Conclusion of the sermon.
I. THE NECESSITY OF OBEDIENCE.
1. Not all disciples will be saved. They all say, "Lord, Lord;" they all call themselves by the holy name of Christians; but not all can enter into the kingdom of glory at the last. For our Father which is in heaven is the King of heaven; and none can enter into his kingdom but those who do his will. They all pray, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." It is mere hypocrisy, it is mocking God, to say that holy prayer and not to try to do the will of God ourselves. It is done in heaven. There is room for no other will there; all wills in heaven are one with the blessed will of God. We must learn to do our Father's will in earth, that our will may by his grace be more and more conformed to his most holy will; so may we one day enter into that blessed place where all do his will lovingly and perfectly.
2. Not all teachers. In the great day men will call Jesus Lord. Could he say that, were he not what we know he was, the Lord God Almighty? He accepts the title, for it is his by right; he himself called no man lord. They will call him Lord then, some of them in terror and fearful anticipations; alas! he says there will be many such. They will plead, in deprecation of the dreadful judgment, their works done outwardly for him, and, as it seemed, by his help. "Did we not prophesy by thy Name?" But the gift of prophecy is nothing worth without the grace of love; there have been great preachers gifted with the mighty power of spiritual eloquence who yet knew not the Lord themselves, whose own hearts were cold while they kindled the love of others. "Did we not by thy Name cast out devils?" But so did Judas, who was the son of perdition, into whom the devil entered. "Did we not by thy Name do many mighty works?" But Holy Scripture tells us that though we had all faith, so that we could remove mountains, yet we should be nothing if charity were wanting. It seemed a great thing to have the gift of prophecy and the power of working miracles, but these great gifts will not save the soul; there is need of something deeper—the hidden life of holiness which the Father only sooth, the submission of the human will in love and faith to the holy will of God.
3. "The Lord knoweth them that are his." "I know mine own," he saith, "and mine own know me." "I never knew you," he will say to the false prophets; to many, alas! who once seemed to be doing great things for him, but yet in their hearts loved him not. "Depart from me." For they were really working iniquity when in the eyes of men they were working for Christ; their life was a lie, untrue, unreal; it was a piece of acting, nothing more. And now the mask is torn away, and the miserable truth is seen. He never knew them as he knoweth his sheep, his chosen. Oh that he may know us as the Father knoweth him (John 10:14, John 10:15), with the knowledge of holy, heavenly love; and that we by his grace may learn to know the good Shepherd with that blessed knowledge which is life eternal (John 17:3)!
II. PARABLE OF HEARING AND DOING.
1. The obedient hearer. He receives the Word with joy; he recognizes it as the Word of God. But he is not content with hearing. Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God ought to be listened to with solemn reverence. But there needs something more than solemn reverence, something more than intent listening. The Lord could look into the hearts and thoughts of the vast multitude gathered round the Mount of the Beatitudes. They were astonished at his doctrine; they had listened with interest, with admiration, and with wonder. They would go away. Sometimes they would remember the great Teacher; they would call to mind that look of Divine majesty, those holy eyes beaming with tender love, those tones of touching persuasion and more than human authority; they would tell their friends of the great audience, of the hushed silence, of the strange originality of the Lord's teaching, so utterly different from that of the scribes. But would their lives be changed? Would they live as many, most of them perhaps, had half intended to live while the sound of the holy words was yet falling on their ears? Alas! no. How many would very soon forget all that they had heard! They would relapse into their old ways; some of them would join the scribes and Pharisees in persecuting the great Master. The Lord knew it would be so; he forewarns them of the danger. The Word of God must be obeyed; obedience is greatly blessed. The obedient hearer is like a wise man, who built his house upon a rock. His religion is the house in which his soul is sheltered—the house which is to be his refuge in the storms of adversity, in the hour of death and in the day of judgment. The religion of the obedient hearer is real, deep, and true; it rests upon a rock. That Rock is Christ, the tried Stone, the sure Foundation. The faithful disciple had dug deep, below the surface of words and mere profession, and had reached the Rock; his house rested upon it, it was built into it, and in that union with the living Rock it was safe. Temptation might come, and suffering and persecution; sickness might come, pain of body and anguish of soul; it would come sooner or later; but the house that had foundations, the house that rested on the Rock, could not be shaken; it would stand even when the floods of the river of death were beating against it; for the faithful followers of the Saviour "die in the Lord," in vital union with him who is the Rock of ages.
2. The careless hearer. He heareth, but doeth not. Perhaps he hears with pleasure, with interest; but this is a very unworthy result, if this is all. The Word of God is very sacred and august; it brings a solemn responsibility upon the hearers; it ought to produce conviction, obedience. He that doeth not shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. It was without foundations; it rested not upon the Rock. That house is the mere profession of religion—outward worship, outward forms, outward conformity; there is no change of life, no reality, no obedience, no serf-denial; there are words only, and not deeds. And that house cannot stand. For a time it may seem fair and stately. It has a look, perhaps, of strength and solidity. But it has no foundations; it cannot give shelter to the trembling soul in sorrow and distress, in sickness and the fear of death. "It fell, and great was the fall of it."
III. THE FEELINGS OF THE AUDIENCE. The great sermon was over, but the spell of the Preacher's voice and manner vet held the people in astonishment. They compared him with the scribes; they were accustomed always to adduce the authority of others—Moses, or the prophets, or some famous rabbi. The Lord spake with authority: "I say unto you." He represented himself as the Judge who was to distinguish between the real and the unreal, who would say to the hypocrites," Depart from me.' Only the Son of God could use these words, only One who knew in the depth of his consciousness that he himself was God over all. He spoke with authority then on the Mount of the Beatitudes. He speaks with authority now from heaven. Blessed are the true children of the kingdom. Great must be the fall of the hypocrite and the disobedient.
LESSONS.
1. Words will not save us; only holy obedience, the obedience of the heart: "Thy will be done."
2. It will not help us to hear the greatest preachers unless we try to live as we are taught.
3. Build upon the Rock; think of the end; the sand will not bear the house; the Rock is the Rock of ages.
HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY