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| The Sermon on the Mount - Carl Bloch |
“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: 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. 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: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes (Matthew 7:24-29).
Jesus ends His Sermon on the Mount by comparing those who hear these sayings and does them to a wise builder who builds his house on a firm foundation of rock. To be the wise builder, we must hear and we must do. But does this not contradict St. Paul? He told us that it is by grace we have been saved, through faith, and not by works, lest any man should boast.[1] And here is Jesus telling us we must “do” his words if we want our house to be built on the firm foundation. This is not the only time Our Lord tells us to “do”. When asked by the Jews what they must do to be saved, Jesus tells them that they must do the work of God - they must believe in the one God the Father has sent.[2] They must “faith”; that is the work of God.
But we also learn from Holy Scripture that faith without works is dead. Like the body without a spirit is dead, so is a faith without works dead.[3] A true and living faith in Christ will manifest itself in good works. We can’t see faith; the works we do are evidence of it. This is how Our Lord can say, “...he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment,”[4] and also that we will, on the Last Day, be judged by what we have done. The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth - those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.[5] The Lutheran Confessions affirm this when they say that good works certainly and without doubt follow true faith.[6] The words of the Athanasian Creed testify to this scriptural truth when they say that at Christ’s coming, all men will rise again with their bodies and will give an account of their own works. And they that have done good will go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This is the catholic, that is universal, faith which, except a man believe faithfully and firmly he cannot be saved.
Faith and works fit together like this: Good works are a physical, tangible manifestation of the gift of faith. They spring forth naturally from a living faith, which is graciously given by God through the means of His Word. On the contrary, an absence of works, or evil works, testify to an absent, or a dead, faith.
Think of the sheep and the goats.[7] The sheep, when judged by what they have done, are surprised to hear that they have done anything at all. The goats protest that they neglected nothing, did nothing wrong, omitted nothing commanded. Their works, or lack thereof, testify to their faith, or lack thereof. But don’t get the order wrong. We cannot do works in order to please God. Faith produces the works, not vice versa. A faith without works is a mere intellectual acknowledgement and assent. Such faith is the faith of demons.[8] If we hear, and believe, then we will do. Our house of life will be built on the foundation of Christ’s Word, firm and secure against all the perils and torments which the devil may throw at us.
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