What did HE say? (continued)
Thoughts on The Sermon (Part 12)
We begin with a related but new theme in Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount. After teaching on the Kingdom and the strait gate that enters into it, He is here giving us instructions and cautions regarding ‘prophets’ and their teachings. In this He is essentially saying that some men will mislead and while we may think that they are showing us the way to the Kingdom that we should: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down , and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:15-20). Jesus does not address here those who earnestly believe that what they are saying is true or right; he only addresses those who are ravening wolves and who are corrupt and this is an important distinction.
The word prophet here can be a bit misleading to some. It does not refer only to the Isaiahs and the Jeramiahs of the Old Testament, from which the people in Jesus time were not far removed in time, but refers to any who claim that they are divinely inspired or that they hear from God. In some church circles this is a common occurrence, pastors and teachers claiming that what they are teaching or what they are doing came from the Lord and that they hear that still small voice of divine inspiration. It is not our place to debate this but rather to include this in Jesus teaching for these, and others, are the current ‘prophets’ or ‘false prophets’ as the case may be. For us then the Master is warning us to be aware of those who will try to teach and lead us and whose only purpose is in what benefit their activity may have for them. Those who want to take their followers money or goods or to take advantage of them in some other way are the corrupt trees and the ravenous wolves and these people exist at all different types of churches and with many different levels of corruption. We, as followers of the Lord, must judge our religious leaders for ourselves by the fruit that they put forth; they will all put forth fruit, some of them evil fruit and some of them good. Self-serving, self-righteous teachers and leaders are a good indicator that their fruit is not good. All that is said and done by our teachers and leaders must be done in Love and in the Light of day “for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord” (Ephesians 5:9-10).
It is interesting to note that hearing from the Lord, hearing that still small voice, is a common claim by many who profess to be on the Path or to be Anointed or Prophetic. It is interesting too that all these people from all around the world that are listening to what many of them say is the one voice of the Holy Spirit, are hearing different and sometimes conflicting revelation. Each believes that what he is hearing is the truth beyond truths; each believes, myself included, that the message that they are receiving and giving out is the right message and is founded in truth and each is convinced by faith to follow through on what is being seen and heard through their Inner Man. With all this revelation flowing in so many different directions and to many different ends it is no wonder that the Master cautions us to beware. We all remember the recent ‘doomsday’ message by an established Christian pastor; this man believed what he saw and heard and so too did his followers to the end that they invested and spent millions of dollars and devoted much time and energy into getting their word out. These people really believed their vision and backed up their faith with deeds but it was not to be. On a smaller scale there are many like this man who receive and believe and act upon what comes to them from what they deem to be the Holy Spirit speaking to their hearts.
The above exemplifies some of what is happening around us today and it is important to understand this. However, this is not the Jesus’ target in this particular verse. In this saying He is cautioning us against the ravenous and the corrupt and the above paragraph contains little or none of that. It does contain the sincere, well meaning people who believe that what they are seeing and hearing is revelation. They then repeat it without understanding that all that reaches their everyday consciousness from the Inner Man is filtered through that everyday consciousness itself and becomes adapted to what each individual knows and believes and to the quality of each persons own emotional and mental nature. It is the one that understands what they do and that intentionally misinterprets or even invents revelation for selfish benefit that is the subject of Christ’s ire. Watch carefully, by their fruits ye shall know them.
As we approach the end of the Sermon we come to a rather straightforward but at the same time difficult to understand group of verses regarding entry into the Kingdom of God. “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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).
The allusion here is that there are many who think that they are doing the right things from which they should enter into the Kingdom but in Christ’s eyes they are not doing the will of the Father. Perhaps those He spoke about were doing the mechanical parts but their hearts were not right in the work. How many of us today would be guilty in the same way? What is the will of the Father? In this context and in the entirety of the gospels the will of the Father should be seen as the Commandments of the Son and particularly the Great Commandments. Many there are who have been taught that the way to the Kingdom is through faith and grace and these are important aspects of the overall religious experience. Many are satisfied with their understanding of salvation through grace and believe that they are saved through the writings of the Apostle Paul and doing those things that he says will save them. Many believe also that their salvation is in knowing that they are going to heaven when they die. In the words of Jesus there is so much more than this. There is first of all the understanding that the Kingdom is now and within each of us and that entry into it is now as well. There are also His words regarding what need be done to enter the Kingdom and in our verse today are some of those words; “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“. This is as clear as it is simple but who is there that is hearing and understanding.
These verses are addressed to all those who think that they are entitled to the Kingdom but do not live in the Kingdom now. Those who, as my favorite Word of Faith teacher chides his congregation, go to all the conferences and take reams of notes, attend services and prayer meetings and put on the face of a good Christian, but never change their lives to conform, or rather become transformed, to do the will of the Father. Or, those who, as my favorite New Thought teacher writes, have ‘protected’ areas in their lives that they won’t change or let the Lord into; things that they will not give up or sacrifice for the Presence of God. It is to these that the Master speaks; and He speaks about them frequently and most pointedly in His question to us all: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
Do we all think that the Lord is speaking to someone else? There are many people that believe that they are saved based on scriptural references and teaching from the pulpit about those references. One of the most popular is “…..if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation“(Romans 10:9-10) and by this millions of Christians feel safe and secure and ‘born again’. But this is not what the Christ says; He says that “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” will enter the Kingdom. It is good to believe and to confess this belief but it is better to do the will of my Father because, in the words of Jesus, that is the actual way to enter. Another of the references that enlivens the Christian is “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8) and here too we must say that faith is good and grace is all things to us but to do the will of my Father is better and assures our acceptance with Him. These two and other sayings are the center points of most Christian teachings and their use goes back at least to the Reformation. They have been successful in bringing many to the Christian faith and for this their use has been good because any reason to be in the church is better that not being there at all.
So where do we want to be? In a church going about our daily business and waiting till the end to see what the Master would say to us? Or do we want to be in His Presence now, in the Kingdom of God, working in service to the Lord and doing His will and knowing what the Master IS SAYING to us today?
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God (Romans 8:12-14). In today’s Quote of the Day is the most direct of sayings by the Apostle Paul. Behind the words is the reality of Christian life or of any spiritual life at all. To be led by the Spirit of God is to let the Lord be your Shepherd and to do and follow all that He says. There is no half way in this saying. Let us all be led.
