One thing I frequently hear these days about Jesus is words to the effect of: “It’s not about a bunch of dos and don’ts. It’s about a relationship.”
I understand where this sentiment comes from. Far too often, Christianity has devolved into nothing more than an external behavior modification program. There is no doubt that relationship is primary. Our God describes Himself as love and has existed in a perfect community of 3 from all of eternity past, and Christ’s work of redemption was to reconcile God and man. The words of Proverbs 23:26 ring true: “My son, give me your heart!”
But, I think the primacy of relationship has led many into a false notion that our subjective feelings toward God are all that matter, and what we do or don’t do matters not at all. It’s an approach to God that says: “He loves me no matter what, so I can do whatever I want.”
Have you ever been in a relationship—or more specifically a good relationship—where the other person treated you however he or she felt convenient without any regard for your preferences or desires? Imagine if I told my wife Marcia, “I love you and you love me. That’s all that matters, so don’t tell me about your thoughts, feelings, and desires. I just want to be free to live my life however I please.” It would not be a great recipe for a successful marriage, and it’s not a great recipe for a great relationship with God.
Let us remember that the Proverbs passage I quoted earlier ends in this way: My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.
Jesus wants to have a relationship with us and wants to use that relationship to make us more like His perfect beautiful self, which is why His parting instruction to us, His disciples, included the last essential line: …teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Yes, it is about a relationship, but these are some of the ways that God describes our relationship with Him: Father-Child, God-Creature, Potter-Clay, Master-Servant, Shepherd-Sheep, King-Subject, Leader-Follower, and Teacher-Learner. We do well to obey Him. Because He is perfect, everything He asks us to do doesn’t just make Him happy—it is also for our good.
And, this is what it means to build our lives on Jesus the Rock.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” - Matthew 7:24-27
Jesus’s little brother, James repeated this idea:
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. - James 1:22
A relationship with Jesus means doing the things He tells us to do. As a community we saw this together in the Samuel series
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
We know about the 5 love languages: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch. It seems to God, more than receiving gifts, He feels loved when we obey Him.
Well, so what should we do? How are we supposed to obey?
The Matthew 7 passage above about building our houses on the rock is actually how Jesus ended His Sermon on the Mount, and in the Sermon, Jesus lays out very specific things we are supposed to do and not do. It is the ultimate do and don’t do list for our lives.
Dos and Don’ts from the Sermon on the Mount
do the will of the Father who is in heaven (Matt. 7:21)
don’t do a bunch of mighty work in Jesus’ name in vain (Matt. 7:22)
do bear good fruits (Matt. 7:17)
don’t bear bad fruits or no fruit (Matt. 7:18-19)
do beware of false prophets (Matt. 7:15)
do enter by the narrow and hard way that leads to life (Matt. 7:13)
don’t enter by the wide and easy way that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:14)
do ask, seek, knock for good things from God (Matt. 7:7-11)
don’t feed your kids rocks and snakes when they are hungry (Matt. 7:9-10) ;)
do be discerning (Matt. 7:6) but…
don’t judge others (Matt 7:1)
do seek first the Kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33)
don’t be anxious (Matt. 6:25-32)
don’t serve two masters (Matt. 6:24)
do serve God (Matt. 6:24)
don’t serve money (Matt. 6:24)
do look at wholesome things with your eyes (Matt. 6:22)
don’t let your eyes look at bad things (Matt. 6:23)
do lay up your treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:20)
don’t lay up your treasures on earth (Matt. 6:19)
do fast YAY!! (Matt. 6:17) but…
don’t be a hypocrite about it (Matt. 6:16)
do forgive others (Matt. 6:14)
do pray YAY!! (Matt. 6:7-13) but…
don’t be a hypocrite about it (Matt. 6:5-6)
do give to the needy (Matt. 6:2)
don’t show off and practice your righteousness before others (Matt. 6:1-3)
do love your enemies (Matt 5:43-48)
don’t retaliate (Matt 5:38-42)
do follow through with your promises (Matt 5:33-37)
don’t take oaths (Matt 5:34-36)
don’t divorce (Matt 5:31-32)
don’t lust (Matt 5:27-30)
do reconcile with one another quickly (Matt 5:23-26)
don’t be angry with or insult one another (Matt 5:21-22)
do God’s commandments and teach them (Matt 5:19)
don’t relax even the least of His commandments (Matt 5:19)
do good works and shine your light before others (Matt 5:14-16)
don’t lose your saltiness (Matt 5:13)
do rejoice and be glad!!! (Matt 5:12)
Why? … because we are the blessed of the Lord and the Kingdom of Heaven is ours! (Matt. 5:3-12).
I believe God is wanting to remind us of these truths today. Building our lives on the Rock isn’t just about every once in a while, singing songs about building our life on Jesus. It is laying bricks of obedience, day-by-day and piece-by-piece, on the foundation of His words.
Let’s build on our solid Rock, our Firm Foundation in 2021!