Definitive Doing
Philadelphia Baptist Church
7/22/2007 Sun. p.m.
Definitive Doing
Matthew 7:15–29
Introduction:
There are two significant documents in connection with Christ: The Sermon on Mount—a definitive statement at the beginning of His ministry; The Lord’s Prayer in John 17—a definitive statement at the close of His ministry. The last three sections of the Sermon on the Mount deal with the same theme—getting the Bible into life. “Doing the will of God” involves being what the Bible says I should be and doing what the Bible says I should do.
I. A Point of Discrimination (vv. 15–20): “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (vv. 16, 20 kjv)
John R. W. Stott has rightly conveyed the tone of the Sermon on the Mount in the title of his book, Christian Counter-Culture.
There are only two gates, only two paths, only two destinies before every man, and each of us must choose one or the other. This may seem surprising to some. Many would suppose that men are confronted with an almost infinite number of alternatives to them. It is not a choice between only two options, but of many. Among so many alternatives how can a man choose the right one? Because of this dilemma, many have concluded that ‘all roads lead to Rome’ and that it matters little which one we would choose.
But the Lord Jesus narrows our choices to only two: religion and Christianity. Religion, in brief, can be defined as man’s efforts to reach God, while Christianity is God reaching down to man. Religion rests upon man’s work for God; Christianity on God’s work on behalf of men.
A. Caution (v. 15)
1. Watch out for false prophets
2. They look (try to look) like sheep, but actually they are ferocious wolves (that seek to devour)
B. Criteria (vv. 16–18)—lessons from nature (thistle—common bramble-bush or common weed)
1. Trees bear the same kind of fruit as the tree itself—good and bad trees can’t bear opposite fruit
2. Good trees bear good fruit; bad trees bear bad fruit
C. Condemnation (v. 19)
1. Bad trees are ultimately hewn down
2. Bad trees are subject to judgment
II. A Principle of Distinction (vv. 21–23)
A. Claims (v. 22)
1. We have prophesied
2. We have cast out demons
3. We have done many wonderful works
B. Conduct
1. We have done good things
2. We have done them in the name of the Lord
3. We have done them over a long period of time
C. Consequences (v. 23)
1. “I never knew you”
2. “Depart from me”
3. The issue—“he that doeth the will of my Father” (the one involved in doing what God wants done)
III. A Parable of Determination (vv. 24–27)
A. Contractors
1. Two men here
2. May know their names (Rocky and Sandy)
B. Construction
1. Two houses were built
2. The houses may have been identical, but the foundations were radically different
C. Crisis
1. The storm is the same—extremely severe
2. The storm represents the storms of life or judgment
D. Conclusion
1. The house on the rock stood—because on the rock
2. The house on the sand fell—because not on the rock
3. The rock—doing the will of God (“Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice”)
Conclusion:
Three questions answered:
1) How to tell a true teacher;
2) How to tell a true conversion;
3) How to tell a true Christian.
Two cautions issued:
1) People are not necessarily what they claim to be;
2) People are not necessarily what they appear to be.
One message communicated: THE KEY TO DIFFERENTIATION is the way a life lines up by the Word of God.