During the latter portion of His scripturally recorded sermon on the mount; Jesus Christ cautions us about the “easy way” that leads to destruction, to beware of false prophets, and to ensure that we do not build our “house” upon “sand” (see Matthew 7:13-27). Being the perfect teacher that He is, Christ conveys the urgency of His caution in a series of contrasting word pairs:
In this passage, Christ describes that many are on the “easy path” that leads to destruction, and a comparative few are on the “hard path” that leads to life. It is very important that we do not make the mistake of aligning our understanding with the beliefs and doctrines of mainstream Christianity and society. Rather we must maintain a close personal relationship with God through obedience, continuous prayer, and diligent Biblical study; to continue increasing in the knowledge of God, sharpening our character, and strengthening our relationship with God.
Christ then warns us about false prophets, “who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves”. Historically, we know of many individuals who claimed to possess “messages from God”, leading entire groups of people astray with their various deceptions. With their naïve followers unable to discern their emanating “bad fruit” (Galatians 5:19-23) and false teachings, due to a lack of knowledge in the word of God, and often believing their cunning explanations for why their prophecies never eventuated.
God’s people are often destroyed for a lack of knowledge. This is why it is so important to verify everything against the word of God in the Bible. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. Otherwise, God will reject you as a priest to Him (Hosea 4:6). Furthermore, if somebody claims to speak in the name of God, and the word they speak does not come to pass or come true; we can be sure that God has not spoken those words (Deuteronomy 18:22), this is a false prophet.
At the conclusion of Christs Sermon on the Mount, we find a wake-up call, a call to listen and obey, a call to follow. Christ declares that those who do the will of the Father are likewise those who shall be granted entry into the kingdom of heaven. Those who both hear and practice the words of Christ are the ones that shall be able to withstand the “rain” of temptation, or the “flood” of persecution, or the “winds” of deception as some added examples of the various afflictions that we will be plagued by, as followers of Christ in this fallen world.
Brothers, sisters, and friends, I’ll summarise with the following:
- Maintain obedience to God and continuous prayer.
- Constantly be sharpening your Biblical understanding through diligent study.
- Always be seeking to strengthen your relationship with God.
- Watch out for false prophets; be on the lookout for “bad fruit”.
- True faith is always demonstrated by good works.
- Ensure that all things that you do are in harmony with the will of the Father.
- Do not be like the foolish man who built his house on sand; build your house on rock by obeying Christ.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.