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June 2, 2002
2nd Sunday of Pentecost
Matthew 7:21-29
Pastor Robert Raasch

CHART A COURSE BETWEEN THE TWO DANGERS!

1. The Idea that Good Behavior Will Save You
2. The Idea that Good Behavior is not Necessary

In Greek mythology, they were called Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla was that sheer rock wall against which many a Greek ship had been thrown and broken to pieces. On the other side was the Charybdis, a huge swirling whirlpool, which could suck a whole ship into a watery graves. Between those two menacing monsters, the heroes of old were forced to sail. And as the legend goes, it was only with the help of the gods that the Greek sailors were able to achieve safe passage through that double danger.

Well, I'm sure you realize that Scylla and Charybdis were only make-believe monsters. You and I are not forced to chart a course between those two dangers today. But that doesn't mean that there aren't some other dangers which we have to sail between. Here in our text, the Lord refers to two opposing dangers which each one of us faces. In this case, the dangers are not a rock wall and a whirlpool. Rather they are two ideas, two mindsets, two belief systems, which have the potential to shipwreck our lives and prevent us from achieving our goal of life forever in heaven. And surprisingly enough, both ideas are connected to the relatively simple question. And that is, "What role does a person's behavior play in his or her eternal destiny?" That question sets up two very treacherous ideas which we have to work very hard to steer clear of.
On the one side there is:

I. The Idea that Good Behavior is Necessary for us to be Saved

On the other side is:

II. The Idea that Good Behavior is not Necessary at All

Just like the Greek sailors, we too, need to chart a course between those two dangers. And just like those heroes of old, we won't make it through that Scylla and Charybdis without the help of God. Only in our case, we won't be looking for the help of make-believe gods of Greek mythology. We'll be looking to the inspired words of the true and living God. So let's do that. Let's look to God's Word this morning to help us:

CHART A COURSE BETWEEN THE TWO DANGERS!

1. The Idea that Good Behavior Will Save You
2. The Idea that Good Behavior is not Necessary

First, the idea that good behavior will save us. I refer to this idea as the Charybdis because it is just like a big whirlpool that just sucks people in day after day, year after year. I mean, how often haven't you heard people say something to the effect of, "My standing with God is dependent upon how I live my life. If I try my best to be honest, kind and considerate of other people, if believe in God, and try to live a good life, if I'm not some kind of ax-murderer, well, certainly God will have to be pleased with me. I'm sure that God will accept me the way I am. I mean, that's only fair, isn't' it? It's only natural that God would judge me on the basis of the good life I lived, right?"

Well, you might say that that kind of thinking is half right. Yes, God will judge us on the basis of the life we live. The only question is, "What standard will God use to judge us? In other words, how good do we have to be before God says, "Well done. I accept you. C'mon into heaven"? Does God demand that we be pretty good? Better than most? Above average? No, Jesus sets down the standard, when he says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." In other words, if anyone wants to earn God's favor by achieving a certain level of goodness in their life, then they will need to recognize that the level they must reach is perfection. Anything less than that level is really of no credit to you at all.

Do you know what that reminds me of? It reminds me of one of those games at the county fair. You know, where you swing the hammer and try to make the bell ring at the top of the pole. Well, if you have to actually ring the bell in order to win the prize, then if you think about it, all your good attempts that still fall short of the top are really good for nothing, aren't they? I mean, even if you can hit that thing higher than anyone else around you; even if everyone else is saying, "Wow, look at how high you hit it. Still if you don't hit it all the way to the top, if you don't ring the bell, then the man running the game is not going to give you a prize. In spite of all your sincere efforts, you still lose, you fail to achieve the prize you had hoped for.

My friends, isn't that exactly where you and I and all mankind stand when it comes to winning the eternal prize of heaven by our own efforts? No matter how hard we swing, no matter how hard we try to keep the ten commandments we just can't do it. Oh, we might be able to keep 5 commandments each day or maybe even eight, but we can still never keep them all. We can't achieve the level of perfection that God demands. St. Paul was right when he said, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

And yet, I have to admit that it's awfully easy to lose sight of the fact. How easy it is for us to start to think that because we are law-abiding, God fearing men and women, therefore God owes us good things in this life and the next. How easy for us to believe that because we pray or go to church or teach Sunday School or help in a food panty, or stand in a pulpit, therefore, we've earned God's favor. My friends, here in our text, Jesus has some very pointed words for those who think that way. He says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does 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!'"

Hmmm. Sounds kind of harsh, doesn't it? Why would Jesus call those people evildoers? I mean, they were calling on his name, they were preaching in his name, even doing miracles in his name-why does Jesus reject them? The answer: Jesus rejects them because they were putting their trust in what they were doing for God, rather than what God had done for them.

Isn't that what makes the Christian faith different than all the other religions in the world? Biblical Christianity is not about what you and I do for God. It's what God has done for us. Our good standing with God is not based on our righteousness. It's based on Jesus' righteousness, a righteousness which God gives to all mankind as a free gift. A righteousness which is revealed to us right here in his Word. How does St. Paul put it in Romans 3? "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." A righteousness from God through faith in Jesus Christ. That's the only way anybody stands right in God's eyes.

Or to put it another way, go back to that carnival game for a minute. There we are swinging away, trying to achieve perfection and hopelessly falling short. So what does God decide to do? He decides to send in substitute. He lets Jesus, in effect, swing the hammer, and by his sinless life, Jesus rings the bell. He wins the prize. And now, God in pure grace, says, "The prize is yours. Forgiveness for all your sins, life as a child of God, and eternal salvation in heaven. All yours not because of your efforts, but purely because of Christ's perfect effort, his accomplished work on your behalf."

My friends, I pray that by God's grace, you recognize that precious truth. I pray that you hang on to it for all you're worth, the fact that you are saved by God's grace through faith and not by your good works. And yet, I also pray that your knowledge of that fact doesn't lead you to start drifting toward the other danger that you and I face, namely the idea that because our good behavior won't save us, therefore II. Good Behavior is not Necessary at all. If the first idea was the whirlpool of Charybdis, this second idea is the rock wall of Scylla. And I'll guarantee you, there have been many people who have shipwrecked the lives of on this one. I mean, how easy it is for any one of us to start to think, "As long as I'm forgiven, I'm free to do whatever I want. As long as I believe right, it doesn't matter whether I live right. As long as I listen to God's Word, I'm not expected to fully obey it.

Friends, I hope you see that such thinking is really a misuse of God's grace. Just because Jesus Christ has met God's standards for us, doesn't mean that God's standards no longer apply to us. God's commandments are still in effect on us. God still demands of us, "Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not hurt nor harm your neighbor in word or action." These standards have not changed.

What has changed is our motivation for obeying those commands. Rather than striving to keep God's law in a vain attempt to win God's favor, we are now equipped and motivated to keep God's law because we are right with God in Christ. Our godly behavior is simply our way of saying thank you to God for what he's done for us in Christ.

And yet, because each one of us still has a sinful nature, we still need God's reminder, God's encouragement, yes, even God's warning to continue to put our faith into action. We need to be reminded to not only listen to God's Word, but take it to heart and apply it to our lives. In fact, here in our text, Jesus issues a stern warning against those of us who are tempted to let God's directives go in one ear and out the other. Jesus declares, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Maybe some of you have seen examples of this sort of thing in real life. I remember watching a news clip of a hotel that was perched on the side of the hill and it rained so hard that finally the whole building kind of just slid right over the edge. Or as Jesus would say, "It fell with a great crash."

Well, Jesus says that's what could happen to you and me, if we become content to hear God's Word, but not act on it, or if we're willing to be Sunday Christians, but not Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday Christians, or if we're willing to follow Jesus-as long as we don't have to give up anything in our lives.

Make no mistake about it, people who are content to simply pay lip service to God are in for a real disaster when they are really put to the test. And whether that test is some kind of trial or tribulation in this life or whether it's the ultimate trial before God on Judgment Day, the end result will be the same. When a person builds his life on mere lip service to God, when a person is content to hear the Word, but not take it to heart, when a person refuses to produce the fruits of faith, the end result is spiritual and eternal disaster. Boy, you look at the whirlpool of self-righteousness on one side and the rocks of hypocrisy on the other, maybe you're starting to wonder how you and I will ever make it to the other side. Well, the key is to neither trust in our behavior, nor neglect our behavior. The key is to neither focus on the dangers on each side nor ignore them. No, the key is to keep our focus on Jesus. How does the writer to the Hebrews put it? He says, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith."

Fix your eyes on Jesus. What does that mean? That means concentrating on what he has done for you. He has taken your sins and guilt away. He's made you right in the eyes of God. He's made you holy. He's has given you the fruit of the Spirit, that is, Christian characteristics like love, joy , peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. As you think about what Jesus has done for you, then ask yourself, "What would Jesus have me do for him? What sin should I confess to him? What service can I render to him? What feeling of bitterness can I let go of? What word of truth can I share?

Christian, as we chart the course for our lives, as we think about how we will think and speak and act this week, let's remember the key: Keep your eyes focused on Jesus and what he's done for you. For then you can be sure that you will not sail off course on either side. But rather, by God's grace, you will be granted a safe passage to to the peaceful harbor in heaven above. In Jesus name. Amen.