“Your Good Father” by David Groendyk
Every good sermon needs a strong conclusion. The preacher needs to drive home his point and impress upon his audience a lasting thought. Jesus’s sermon on the mount in Matthew 5–7 is no exception. This sermon is perhaps the most famous sermon in all of Christianity, and Jesus concludes it with the most important exhortation and most important warning he could.
It would be tempting, after listening to or reading chapters 5 and 6, to say, “Who is capable of these things?!” Who is capable of having zero anxiety at a time like this (6:25–34)? How do expect me to fast and pray with all I have going on (6:5–18)? I can’t love my enemies—you wouldn’t believe what they do to me (5:38–48)! How can I possibly never lust or be angry in my heart (5:21–30)? I can’t possibly keep the whole Bible (5:19–20)! Jesus’s solution is simple:
Ask. Ask, seek, knock. Don’t you remember how good your Father is? Even evil sinners are willing to give their kids food to eat. And how much better is your perfect Father? He’s the most gracious and loving Father in the whole universe, and of course he’ll give us everything we need in this life. Every time we are tempted to sin, Satan is essentially trying to get us to believe this one lie, and it’s been the same lie since the Garden of Eden: is God really good? If we fall for that lie, Satan’s won. When we stop believing in God’s goodness, we’ll chase after anything and everything for satisfaction and fulfillment and help besides God. Then, there’s no way we’ll ever live up to Jesus’s standards in Matthew 5–7, because all those other things we go to for satisfaction and fulfillment and help aren’t God! They have no power! But God’s power is readily available to you, because he is good enough to give it to you. He’s waiting to give you your bread, your fish, your gift, whatever it might be. Do you need peace? He gives it. Do you need to learn generosity? He helps you. Do you need to fight sin? He equips you. Do you need a new yacht? Probably not. He gives you everything you need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
Why is this so important? Because of the grave warnings in verses 13–23. If we do not bear fruit and keep God’s commands, he will not recognize us at the final judgment. It sounds counter-intuitive and even heretical to say that, especially when we emphasize so often that we do nothing to earn salvation. That’s true—we don’t earn salvation or help earn salvation in any way. Salvation is totally a gift of God, and it’s only by trusting in Jesus Christ that we are saved. However, as someone once put it, “Faith alone saves, but saving faith is never alone.” If Christ really has saved us, and if Christ really has given us a new heart and new spirit, then we will surely see good works in our lives, just as surely as we expect to see apples grow on a healthy apple tree. You’ve been given new life. You can’t help but act differently. Lean into it. Strive toward it. Fight for it. Merely professing faith in Christ doesn’t prove anything. Even preaching powerful sermons or performing miracles doesn’t prove anything. Obedience to God does. Forgiving others as you have been forgiven does (Matthew 18:21–35). Clothing and feeding your brothers and sisters who are in need does (James 2:15–16).
When we trust in Christ alone for salvation, we have a sure and steady foundation in our lives, both for this life and that which is to come. Christ is our rock. Especially in times like these, how counter-cultural it is to be confident and have hope. Having trusted in Christ for your eternal security, go forth, trusting in him also to give you the grace to do all that he asks you to do in this life.