Matthew

In Matthew 7, Jesus gives a serious warning: not everyone who says they know Him belongs to Him. Some people will call Him “Lord” and look like a Christ follower on the outside, but Jesus says, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23). That’s hard to hear because it shows that Christianity is more than just professing Christ as Lord.Even demons know who Jesus is. In Matthew 8:28–30, demons immediately recognize Jesus as the Son of God. They know the truth about Him, but they don’t love Him, trust Him, or follow Him. Knowing facts about Jesus is not the same as having a relationship with Him.Jesus says we should recognize fellow Christians by their fruit. A healthy tree produces healthy fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit. In other words, what comes out of our lives reveals what’s really happening in our hearts.Real faith changes us. When someone truly knows and follows Christ, the Holy Spirit begins producing fruit in their life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (the fruits of the spirit). That doesn’t mean Christians are perfect, but it does mean there should be evidence that Jesus is changing us over time.The question isn’t simply, “Do I know Jesus?” The real question is, “Does my life show that I love and follow Him?” Jesus isn’t looking for people to just proclaim who He is, He wants people to do as He does.

Each of our lives is built on a foundation. Right now, a big part of your foundation probably comes from your family. Some people grow up with strong, healthy foundations, while others come from difficult situations that didn’t give them much stability moving into adulthood.As you grow up, though, there comes a point where you must decide what your own foundation will be. That’s what Jesus is talking about in this passage.Over the last few weeks, we’ve been walking through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and now we’ve reached the ending. Jesus finishes with a picture of two houses. One house is built high up on solid rock. The other is built on shifting sand next to the water. When the storm comes and the floodwaters rise, the house on the sand gets swept away while the house on the rock stands strong.Jesus says that when we build our lives centered on His teachings, it’s like building on the rock. Storms will still come (hard seasons, struggles, pressure, pain) but our foundation will hold firm because it’s grounded in our faith in Christ.But if we ignore what Jesus teaches and build our lives centered on things that don’t last (culture, money, relationships, appearance, feelings, success, popularity, other people’s opinions), we’ll end up like the house on the sand: unstable, tossed around by every storm, with no solid direction for where our lives are headed.Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has been teaching us what life in God’s Kingdom looks like. He’s covered anger, lust, forgiveness, prayer, anxiety, generosity, judging others, loving your enemies, and trusting God. Here at the end, we see that Jesus makes it clear that this sermon was never just meant to be listened to. It was meant to be lived out.The wise builder isn’t the person who simply hears Jesus’ words. The wise builder is the person who puts them into practice.So, let’s not just admire Jesus’ teaching. Let’s build our lives on it.