(Luke 6:46-49) ** Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete. ** I heard on the radio this week the results of a poll asking people what the 'proper' length is for a sermon. I was surprised that the most popular response was "less than an hour", and that the average length of a sermon in churches today is... 36 minutes! I'm pretty sure that I've never preached a 36 minute message in my 33 years of ministry! And as I have obviously been shortchanging you, I'm thinking that this summer might be a good time to bring that average up... hmmmm? What do you say? ;-) Actually, I've always appreciated the advice of one of my preaching professors in seminary who said, "Keep your sermons short. If they're good, they'll still be good. But if they're bad, at least they'll be good because they're short!" That still sounds like a 'winwin'. So, one way to lengthen a sermon is to babble before you begin. Ok, start the clock... ** Along the road from Denver to the Winter Park ski area in Colorado, is a tiny town named Empire ; and if you find yourself there, and you re hungry, you might want to stop and eat at the Hard Rock Café. But if you do, you might be surprised at what you find. Inside is like stepping back in time. It s not a very slick or modern restaurant. No guitars on the walls or other R & R memorabilia. They will be glad to tell you about the alleged trademark infringement lawsuit threatened from the worldwide chain of Hard Rock Cafes. But, actually, this particular cafe dates back a very long time before rockand-roll music and the first Hard Rock Cafe opened its doors in London. The Hard Rock Page 1 of 8
Cafe in London was named for music; the one in Empire was named for... hard rocks. See, when the area was mined, the miners hit hard rock. Over your coffee or burger there, you might consider a parable that Jesus taught, one that is recorded twice in the Gospels (both in Matthew and Luke). The parables are similar, but the introduction in Matthew is longer and a bit more sobering. ** Matthew 7:21-23 - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. 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 perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers! " You ve probably heard the terms Modernism and Postmodernism. Now, this is not a sermon about that (although I have been interested in the cultural shift of the one to the other for years)! But I just want to point out something in regard to those terms, that applies to this parable. One of the characteristics of Modernism (something that Postmodernism is a reaction to) is its very high regard for human intellect i.e., a belief that we (humans) can (at least, eventually) know everything there is to know, and we can precisely describe all truth by our language. Now, whether or not that is true, this might sound to you like a purely academic debate, best reserved for university philosophy classes, but in fact, that belief has had a great impact on the way that the Christian faith has been proclaimed in our lifetime. That is because a strong line of teaching (growing out of that modern mindset) became dominant in the Evangelical/ Conservative theological camp in the 20 th Century. It basically said that the essence of Christianity is propositional. Christianity (the Bible) Page 2 of 8
can be reduced to a set of 'points', or statements, and if you agree with them (i.e., believe them) you are in, and if not, you re out. So, a test of faith for someone s claim to be a Christian would be more of a theological exam let me check your beliefs, and if they are right I will know if you are a Christian. It's really all in your head. The focus of evangelism (witnessing) became the imparting of knowledge - we ll teach you what to believe, and then you ll be a Christian. It's a simple as that. (Now, listen, as someone who spends many hours thinking, reading, and writing theological stuff, hopefully, it is obvious to you that words and beliefs are very important to me. They are! So, try not to misunderstand my point ) My point is that when we reduce Christianity to a mental assent to some list of doctrine, we are clearly disregarding much of the intent of the Scripture, and especially, we are ignoring a lot of what Jesus taught. And today s passage is a good example of that. ** Because Jesus says in the two introductions to this parable, that there are "fake Christians". He says there are people who actually say "Lord! Lord!" but its empty. (The ancient Rabbi s taught that using a name twice is a sign of affection!) There are people who may even preach 36 minute sermons, cast out demons and perform miracles. But, they re not real Christians. And this is a frightening statement: Jesus says that someday he will have to say to some people, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" Obviously, to Jesus, the critical issue is not what we say but what we do. Actions truly speak louder than words. We may have the doctrine right, we may have the right words Page 3 of 8
and even preach them but if there is no connection between what we say we believe and how we live, then our faith is empty. And we certainly won t fool the Lord. The shorter introduction to Luke s version of the Parable is very to the point: Jesus simply asks, ** Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? Lord means, "sir" or, master but in religious conversation (as here) it refers back to the Hebrew adonai; i.e., it s a reference to God. Jesus is asking a logical question: If you re going to call me Lord if I am your God - then why would you not do what I tell you? We can t have it both ways. We can t pick and choose which of Jesus teachings to obey as it suits us at any particular time in our lives. If we re not obeying him, he s not our Lord. Now, this kind of teaching gets some people confused. We might start to think that this is works righteousness, [i.e., that we are saved by our works], but it is not. The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one way to be saved from sin and to be part of the Kingdom of heaven and that is, by the grace of Jesus grace that is freely given to all who seek it. The mistake that we (the church) have made comes from that mindset that I mentioned earlier this belief that Christianity can be reduced to a set of propositions. So, the Page 4 of 8
reasoning went something like this: we can t do anything to save ourselves, it is by grace. After we are saved we are meant to do good works. (All true, I believe.) But here s where it breaks down it has also been taught that even if we don t follow through with obedience and good works, even if we aren t living the life we claim to believe in we are still saved because we have the mental part right. That's really more important. Well, in a completely logical world that might actually follow the problem is that the Gospel is full of paradoxes and truths that are beyond our ability to completely synthesize. So to teach that our beliefs trump our lifestyle, we have to ignore a lot of Jesus teachings, as well as the Book of James, most of the Old Testament, and actually, quite a bit of Paul as well! Because they all seem to be telling us that if there is no obedience, then there is really, no faith. We can t have one without the other. If we have belief and no deeds we re the ones to whom Jesus addresses his question, Why do you call me Lord but don t do what I say? If we have deeds and no faith, then we are the Pharisees self righteous, prone to judgment, smug, blind to our need of forgiveness. If we have faith but don't show it in the way we live, the Bible itself tells us that we have... nothing! You cannot separate faith and obedience. We can t choose one or the other and be a follower of Christ. Now let me make a couple of statements to, hopefully, make this a little more clear: Page 5 of 8
** 1. Christians are not perfect. Even after we believe, we all continue to have temptations to sin. And, in spite of John Wesley s teaching that all Christians should be going on to perfection, life teaches us that that s a pretty slow and frustrating journey. Christians sin all of us. Some sins are more obvious than others, and we can easily get tripped up because our sins are less obvious outwardly, but we all fall short. Ok? When we sin we do not stop being Christians, and we are forgiven by the Grace of Christ. ** 2. On the other hand, Christians are expected to behave like Christians. On this the Bible is equally clear. If a person is really a Christian, s/he will behave like a Christian. It is impossible to be a true believer and consistently behave like an unbeliever. This does not mean that doing good makes a person a Christian, but doing good clearly proves whether someone is a Christian or not. I don t know how to get around that statement. ** The clearest teaching on this might be James 2:17: "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." The surrounding paragraphs are very specific about the kinds of action that defines whether or not a person is a Christian - things like the way we treat orphans, widows, and poor people, and whether or not we commit adultery, or murder, and the extent to which our tongues are under control. So in this context, Jesus tells a parable... ** Imagine a person looking for a place to build a house and they have two choices: Rocky land higher up, offering a nice view but requiring a lot of work. It could take a long time to level the land and to dig into rock for a foundation. And the cost would be great. This is the harder choice. Page 6 of 8
** Lower down, there is smooth soft ground. It looks nice and easy, because, actually, it is. However, it is a very shortsighted approach to build here because after the September rains come that nice smooth place will be under water and the house will be engulfed in a raging torrent. The smarter guy will pick the rock solid alternative. It may be harder. It may take longer and cost more. But when the storms come it will be safer and will endure. ** And that s what Jesus says in the parable: "for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice... He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built." ** There was one word in that parable that kind of jumped out at me this week as I was preparing this message. The word is when. Jesus says, when the flood comes not if. There s something about life in this fallen world that guarantees that the flood is going to come. It s not a matter of if, it is a question of when and when it comes, according to this parable, our ability to withstand it is going to be based on the foundation we have built up to that point. And the foundation is our obedience to the words of Jesus. ** Now, there is always hope in life and for a person who has never heard the message of the Good News, it has often been my privilege as a Pastor and a Christian friend, to share hope with people who find themselves in one of the floods of life. Due to a bad relationship, bad decisions that have caught up to them, health issues, aging, money problems, job loss on and on, in some ways the Gospel message of God s love in Christ is like a life preserver for a person who is drowning in the floods of life. Page 7 of 8
But, what I hear Jesus saying in this parable is that it is better to build a house with a strong foundation than to hope for a life preserver. As we live a life of obedience, as we conform ourselves to the mind of Christ through taking on his priorities - hard stuff like a willingness to forgive, loving our enemies, honesty, generosity, humility, etc. as we practice these things in our day to day lives, year after year, as we realign ourselves to the true north of God in regular worship, Bible reading, and prayer - year after year - we are building a strong foundation, and we will find that we already have everything we need to keep us afloat. Even in the deepest, and most fierce of life's storms. ** When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete. ** Christianity involves an interweaving of three dynamic threads - 1. knowledge 2. personal response 3. a lifestyle of service and obedience ** Our faith involves all of these not number one, or number two, or two of three all of them. We focus on each of them, and the result is strength. How do we respond to all this? I ll tell you my response. I want to be sure that I am not among those who say "Lord, Lord" but are fake Christians. I want to be the real thing. My desire and commitment is to believe and obey to be a person of faith in Jesus and a person who, at the very least, is trying as hard as I can to do what Jesus says. I want my life built solidly and deeply in Jesus Christ. How about you? Page 8 of 8