Matthew 7:21-29

21 Not every one that saith

unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven; but
he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in
that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name? and
in thy name have cast out dev
ils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess un-
to them, I never knew you; de-
part from me, ye that work ini
quity.
24 Therefore whosoever hear
eth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, I wilJ liken him
unto a wise man, which built
his house upon a rock;
25 And the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell not: for it
was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth
these sayings of mine, and do
eth them not, shall be likened
unto a foolish man, which built
his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell: and great was
the fall of it
28 And it came to pass, when
Jesus had ended these sayings,
John Charles Ryle was Bishop of Liver
pool during most of the last half of the
Nineteenth Century. C.H. Spurgeon
called him "the best man In the Church
of England." Many of Ryle's books
have been reprln ted In recent years, In
dudlng such great works as Holirwss,
Old Paths, Practical Religion, The
Upper Room and Expository Thoughts
on tu Gospels.
The Two Builders
The Uselessness of Profession Without Practice
by J. C. Ryle
the people were astonished at
his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one
having authority, and not as the
scribes.
The Lord Jesus winds up the Sermon
on the Mount by a passage of heart-
piercing application. He turns from
false prophets to false professors, from
unsound teachers to unsound hearers.
Here is a word for all. May we have
grace to apply it to our own hearts!
The ftrst lesson here is the useless-
ness of a mere outward profes-
sion of Christianity. Not every
one that saith "Lord, Lord," shall enter
the kingdom of heaven. Not all that
profess and call themselves Christians
shall be saved.
Let us take notice of this. It requires
far more than most people seem to
think necessary, to save a soul. We
may be baptized in the name of Christ,
and boast confidently of our eccle-
siastical privileges; we may possess
head knowledge, and be quite satisfied
with our own state; we may even be
preachers, and teachers of others, and do
"many wonderful works" in connection
with our Church: But all this time are
we practically doing the will of our
Father in heaven? Do we truly repent,
truly believe on Christ, and live holy
and humble lives? If not, in spite of all
our privileges and profession, we shall
miss heaven at last, and be for ever cast
away. We shall hear those awful words,
"I never knew you: depart from Me."
The day of judgment will reveal
strange things. The hopes of many,
who were thought great Christians
while they lived, will be utterly con-
founded. The rottenness of their religion
will be exposed and put to shame before
the whole world. It will then be proved
that to be saved means something more
than "making a profession." We must
make a "practice" of our Christianity as
well as a "profession." Let us often
think of that great day: let us often
"judge o ~ e l v e s that we be not
judged," and condemned by the Lord.
Whatever else we are, let us aim at
being real, true, and sincere.
The second lesson here is a striking
picture of two classes of Chris-
tian hearers. Those who hear and do
nothing, - and those who hear and do as
well as hear, - are both placed before us,
and their histories traced to their respec-
tive ends.
The man who hears Christian teach-
ing, and practices what he hears, is like
"a wise man who builds his house upon
a rock." He does not content himself
with listening to exhortations to repent,
believe in Christ, and live a holy life.
He actually repents: he actually be-
lieves. He actually ceases to do evil,
learns to do well, abhors that which is
sinful, and cleaves to that which is
good. He is a doer as well as a hearer.
(James 1:22)
And what is the result? In the time of
trial his religion does not fail him; the
floods of sickness, sorrow, poverty, dis-
appointments, bereavements beat upon
him in vain. His soul stands unmoved;
his faith does not give way: his
comforts do not utterly forsake him.
His religion may have cost him trouble
in time past; his foundation may have
been obtained with much labour and
many tears: to discover his own interest
in Christ may have required many a day
of earnest seeking, and many an hour of
wrestling in prayer. But his labour has
not been thrown away: he now reaps a
rich reward. The religion that can stand
trial is the true religion.
The man who hears Christian teach-
ing, and never gets beyond hearing, is
.._----The Counsel of Cbalccdon, Fcbruaryt 1987
Receive
FREE
book
. with subscription
to The Counsel
ofChalcedon
Choose
No Time
For Slaves
by R.E. McMaster
(retails for $14.95)
or any one of
the following
9 books
Redemption Accomplished and
Applied, by John Murray
The Apostolic Church: Which Is It?
by Thomas Witherow
Thy Wordis. Truth,
by Edward J. Young
Conspiracy, by Gary North
The Christian and Alcoholic
Beverages: A Biblical Perspective,
by Kenneth L. Gentty, Jr.
Summary of Christian Doctrine,
by Louis Berkhof
"Fundamentalism" and the Word
of God, by J.I. Packer
The Christian and Politics,
by Robert L. Thobum
Dispensationalism Today, Yesterday
an.d Tomorrow, by Curtis I Crenshaw
and Grover E. Gunn, III
Choose m:!..t of the above
books to receive FREE
with your $15.00 annual
subscription to
The Counsel
of Chalcedon
3032 Hacienda Ct.
Marietta, GA 30066
[Offer good in U.S. only]
The Two Builders
(Continued from preVious page)
like
1
' a foolish man who builds his
house upon the sand." He satisfies him-
self with listening and approving, but
he goes no He flatters himself,
perhaps, that all is right with his soul,
because he has feelings, and convic-
tions, and desires, of a spiritual kind. In
these he fellts. He never really breaks
off from sin, and casts aside the spirit
of the world; he never really lays hold
on Christ; he never really takes up the
cross; he is a hearer of truth, but noth-
ing more.
And what is the end of this man's reli
gion? It breaks down entirely under the
rlist flood of tribulation; it fails him
completely, like a summer-dried foun-
tain, when his need is the sorest. It
leaves its possessor high and dry, like a
wreck on a sand-bank, a scandal to the
Chu:rch, a by-word to the infidel, and a
misery to himself. Most true is it that
what costs little is worth little! A reli-
gion which costS us nothing, and con-
sists in nothing but hearing sermons,
wilt always ptove at last to be a useless
thing.
So ends the Sermon on the Mount.
Such a sermon never was preached be-
fore: such a serinon perhaps has never
been preached since. Let us see that it
has a lasting influence on our own
souls. It is addressed to us as well as to
those who first heard it: we are they
who shall have to give account of its
heart-searching lessons. It is no light
matter what we think of them. The
The Counsel of Chalccdon, February, 1987
. I
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
BULK RATE
PennitNo. 1431
Greenville, SC
29602
word that Jesus has spoken, "the same
shall judge us in the last day." (John
12:48)
From EXPOSITORY . THOUGlliS .
ON THE GOSPELS [J
Doctrine of Reprobation
(Continued from page 18)
God. "He who believes in the Son has
eternal life;. but he who does not obey
the Son shall not see life, but the
wrath of God abides on him," John
3:36. But for those who repent of their
sin, turn to God and flee from his wrath
through faith in Christ, there is divine .
mercy and love. "For God so loved the
world that he his only-begotten
Son; that whoever believes in him.
shall not perish, but have everlasting
life," John 3:16.
Those whom God does not save are
those whom he does not love. God
saves all whom he loves. What an awe-
some and humbling privilege to be
loved by God! ..
To suminarize: tliis great truth exalts
the . majesty and sovereignty of Al-
mighty God. It illustrates the riches of .
his sheer grace and the just conse-
quences of his holy wratb.lt impresses
on us the cardinal truth that salvation is
entirely of grace. It brings the siriner,
by the power of the Spirit, to absolute
self-despair and to the reception of the
free offer of Christ in the gospel. In the
believer, it deepens his humility and
elevates his confidence to the full assur-
ance of hope. 0