From the Pew
Last week, I received an emailed question and I thought I’d share a piece of the conversation that unfolded. I have the sneaky suspicion that his question is shared by others. Hope it’s helpful……
The Question…
On Feb 28, you asked the question in your sermon: “if you have a belief that God’s grace is not sufficient, where has this come from?” A verse that provides me with this hesitation is in Matthew 7:21-27. When I read these verses, I fear that I fail to “put these words into practice.” How do Matthew 7:21-27 reconcile with Matthew 11:29?
The Simply Answer…
Great question. The quick and easy answer is that Matthew 7 and 11 are speaking about two different things. Matthew 7 is an encouragement to live a Gospel lifestyle while Matthew 11 is a reminder that Jesus will receive us whether we live that Gospel lifestyle or not.
The Bit Longer Answer…
Matthew 7 is a terrifying passage (good news...the fact that it terrifies is evidence that you are not like the ones who say 'Lord, Lord' because when we trace the argument, the ‘right behaving’ folks get called out and then thrown out. The key is in Jesus conversation about false prophets (vs. 15-20). He describes them as trees, saying: grapes don't come from thorn bushes. The point is that there is something much deeper than behavior/morality that we must pay attention to. Good fruit comes from healthy trees. We must look deeper than the initial appearance of fruit.
In the same way, the houses are built on foundations that are presumably identical (at least until the first real storm). We must look deeper than outward appearances to find the condition of the ‘house’.
These verses speak about placing our trust in Jesus and not in our own self-righteousness. I'm thankful for Tim Keller for helping to bring clarity to my thinking on this. There's tons of very long sermons, etc. to watch, but if interested, here's a quick look into this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHuyDLMTCJs
The Even Longer Answer…
It's really natural for us to imagine that Jesus yearns for us to be moral. He doesn't want us to be immoral, right?
The only problem, is that when we trace Jesus actions, He doesn't seem to give props to the moral and hammer the immoral. His fault lines of his interactions seem to fall across a different trajectory. He tended to hammer the Pharisees who were very clearly moral and receive the broken sinner who clearly wasn't.
The issue wasn't that they were Pharisees...the issue was their heart. Most Pharisees were self-righteous moral legalists attempting to earn their way into the favor of God (not all…see Nicodemus of John 3 and John 19). The immoral were anything but that. They were deeply aware of their brokenness and need.
I guess I'm suggesting that our outward appearance is important, but not quite enough. The question I think Matthew 7 is inviting us to explore: “where does our life practice come from?” It's the why behind the what!
Again, these verses speak about placing our trust in Jesus and not in our own self-righteousness. Not to gather the strength in ourselves to withstand the storms of life. But because Jesus is strong and trustworthy. When our trust is placed in Him, we can withstand the storms in life because He is trustworthy.
The Question…
On Feb 28, you asked the question in your sermon: “if you have a belief that God’s grace is not sufficient, where has this come from?” A verse that provides me with this hesitation is in Matthew 7:21-27. When I read these verses, I fear that I fail to “put these words into practice.” How do Matthew 7:21-27 reconcile with Matthew 11:29?
The Simply Answer…
Great question. The quick and easy answer is that Matthew 7 and 11 are speaking about two different things. Matthew 7 is an encouragement to live a Gospel lifestyle while Matthew 11 is a reminder that Jesus will receive us whether we live that Gospel lifestyle or not.
The Bit Longer Answer…
Matthew 7 is a terrifying passage (good news...the fact that it terrifies is evidence that you are not like the ones who say 'Lord, Lord' because when we trace the argument, the ‘right behaving’ folks get called out and then thrown out. The key is in Jesus conversation about false prophets (vs. 15-20). He describes them as trees, saying: grapes don't come from thorn bushes. The point is that there is something much deeper than behavior/morality that we must pay attention to. Good fruit comes from healthy trees. We must look deeper than the initial appearance of fruit.
In the same way, the houses are built on foundations that are presumably identical (at least until the first real storm). We must look deeper than outward appearances to find the condition of the ‘house’.
These verses speak about placing our trust in Jesus and not in our own self-righteousness. I'm thankful for Tim Keller for helping to bring clarity to my thinking on this. There's tons of very long sermons, etc. to watch, but if interested, here's a quick look into this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHuyDLMTCJs
The Even Longer Answer…
It's really natural for us to imagine that Jesus yearns for us to be moral. He doesn't want us to be immoral, right?
The only problem, is that when we trace Jesus actions, He doesn't seem to give props to the moral and hammer the immoral. His fault lines of his interactions seem to fall across a different trajectory. He tended to hammer the Pharisees who were very clearly moral and receive the broken sinner who clearly wasn't.
The issue wasn't that they were Pharisees...the issue was their heart. Most Pharisees were self-righteous moral legalists attempting to earn their way into the favor of God (not all…see Nicodemus of John 3 and John 19). The immoral were anything but that. They were deeply aware of their brokenness and need.
I guess I'm suggesting that our outward appearance is important, but not quite enough. The question I think Matthew 7 is inviting us to explore: “where does our life practice come from?” It's the why behind the what!
Again, these verses speak about placing our trust in Jesus and not in our own self-righteousness. Not to gather the strength in ourselves to withstand the storms of life. But because Jesus is strong and trustworthy. When our trust is placed in Him, we can withstand the storms in life because He is trustworthy.
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