Weekly Devotional. Matthew 7

What does it mean to believe or have faith in Jesus Christ? Does faith in Jesus mean that my life will change? And if so how? How are the people of God different from other religious people who don’t profess faith in Christ? Is believing in Jesus Christ the same as believing that George W. Bush is the president the United States and Michael Nutter is the mayor of Philadelphia? Is there a way of life that distinguishes those who believe in Christ from other religious or non-religious people?

In Matt. 7 Jesus continues to teach and explain the characteristics of a true Christian, a theme He began by proclaiming the beatitudes recorded in Matt. 5. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus distinguishes between authentic faith and pseudo-spirituality. He contrasts a real, transformative living faith in the God of scripture with the dead, selfish religion of the religious leaders of His time and the much hyped but very empty pagan vanities that passed as Gentile spirituality. In short Jesus describes the kingdom focused live of those who believe in, follow and pattern their lives after Him as opposed to the self focused life of those who would use religion and God to gratify their own selfish cravings.

Jesus ends this great message by declaring that His words aren’t meant to be just heard and forgotten. Nor is it just enough to agree that what He said was right. Those who claim to have faith in Jesus will be those who put His words into consistent practice.

This raises a couple of important questions. As you read through the Sermon on the Mount do you find yourself having an appetite for its teachings? Even if you struggle to put them into practice is it your aim and goal to conform the way you think and live to the teachings of our Lord in this sermon?

Matt. 7 continues to reinforce the goodness and love of God the Father which is one of the major sub themes of this message. God’s goodness is contrasted with our wickedness with regard to how He views and treats His children. We can depend on God to give us good things because we’re willing to give our children what they need even though we’re evil. This teaching reminds us to submit our needs to the Lord and humbly depend on Him to give us the good things we need to thrive under His gracious care.

And what happens when we don’t get what we want from our Father? Our trust in His wisdom and goodness leads us to cultivate an mindset of contentment so that we won’t mistreat, use or abuse others to get what we want. We are free to treat others the way we wish to be treated knowing that our good heavenly Father wouldn’t maliciously withhold something from us that would be for our good. Consequently we don’t have to selfishly manipulate others to get what God hasn’t given us even after we’ve take the time to seek Him for it.

Like the rest of the Sermon on the Mount Matt. 7 highlights and emphasizes the unique supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus did this in Matt. 5 by declaring that His followers would be blessed when they accepted persecution because of Him. No previous Jewish prophet would have ever even dared say such a thing. It’s here as in other passages that Jesus declares that He is no mere prophet but the unique Son of the living God who is in fact equal with the Creator Himself. Jesus reinforces this by teaching that He is the final arbiter of who does and does not get to enjoy the eternal glories of the kingdom of heaven. If that weren’t enough the Lord declared that His words were to be obeyed with the same authority as one would obey the Old Testament scriptures. To refuse to obey the words of Jesus is to invite and expect eternal judgment. The Old Testament prophets called God’s people to return to the obedience of the law. Jesus calls God’s people to strive to obey Him. The messages ends with Matthew’s comment that the people understood that Jesus taught as one who had authority. That is Jesus taught as one who had the right to determine who and who is not in a right relationship with the living God.

Finally, what are some of the ways we can apply this to our pursuit of holiness and God’s kingdom. To begin with the Lord warns us against presumptuous judgment. We have no right to pronounce final judgment on anyone nor arrogantly look down on others. Does that mean we accept any and everyone who claims to follow and speak for the Lord? No, Jesus warns us against false teachers who parade as true shepherds but are actually voracious beasts. What do they want? Nothing less than to use and abuse God’s people for their own fame and to feed their selfish greed. How will we know them? Jesus told us to inspect the fruit of their lives and not be dazzled by the sensational miracles they do. What fruit is He speaking of? The substance of their lives and teaching. Do they speak of the things He taught in the Sermon on the Mount or does their teaching focus on something else?
Finally, our Lord gives us His wisdom concerning a well built, stable and fruitful life. This life which is the abundant life is one in which those who call Jesus ‘Lord’ seek and strive to hear, believe and practice His word.

To Him Who Loves Us…
Pastor Lance