December 21

Doing that counts

“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” (Matt. 7:24).
“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” (Matt. 7:21).

Do is still the keynote of the chapter. He that doeth righteousness is righteous. He that doeth the will of the heavenly Father, he and he only shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven. By this we are to know false prophets, testing their doctrine by their deeds. Holiness is not in saying, “Lord, Lord!” Pious phrases, pious tones, pious looks, pious professions, count for nothing, unless there is the doing of the Father’s will. He that heareth and doeth not, builds his house upon the sand; he that heareth and doeth, builds his house upon a rock.


Then our Lord closes the sermon with the parable of the two builders: he that heareth and doeth; and he that heareth and doeth not. The figure continues the line of thought which immediately precedes the parable. Each house was a doing—a labor. Probably, building on the sand is the greater labor of the two. But the wise man’s labor was to get on to the Rock. As soon as that was his foundation the Rock gave its strength to the whole building. Every stone in it was firm, because the foundation was good. THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST.
—Mark Guy Pearse.

What we do should be done to purpose; effect something; not only move ourselves, but move others—out of their sins to Christ; move the Church, and better it, and not be at an everlasting standstill.
Erasmus tells us of a man, named Rabirius, who wanted his servant, Syrus, to get up, and called to him to move.
“I do move,” replied Syrus.
“I see you move,” rejoined the master, “but you move nothing!”
Now, there may be much religious activity, and yet not a sinner moved out of his sins, and the Church very little advanced in holiness. When we move, we should move to some purpose, and accomplish something!
—James Caughey.

Read full article...