Building Your Life On The Rock Series

Bob Marcaurelle

bmarcaurelle@charter.com

Matt. 7:24-29; Luke 6:47-4

BUILDING ON THE ROCK OR ON THE SAND

The first step in erecting a building is to take a soil sample and see if the ground will support the weight. Jesus concludes His Sermon on the Mount with a spiritual soil sample. You and I are slowly fashioning a character that will never die. We are building a life that will last forever. If we build it on Jesus and His teachings it will stand the test of time and eternity and the end result will be heaven.

If we build it on anything else, it will not stand and the end result will be hell. This is the meaning of the parable of the two builders and the sober truth of it amazed those who heard Him say it. We look today at these two builders and see where we stand - on the rock or on the sand. We are like these men in several ways.

A. WE HAVE A FOUNDATION TO CHOOSE

The old spiritual says, “I’m working on a building.” We are all building a life, a character, a personality that will survive death and last for eternity. The question is what kind of life? The answer is found in our choice of a foundation, in those beliefs and principles upon which our choices are made and our character is slowly formed. The foundation that Jesus offers is “to hear and to do His words.” This means two things: trust and obedience.

1. Faith.

Christ the solid Rock is the object of our faith. Isaiah looked forward and said, “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed” (Is. 28:16). Both Peter (1 Pet. 2:6) and Paul (Rom. 9:33) say this foundation is Jesus Christ. We trust Him as our God. He is far more than an ethical teacher. He stands above all other teachers as Mount Everest stands above an ant hill. He stands before us as God. His claim here is amazing. It is, says Hugh Martin, the boldest statement he ever made.

This Jewish Carpenter seizes the whole human race in the word “whoever” (7:24). He tells us that his words are an infallible law for our conduct and that He has the right to command every man, woman and child. He says obedience to Him is the only safe foundation for life. Other teachers give views. He gives truth. They advise. He commands. They say, “Follow my counsel.” He says, “Follow Me! Believe in Me!” No wonder Matthew concludes the sermon with its impact upon the hearers:

“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one Who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matt. 7:28).

2. Obedience.

We listen to Him and we do what He says. There is no safety and no salvation without obedience. Modern, shallow evangelism makes obedience optional. Jesus makes it foundational. The obvious meaning of “these words of mine” is to His moral and ethical commands here in this sermon and in all His other teachings. What does he tell us to do? He tells us to be humble, sorry for sin, submissive, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure, peaceable and persecuted. He tells us to witness, to put away anger, adulterous thoughts, divorce, and oaths. He tells us to love our enemies, to give, to pray and to fast. He tells us not to worry or to criticize others. The person who does not accept such teachings as the principles of his life do not accept Jesus Christ.

The person who does not have these as his goals does not have salvation. Listen to the Apostle John, “And by this we may be sure that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him’ but disobeys His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him ... (1 John 2:3-4).

This obedience is from the heart. To “hear” is to listen, to learn, to meditate and to apply. To “do” is to fight to put the principles of Jesus into every facet of our lives. Matthew Henry says it means to do everything Jesus says do and to refrain from everything He forbids. Take your personal, spiritual soil sample. Do you have faith in the divine Son of God? And do you have a burning determination to serve Him? Spurgeon said it takes two shoes to walk to heaven. One shoe is “faith,” the other is “works.” Faith comes to the cross, works take up the cross.

B. WE HAVE A HOUSE TO BUILD

1. Similar.

The two houses are similar. Church members listeningto a sermons