The True Disciple Illustrated

Sermon 25 in Series

Luke 6:43-49

[43] “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, [44] for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. [45] The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

[46] “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? [47] Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: [48] he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. [49] But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.   How would you trace the main themes of this sermon as it appears in Luke? How does the previous passage set up this final section?
2.   How does Judas serve as an example of some hearers today? How does this passage function as a warning in the context of a local church?
3.   What is Jesus communicating about the relationship between a tree and its fruit? How does this teaching highlight the importance of both heart and action?
4.   What does it mean to guard our hearts? What are some negative effects of an unguarded heart?
5.   What are the two contrasts that Jesus makes in the final paragraph of this sermon? How are his words clear, wise, penetrating, and convicting?
6.   As we think about Jesus’ teaching on being doers of the Word, how does the preceding context direct us towards the kinds of actions Jesus has in mind?

References: Matthew 7:15-27 (corporate reading); Matthew 26:24; 7:21-23; 15:18-19; Jeremiah 31:33; Romans 2:29; Ephesians 3:17; Galatians 5:22, 6; Romans 14:17; Proverbs 4:23; Philippians 4:8; 1 John 1:6; 1 Corinthians 3:11; John 10:27; James 1:22; Luke 8:21; Matthew 7:26, 13.