Discipleship: The Two Ways

(Matthew 7:13-29; Luke 6:43-49)

There are two ways of life:
1) One is the easy way of pleasing self, which most choose and which leads to destruction.

2) The other is the narrow way of denying self for Jesus' sake, which leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14).

One reason why many do not follow the narrow way is that they are deceived by those who teach their own views on how people can find meaning in life. Their teaching at first sounds reasonable, but in the end it proves to be destructive. The teachers appear to be as harmless as sheep, but actually they are as dangerous as wolves. A bad tree produces bad fruit, and wrong teaching produces wrong behavior (Matt 7:15-20).

Another reason why people do not follow the narrow way is that they deceive themselves. They think that because they attach themselves to Jesus' followers they will enter Jesus' kingdom. They may even preach in Jesus' name, but if they have never had a personal experience of God through faith and repentance, they too will go to the place of destruction (Matthew 7:21-23). If people hear Jesus' teaching but do not act upon it, they are deceiving themselves and heading for disaster. They are like a person who builds a house that looks solid but has no foundation, and so is destroyed when the storm of testing comes (Matthew 7:24-27).

The difference between Jesus' teaching and the teaching of the scribes was obvious to all. The scribes referred to respected teachers of the past for their authority, but Jesus spoke on His own authority. The scribes could only repeat the regulations of Judaism, but Jesus interpreted the law with an authority that came from God (Matthew 7:28-29).

Discipleship: God's Plan

From picturing two ways and two trees (the text of Matthew chapter 7), our Lord closed His message by picturing two builders and their houses. The two ways illustrate the start of the life of faith; the two trees illustrate the growth and results of the life of faith here and now; and the two houses illustrate the end of this life of faith, when God shall call everything to judgment. There are false prophets at the gate which leads to the broad way, making it easy for people to enter. But at the end of the way, there is destruction. The final test is not what we think of ourselves, or what others may think. The final test is: What will God say?

How can we prepare for this judgment? By doing God's will. Obedience to His will is the test of true faith in Christ. The test is not words, not saying "Lord, Lord," and not obeying His commands. How easy it is to learn a religious vocabulary, and even memorize Bible verses and religious songs, and yet not obey God's will. When a person is truly born again, he has the Spirit of God living within (Romans 8:9); and the Spirit enables him to know and do the Father's will. God's love in his heart (Romans 5:5) motivates him to obey God and serve others.

Words are not a substitute for obedience, and neither are religious works. Preaching, casting out demons, and performing miracles can be divinely inspired, but they give no assurance of salvation. It is likely that even Judas participated in some or all of these activities, and yet he was not a true believer. In the last days, Satan will use "lying wonders" to deceive people (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12).

We are to hear God's words and do them (James 1:22-25). We must not stop with only hearing (or studying) His words. Our hearing must result in doing. This is what it means to build on the rock foundation. We should not confuse this symbol with the "rock" in (1 Corinthians 3:9). Paul founded the local church in Corinth on Jesus Christ when he preached the Gospel and won people to Christ. This is the only foundation for a local church.

The foundation in this parable is obedience to God's Word; obedience that is an evidence of true faith (James 2:14). The two men in this story had much in common. Both had desires to build a house. Both built houses that looked good and sturdy. But when the judgment came (the storm), one of the houses collapsed. What was the difference? Not the mere external looks. The difference was in the foundation: The successful builder "dug deep" (Luke 6:48) and set his house on a solid foundation.

 

A false profession will last until judgment comes. Sometimes this judgment is in the form of the trials of life. Like the person who received the seed of God's Word into a shallow heart (Matthew 13:4-9), the commitment fails when the testing comes. Many people have professed faith in Christ, only to deny their faith when life becomes spiritually costly and difficult. But the judgment illustrated here probably refers to the final judgment before God. We must not read into this parable all the doctrine that we are taught in the Epistles; for the Lord was illustrating one main point: profession will ultimately be tested before God.

Those who have trusted Christ, and have proven their faith by their obedience will have nothing to fear. Their house is founded on the Rock, and it will stand. But those who have professed to trust Christ, yet who have not obeyed God's will, will be condemned. How shall we test our profession of faith? By popularity? No, for there are many on the broad road to destruction. And there are many who are depending on words, saying "Lord, Lord"—but this is no assurance of salvation. Even religious activities in a church organization are no assurance. How then shall we judge ourselves and others who profess Christ as Saviour?

The two ways tell us to examine the cost of our profession. Have we paid a price to profess faith in Christ? The two trees tell us to investigate whether our lives have really changed. Are there godly fruits from our lives? And the two houses remind us that true faith in Christ will last, not only in the storms of life, but also in the final judgment.

Jesus presents a vivid picture of two types of people in Matthew 7:24-27: the wise man and the foolish man. Read the passage and answer the following questions noting the comparison between the two.

1) What foundation did he build his house on? 
2) What do you think each foundation represents? 
3) What forces was his house exposed to? 
4) What happened to his house? 
5) Did this person hear God's Word? 
6) How did he respond to God's Word? 

What do you sense God saying to you through this story based on how you are building your life?

Here's a challenge. If you read the Bible for only fifteen to twenty minutes a day (about what we spend reading the newspaper, checking e-mail, and other social media), you can finish the New Testament in about three months.

Here's a bigger challenge. Why not set yourself a goal to read through the whole Bible every year for the next three years. Only fifteen minutes a day will get you there!