Integrity in Jesus our Rock

As Jesus finishes his sermon on the plain, he requires his disciples to consider their own position in relation to the commands he has given them. Instead of passing judgment on others, they need to make a judgment about themselves. What teaching are they following? Do they really believe they can be more righteous than another person? Can they see their own moral deficiency? Or do they hypocritically find fault with others but fail to acknowledge their own evil? Do they recognise that of themselves they can produce no good thing and that they cannot possibly fulfill his commands to love, forgive and be merciful other than by placing their trust in him? Likewise, unless we realize that we are poor in spirit and need the Righteous One to feed and clothe us, we have not heard anything that Jesus has said. We have no integrity except in him. Jesus is our Rock in whom we take refuge from God's wrath towards our sin. It is not his inspiring teaching that saves us but his sacrifice. It is only as the Rock who is struck that he becomes the source of living water enabling us to produce the good fruit of the Spirit. If our lives our built on him, we will stand secure and not falter. "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.