Sermons

Introduction

All right, we're in Luke chapter 6, Luke chapter 6 – calling all Bibles – beginning in verse 46. The title of this message is "The Time to Decide." 

Luke chapter 6, beginning in verse 46: "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great." Let us go to the Lord in prayer. 

[Prayer] Father, the tone of these verses is very gripping, very sobering. We are already pulled in to what our Lord said and what it means and what it means for my life. And so I pray for everyone in this room that You will give them ears to hear, eyes to see, a heart to believe. May much good come from this message, in Christ's name. Amen. [End] 

In these verses, Jesus comes to the end of this incredible sermon, and He addresses many, if not most in the crowd, who were following Him under the false pretense that they were true believers. Most presume that simply because they are in this large crowd and hearing the words of Christ, and they are saying, "Lord, Lord," as if to say, "Lord, we're with You," that it meant they were in right standing with Him. But they lived under the fog of a self-deception that they were rightly attached to Christ when nothing could have been further from the truth. The fact is that most there that day actually professed to know the Lord and were saying, "Lord, Lord," but in reality did not know Him. 

As this sermon now comes to the grand climax, the grand crescendo, Jesus issues these words as a wake-up call. He presses them to make the decision to commit their lives to Him. It is now time for them to act. It was not enough for them to come and be a part of this large religious gathering. It was not enough for them to be able to sit under His teaching and to hear His voice. It was not enough to agree with what He was saying. It was not enough to recognize that He is Lord. The fact is they must cross the line and they must come to a decision about where they stand with Him. They must act now. 

The same could be true of many of you here today. It is time for you to decide what you will do with your life concerning Christ. You've been coming to this church and you've been a part of this large gathering, and it feels good to be in this church. You have sat under the preaching of the Word of God and you have heard the truth verse by verse by verse. And no doubt you have said, "Lord, Lord," to the truth that you've heard. But the question is, "Have you genuinely been converted? Have you genuinely committed your life to Jesus Christ? Have you acted upon the glorious truth that you have heard week after week after week?" 

The Penetrating Question

This is the question; and it is for some of you here today, it's time to act. It's time to cross the line. It is decision time. So as we look at these four verses that come at the very end as a conclusion to this sermon, I want you to note, first, in verse 46, "the penetrating question, the penetrating question," because Jesus realizes everyone who is with Him is not with Him. 

He begins by saying, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord?'" When He says "you," He's referring to the vast majority of those who were gathered there. Yes, there is a remnant of those who have committed their life to Him and who have been converted; but for the vast majority, they're not there yet. And so He says, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord?'" They even recognize the lordship of Jesus Christ. The word "Lord," Kurios, means "Master," "Ruler," "Sovereign One" – the One possessing all authority over every life, the One possessing the right to command every life, the One who demands their full allegiance and loyalty. They call Him Lord. 

In Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount – and I've come to the realization, I think here in Luke this is a different version of that sermon that is given on another occasion because there's too much difference between the two sermons. And in the Matthew version, they say, "Lord, Lord," on the final judgment day, on the other side of the curtain. But here they are saying, "Lord, Lord," in this present lifetime as they're here in the crowd. And for them to say, "Lord, Lord," twice stresses how emphatic they are about His lordship, how sincere they are about His lordship. And they are calling out to Him, not just "Lord," but, "Lord, Lord," like, "we fully believe intellectually who You are." 

And then Jesus says at the end of verse 46, "and do not do what I say?" It's the ultimate incongruency. It's the ultimate oxymoron. It's the ultimate polarizing. The key word is "do," the second time "do" is found: "and do not do." "How can you call me, 'Lord,' and do not do what I say? If that is true, you've become a lord unto yourself." The word "do" here is synonymous for "obey." True saving faith, true saving faith is an obedient faith. True saving faith is active, not passive. True saving faith is dynamic, not static. True saving faith thrusts a person forward to believe upon Christ and to live for Christ. 

The vast majority in the crowd that day were following Jesus with a superficial attachment to Him, which is no attachment. It's all or nothing with the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no playing all ends into the middle. There's no riding the fence. There's no half in, half out. There are no half Christians. There are no half disciples. There are no half followers of Jesus Christ. There are none who have one foot in the kingdom and the other foot in the world. It's all or nothing. 

Oh, they were listening to Jesus and, no doubt, loved what they were hearing, for never did a man speak like this. They were identifying with Jesus with an external association with Him, and they were even professing Him, "Lord, Lord." But understand this: it is not the profession of Christ that saves. it is the possession of Christ that saves. You can profess Christ and not possess Christ. You can speak empty words. 

Jesus said in the Matthew version of this sermon, in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven." You can say, "Lord, Lord," all day long and not enter into the kingdom of heaven. You can come join this church and meet with the elders and give a testimony and say, "I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ," and not enter into the kingdom of heaven." 

This is not saying – let me read the verse again: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." Now this is not saying that you must do the will of God in order to earn your way into heaven. Rather, it is saying that "if you have truly repented of your sins and if you have genuinely believed in Jesus Christ, the authenticity of your faith and this conversion will be seen with a new desire to do the will of God for your life." 

Truth saving faith is evidenced by humble submission under the lordship of Jesus Christ and it begins the moment you enter into the kingdom. It begins the moment you enter through the narrow gate. There's no time lapse between entering through the narrow gate into the kingdom and then down the road saying, "I come under the lordship of Christ." Truth saving faith is marked by a new lifestyle of obedience to Christ. Obedience not perfectly, but purposefully; not flawlessly, but faithfully. Truth saving faith is proven to be real, not by mere words saying, "Lord, Lord." 

Some of the greatest testimonies ever given to the Lord Jesus Christ in the four Gospels came from demon spirits. Hello? "You are the Holy One of Israel." Truth saving faith is proven by doing what the Lord requires. It's not even proven by giving your testimony, it's proven by doing what the Lord requires. 

We saw last week the inseparable connection between the root and the fruit. If the root is truly grounded in the fertile soil of Jesus Christ with saving faith, there will be by necessity the fruit of a changed and transformed life. Jesus said quite simply, "You will know them by their" – not profession. Anybody can make a profession. "You will know them by their fruit." 

For most in the crowd that day, their lifestyle was one of perpetual disobedience to the words of Christ, and it revealed that their profession was an invalid profession. It was a dead testimony that lacked any supportive evidence of a changed life. I mean, the whole Bible teaches that true saving faith is an active, obedient faith. James 1:22 says, "Prove yourselves, prove yourselves doers of the word, not merely hearers." Just hearing will not get you into the kingdom, you must prove that your faith is real by doing the Word of God. 

Later in James 2:14, James writes, "What use is it?" And by the time we get to the end of this sentence, it's going to be, "There is no use." "What use is it, my brethren, if someone says," – it's so easy to say – "if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can then that faith save him?" It's a rhetorical question. The answer is that faith is dead faith. That faith is what we call non-saving faith. That faith is useless. 

In verse 17 of James 2, James adds, "Faith, if it has no works, is dead." Dead faith is not real faith, it's just an intellectual checking a box. John Calvin said, "Faith alone saves." That's sola fide. We're justified by faith alone. "Faith alone saves," Calvin said, "but faith that is alone does not save," meaning true saving faith will always be accompanied by obedience to do the will of God. 

So, here is the issue for each one of us. Conversion requires that we profess Jesus Christ as Lord. Rightly did they say, "Lord, Lord." Even the unbelievers acknowledge the lordship of Jesus Christ. Conversion requires that we profess Jesus Christ as Lord, and the evidence of the reality of that is that we submit our lives to His lordship and follow Him in a daily lifestyle of habitual practicing of His Word – again, not perfectly, but purposefully, yes. 

Listen to Romans 10:9 on the necessity of confessing that Jesus is Lord at the moment of conversion. "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." There's a cause and effect going on here. The cause is you must confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead; that's the cause. The effect is you will be saved. This is front-loaded at the moment of conversion. And sadly, there are those, even in this town, especially in this town, who say, "You can believe in Jesus as Savior and ten years later confess Him as Lord, ten years later decide to submit your life under the lordship of Jesus Christ." That is not the gospel. 

"If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved," – verse 10 – "for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness," – that's justification by faith – "and with the mouth he confesses," – Confesses what? Confesses that Jesus is Lord – "resulting in salvation." Acts 16:30, the Philippian jailer asked the trillion dollar question, "What must I do to be saved?" Verse 31, "They said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.'" 

I want to make a very important clarification that when you confess Jesus is Lord, you do not make Him Lord of your life. God the Father has already made Him Lord and exalted Him to the heights of heaven, and God the Father has already seated Him at His right hand. "And the Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet." We can't make Jesus Lord, that's way above your pay grade. And you're too late; He already is Lord. The question is, "Will you recognize His lordship? Will you surrender to His lordship? Will you submit to His lordship? Will you deny yourself and take up a cross and follow Him?" That's the question. 

Peter on the Day of Pentecost, he came to the – one of the grand crescendos of that sermon in Acts 2:36, Peter said, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain" – and by the way, that's the way a preacher talks – "let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ." All you and I can do is bow the knee. And everyone will bow the knee and declare that He is Lord, whether in this life in humble submission to receive salvation, or on the other side of the veil bow the knee in condemnation and damnation. Philippians 2 says that "every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Declare His lordship now or declare His lordship then; but your tongue will waggle and say, "Lord." 

So my question for you is, "Do you confess Jesus as Lord over your life? Have you submitted your entire life to Jesus Christ, not just a little part of it, not just a back closet, but the totality of your life? Is it surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ?" Well, let me help you answer that. Do you do the things that He says? Do you acknowledge His right to rule over your life? Do you no longer live to do your own thing, but now you live to do His will and obey His Word; or are you still just part of the crowd listening to what He says? 

The Positive Action

The second thing, we come to verse 47, "the positive action." Verse 47, "Everyone" – and so this is a very all encompassing word – "everyone" – and He now lists three steps, three verbs: "comes, hears, acts." You can see that in your text. "Everyone who comes to Me" – and this means leaves your village, leaves your town, comes with the crowd and gathers around the Lord Jesus Christ. 

"Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words" – you can't hear His words in this setting if you're way over the valley or way on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. No, you've got to leave where you are. You've got to come, and you've got to hear His actual words. Akouó means "to listen with understanding" – "hears My words" – but now, it can't stop short. It's not enough to just come and hear – "and acts on them." Well, Jesus has called for repentance, and Jesus has called for faith. You've got to act on these words, and trust Him and Him alone for salvation. 

At the end of verse 47, "I will show you whom he is like." And the "he" refers to a true believer; not just a listener, but a doer. "I will show you what he is like:" – verse 48 – "he is like" – and the word "like" is what we call – it's a figure of speech known as a simile which makes a comparison between two things using the words "like" or "as." You remember that. 

So, "He is like" – and Jesus, now the master teacher and the master evangelist, now paints this picture on the canvas of their minds – "he is like a man building a house," – It requires great effort, nothing casual. You can't just sit there and think about it. You can't just sit there and listen. You got to get up out of your seat and do something – "a man building a house who dug deep" – You've got to get beneath the surface, you've got to get beneath the sand, you've got to get beneath the dirt, and you've got to dig and dig until you come to solid rock – "who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock," – so that what will be built upon the foundation is firmly established. 

"And when a flood came, when a flood occurred," – this word for "flood" can mean "a river." It can mean "a sea." It's not a drizzle. It's not a momentary shower. It's almost like a tsunami. "When a flood came crashing against the rocks and the foundation and the house," – it says in verse 48 – "the torrent" – and the word "torrent" means "a mighty river," "a surging stream with a swift current." I mean, we've seen pictures on social media in places where there's such a flash flood that cars are literally floating down Main Street. That's what this is like, a torrent burst against that house, struck and slammed against that house, while everything else is being swept away – "and could not shake," – It didn't budge. It didn't move. Everything else is being swept away, but it could not shake. Why? – "because it had been well built." 

The word "well," kalós, means "rightly built," "finely built," and in this case, we could even add the word "wisely built." This house withstood the violent storm. When all else was swept away, this house did not budge. It was kept intact, safe, undamaged, unharmed, unscathed. 

In this brilliant illustration that Jesus gives, the interpretation should be abundantly clear, but let's just make sure we understand. This man, the builder, is the true believer. Not only does he say, "Lord, Lord," but he does. The house that is built is his life. It's dug deep, indicating it's not a superficial response. It's dug deep, heart-searching, down in the deep secret places of the heart. He laid a foundation. It's faith in Jesus Christ. And there is no other foundation but Jesus Christ. 

"On the rock" means "on the words of Christ." The flood, the torrent that burst against it is the gathering storm of God's wrath that will be unleashed on the last day, and the coming final judgment that's looming on the horizon and ever drawing closer. And the house that could not be shaken is the eternal security of this true believer in Christ. He's not swept away in the judgment, he's kept secure. 

This is what saving faith does, as illustrated by Jesus. It comes to where the words of Christ can be heard, and it listens very carefully, and it acts upon what is presented. The person digs deep into their own heart and soul and looks to see what is on the inside. It goes beyond the surface and it makes the decisive choice of the will to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because this is what He requires. He's built his life upon Jesus Christ. That's the positive action. That's the only positive action. 

The Painful Rejection

Now finally, in verse 49, "the painful rejection." And as Jesus presents this, there's not a third man or a fourth man. There are only two people in the world: either you build on the rock, or you build on the ground, and there's no other category. And so we read now in verse 49, "But the one" – and this represents the many, even the most who were in the crowd that day, who were saying, "Lord, Lord, hey, we're with You," but who have not submitted and surrendered to His lordship. They have an easy believism based upon cheap grace. 

"But the one who has heard" – they were right there in the crowd that day, they heard all that the others heard – "who has heard and" – now, here's the tragedy – "has not acted" – They were hearers but not doers. It went in one ear and came out the other – "and has not acted accordingly," – they have disregarded Jesus' words while they are saying, "Lord, Lord" – 'is like a man" – and Jesus now gives the second illustration – "is like a man who built a house on the ground." 

The word "ground" here, gé, just means "land," "dirt," "sand." There's no digging deep, it's all just a superficial surface work. It's the path of least resistance. It's the path that requires no sacrifice, no submission – "a man who built his house on the ground without any foundation," – there's no building on Christ, there's no building on His words, they're just pleasant platitudes – "and the torrent burst against it" – this flash flood, like a mighty river – "burst against it" – crashed against it – "and immediately it collapsed," – It could not withstand the torrent for one second. It didn't just put up some resistance and wobble for a while, it immediately, it immediately, suddenly – "it collapsed," – it imploded and was swept away – "and the ruin" – the destruction, the devastation – "of that house was great." It's the Greek word megas. It was intense. 

So, here's the meaning. The man who heard but did not act, the man who said, "Lord, Lord," but chose not to act, built a house based upon simply what he heard without responding with faith, built on ground without a foundation, he trusted in himself. He trusted in just being a part of the group and being a part of the crowd. He trusted in simply being a hearer, learning intellectually, being touched emotionally, but there was never a volitional act of the will. The house just collapsed. When the torrent burst against it, it could not withstand the fury of His vengeance on the last day because "it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God," Hebrews 10:31. "And the ruin was great." It could not have been any greater because of the loss of his soul forever. 

Conclusion

So, I think we see it's not enough to come to church. It's not enough to hear the truth, to take notes. It's not enough to be in the crowd with others who come in here. It's not enough to say, "Lord, Lord." You must go a step further and take the decisive step to act, to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You must build on the solid rock of His words. You must dig deep into your own heart and soul and search and see your need for Christ and see that only Christ can save you. 

So, I want to ask you, "Which man in these two stories represents your life? Are you in verses 47 and 48, or are you in verse 49?" There is no other category. There is no other silo. Are you the man who dug deep into the rock and laid a firm foundation and built your life upon the words of Jesus Christ? Are you? I would assume that most of you here today are that one. 

Or, are you the man in verse 49 who lived a shallow, superficial life, who merely came to hear the truth of the words of Jesus, but you've never dug deep into your own soul to examine yourself and to act with repentance and faith? Which one represents your life? On the last day it will be revealed whether you built on the rock or whether you built on dirt. May you build on the rock. 

As Jesus came to the end of His sermon, it was, in reality, a gospel invitation, to not play the role of the fool, not be self-deceived, not to presume, but to truly build upon the solid rock of His words. If you have never done this, I call upon you this moment to dig deep into your soul and to build upon the only foundation there is which is Jesus Christ. And if you don't, you'll be swept into hell. Let me say that again: if you don't, you will be swept into hell. But if you do, you will be lifted up to the heights of glory, or the surging river will never touch you, and you will find eternal security in Christ. May you be a believer in Jesus Christ. Act now because it's time to decide for your life. Let us pray. 

[Prayer] Our Father in heaven, these verses, in one sense, cause our heart to tremble. In another sense, it brings us great relief and assurance and comfort. And so I pray that You would use these few verses to sift through our lives and through our hearts. May we be found having built our house upon the rock, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. [End] 

"Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." He who has ears to hear, let Him hear. God bless you.