Digging Deep?

In recent decades much emphasis has been placed on the ease and simplicity of receiving eternal salvation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The downside of this is a neglect of preaching repentance and the necessity of living wholly for God.  People used to agonize in repentance for months with many tears before receiving salvation, and today people quickly raise a hand while all heads are bowed.  The devil would much rather us make church attenders than disciples of Jesus.  He would be happy for people to have their heads crammed with theology and doctrines rather than simple obedience to love God, love others, and make disciples of all nations.

Servants serve.  Service involves sacrifice and work.  Jesus is the One who said, "If any man come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23).  That sounds like a huge life adjustment for most people.  No man should come to Christ so he might have a better life:  we come to Jesus to obtain eternal life.  I did not come to Jesus so I could be happy:  I have come to Christ to receive forgiveness and righteousness through faith in Him.  And I have never been so happy! 

This morning I read Luke 6:46-48:  "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say? ⁴⁷ Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock."  Jesus has shown His love for the world by coming to earth and putting on human flesh.  He proved it through His dying on the cross while we were all yet sinners.  If a man come to Christ, hears His words, and walks in obedience, Jesus compares such a one to a man who digs deep and lays a foundation upon the rock.

Digging is very hard work.  After a few minutes of vigorous digging with pick and shovel, my keyboarding hands blister and bleed.  Notice that the rock upon which the house is founded is not on the surface of the ground.  This man must dig deep to find the rock.  If we tell people "Only believe!  Jesus has done it all for you!" this is both true and false.  It is true that Jesus once and for all died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose from the dead, defeating death.  In my sinful condition, neither me nor my "good works" can forgive my debt or free me from the condemnation of my sin.  The falsehood lies in that I am still responsible for repenting and receiving of Christ's atoning sacrifice.  I must choose to confess my sin, repent, and place my faith in Jesus Christ, trusting that His shed blood cleanses me from all sin according to scripture.

It is a rare thing indeed to find precious stones and gems lying on the ground without mining.  It is rarer still to find a disciple of Jesus Christ who has "only believed" and walks in complete victory - without digging deep in the Word of God, having allowed the Holy Spirit to pare away besetting sins.  Unless expansive soil and clay is properly amended, even a foundation of concrete and steel will heave and crack.  Contractors have learned it is critical to dig deep and amend the soil with sand before a concrete foundation is poured.  But in this ever shifting world we live, spiritually speaking amending the soil is not enough:  we must dig until we reach the Rock of Salvation, Jesus Christ.  We must toss aside the river rocks of religion, and dig through the stubborn clay of our flesh.  A change in behaviour does not mean that real spiritual transformation has taken place.  That is why Paul exhorts in Philippians 2:12-13:  "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."

Do you desire true wisdom?  Jesus is for us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30-31).  The spiritual principle Paul holds forth in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 is this:  "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat."  Unless a man is willing to gather up his own manna, he should not expect to receive the nutritional benefits.  Show me a professing Christian who does not labour in the Word, and I will show you a defeated, unfounded, confounded man.  Owning a shovel does not mean a man has used it, and owning a Bible does not mean you have studied it.  Reading and studying are not the same thing.  If we do not labour to dig into in the Word we are not drawing near to Jesus, we are not hearing His words, and therefore we cannot know to do them.  Ignorance is a poor covering for this sin of negligence, a sin I too have been guilty of committing.

Hear again the words of Jesus:  "Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock."  Security and strength is conditional both upon the character of God and my obedience.  No one can snatch me out of God's hand nor separate me from the love of God.  But it is up to me to dig deep and build my life upon the Rock.  I must draw near, hear the Word, obey, and abide in Christ.  Keep digging until you hit the Rock!