Empty Hearts

Now the Jews had developed a system of works, righteousness, a humanly devised system of self-stimulated fleshly effort that fell far short. Jesus is busy in the Sermon on the Mount tearing down their paper palace piece by piece. Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. You hear the gospel and pray the sinner's prayer, you faithfully serve your church, and you tell others about Christ, yet one day you stand before the God you claim to know and find out to your horror that He doesn't know you.

How could that possibly happen? John MacArthur answers that today on Grace to You. He's walking you through a self-examination that will help you know whether you're truly saved or self-deceived.

So stay here and take John's salvation survey. Here in Southern California, we are constantly made aware of the need for a good foundation on a house. Seems as though annually we either have earthquakes or floods. Earthquakes have a way of cracking foundations and floods have a way of washing them away altogether. And living in California can be an experience depending upon where you may live in times like that. Whenever we go about to build something, it's very necessary that we build it with an eye toward the possibility of a flood or the possibility of an earthquake.

Careful soil tests are done, examination of the ground, compacting the soil in order to make sure that the foundation is going to stand. So we're very used to that. And it was frankly a little different in Palestine. In fact, Palestine has almost an identical climate to Southern California. It's dry and arid for the most part. And when it rains, the land really can only absorb so much. And when the rain comes in a flood, it turns into just that, a flood. Houses are washed away in the same manner that we've seen it here.

And so in a building plan or program in the land of Palestine, you'd need to have the same kind of planning and the same kind of preparation that you have here. What may look like a wonderful place to build a house, firm footing in the summer, in the winter becomes a raging torrent that wipes away whatever edifice has been placed there. Now Jesus has this in mind in verses 24 to 27. He pictures two men that build a house, probably in the dry bed of a stream, somewhere in a valley. One man thinks little about what might come, and he works feverishly on the house but has absolutely no thought for the foundation. He is called a foolish man in verse 26.

The other man, also building a house, seeks to be sure that the foundation is built upon solid rock. He is called a wise man in verse 24. And so you have a simple story.

Two men build houses. One is wise and one is foolish. And what seems as a very simple story is in fact a startling, shocking, powerful commentary on people who have a head knowledge but an empty heart. You'll notice that he says in verse 24, whosoever hears and in verse 26 everyone that hears. These are the people who hear. They hear the message. They listen. They understand it. The wise ones do something about it.

The fools do not. James Denny has said, quote, it is the consciousness that the speaker is nothing less than the final judge of all which makes the parable of the builders on rock and sand the most solemn and overpowering, end quote. Jesus is closing the sermon with an invitation. And the invitation is in verses 13 and 14. And the invitation says, in effect, enter into the narrow gate, onto the narrow way that leads to life.

But it won't be easy to do that for two ultimate reasons. One is false prophets and two is false profession. You will be deceived by others and you will be deceived by yourself. And we all live under some illusions. And in fact, most of us cultivate those illusions.

It's part and parcel of human nature to cover up its faults and defects. And so the Lord is saying you must enter the narrow gate. But it won't be easy because in verses 15 to 20 there'll be false prophets trying to keep you from doing that and sending you on the broad way.

And it also won't be easy because you will tend to be self-deceived. First of all, he says there are those who say but don't do in verses 21 to 23. They simply have a verbal profession. They have just a verbal profession. They say they belong in the kingdom. They say they know Christ, but they don't do what Christ said. And the dichotomy indicates that they're not legitimate. They say they don't do. And then in verses 24 to 27 there are those who hear but don't do. They have a head knowledge without a heart knowledge. The first group has empty words.

The second group has empty hearts. Now in verses 24 to 27 the Lord again reminds us that the standard of righteousness is required for entering the kingdom of God. And unless your life is built on that standard, no matter what it looks like and no matter what you know in your head and no matter how feverishly you conduct your spiritual activity, when the flood comes you're going to get washed away.

If all you have is a head knowledge. Now the Jews had developed a system of works, righteousness, a humanly devised system of self-stimulated fleshly effort that fell far short. And God came along and offered them a true righteousness. But before they could receive the true righteousness they had to note the bankruptcy of their own system.

And that's why they had to come with a beatitude mentality. Jesus is busy in the Sermon on the Mount tearing down their paper palace piece by piece. Until by the time he gets to chapter 7 he has utterly destroyed their whole religious security. Verse 24 begins, whosoever hears these sayings of mine. Verse 26 begins, and everyone that hears these sayings of mine. In either case you have people who are hearing the message of Christ. They are listening to the word of God. And you'll note also at the end of verse 24 it says this one built his house.

And at the end of verse 26 this one also built his house. They listen and they are involved in certain spiritual activity. They both belong to the visible body of believers. They both perhaps read scripture. They both perhaps attend meetings at the church. They both are busy framing some kind of spiritual value system.

Building up some edifice of spiritual activity. But there's a tremendous difference. One is wise and one is a fool because one builds on rock and the other builds on sand. And by the way, if I might add this, the foundation is invisible.

Once the edifice is up you can't see the foundation anymore. And so it really becomes difficult to tell. Now there are several similarities here and I want you to note them. First of all, both individuals build a house. They're both involved in spiritual activity. They're both involved in something that has to do with the kingdom of God. Secondly, it's apparent that they both build their house in the same location because the same storm hits both houses. They build a house and they build it in the same area or the same location because they're both subject to the same storm. True believers and false believers invariably live side by side.

They're on the same block. They attend the same church. They go to the same Bible studies and they are so similar in the building they build that they are indistinguishable to most people. I might also add as a third thought that they apparently build it in the same way because the Lord says the only difference is the foundation. He doesn't imply that the house itself is any different.

Both people build a house. They build in the same place and they build it in the same way. In other words, they carry a Bible and a notebook and they go through certain prayers and they do certain activities and maybe they give some money to the Lord and really it all looks very much the same until you come to the real crux of the matter and that's the foundation which, as I said, is very often not visible once the edifice is up. And only an honest and careful soul-searching self-examination can reveal the truth. You see, Jesus is trying to get the Pharisees to come off of their proud high tower and look at their own lives and see how really bankrupt they are.

Because that's the only place you can tell the tale. One builds on rock at the end of verse 24. Petra. That means in the Greek a rock bed. There's a word petras which means a stone or a boulder. This is petra.

It is a rock bed. And the other builds on sand. Verse 26. The word is very simple in the Greek, ammon, A-M-M-O-N, to transliterate. You know what it means? It simply means sand, like seashore sand. Now, a man is wise to build on rock bed. A man is a fool to build on the shifting sands of the sea or the desert. And by the way, there are some land agents selling lots on the sand.

And they're in verses 15 to 20. The false prophets set up a real estate office and sell sand lots. A man is a fool to build on sand. Because when the storm comes, it will undermine the sand, verse 27, and the house will fall and it will not just topple, the thing will really fall. But when it is built on rock and the foundation is solid, the storm can come and it isn't going to fall.

A solid foundation. And again we see a powerful rebuke of the religion of the Pharisees. They had no regard for spirituality of soul. They had no regard for purity of heart.

They had no regard for integrity of behavior. They had no regard for obedience to God. And they were building their big spiritual structure on sand. They prayed, sure. And they fasted, of course. And they gave their alms for sure.

But only as a public show to parade their supposed spirituality and try to enhance their reputations. They had a religion of externals and that is sand. False foundations. They didn't come through the narrow way.

You want to know something? The broad way that leads to destruction is all sand. All sand. But others build on the rock at the end of verse 24. What is the rock?

When you say you build your life on the rock, what are you saying? Well, we could make a case for the fact that the rock is God. That the rock is God. You are literally building your life on God.

And that, of course, is true. In Psalm 18 verse 2, the Lord is my rock. We could say the rock is God. But so would the Pharisees.

They'd say that. Or we could say the rock is Christ. Christ says Peter is the chief cornerstone. Paul says he is the rock. But there are plenty of people who say they built their life on Christ. It's got to be more than that. And frankly, most commentators take it to be God or Christ.

But I want to take it a step further. As I mulled over this passage, I think it's clearer what the rock is. Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine builds his house upon a rock.

No. Whosoever hears these sayings of mine and what does them builds his house upon a rock. What is the rock?

It is obedience to the Word of God. That's the rock. Yes, God is a rock. Yes, Christ is the chief cornerstone. But I believe that what our Lord is saying here is simply this. These sayings of mine become the rock bed foundation of the church. The true church. The redeemed church. Let me illustrate it by having you turn further in the book of Matthew to the 16th chapter.

A very familiar text, but one that I think aptly illustrates our thought. In Matthew 16 verse 13, Jesus came into the borders of Caesarea Philippi, which is way to the north part of the land of Israel. He asked his disciples saying, Who do men say that I the Son of Man am? Who do they say I am? They said, Some say you're John the Baptist. Some Elijah and others Jeremiah, one of the prophets. He says unto them, But who say ye that I am?

Now listen. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now that is not a human word. Jesus said, Flesh and blood did not reveal that unto you, verse 17, but my Father who is in heaven. That is a divine revelation. And I say unto you, You are petrus. You are a pebble, Peter.

You are a boulder. But upon this petra, rock bed foundation, I will build my church. And what was the petra?

The rock bed foundation. It was the Word of God. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Upon that affirmation of truth I'll build my church. The petra of Matthew 16 was the Word of God. And I am convinced that the petra of Matthew 7 is also the Word of God. In Acts chapter 20, it says, Paul says, I commend you, listen to this, to the Word of his grace, which is able to build you up. It is the Word of God that is our foundation, and it is the Word of God that provides the material for the building as well. So what is our Lord saying? Now listen. He is saying the person who lives a life where he only hears and never does has sand.

And what does the sand represent? Human will, human opinion, human attitudes, the shifting sands of human philosophy. Even though you listen, you don't do it, you're not on the rock. On the other hand, the wise man who hears the Word of God and builds his life on God's Word has a rock foundation. And that means a life of obedience. In John chapter 8, a text that I refer to so many times because it is such a very significant one, then it says in verse 30, as he spoke these words, listen now, many believed on him.

Now that's, that's a good thing. Many believed on him. They heard, they listened, they took it in, they accepted it. But Jesus said to them, if you continue in my Word, then are you my real disciple. It isn't just the hearing and the believing, it is the continuing in obedience to the Word of God.

That's the rock. So listen, don't be deluded people. I don't care what you verbally claim and Jesus doesn't either.

If you don't do it, you're deceiving yourself. And I care not what you may listen to and hear and take in unless you build your life on biblical truth, you are deceiving yourself. In James chapter 1, we read this, verse 22, but be doers of the Word. Now listen, be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

Now listen, why? Deceiving your own selves. That's what our Lord is saying in the Sermon on the Mount. If you hear it and don't do it, you're self-deceived. If any be a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he's like a man beholding his natural face in a mirror.

He looks at himself in a mirror, goes his way and immediately forgets the manner of man that he was. In other words, if you're not doing it, it's not having any effect on your life or your destiny. In 1 John chapter 2 verse 3, and by this we do know that we know him if we keep his what? Commandments. Now I'm not saying this, beloved. The Lord is saying this. The apostles are saying this. Don't be deceived. Titus 1 16, they profess that they know God, but in works they deny him. Now listen to this.

How? Being abominable and disobedient. If you go around claiming to be a Christian, you say, I profess it verbally. I, listen, I have a head knowledge, but there's no obedience. There's no legitimate salvation. So building on the rock, beloved, is obeying. Look at your life.

Examine it. Is it a life that longs beyond any other desire to obey the Word of God? Or is it disobeying and always and ever and constantly justifying that disobedience? So obedience is the key word here, and I'll add this thought. The only validation you will ever have of your salvation is a life of obedience. It is the only possible proof that you really recognize the lordship of Jesus Christ.

I'm going to say that again because that's the heart of the message. Obedience is the only validation of your salvation. It is the only possible proof that you recognize the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Because if there's no obedience, then your confessing Jesus is Lord is just so much verbal exercise. So Jesus is presenting the kind of life built on a rock. And what kind of life is it? It's the kind of life described in the whole sermon. It's the kind of life that has a biblical view toward self, the beatitudes. It's the kind of life that has a biblical attitude toward the world.

It sees itself as something to preserve the world and light the world, not be a part of it. It is the attitude of the Bible toward the world of God. Not changing it, not altering it, but accepting every jot and tittle of it. Jesus is presenting the kind of life built on the rock that has a biblical attitude toward morality. Not trying to get away with everything you can, not external but internal. A biblical attitude toward words, what you say, toward deeds, what you do, toward motives, the reason you do what you do.

A biblical attitude toward money, toward things, a biblical attitude toward people, everything he's touched in the Sermon on the Mount. And he's saying if your life is committed to obedience to these things, you're on the rock. So when I hear somebody come along and say, oh, yes, you know, I'm born again, but I just go on living the way I'm living. I question that.

I saw an article in a magazine recently. What are pastors going to do with the new wave among Christians of people who aren't married living together? I question whether that can happen among Christians. I think maybe we better reevaluate not the standard for marriage, but who's really a Christian. If this isn't the direction of your life, these truths in the Sermon on the Mount, then you may be well self-deceived.

It's not as simple as I've been saying all along, just making a decision, signing a card, raising your hand. Salvation is a recognition of a divine standard, a subsequent overwhelming sense of sinfulness, a pleading for God's mercy to receive his righteousness because you desire to fulfill his word. People don't say, well, I'm coming to Christ and I want to be saved, but I don't want to get into all that obedience stuff. You're not a Christian.

It grieves my heart. People say to me, well, you know, so-and-so, I know they were saved because of such-and-such, but they never come to church and they're not interested and they're upset with the church. The fact of the matter is they probably don't know Christ, and they're self-deceived. This is the only possible proof that you recognize the lordship of Jesus Christ.

That's a crucial point from John MacArthur's message today. It's part of the study he calls Salvation Survey, here on Grace to You. Now, John, I think maybe the most sobering thing in Matthew 7 is that word, many. Many will say to me, and Jesus says to them, I never knew you. It's obvious that millions of people build their spiritual lives on unstable foundations, and the truth is most of us know people who we wonder if they're genuinely believers or not. They may profess to be Christians.

They may never have entertained a doubt. Sometimes close loved ones. How do you recommend dealing with someone like that? Well, and it's an important question because I've dealt with people like that my entire life in ministry. It's pretty common that somebody will come to me and say, I'm not sure if I'm saved. That's usually a good indication that they likely are saved, and they're fearful about the fact that it might not be the real thing. I can't say for certain that someone is saved or not saved. I can say this, if your faith in Christ is real, you're saved. If you reject Christ, you're not saved.

I can say that. But how do I know when their faith is real? The evidence of it is not their faith or what they say is their faith. The evidence is their life.

So I've said this. You can see a true believer by a few very clear signs. Number one, love. Love for the Lord.

By that, I don't mean some sentimental kind of thing. I mean that they really do love the Lord with a thankful, grateful heart, and they love him enough to want to demonstrate that love to him. They love his word. They don't necessarily know everything in the word, but they love the word. Their hearts are drawn to the word. There's a mechanism in them, a spiritual mechanism that wants to feed on the word. They love other believers, so they want to be a part of the church, and it's not a duty.

It's not an obligation. It's family, and their hearts are there. So love for the Lord, love for the church, love for the truth. That's a critical aspect of it. The second thing that I see in a true believer is humility.

There's a brokenness. It can be varying in its degrees in people's lives, but there's a humility. There's a submissiveness to the Lord, and even to one another. Pride is usually a dead giveaway that somebody's heart has not really been transformed. The third thing I would say is holiness. By that I don't mean perfection, but I do mean a desire to be godly, a desire to be obedient. So I think where you see love and you see humility and you see virtue and the desire to be obedient, you see the evidences of the new life. It's the fruit you're looking for in a person's life.

Right. Thank you, John. That's a great reminder. And friend, if you're struggling with assurance of your salvation, I encourage you to request John's booklet titled, Is It Real? It can help you know for certain where you stand with God. We'll send you a free copy if you just ask for it.

Contact us today. To request your free booklet, call 855-GRACE or go to our website, GTY.org. Is It Real? gives you 11 biblical tests that can help you know if you're truly saved. It also helps you answer questions like, Do I reject the world? Do I love other Christians?

Do I eagerly await the return of Christ? Again, we'll send you Is It Real? for free. All you have to do is call 800-55-GRACE or go to GTY.org. That's our website. And while you're there, GTY.org, make sure to take advantage of the thousands of free resources you'll find there. You can read practical articles on issues affecting your life and church on the Grace To You blog. You can also read daily devotionals from John and follow along with the reading plan from the MacArthur Daily Bible. And don't forget, John's entire sermon archive is available to download free of charge at GTY.org. Now for John MacArthur, I'm Phil Johnson reminding you to watch Grace To You television this Sunday. Check your local listings for channel and times. Also, be here tomorrow for another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth, one verse at a time, on Grace To You.