_Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell, and great was the fall of it._
1. OUR divine teacher having declared the whole counsel of God, with regard to the way of salvation, and observed the chief hindrances of those who desire to walk therein: now closes the whole with these weighty words; thereby as it were setting his seal to his prophecy, and impressing his whole authority on what he had delivered, that it might stand firm to all generations.
2. For thus saith the Lord, that none may ever conceive, there is any other way than this, _Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord; have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me ye that work iniquity. Therefore every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell, and great was the fall of it._
3. I design in the following discourse, first, to consider the case of him, who thus builds his house upon the sand: secondly, To shew the wisdom of him who builds upon a rock, and thirdly, To conclude with a practical application.
I. 1. And, first, I am to consider the case of him who builds his house upon the sand. It is concerning him our Lord saith, _Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven_. And this is a decree which cannot pass: which standeth fast for ever and ever. It therefore imports us in the highest degree, throughly to understand the force of these words. Now what are we to understand by that expression, _That saith unto me, Lord, Lord_? It undoubtedly means, “that thinks of going to heaven by any other way than that which I have now described.” It therefore implies, (to begin at the lowest point) all good words, all verbal religion. It includes whatever creeds we may rehearse, whatever professions of faith we make: whatever number of prayers we may repeat, whatever thanksgivings we read or say to God. We may speak good of his name; and declare his loving-kindness to the children of men. We may be talking of all his mighty acts, and telling of his salvation from day to day. By comparing spiritual things with spiritual, we may shew the meaning of the oracles of God. We may explain the mysteries of his kingdom, which have been hid from the beginning of the world. We may speak with the tongue of angels rather than men, concerning the deep things of God. We may proclaim to sinners, _Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world_. Yea, we may do this with such a measure of the power of God, and such demonstration of his Spirit, as to save many souls from death, and hide a multitude of sins. And yet ’tis very possible, all this may be no more than _saying, Lord, Lord!_ After I have thus successfully preached to others, still I myself may be a cast away. I may in the hand of God, snatch many souls from hell, and yet drop into it, when I have done. I may bring many others to the kingdom of heaven, and yet myself never enter there. Reader, if God hath ever blest my word to _thy_ soul, pray that he may be merciful to _me_ a sinner!