16 Aug Discipleship: Life Invitation

Matthew 7:13-27

¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

²⁴ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

I’ve been in a full-time pastoral ministry for over 9 years now. And I’ve been your lead pastor for over 2 years now. It’s been a wonderful journey. I thank God for each of you. You guys help me to grow in my love for God and one another. But two things break my heart most as your pastor. First is when I see people walked away from the Christian faith. I mean, you know people like this right? They seemed to have a personal encounter with God. They were on fire. They were willing to do anything for God. They heard about the message of forgiveness of sin. They heard the Gospel and they were baptized. They were probably my favourite people at church. They were at church every Sunday. They read their Bible every day. They never missed MC. As long as things went their way, they were all out for God. But when tough times came, when things did not work out according to their will, they questioned God. They doubted God. And sooner or later, they walked away from God. My heart breaks every time this happened before my eyes. But I can live with it. At least I know and they know that they have walked away from God. It is crystal clear. Now I can treat them as an unbeliever and share the gospel with them from scratch.

What worries me more is the second one. It is those who are planted in the church. They see themselves as good Christians. What I mean by good Christians are those who actively serve in the church. Those who are consistently active in the works of God. It is you guys who are in the church. If there is a mark for church attendance, yours is a high distinction. Every time we have a special event outside the church, you are there. Everyone sees you as a good person. So, you dress nice every Sunday and put on the church face and meet lots of church people and talk about how good God has been to you. Then you come and sing about how God loves you and you love God and you might even shed few tears. You know all the church’s rhythm. You know when to lift your hand and when to pump your chest. Then you listen to me yell at you on how sinful you are and the good news of the gospel that calls you to repentance. So, you feel guilty, say sorry to God and then you go home and live life on repeat. From the outside, you look like a good Christian. But on the inside, you are empty. On the outside, you are found. You are in church. But on the inside, you are lost. You never knew God. And here is my greatest concern. You do not even realize that you are lost. Because you have deceived yourself to think that because you do certain things for God, you are a good Christian. And tonight, I am going to go ruthlessly after your heart because I love you. Our passage for today is a strong warning from Jesus. Jesus is telling us that there are many Christians who look good on the outside but empty on the inside.

Let me give you an overview first. These verses are the conclusion of Jesus’ sermon on the mount. And throughout the sermon on the mount, Jesus ruthlessly goes after the people’s heart. Because there are many people who think that they are good with God, but they are not. Jesus basically says, “You think you are good with God because you did not commit adultery? Let me tell you what God’s standard is. Don’t look at anyone with lustful intent. When you do, you have committed adultery in your heart. What God seeks is not only the right behaviour but also the right heart.” He does this throughout Matthew chapter 5 to 7. What Jesus is doing is he is teaching us to have discernment. This is a wakeup call for everyone who calls themselves Christians. Are you sure you are a Christian? Because Jesus tells us that there are many people in the church who call themselves Christian and yet they are not. There are many people who wear Christian uniform, but do not have Christian conformity. They are counterfeit Christians. The conclusion of the sermon on the mount is a warning about counterfeit Christianity. And Jesus gives the warning through a series of paired contrast. There are two ways, easy and hard. There are two trees, good and bad. There are two claims, true and false. There are two builders, wise and foolish.

Tonight, I am not going to go into the depth of each contrast. But rather I want to give you the big picture of what Jesus is contrasting through these images. Jesus is asking for discernment. Are you a disciple of Christ? Or are you a counterfeit Christian? I sum it up in three contrasts. Easy or hard; Gifts or fruits; Appearance or foundation.

Easy or hard

Matthew 7:13-14 – ¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Here is the first contrast. There are two different gates with two different roads. You have two choices. The first has a wide gate and an easy road. With another word, it is very inviting and appealing to human eyes. It is spacious. It is attractive. And there are big crowds that enter this gate. However, the road leads to destruction. So, it looks very inviting at first, but it is filled with holes and it ends in death. Then there is another choice. The second has a narrow gate and a hard road. It is very restrictive at first. It doesn’t seem appealing. There is no big crowd on this road. There are only a few people. But the road leads to life. So, it looks like the road is going to kill you at first, but it is filled with joy and ends in abundance. Which road will you choose? How many choose the easy road? How many the hard road? It is no brainer.

Let me tell you what Jesus is not saying. I think when we look at this passage, our mind naturally think that the two ways Jesus is contrasting are the way of bad people and the way of good people. So those who choose to take the easy road are the bad people. The prostitutes, the murderers, the wicked and the unbelievers. And those who choose the hard road are good people. The Christians. But this is not what Jesus is saying. This is the wrong interpretation. Throughout the sermon on the mount, Jesus is not contrasting between the good and bad people. Jesus is contrasting the way of religion and the way of the gospel.

Let me give you one example. Jesus’ teaching on prayer. Matthew 6:5-6 – ⁵ “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. So, what we have is not someone who prays and another who does not pray. Both of them pray. But they pray for a different reason. One prays to be seen by others, and the other prays to be heard by God. Do you see it? It is easy to tell the difference between a person who prays and goes to church and a person who does not. But that is not what Jesus is saying. Jesus is asking, “Why do you pray? Why do you come to church? Why do you serve?” And this is a very hard question. On the outside, they look exactly the same. They both pray. They are both in the church. But on the inside, they are very different. They obey God for an utterly different reason.

And what’s staggering is that Jesus says that many people are in the church for a wrong reason. There are many who enter the wide and easy road. There are many self-professed Christians who become believers for the wrong reason. You are seeking something else besides God and God is simply the means to what you truly want. Maybe you are a Christian because you desire fame. Or maybe you are a Christian because you want to be rich. You heard some famous preacher on the TV says that if you follow Christ you will be wealthy and healthy. Or maybe you are a Christian because your parents are Christians. Going to church every Sunday is what your family do. Or maybe you are a Christian because you want to be a good person. Christianity is simply a religion for you to be good. I am not saying all those reasons are bad. But I am saying that those reasons are not enough. The roads you are in is not leading to life. It leads to destruction. With another word, Jesus is saying that there are many Christians who are on the road that leads to death. This is very frightening. I am not trying to scare you. I am simply telling you what Jesus is saying. You can be a good Christian and still lost at the same time. That’s the first one. The second one is even more frightening.

Gifts or fruits

Matthew 7:15-23 – ¹⁵ Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. ²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

This is a very disturbing passage. Back in the days, our church did a skit on this passage. I had nightmares because of it. I mean, look at the description of the false prophets. On the outside, both look like sheep. But the false prophets are actually ravenous wolves on the inside. And then Jesus applies this not only to prophets but Christians. There are many false Christians. But how do you tell the difference? It is extremely hard. Look at the descriptions of false Christians. First, they call Jesus, “Lord.” The Greek word used here is “kyrios” which is the word used for God. These people recognize Jesus as God. They are not random religious people. They have good doctrine. They read books by Piper and Keller and they listen to RSI podcasts. Second, they said, “Lord, Lord.” This is a Jewish way of expressing affection. If you repeat the same name twice, it means you are emotionally engaged with that person. These people not only recognize Jesus as God, but they also have affection for Jesus. Third, they have charismatic gifts. They prophesy in Christ’s name, cast out demons and perform many miracles. They are actively serving Jesus and they have many successes. So, when they are locked in a room with a demon-possessed person, it is not them that walk out but the demon. They have an impressive resume. So, let’s put these characteristics together. They have good doctrines, they have affection for Christ, and they are actively serving Christ. Do you know whom it sounds like? It sounds like your pastor. It sounds like me. Right? And not only me, but it sounds like many of you as well. And do you know what Jesus say to them? ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ “Kabooomm.”

Hear me clearly. It is very possible to do the works of God and not the will of God. It is extremely possible to do many mighty works in Jesus’ name and never knew Jesus. Just because a person is extremely gifted does not mean that person is a true Christian. The Bible has many examples of those who are used by God to do the works of God and not saved. The most famous example is Balaam’s donkey. Balaam disobeyed God and God used his donkey to preach to him. Think about it. A preaching donkey. Yet that donkey is not saved. In other words, Jesus is speaking to Christians who are in ministry. You believe the gospel in your head. You were baptised. You lift your hands during worship. Not one, but both. You shed tears as you listen to the sermon. You minister in a church. You even go and make disciples. And Jesus’ verdict over you is “I never knew you.” You know Jesus’ name, but Jesus does not know your name. What matter is not whether you know Jesus’ name but whether Jesus knows your name.

Do you know what is the problem with these people? Jesus calls them “workers of lawlessness.” What does he mean? It cannot mean that they are not obeying the laws. They are busy serving Jesus and doing the right thing. But they are doing the right things for the wrong reason. They are serving Jesus not for Jesus but for what Jesus can give them. You can’t see it in English but in Greek it is obvious. These people repeat the question “Did we not…” three times. “God, did we not do this for you? Did we not do that for you? It is only right for you to reward us. Give us what we deserve.” This is why they are workers of lawlessness. Their Christianity is not about God. It is all about them and their personal glory. “I am going to be a good Christian so that God will give me what I want.” You are doing what you do so that God will bless you. Deep down, you never know Jesus. You do not have personal relationship with him.

Let me use my own life as an example. I am a full-time pastor. That means I spent most of my time doing Christian works. Let me give you a glimpse of how my life looks like this past week. Today, I have to preach twice. I preached in the morning service and I am preaching now. And I preach two different sermons. So, I did a lot of sermon preparation the past week. I read tons of commentaries and meditate a lot on Scripture. On top of that, this coming Tuesday I will have a webinar on the difference between Reformed theology and Charismatic theology. If you are not aware, this is a very controversial and difficult topic. So, I need to prepare for it. And I will do the webinar with people who are a lot smarter than me. Which mean, I can’t bluff my way through it. If it’s with you, I can just bluff my way and most of you probably would still say amen. But with them, it does not work. I need to know my material really well. And of course, as your pastor, I want to make a good impression. I want you to be proud of me when you hear me talk. I want you to say, “That’s my pastor.” I don’t want you to think, “I think the other pastors make more sense. I am going to stop being a charismatic and start being a cessationist.” So, I need to be very well prepared for all the questions they might throw at me. On top of that, I am also invited to preach at other church and need to send them my video recording in the next few days. This will be my first time preaching at this church and it is an influential church in Indonesia. And you would not believe the verses and topic they assigned to me. It is about mission and persecution. I mean, which first-time guest preacher ever chooses to preach on persecution? It’s like a way of saying, “Please do not invite me back.” But then it daunt on me that maybe it is why they invited me. So I can offend the church and they don’t have to invite me back. Smart, right? So, my past week is filled with lots of studying the Bible, reading commentaries, reading articles and preparing sermons. Can we agree that it is a good thing? I hope you would look at my life and say, “His life is the very definition of what it means to be a pastor. I am so proud to have him as my pastor.” But here is what you need to know. It is very possible for me to have your applause as a pastor and yet Jesus says to me, “I never knew you. Depart from me.” How? Didn’t I preach so many sermons? Didn’t I spend lots of time reading the Bible? Didn’t I do well on theological argument? Yes. But I am not doing it for Jesus. I am doing it for myself. I want to be a good pastor. I want to preach a good sermon. I want to argue well. Because I want to be known. I want to be approved by others. I am seeking my own fame through my pastoral ministry. I can be very gifted on the outside but very empty on the inside. I can look like the pastor of the year and not have personal relationship with Christ at the same time. And this is extremely dangerous. Because I have deceived myself to think that I am a good Christian because of what I do for God. And this is the kind of Christianity that Jesus is rebuking in this passage. The kind that looks great on the outside but empty on the inside.

So how do you tell the difference between gospel Christianity and counterfeit Christianity? Jesus tells us to look at the fruits. Don’t look at their gifts but look at their fruits. Get this. Gifts are what you do but fruits are what you are. Jesus says that you will know whether a tree is healthy or not by their fruits. If the tree bears good fruit, then it is a healthy tree. If the tree bears bad fruit, then it is a diseased tree. A diseased tree might insist that it is healthy. But if the fruit is bad, then it is not healthy. It is your fruits that determine whether you are healthy or not. What are fruits? Galatians 5:22-23 – ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Friends, you can fake gifts, but you cannot fake fruits. Fruits are inside out. You cannot produce good fruits if you are empty on the inside. Good fruits are the result of inner fullness. You produce good fruits because you are healthy on the inside. This is the difference between counterfeit Christianity and gospel Christianity. Counterfeit Christianity is outside in and gospel Christianity is inside out. Counterfeit says, “I have done so much for Jesus. Surely he will give me what I want.” Gospel says, “Jesus has done it all for me. And now I give my life to serve him.” It looks the same on the outside but very different on the inside. One comes from inner emptiness and the other comes out of inner fullness. One comes knowing about Christ and the other comes from being known by Christ. The true test of Christianity is not how gifted you are but how fruitful you are. Let’s look at the next one.

Appearance or foundation

Matthew 7:24-27 – ²⁴ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

In this last parable, Jesus is making the same point. There are two builders who build an identical house. From the outside, it looks the same. A casual observer would not have noticed any difference. It probably has the same layout, room, and materials. Each house looks secure in good weather. The difference is not on the appearance but the foundation. One is built on sand and the other is built on rock. This is a picture of counterfeit and gospel Christianity. The appearance looks the same, but the foundation is radically different. Here is the thing though. No one built a house knowing that it will crash. People who built their house on the sand does not realize how fragile their house is. They are enjoying their house by the beach. Until storms come. The storms reveal the quality of the works of the two builders. The house that is built on sand falls apart, while the house that is built on the rock remains strong.

You know this. It is not good times that prove whether you are a true Christian or not. It is not a season where everything goes according to your expectation that shows whether you are genuine or not. It is when nothing goes according to your expectation that proves whether you are a counterfeit Christian or a gospel Christian. It is when life hits you in the face unfairly that proves whether you are empty or full on the inside. It is the storms that reveal your foundation. So, if life goes wrong and you are mad at God, “God, how could you let this happened to me? I did not deserve it” and you walk away from God, it shows that you never know God in the first place. It means that you are a counterfeit. You might argue, “But Yos, I know the gospel. I believe the gospel. I can tell explain to you from A-Z what the gospel is.” The question is not whether you know but whether your life shows what you say and know. Good theology is important but good theology does not save you. You might know the gospel really well, but the question is do you trust in the truth of the gospel?

Let me put it in the simplest way I know. So, okay there is a chair in front of me. Imagine I’m having a conversation with Bob.

“Bob, do you believe that this chair can hold you?”
“Absolutely Yos. I’m sure that this chair can hold me.”
“Okay then please have a seat.”
“Well, I’m not sure if I want to sit down.”
“Why not? Do you not trust that the chair will hold you?”
“I know the chair will hold me. I’m only 92 kgs. I read somewhere that this chair can hold up to 130 kgs. In fact, it is so fascinating. I read an article that proves that a black chair can hold more weight than a blue chair. They did all the research and stuff. It’s amazing.”
“Wow. I didn’t know that. Well, then you should have no problem sitting on the chair. Please have a seat.”
“Let me feel the chair first. Oh wow. This chair is so firm. It is made out of steel. I can feel its strength when I touch it. Impressive. Where do you buy the chair? It must be expensive. I can feel the anointing by just touching it.”
“Nah, it’s only $20 at office works. Since you can feel its strength, then please have a seat, Bob.”
“Geez Yos. You know, it’s not that I don’t believe that this chair can hold me, it’s just that I have an issue with the chair you know. I’m not sure if I should sit.”

Jesus says that unless you sit in the truth of the gospel, what you know about the gospel is meaningless. You are building your life on sand and it won’t last. The storms will come and destroy it. What is sand? Sand is whatever you built your life upon besides Christ. Like for me, I could build my life on being a good pastor. My identity is rooted in me being a pastor. But what happens when the storms come, and I can no longer be a pastor? My life will fall apart. I will walk away from God being bitter and angry. But that only reveals that I never built my life on the right foundation. I have the right appearance but not the right foundation. And hear me clearly. I am saying this because I truly love you. If you are building your house on sand, I pray that God will send massive storms your way and destroy your house as soon as possible before it is too late. Because a day is coming where all of us will face the ultimate storm. We will stand before Jesus as our Supreme Judge. And by then it would be too late. You either have the right foundation or you will hear Jesus say to you, “I never knew you. Depart from me.” That verdict is final and unchangeable. There is nothing you can do about it. But if right now you are building your house on the sand and God sends storms your way and destroy your house, then there is still a chance for you to rebuild your house on the right foundation.

How do you build your house on the right foundation? Two ways. First, build your house on the rock. What is the rock? The rock is none other than Jesus. One day Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” And listen to Peter’s answer. Matthew 16:16-18 – ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The rock is the confession that Jesus Christ is God. But it is not a simple confession. For you to confess that Jesus Christ is the rock, you need to first admit that you are not the rock. That is why Jesus starts the sermon on the mount with strong words. He says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” He doesn’t say poor but poor in spirit. It means to be spiritually bankrupt. It is to confess that there is absolutely nothing good in us that can please God. It is not simply to confess that we are not good enough, but we are not capable of anything good. Even the good things that we do have bad motivations. It is driven by self-glory. We do the right thing for the wrong reasons. We want people to honour us. We want God to reward us. And this is the problem with those who are rejected by Jesus. They still to look to what they do for Jesus for their acceptance. But to build your house on the rock is to rest on Christ’s finished work. It is to say that Christ is my identity. I no longer need other’s validation because I already have Christ’s validation. I no longer need to perform because Christ has performed for me. There is absolutely nothing good in me, but Christ has given me his absolute goodness. I am spiritually bankrupt but because of it, I received the kingdom of God. My life is no longer rooted in who I am but in who Christ is. Christ’s life is my life. Christ’s past is my past. And Christ’s future is my future. I am his and that is all that matter. So right now, I am loved, accepted, treasured and delighted in the by the only person in the whole universe whose opinion counts and whose opinion will last. I have received the final verdict. I am known and loved by Christ. That’s the first.

Second, hear and do the words of Christ. With another word, it is not enough to be a fan of Christ. We need to be a disciple of Christ. Not just hearers of the word but doers of the word. If you say you believe in Jesus but do not obey his words, you are deceiving yourself. You are building on sand. I am not saying that you will be saved by your obedience. But I am saying that your obedience to the words of Christ is the proof that Christ is your rock. Are you obeying Christ today? Or are you in church but you are not obeying him? Are you building your life on a good appearance or the right foundation? And building on the right foundation is not easy. Discipleship takes a lot of hard work. Talk to a constructor and they will tell you that it takes so much more time and effort to build a strong foundation than to build the visible skyscraper. Foundational work is not fun. Most of the time, it is unseen. And yet it is those unseen obediences to the words of God that enables you to stand strong when the storm comes. Your strength and stability as Christian lie in the foundation. The battle and the work of Christian is not done at the platform, but at the unseen places.

Let me close with this. The point of all these contrasts is for you to choose. Jesus is basically giving you two options. Choose. Are you a counterfeit Christian? Or are you a gospel Christian? Are you still relying on yourself and your works? Or are you relying on Christ as your rock? Are you a fan? Or are you a disciple? And Jesus tells you which one is the right one. He says, “Enter the narrow gate. Because that is the only road to life. There is no other way.” And Jesus has entered that narrow and difficult road ahead of us. He left the comfort of heaven and entered the narrow road. The infinite God became human and entered the narrow road of life and he died because of it. Jesus was killed on that narrow road so that when we entered that road, it will lead us not to death but life. Have you entered that road? If not, tonight there is an invitation from Jesus to enter the narrow and hard road. Humble yourself before him. Admit your spiritual bankruptcy. And received the kingdom of God as a free gift. Let’s pray.

Discussion questions:

1. Why is it hard to differentiate between counterfeit Christianity and gospel Christianity?
2. From what you have seen and heard, what are some common examples of wrong reasons to be Christians?
3. Look at the three characteristics that false Christian has. Which one strikes you the most? Why?
4. What is the difference between gifts and fruits? Which one do you tend to focus on?
5. Explain the difference between knowing the gospel and trusting the truth of the gospel.
6. What steps do you need to take to strengthen your foundation? Share it with others.