fine.

From the outside, this house may appear as respectable as the other.

Same neighborhood.

Same climate.

But what is missing cannot be seen — until it is tested.

Note the second half of v. 49:

Luke 6:49 CSB

49 The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great.”

Immediately it collapsed.

Why?

There was nothing underneath it.

This is a picture of empty religion.

It is the life that knows the language of faith, but has never surrendered to the Lordship of Christ.

Admiration without repentance.

Confession without obedience.

Religion without transformation.

Luke 6:49 CSB

49 The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great.”

Jesus is not exaggerating. He is warning.

The storm here is more than hardship or suffering — it is divine judgment.

When judgment comes, every life will be tested.

Titles will not hold.

Affiliation will not hold.

Activity will not hold.

Only a foundation built on Christ will stand.

Sincerity or closeness is not enough.

You can be near the truth and still be lost.

You can call Jesus “lord” and still refuse His authority.

You can even do things in His name and still be standing on sand.

And Jesus says, the end of this path is destruction.

As We Close

When Jesus says, in v. 48 that the wise builder dug deep, he is telling us something vital about real discipleship.

You know, this is not flashy or dramatic … and this part is often unseen.

But it is costly, intentional, and necessary.

What does it look like to dig deep?

Digging Deep Means an Honest Reckoning with Sin

I have to no longer excuse myself.

I must allow the word of God to expose me - not just inform me.

I have to admit my spiritual poverty instead of defending my goodness.

I have to learn to mourn my sin rather than minimize it.

These are not surface apologies … they are deep recognition: I am not OK on my own. I need mercy.

Psalm 51:17 CSB

17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.

Until a person is willing to face his/her sin honestly, he/she will never dig deep enough to reach the foundation.

Digging Deep Means Abandoning Self-Righteousness

I have to let go of the idea that my religious background, personal morality, or religious activity gives me standing with God.

I can no longer trust:

Church attendance

Family heritage

Years of service

Good intentions

All of that may be part of the house - but none of it is the foundation.

Isaiah 64:6 CSB

6 All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

The foundation is Christ alone. And digging deep means I have to stop trusting myself and rest on Him.

Digging Deep Means Submitting to Jesus as Lord

Digging deep always leads to obedience.

I have to stop negotiating with Jesus.

I have to stop picking and choosing which commands I like.

I have to stop calling Him “Lord” while certain areas of my life are off-limits.

A person who has dug deep may still struggle - but they no longer resist. Their heart posture has changed. Obedience has become the direction of their life.

John 8:31 CSB

31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples.

That is what Jesus is after.

Digging Deep Means Continuing When No One is Watching

Foundations are hidden. No one compliments them. No one applauds them.

Digging deep means faithfulness in:

Private prayer

Quiet obedience

Unnoticed repentance

Daily submission

Jesus said:

1 Peter 1:6–7 CSB

6 You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials 7 so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

This is where real equipping happens. God builds His servants below the surface long before He uses them in visible ways.

Digging Deep Prepares Us to Stand and to Serve

A shallow faith collapses under pressure.

A deep faith becomes a shelter for others.

People who have dug deep:

Remain steady in hardship

Serve without bitterness

Love without hypocrisy

Endure without quitting.

Peter writes:

2 Timothy 2:21 CSB

21 So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

That is the kind of faith Jesus equips for service.

Digging deep is not about becoming impressive Christians—it’s about becoming real ones. And only a faith built on Christ will stand when the storm comes.

Have you dug deep, or have you only built high?

When the storm comes, only one foundation will stand.

Who are you building your life on?