The Character and Conduct of Christians • 04.12.26
Nick Lees   -   April 12, 2026

The Character and Conduct of Christians
Luke 6:37-49

What instruction does Jesus give his disciples?

  1. Live by the standards of God, not men
  2. Lead righteously by humbly addressing your own sin first
  3. Pay attention to the fruit of your life
  4. Heed the call to hear and obey

Manuscript:

Good morning, church family! Welcome guests + introduce self

Share about baptisms today at the end of our service (3 @ 9a; 1 @ 11a)

Dismiss 4th + 5th graders

Ushers + Bibles (Luke 6; page 1025)

We are resuming our study of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in Gospel of Luke today. Since chapter 4 Luke has been providing details about Jesus’ adult life and ministry. A lot of ground has been covered already:

  • Jesus is revealed as the hope for all people (Luke 3:21-4:15)
    • He is the Son of God, the Son of Adam, who perfectly fulfills the redemption plan of God
  • Jesus was sent by God the Father, yet his reception is mixed (4:16-44)
    • To rescue and redeem us from the curse of sin
    • To preach the good news of the kingdom of God
  • Jesus demonstrates his authority over creation, sickness, demons, and sin (5:1-26)
    • Many are present, but only a few have the humble faith required
    • Lines are being drawn between those who follow Jesus and those who oppose him
  • Jesus reveals he came to seek and save sinners and demonstrates his authority over the Law (5:27-6:11)
    • He confronted the pharisaical legalism of his day
    • He pointed out the purposes of God to do good and show mercy

Each of these observations came from interactions Jesus had after beginning his public ministry. However, it wasn’t until two Sundays ago, in Luke chapter 6, where we heard a recounting of one of Jesus’ sermons. Up to this point, Luke has been helping Theophilus and us learn about Jesus by providing opportunities to watch and listen into brief snippets from Jesus’ life and ministry. Now he is providing an extended teaching from Jesus. What a sweet opportunity for us to sit at his feet and learn from him. Two weeks ago, Pastor Jack walked us through Jesus selecting and shaping his disciples.

  • Jesus selects and shapes his disciples (6:12-36)
    • He reorients their view of blessing
    • He reforms their hearts towards others

Jesus is helping his disciples (and those in the crowd) understand what it means to follow him, to be one of God’s kingdom people (aka a Christian). And his sermon is not over yet. It continues through our text today in Luke 6:37-49. In this passage we will listen to Jesus teach about the character and conduct of Christians.

In our day and age, nearly everyone has ideas about what Jesus taught. And yet if you were to go out and ask 5 random people on the street what they thought about Jesus, you’d likely get 5 different answers! And the larger your polling size, the more contradictory views you’d receive. Nearly everyone thinks they know what Jesus taught… But what did he really say? What did he really require of those who would follow him? There is no better source than his own words in this sermon.

Already, in the first half of the sermon that Pastor Jack shared, Jesus has turned the values of the world upside down. He taught them to prioritize the kingdom of God rather than stacking up worldly treasures and pleasures. He encouraged them not to live for the approval of others, earthly riches, or temporary satisfaction. Rather they are to put their hope in eternal matters, to use their resources to serve God and others, and to find joy in offering service in Christ’s name.  He challenged them to grow in their understanding of love and to go far beyond the self-serving, “you love/serve me first and then I’ll love/serve you” love of the world. Christians must learn to love those who are difficult to love (their enemies/persecutors/non-reciprocators). They must learn to give generously without expecting anything in return. They must treat others as they themselves want to be treated. They must have compassion and conviction to move towards those in need, even when those you’re serving are unkind and hurtful to you! Why? Because that is the example of our Heavenly Father. See verses 35-36 again:

Luke 6:35–36 (ESV)

35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Jesus grounds the Christian’s character and conduct in the character and conduct of God. Which makes sense, because God created humans to bear his image. Our character and conduct ought to reflect God, this is why we were made.

Genesis 1:26–27 (ESV)

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27               So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

You were created to accurately reflect God’s glorious character and conduct to the world around you. Hence why Jesus focuses his teaching on reorienting and reforming these men and women from their previously held, incorrect ways of thinking and living. He is instructing them (and us!) in the ways of true life and righteousness.

But as we will see in our passage today, it is one thing to hear Jesus’ words/commands and another thing entirely to obey/follow them! As we study this for our own lives there are a few questions that arise which everyone must answer:

  • What instruction does Jesus give his disciples?
  • How will I respond to King Jesus?
    • Will I hear and obey?
    • Or will I hear and go my own way?

With these in mind, we turn our attention to the continued teaching of Jesus in Luke 6. We’ll start by reading just two verses.

Luke 6:37–38 (ESV)

37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Jesus builds upon his call to model their character and conduct after God by instructing them to…

  1. Live by the standards of God, not men

Many have misused and abused Jesus’ teaching over the years for their own agendas. You have likely heard someone say, “The Bible tells you not to judge!” And, typically, that statement is made in support of an argument against holding a moral standard that would delineate between good and evil. Jesus’ teaching becomes misused by an agenda to relativize truth and thereby allow for any kind of lifestyle in the name of tolerance. This is just one example of how sinful men/women corrupt Jesus’ teachings to make their own standard.

But this is not what Jesus is teaching. Jesus has already addressed, multiple times, that sin and unrighteousness are real problems for humanity. Back in Luke 5:31-32 Jesus said that he came to call sinners to repentance, using the analogy of a doctor coming to help the sick. The standard of God is not one of extreme tolerance where we withhold all judgment whatsoever and say everyone is good, however they decide to live. Rather God’s standard, as we heard in verses 35-36, is of loving your enemies, doing good to others, living generously, and showing kindness/mercy, even to the ungrateful and evil.

So, when Jesus speaks in the very next verses, he is not suddenly abdicating all moral judgment. Rather, he is warning his disciples not to cultivate a severe, fault-finding, arrogant lifestyle. He is speaking against being the kind of person that is always able to find a reason someone else doesn’t measure up. Always finding a reason to exclude others. Condemning those who don’t see things your way. Who never sees their own faults but can tell you all about the faults of others!

Jesus’ teachings in this sermon are a call for great introspection on our own way of life. How do you treat others? Are you quick to judge? Quick to condemn? Or are you quick to forgive? Are you generous with others?

Christians are called to be accurate reflections of their Heavenly Father. They must model the life and ministry of Jesus, who, as we heard last week on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, was not thinking of himself but caring for others… even as he went to the Cross in our place, bearing the wrath of God for our sins.

In verse 38, Jesus uses a common illustration from the marketplace to make his point. The vendors who were dishing out corn or similar goods would make sure to fill your basket to the top, then press it down with their hands, then shake it back and forth to let it settle, then fill it back up again, repeating the process as many times as necessary to make sure you received a “full measure” for your money. You get what you pay for. Jesus uses this illustration to point out that the way you treat others is the way that God will treat you. And everybody wants God to be kind and merciful and generous with them! So, treat others the same way!

Now, with that understanding, that does not mean we are suspending all moral judgment. As I said earlier, this is a misrepresentation of this teaching. God’s Word is truth and it is our standard of life. We are to operate by it. Which means Christians must know and obey Jesus’ teaching about confronting sin and calling to repentance. We will continue to see examples of Jesus doing this in the Gospel of Luke. God is the source of morality, and he calls good “good” and evil “evil”. Christians must do the same. Stand for what is true and good and speak against what is false and evil. Do not abandon moral judgment. We must address sin, just as Jesus commands us.

But Christ’s followers must not be arrogant jerks either. They must not be aggressive fault-finders. They should not have a judgmental and condemnatory spirit, lest God repay you accordingly. The easiest way to summarize this teaching is to say that God will hold you to your own standard, so live by the standards of God, not men. Putting the effort into knowing God’s standard and living by it will protect you from the error of unbiblical tolerance of sin and from the error of an arrogant, condemnatory spirit.

Let’s keep reading to see what other instructions Jesus gives his disciples:

Luke 6:39–42 (ESV)

39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Now Jesus points out the danger of following the wrong kind of leader. If you follow a teacher who cannot see or perceive truth, then you will follow them into the same pit of destruction. You are growing up into the kind of character and conduct of the person who is teaching/influencing you! So be careful who you follow/listen to!

We all know of examples of people following blind teachers who lead them to their doom. The one that comes most readily to my mind is Jim Jones. I don’t know why… but when I went to look up the details again, I realized he was originally from Indiana, which is where I am from, so maybe that is the connection. Here’s the summary version from Britannica’s website:

Jim Jones (born May 13, 1931, Crete, near Lynn, Indiana, U.S.—died November 18, 1978, Jonestown, Guyana) was an American cult leader who promised his followers a utopia in the jungles of South America after proclaiming himself messiah of the Peoples Temple, a San Francisco-based evangelist group. He ultimately led his followers into a mass suicide, which left more than 900 dead and came to be known as the Jonestown Massacre (November 18, 1978).

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jim-Jones

Now Jim Jones’ story is one that literally ended in death for his followers. (Main Slide) But there are plenty of other examples of blind teachers leading blind disciples that haven’t necessarily ended in physical death.

  • The myriad of prosperity gospel preachers out there (Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyers, Creflo Dollar, etc.,)
  • The cults that have mimicked some portions of Christianity but deviated from the truth of the Gospel (Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses)
  • The proponents of any other way of life or salvation other than Jesus Christ

This is not a problem isolated to the 1st century; it has always been a problem, for as long as sin has been around. The solution is to make sure you’re following the right teacher! One who is perfect in every way and without sin. One who lives righteously and always does what pleases God. Who could that be? King Jesus! Forget being like Mike or becoming a Toys R Us kid (or a YouTuber/Influencer) when you grow up. Model your life after Jesus! Be like Jesus.

As we have heard throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is the Son of God who has come to fulfill God’s grand redemption plan. He always does what pleases the Father. He lived a perfectly righteous life and demonstrated incredibly selfless compassion and care for others. He did not excuse sin or teach people to tolerate it, but to repent and turn away from it. Even as he is teaching here in verses 39-42.

Remember the context of this teaching is Jesus’ address to his disciples and the crowd that surrounds him. Not only are they being called to follow the right teacher, but they also need to make sure they’re maturing into righteousness. These disciples are being prepared as the future leaders of the church. They are going to be entrusted with the message of salvation and sent in Jesus’ name to the nations. So, what instructions does he give them?

  1. Lead righteously by humbly addressing your own sin first

This way of life protects you from hypocrisy. Yet again, Jesus is asking penetrating questions to get his disciples to look inward.

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye?”

It is a humorous picture, isn’t it? People walking around with massive logs sticking out of their eyes trying to lean over and help someone else with their speck. And yet it is humbling when we take the time to apply it to self, as Jesus intends. Why do I act so self-righteously? Why am I focused on you but not dealing with my part of the problem?

Thinking and living this way will help you avoid hypocrisy! Do not call others to live by a standard of righteousness that you aren’t obeying. Be careful about confronting others without doing the necessary self-evaluation of your own life first!

Jesus tells us that Christians are to be known for humility, especially when it comes to dealing with sin and conflict. We must be quick and proactive to address our contributions to problems. Only after we’ve dealt with our own faults can we see clearly to come alongside a brother/sister to help them with theirs.

I want to provide some additional calls to action from this teaching. If you are following a leader who is not living this way, then you need to consider whether they are someone you should be following. Perhaps you need to have a conversation with them to point out what you’re seeing and give them a chance to change. If they’re unwilling to have humility and address their issues, then it may be time to move on. This is especially the case when it comes to leaders in the church. Pastors have no business being arrogant leaders. We are supposed to be under shepherds of Christ, representing the chief Shepherd. So do not sit long under the leadership of a pastor who is unrepentant in pride. A second call to action – if you are not actively taking the log out of your own eye in your conflicts with others, then you need to repent and change. Stop telling your spouse all the things they are doing wrong while being unwilling to own your part of the problem. Parents, stop exasperating your kids by your inconsistent parenting and rules; start owning up to your shortcomings and lead from a posture of humility. Kids, stop disobeying your parents and being proud and unwilling to see how you are in the wrong; pray and ask God to give you humility and then own up to your part of the problem. So many of our relational conflicts could be resolved quickly if each party commits to humbly addressing your own sin first. Make that your aim in your life and home. *pause*

Well, Jesus has more wisdom to offer his disciples. Let’s keep reading:

Luke 6:43–45 (ESV)

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.

Jesus provides a great principle for life – fruit reveals root. The way you conduct yourself in your speech and actions reveals the kind of person you are deep within your heart. This is another opportunity for self-evaluation.

  1. Pay attention to the fruit of your life

What kind of fruit are you bearing? Is it good or rotten fruit?

Are your words building others up, giving life, or do they tend to tear others down?

Do you often look down on others? Justifying that you deserve better?

What do your thoughts or treatment of other people reveal about your heart?

Jesus wants us to understand that wicked speech and conduct reveal a wicked heart. Do not suppose you can claim to follow Christ and continue to live wickedly. These qualities do not go together!

This is why it is so common, when you meet someone who has recently become a Christian, that they are so excited to tell you all the ways that they are changing.

“I used to curse like a sailor, but not anymore!”

“I was once a promiscuous man/woman, but that’s not who I am now.”

“I used to be enslaved to ________ (porn/alcohol/approval), but, by God’s grace, I am now practicing self-control and finding my contentment in God.”

What led to these radical transformations? The treasure of their heart changed! Rather than living for the temporary pleasures and treasures of this life or for their own selfish desires, they have been convicted of their need to live for Christ! They treasure living for and pleasing God above all else.

And when someone is treasuring and following Jesus, the perfectly righteous teacher, then they grow in righteousness as well! Because that is their desire and God the Holy Spirit is at work within them to make it so. Listen to the Apostle Paul testifying to this very work:

2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV)

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Christians set their eyes on the Lord and are transformed by him!

Now listen to Paul’s own testimony of how Christ transformed his life:

Philippians 3:3–12 (ESV)

3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

May this be our testimony! “I used to put confidence in the flesh, but no longer! I have been redeemed by Christ and now I desire to live for him!”

If you claim to follow Christ, are you paying attention to the desires of your heart and the fruit of your life? Do you have an increasing desire to know him and become like him?

If there is fruit of speech or conduct that is not becoming of a Christian in your life, then what steps do you need to take this week to confess and turn from them? I would encourage you to write those out on your bulletin and ask your small group for help!

For the Christians who desire to please Christ and see consistently good fruit in your life, praise God! You should be giving thanks regularly for the evidence of his transforming grace in you. And keep running the race well. Keep seeking after the things that please God as you put these teachings into practice.

If you are listening to this and you know that you don’t follow Christ, this is still an invitation to evaluate your life. Heed Jesus’ warning – “the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil”. There are only two categories of people on earth – those who treasure what is good – pleasing Christ – and those who treasure what is evil. If you are not treasuring pleasing Christ in your life, then you are treasuring evil and are categorized by God as an evil person. This is shocking, I know. But please realize he categorized me and every other Christian in the same way before our salvation. You do not have to remain an enemy of God, dead in sin. You can experience the transforming grace of God in your life through faith in Jesus! Just like Paul, just like me, and just like so many others who are here today. If you have questions about that or would like to talk further, please grab me or another pastor after the service or email the church and we can set up a time this week to meet. But don’t leave your questions or objections unaddressed. This is too important of a matter for that. *pause*

One more reflection from this section of the text. Jesus is teaching his disciples to address the heart for true change. You can spend a lot of time trying to modify the fruit of your life – “I need to control my speech. I need to stop being unkind. I need to ______.” But if you only focus on the fruit (behaviors/speech) without ever addressing the root (the desires of your heart) you will have temporary change at best. Any bad fruit in our life is an opportunity to realize that there is something amiss in our inner man/woman. We need to do the hard work of evaluating what exactly that might be. Here are a couple of evaluative questions that I have found particularly helpful in diagnosing heart issues:

  • What am I desiring that is leading me to sin to get it?
  • What am I NOT getting that I am responding sinfully to?

As you take time to find the answers to these questions, you will often arrive at a disordered desire of your heart. You have elevated something above the desire to please Christ. And as you prayerfully seek to correct that, you will see the fruit begin to change in that area of your life.

Well, let’s finish out Jesus’ sermon with the last few verses in chapter 6:

Luke 6:46–49 (ESV)

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.”

In this final portion of his sermon, Jesus points out the significant problem in hearing his words but not uniting that with obedience! His final instructions are…

  1. Heed the call to hear and obey

To follow Christ is to hear and obey. Receive the truth and put it into practice. Anything less than this will lead to destruction in the day of affliction and judgment. The secret to firm faith is to exert effort to dig deep and build your house on the rock. To be frank, as I was studying for this sermon, I read a fantastic teaching on this portion of the text by British Pastor J.C. Ryle. This is from the late 1800s, but I could not have said it better myself, so I’m going to break from my usual practice of not using extended quotes to end the sermon with this one. So buckle up and listen closely:

Let us settle it in our minds, that no sin is so foolish and unreasonable as the sin which Jesus here denounces, Common sense alone might tell us that the name and form of Christianity can profit us nothing, so long as we cleave to sin in our hearts, and live unchristian lives. Let it be a fixed principle in our religion, that obedience is the only sound evidence of saving faith, and that the talk of the lips is worse than useless, if it is not accompanied by sanctification of the life. The man in whose heart the Holy Ghost really dwells, will never be content to sit still, and do nothing to show his love to Christ.

 

Let us mark, secondly, in these verses, what a striking picture our Lord draws of the religion of the man who not only hears Christ’s sayings, but does Christ’s will. He compares him to one who “built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock.”

 

Such a man’s religion may cost him much. Like the house built on a rock, it may entail on him pains, labor, and self-denial. To lay aside pride and self-righteousness, to crucify the rebellious flesh, to put on the mind of Christ, to take up the cross daily, to count all things but loss for Christ’s sake,—all this may be hard work. But, like the house built on the rock, such religion will stand. The streams of affliction may beat violently upon it, and the floods of persecution dash fiercely against it, but it will not give way. The Christianity which combines good profession and good practice, is a building that will not fall.

 

Let us mark, lastly, in these verses, what a mournful picture our Lord draws of the religion of the man who hears Christ’s sayings, but does not obey them. He compares him to one who, “without a foundation, built an house upon the earth.”

 

Such a man’s religion may look well for a season. An ignorant eye may detect no difference between the possessor of such a religion, and a true Christian.

 

Both may worship in the same Church. Both may use the same ordinances. Both may profess the same faith. The outward appearance of the house built on the rock, and the house without any solid foundation, may be much the same. But the day of trial and affliction is the test which the religion of the mere outward professor cannot stand. When storm and tempest beat on the house which has no foundation, the walls which looked well in sunshine and fair weather, are sure to come to the ground. The Christianity which consists of merely hearing religion taught, without doing anything, is a building which must finally fall. Great indeed will be the ruin! There is no loss like the loss of a soul…

 

What is the foundation on which we ourselves are building? This, after all, is the question that concerns our souls.—Are we upon the rock, or are we upon the sand?—We love perhaps to hear the Gospel. We approve of all its leading doctrines. We assent to all its statements of truth about Christ and the Holy Ghost, about justification and sanctification, about repentance and faith, about conversion and holiness, about the Bible and prayer. But what are we doing? What is the daily practical history of our lives, in public and private, in the family and in the world? Can it be said of us, that we not only hear Christ’s sayings, but that we also do them?

 

The hour cometh, and will soon be here, when questions like these must be asked and answered, whether we like them or not. The day of sorrow and bereavement, of sickness and death, will make it plain whether we are on the rock, or on the sand. Let us remember this betimes (early), and not trifle with our souls. Let us strive so to believe and so to live, so to hear Christ’s voice and so to follow Him, that when the flood arises, and the streams beat over us, our house may stand and not fall.

 

  1. C. Ryle Expository Thoughts on Luke. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1879.

What is the foundation upon which you are building? Can it be said of you, that you not only hear Christ’s sayings, but also do them? Each of us will give an answer before our Judge one day on these matters. I pray we will take them seriously now and be ready to give an account.

Pray briefly

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