True Repentance Results in Action

Matthew 7:21-29

I Never Knew You

21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

Build on the Rock

24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

True repentance always results in action to live out the changed life given by faith (Ephesians 8-9) to do the things prepared by God (Ephesians 2:10) to work out in us by His Spirit according to His word.  Those who simply use the name of Christ vainly in repetition (Hosea 8:2-3) only are not regenerated and are therefore completely unable to stop living continually (1 John 3:6, 9) in sinful motives of the heart as seen in the works of their hands.  We read in 2 Timothy 2:19 that the Lord knows His own and these are to stop the sin of their hearts and hands accordingly as both a command and result of regeneration by God in us.  Those misled or ignorant of truly knowing Jesus Christ as Lord (both God and man) are incapable of speaking the confession that He is truly Lord for them to salvation (Romans 10:9-10) as they hear His word (Romans 10:17), believe it to be true, and are convicted to turn from their sin to trust fully in Him.  Those not turning in faith of God’s saving work will unfortunately hear the sad denial in return, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ What a harrowing hearing of judgment for those not hearing in this life to be granted repentance to life before death overtakes them!  

Therefore, Jesus continued by a parable of laying the only sound foundation of life on Himself as the cornerstone and entire underlying one to build eternity upon.  Wise people know He alone can save and change us from sin to conformity to Him (Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 11:1, 2 Corinthians 3:18) and take steps to build on Christ and no mere empty religious phrases that only offer a false hope without substance or promise.  Our resulting changed life must then be constructed with intentional actions upon Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10-12, 14) according to the scriptures, which is the foundation of the Rock of our salvation who alone can sustain our lives in the storm of testing wind and floods of life and of the final judgment.  Those ignoring the warning, who build on shifting sands of religion and rely on philosophies of men instead of God’s word of the gospel will find their lives crashing down upon them (Hebrews 9:27-28) when they face Him.  There is no second chance after death as some erroneously claim from Rome.  The foundation of our lives in this life determine our eternal destiny according to the word of Jesus Christ.  Those not building by faith on Him will have all come crashing down with a great fall that cannot be put together again. 

These things which Jesus taught caused every mouth to stop (Romans 3:19-20) in astonishment at the authority by which He uttered them, not realizing yet that God Himself had come among them (Immanuel) to personally warn and give hope to them.  May all who read stop to consider the foundation of their lives and build on God-given faith alone in Christ and His work alone for salvation from the just due wrath of God on their sin, remembering that true repentance (Matthew 3:8) results in the fruits of action and not the other way around.  We cannot earn salvation because we cannot do the work to earn it as only Jesus Christ could do as the perfectly sinless second Adam (Romans 5:14, 17) and divine Son of God.  May we listen to the authority of His word and build on that faith in Him.