Two Builders, Lesson 10 

Assignment: Read this lesson and Matthew 7:15-29.

Congratulations. We have finally reached the end of this series together. It has been ten weeks since we began studying the longest recorded message of Jesus who said, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teaching.” (John 8:31 | CEB) His teaching included a new, spiritually empowered kingdom paradigm that runs counter to the world. Last week we saw the cautions signs warning us to pick the road to life. This week he is cautioning us about who we listen to and what we do with what we have learned.

Jesus’s words are not for fans—those who enjoy hearing about him and talking about him and even know a lot about him but never really get to know him. The whole gospel message is for the determined follower who wants more than anything to walk in the footsteps of our savior. It is for people who trust his promise more than what the world offers. It is for those who accept their responsibility to tell the world about him and live out his teaching.

Unless we do those things, we may be fans, but we are certainly not followers. That’s what the Sermon on the Mount is all about. It is Christ giving his teaching to people determined to follow him no matter what comes and trusting the Holy Spirit to give them the ability to do it.

Jesus came to establish God’s kingdom on earth with his ministry. The Kingdom of God is in our heart and all around us. It is already, but not yet. Jesus introduced it but it will not be completed until he returns. From our hearts, it extends outward when we show his love to a hurting and sinful world. One day we will experience heaven on earth, but for now, we are here to demonstrate what it will look like as best we can. Without the Holy Spirit, there is no way we can do that.

When we surrendered to Jesus and asked God for him, we received the Holy Spirit as our life guide. But, even as true believers, we sometimes stumble. But we don’t give up. When we fail, we get down on our knees, confess our failure then get back up, shake ourselves off, straighten our backs, trust God, and resume our purpose in kingdom expansion.

Last time we reached a fork in the road blocked by two gates. Jesus encouraged us to choose the narrow gate and the road that leads to life. And that brings us to where we are today, starting with Matthew 7:15. “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?”

In the time of Jesus, a false prophet would set up shop on a street corner and draw a small crowd willing to hear what they had to say. And it did not take too long before they showed up where the gospel was being preached—not unlike today. Only today we have TV and the Internet.

False prophets are always standing near the narrow gate to draw people’s attention away from the truth. They appear harmless; many times, they appeal to the good things that appeal to us. Jesus warned they might even perform miracles. Remember Pharaoh’s magicians did most of the miracles Moses did. The best lies are the ones with an element of truth. We all want to be told we are loved by God, but, as Jesus has been teaching, there is more to the gospel than that.

False prophets may say “God loves you.” And that’s true. But they omit our need of repentance and God’s forgiveness. I suspect most don’t really believe the whole Bible to be the inspired Word of God. They treat it like an a la carte menu, picking out and preaching only the parts they like. I wonder if they ever stop to consider that their listeners’ trust in them will have eternal consequences for their listeners and, likewise, for themselves. As God’s eternal clock continues to tick toward Christ’s return, the enemy of our souls is becoming increasingly desperate and false teachers abound.

The Amplified Bible version accurately describes many American Christians today.

 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold . . .” (2 Timothy 4:3 | AMP)

In the final analysis, the mark of a false prophet is less about what he or she says and more about what they don’t say. False prophets spread a false gospel—often one more focused on self-help, not Holy Spirit empowerment. Another way to spot a false gospel is their message doesn’t make you squirm occasionally by rocking your spiritual boat or make you examine your life too carefully. False prophets preach at least four false gospels: political, prosperity, partial, and performance.

The Political Gospel. The early Church grew closer to Jesus through persecution, but it began to change when Emperor Constantine recognized it and Emperor Theodosius made it the official religion of the Roman Empire. Our founding fathers wrote the 2nd Amendment to keep the king out of the pulpit. The government has no business in the Church. Yet some pastors strive to exert influence over public policy unrelated to the gospel and have even preached violent means to achieve a moral objective.

Politics divide. Jesus unites. Focus matters. When people take their eyes off Jesus relational wedges appear.

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. (1 Corinthians 1:10 | NIV)

We are witnessing politics impacting friendships, families and even churches. That is not the message of the gospel. Do everything in love. (1 Corinthians 16:14  | NIV) Unity  and love is the core message of Christ’s upside kingdom.

Some of the folks who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, carried the banner of Jesus—others, Bibles. As protesters crowded onto the Capitol steps, swearing and uttering murderous threats, across the street, someone blew a shofar, a traditional Jewish horn, while a woman sang “Peace in the name of Jesus. The blood of Jesus covering this place.’” The actions carried out in Jesus’s name that day violated kingdom norms and were contrary to everything he taught in this sermon.

For many who claimed to be Christians, the president, not Jesus, is on their throne. Jesus is and will always be king! The Psalmist warned,

Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. . . Blessed are those whose hope is in the Lord their God. Psalm 146:3-7 | NIV.

Only Jesus can heal our nation. And only genuine followers of Jesus will avoid the pitfalls of pseudo-Christian nationalism. God can manage just fine without our violent help. What we witnessed and heard was certainly not Christian unity or Christians loving others as they love themselves. No doubt many who were there have already realized violence is not Christ’s way and have repented, but those who haven’t might want to heed the flashing warning signs.

Jesus said, If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples. John 13:35 | CEV I know I am on firm footing when I say Jesus was not inspiring that crowd to acts of violence. But he was there. He was standing outside, arms wide open, willing to welcome and heal everyone affected by the violence on both sides.

The prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel is the stock in trade of false prophets. The core of their message is “give to receive.” That is not Christianity, it is a Ponzi scheme. And it is usually just the preacher that prospers. Jesus died poor. His twelve disciples left all they had to follow him. He even observed “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24 | NIV)

God may want to prosper you in this life, but it will not be the result of how much you are willing to give. He is concerned with prospering you in the hereafter, but not necessarily in the here and now. Yet, if he prospers you here, you are expected to steward what you receive to advance his kingdom.

The partial or patronizing gospel. The false prophet does not emphasize our total depravity—our utter sinfulness and our inability in ourselves to do anything about our salvation apart from Jesus. The false prophet talks about the ‘what’ of the cross, but not the ‘why.’ It is a glorious Easter morning message without the pain of Good Friday. It is a seductive lie.

False prophets present an easy, wide gate to salvation and a smooth, flat, wide road that leads to heaven. There is little talk of genuine, heartfelt repentance. It is all about deciding for Christ without experiencing the weight of sin being lifted from our shoulders. It is simply opting in without comprehending what it is we are opting out of. Unless we know what it is we are truly saved from, we do not fully appreciate what we were saved for. Like a good used car salesman, the false prophet will not share the true cost of discipleship.

The performance gospel. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (v.21) Some folks have been tempted to use this passage of Scripture as justification for salvation by works, but that would be eisegesis, imposing our own definition on a text; making the Bible say something it doesn’t.

Jesus’s death on the cross is the only cure for sin’s disease. It is genuine faith in him that restores our relationship with a holy God.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:8-10 | NIV

We do good works because we are saved, not to be saved. And as he taught earlier, the value of our efforts is determined by our motivation and our motivator. We are to live our lives for God’s eyes, not man’s.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’(Matthew 7:21-23 | NIV)

Jesus taught us how to recognize heresy in a false prophet. Now he his asking us to do some self-examination. He wants us to make sure the hypocrisy and heresy that we see in false prophets is not in us. The Lord is focusing our attention on our tendency toward self-deception. He is encouraging us to look inside ourselves to make sure we are not false prophets or false disciples.

It is easy to become complacent, what I call an Outback Christian, “no rules, just right.” Being a Christian is all about what Jesus did. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. But as we have seen, once we become part of the family of God there is work to do. Jesus asks, “Why do you keep on saying that I am your Lord, when you refuse to do what I say?”(Luke 6:46 | CEV)

The true test of salvation is that we become a new creation. The things that used to occupy our time and worldly thoughts that led us to sinful actions are replaced with new desires and a different way of seeing the world. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2 | NLT)

Doing what Jesus tells us to do is not legalism. It is genuine discipleship and the on-going process of sanctification—the desire to emulate Jesus’s character. We glorify God by the way we share the gospel and live our lives.

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Vv. 24-27, NIV)

Jesus is continuing to teach on the difference between those who are truly saved and those who think they are but aren’t. Jesus’s builders represent the two types of Christians the genuine Christian and the pseudo Christian. The houses represent saving faith. Both men obviously wanted the same thing, a nice place to live. They also desired the best they could get, and they were willing to put forth effort to attain it. But one worked harder and with a clearer concept of what he wanted than the other who was in a hurry and willing to cut some corners.

It seems they even decided to build their houses in the same neighborhood. Genuine and pseudo-Christians are found in the same church, perhaps even sitting on the same pew. Both builders used the same or similar blueprints. People in the church sing the same songs, read the same Bible, listen to the same sermons, and pray the same prayers. They likely even believe the same things. The difference is what they do with what they hear. One builder dug just deep enough to keep his house out of the dirt. He is like the people who go to church and try to live clean lives if only to fit in and keep the gossip down.

The pseudo-Christian is careless about spiritual growth. He or she doesn’t think much about Bible doctrines and tends to compartmentalize their spiritual life from their “real” life. Often their consideration of biblical teaching begins and ends with, “Love God and love others.” One might say they suffer from church door amnesia. Once outside the church building, they forget everything they heard. There is no room for God’s perfection in their lives or righteousness exceeding the Pharisees. It is true, such righteousness is imputed to us by faith, but that doesn’t let us off the hook to strive to be like Jesus. Pseudo Christians are open to God’s love and mercy, but not so much his righteousness and holiness.

When Jesus demands obedience and holiness, the pseudo-Christian is intentionally deaf. She or he picks the things they like and discards the rest. The genuine Christian accepts it all as the word of God, meditates on what they read and hear until it takes root in their lives and begins to shape their character. And it shows in such traits as: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.(Galatians 5:22-23 | ESV) The house built on the rock will survive any storm. But the house built on the sand will fall with a resounding crash. The genuine Christian will be welcomed with, “Well done good and faithful servant.” The false Christian will be shocked to hear, “Away from me you evil doer. I never knew you.”

The other man not only dug deep enough to keep his house clean, but to hit bedrock. He wanted permanence, something solid, something he could trust. Sincere seekers come to Jesus looking for the same thing. It is important for us to understand there is no such thing as Christian lite. We either are a Christian or we aren’t. There is no middle ground. As the Beatitudes reveal, the genuine Christian, in sheer desperation and awareness of their sin nature, hangs on every word of Scripture, fearful of missing something important. They search God’s Word as though their eternal security depends on it because it does.

She or he humbles themselves under the teaching of Jesus and allows him to transform their lives. Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14 | NIV) In God’s eyes seeking to please him and striving to do what Jesus commands is the righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6 | NIV) The genuine Christian expects to go to heaven, but they know entry into heaven requires holiness.

The thing that separates the genuine from the pseudo-Christian is the deep desire to demonstrate their love for Jesus through obedience. They always want more of God. They study God’s Word carefully and listen intently, longing to do everything required. For them, there is no doubt that Jesus is both lord and savior. They are continually mindful of their helplessness and brokenness. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3 | NIV) Old school preachers said our perfection comes from genuine sorrow over being imperfect.

Recognizing and admitting our helplessness against our sin nature glorifies God. His power is perfected in our weakness. The genuine Christian mourns over their sins, confesses them and strives for Christ-like perfection. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4 | NIV) We know that perfection will not be fully attained in this life, but that’s not where our story ends. Our heartfelt confession wipes the ledger clean. God declares us holy and as a result, we will spend eternity with him.

Pseudo Christians like to be around Jesus and others who worship him, but don’t want to be fanatical about it. For them church is the “in” place to be on Sunday morning, but the message seldom touches them or satisfies a hunger to hear from God. That is because they do not come to church to hear from God. They do not truly hunger and thirst for righteousness. They are content with accepting only the Jesus as savior part. The lord part is just too fanatical. The pseudo-Christian is not convicted of their sin. Instead, they shrug it off telling themselves they are sinless because they have already been forgiven. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8 | NIV

The houses are built. They look very similar to man’s eyes, but there is a dark cloud in the distance. Jesus is warning of a serious storm looming. It is easy to think Jesus is referring to death. Certainly nothing tests the strength of our foundation more than our final moments. But we have storms throughout our Christian walk. Some are only the gentle patter of rain on the roof, but others truly shake our foundation.

We are like a tube of toothpaste. When under pressure who we really are and what we really believe comes out. A strong foundation will stand but a weak foundation leads to despair, perhaps even apostasy. The people who weather life’s storms without losing confidence in God, are those who love Jesus and show it by knowing and doing what he says. They live the Sermon on the Mount.

28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. (vv.28-29)

As we conclude this study, we would do well to follow the apostle Paul’s warning. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5 | NIV) If you are beginning to seriously consider what Jesus has been teaching, it may be the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart. For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17 | NIV There is no better test of where we stand with Jesus than his Sermon on the Mount.

Discussion

1. Did anything surprise you in this lesson? If so, what?
2. Thinking back, throughout the study, when the Sermon on the Mount teaching went against your beliefs or lifestyle, how did you respond?
3. What, if anything, keeps you from becoming “all in” with Jesus?
4. What is your role in God’s kingdom?
5. How do we not judge, yet “watch out for false prophets?”
6. What type of false prophet do you consider most dangerous? Why?
7. What I can we do to demonstrate Christian love and unity?
8. What makes Americans so susceptible to a performance gospel?
9. How can you help pseudo-Christians (fans) get on the narrow road.
10. What, if any, changes are you considering because of this study?

We are always striving to make this discipleship resource better and would appreciate your thoughts on this study.