Sermon Tone Analysis

In this sermon series we are looking at some of the different stories Jesus told throughout the gospels to see how he communicated big spiritual truths that would have a deep impact on our lives.

Jesus would use these small stories to tell his followers things like who God is, what are God’s plans for eternity, and how we as Christians can have our lives changed by the gospel so that we could live a life of worship.

And for the last 3 weeks, we’ve been really hitting on the idea of discipleship.

And what discipleship is is what our lives look like as we follow Jesus.

A life of discipleship is one where we progressively grow in two areas.

1. Receiving Christ as Lord where we believe he is the king of our entire life.

And 2. To live with Christ as Lord.

Where that truth actually impacts our life and we live a changed life to the glory of God.

And as we’ve studied some of Jesus’ parables, time and time again we have seen that he clearly tells us what it means to actually follow him.

and as we’ve studied some of Jesus’ parables, time and time again we have seen that he clearly tells us what it means to actually follow him.

Sower = Discipleship begins with the gift of faith.

Your whole discipleship began because God loved you and was gracious to you in giving you saving faith through the gospel.

Hidden Treasure/Pearl = Disciples live for Jesus Kingdom.

My life is not my own, my life is for Christ.

Last week Josh taught us how foolish it is for us to not renounce everything to follow Jesus as whole hearted disciples.

That we should count the cost and say, You know what, following Jesus with my whole life is the better deal.

This week, we are going to look at one of the most popular parables of Jesus in the Tale of Two Builders to show us that Jesus promises to save his disciples from God’s coming judgement and that true disciples obey Christ in every area of life.

So go ahead and open to to see what Jesus says.

is faith a gift and...

That living for Jesus’ Kingdom is worth the trade of our whole life for his salvation

And that failing to make this trade is a failure to count the cost of discipleship and appraise it accurately

But this parable will show us that true disciples obey Christ in every area of life.

we would be wise to build our life upon Jesus and his gospel in a way that combines authentic commitment with persevering obedience.

To stake our eternal destiny on Jesus and his gospel and this wisdom will result in a whole hearted obedience to Jesus in every area of life.

Let’s hear what Jesus has to say.

To give you some context, this parable is Jesus’ conclusion to his Sermon on the Mount where he has been telling all those that would follow him what it means to truly worship God from the heart.

Here’s what he says...

 “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.”

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.”

Now for many of you, this story takes you back to Sunday School when you were young and you were probably told the story meant something like this.

That Jesus is the rock upon which you need to build your life.

That way, when the winds and storms of life come, you will be able to stand.

Otherwise, if you don’t build your life upon Jesus, then your life will be just an absolute mess.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

You were told that the rain and the floods and the wind represent the hardships of life and unless your life was built upon Jesus it would topple over like the foolish man who built his life on the sand.

They would even pull out verses that talked about Jesus being the cornerstone and say, “See!

A stone is basically a rock so that is a parallel passage.”

Now, I hate to break it to you but they were wrong.

Not about the message itself.

Jesus is the cornerstone and all of our life does rest on him.

However, they were wrong about that being the message of this passage.

To understand what Jesus is saying in this parable we must look at it in context to the rest of Jesus’ sermon.

Back in Jesus said 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This was a shocking statement.

The scribes and pharisees were the religious elites who spent all of their time studying the OT and teaching it to other people.

They set themselves up as examples of what it meant to live a life that worshiped God, and here Jesus tells his followers, unless you are more righteous than them then you’ll never get into the kingdom of God.

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Then Jesus goes on throughout the sermon on the mount to ratchet up the expectations of God’s commands in the Law.

You heard it said don’t murder.

I say don’t even be angry.

You heard it said don’t commit adultery, I say don’t even look at another person lustfully.

You heard it said and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, I say don’t get even but forgive, and what’s more love those who hate you.

And he goes on and on to talk about what it looks like to live a righteous life.

He talks about praying, fasting, and walking in daily faith in God

Then he gets to where he said 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.

Here is where we begin to see Jesus’ call to discipleship.

Its not just in a profession of faith.

A profession of faith that leads to a barren life will never save anyone.

For Jesus, a person is like a tree, they are known by the fruit of their life.

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.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

How do you know that is an apple tree?

Because apples are growing on it.

People are the same way.

Obedience to Jesus is the fruit of a heart that has been radically changed by the gospel.

Your life must have fruit to show that there is a Gardener at work!

And this is the key.

It is not your obedience or being a good person that gets you into the Kingdom of God.

It is God’s work in saving you and bringing you into the Kingdom through the gospel of Jesus Christ that results in your obedience throughout the rest of your life.

Then, just before our parable, Jesus says in one of the most terrifying passages of the Bible.

And you must hear the message of these verses because they are crucial to understand the parable of the two builders.

“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.’

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.’

Notice what Jesus says here.

Not everyone who claims to love Jesus is actually saved.

Instead, he gives two criteria for those that are truly his disciples.

True disciples are those that do the will of the Father in verse 21

True disciples are those who Jesus knows from verse 23

What do these two marks of true disciples actually mean?

Let’s start with the first.

True disciples are those that do the will of the Father.

On the front end, we might think well that’s obedience.

So Jesus is saying those that obey God are the ones who will enter into his Kingdom.