Thursday, February 02, 2006
Two Hearers
Matt. 7:
24."Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.
25. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.
26. "And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.
27. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."
Luke 6:
47. "Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like:
48. he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
49. "But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."
In these passages we view two different kinds of hearers of Jesus words as he explains of those who apply His truth and of those who do not. We must understand that He is not talking about those who openly reject His teaching but those who profess to be believers but do not practice what they profess. On the other extreme we find those who practice Christianity without having a saving relationship with Christ. Both of these situations practice “broad path” theology that ultimately leads to destruction. 1John 1:6; 2:4 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 4. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
John Stott writes, “We need to consider that the Bible is a dangerous book to read, and that a church is a dangerous society to join. For in reading the Bible we hear the words of Christ, and in joining the church we say we believe in Christ. As a result, we belong to the company described by Jesus as both hearing His teaching and calling Him Lord. Our membership therefore lays upon us the serious responsibility of ensuring that what we know and what we say is translated into what we do.”
24."Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.
25. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.
26. "And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.
27. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."
Luke 6:
47. "Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like:
48. he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
49. "But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."
In these passages we view two different kinds of hearers of Jesus words as he explains of those who apply His truth and of those who do not. We must understand that He is not talking about those who openly reject His teaching but those who profess to be believers but do not practice what they profess. On the other extreme we find those who practice Christianity without having a saving relationship with Christ. Both of these situations practice “broad path” theology that ultimately leads to destruction. 1John 1:6; 2:4 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 4. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
John Stott writes, “We need to consider that the Bible is a dangerous book to read, and that a church is a dangerous society to join. For in reading the Bible we hear the words of Christ, and in joining the church we say we believe in Christ. As a result, we belong to the company described by Jesus as both hearing His teaching and calling Him Lord. Our membership therefore lays upon us the serious responsibility of ensuring that what we know and what we say is translated into what we do.”
# posted by Castusfumus : 9:47 PM
