Matthew 7:21-29
21 “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!’
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.”
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION ®. NIV®. COPYRIGHT © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by
Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
In this passage, Jesus wraps up His Sermon on the Mount with an invitation to place authentic faith in Him, our firm foundation. Though some claim to believe in Christ, simply professing to believe does not necessarily indicate true belief. Rather, true belief, Jesus says, is demonstrated by doing the will of our Father in heaven. As we evaluate the authenticity of our own faith, we are to realize that while our performance and traditions are not sufficient to save, we can remain confident that Jesus alone is.
Discussion questions
- In what or in whom is your faith?
- How can you be sure your life is built upon Christ?
- In what way(s) does doing the will of our Father in heaven demonstrate authentic faith?
- Given our inability to follow Christ perfectly, how can we remain confident that we will be saved?
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