All good sermons bring the listener to a point of reflection and response—and the Sermon of the Mount is no different. In today’s passage, Jesus brings the Sermon on the Mount to its conclusion with a series of alternatives.
Wide vs. Narrow
Will you choose the wide, well-traveled path that leads to destruction? Or will you choose the more difficult and narrow way—the way of Jesus that leads to eternal life (John 14:6)?
Good vs. Bad
Reflect on your life—what type of fruit does your life bear most consistently? Good fruit that is evident of a heart transformed by the work of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)? Or bad fruit, worthy of being thrown into the fire?
Rock vs. Sand
Re-read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and compare your life to Jesus’ teaching. Are Jesus’ words the secure foundation your life is built on? Or have you built your life on something less stable and sure?
Scripture tells us that it is a good thing to assess our lives to make sure we are “in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). I would encourage you to consider and genuinely reflect on Jesus’ words at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. Have you genuinely repented of your sin and placed your trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation? Are you living in glad obedience to the words of Jesus as a response to what he has done for you? Let us pause here for a moment of somber reflection and repentance where necessary—let us be sure that one day we will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:23) rather than, “I never knew you; depart from me” (Matthew 7:23).
VC Devotionals 