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
together all look spiritual, no matter what is in their hearts. Both
built close to the river. Once the building is done no one
can see any difference in their houses.
They look the same until the testing comes. This sand builder
“hears” the Word. He is often religious, often involved in church.
His life is really fairly close to his saved friends. Both see the need
for shelter and turn to the church. Both have building skills and
can thus give you chapter and verse on the plan of salvation. Both
persevere until they are through and come to the place where they
feel they are safe. It is so easy to be a counterfeit Christian and to
mistake the external trappings of religion for salvation and go to
hell feeling safe.
2. Easier.
Building on the sand is also much easier. Luke says the Christian
man “dug deep and laid the foundation on a rock” (6:48). Digging
down to rock and into rock is hard work. Many a night this man
dropped into his bed exhausted. His neighbor who began work on
a smooth, sandy site was far ahead of him. His walls and roof were
already standing.
The Christian wonders, as he watches others who are not as
serious as he, if perhaps he should not have taken the easy way.
The casual builder does not dig into the scriptures in search of
truth. He does not dwell upon what the preacher says and let it
bother him. If he has doubts, he says they are “of the devil,”
quotes a verse and never digs deep into his soul in search of the
counterfeit.
But the hard working child of God is different. Many a
time he is driven to the Word for truth. Sleep fails him as he pores
over the sacred pages. When the pastor preaches a searching
sermon on counterfeit Christianity he trembles. He cries from the
depths, “Lord, is it I?” He is so afraid of having a form of godliness
but no reality. When doubts come he honestly lays them before the
Lord and examines his heart to determine their source. The true
Christian is a wrestler. He labors to enter the “rest” of faith.
He has many struggles, many anxieties. He finds the gate narrow
and the way hard, but he must travel it whatever the cost.
No wonder Jesus said the Kingdom of God is “taken by force” (Mt. 11:12).
Are you like this? Is Christianity hard? Does it involve searching? Do you dig
deep for truth and peace? Then rejoice. Your religion costs more
but it is worth more. Always beware of that which isn’t costly,
which is too easy. Beware of saying, “Lord, Lord,” while serving
Satan.
Beware of fictitious religion, of borrowing your experience
from biographies, of picking up godliness second hand. The
crowning mark of most unsaved people, especially those who “hear
the Word” and have a form of religion is not vile sinfulness, but
superficiality. They have “ Hair Tonic Religion,” a little dab will
do them. They laugh inwardly at their hard working fellow
churchmen and label them “fanatics” or “the religious type.” Going
to church, giving a little money, saying a prayer every now and then
and being half-way nice to their neighbors is enough for them.
The victim of this parable, says David Redding, is not a villain but a fool,
building his life on trash.He is more knowledgeable on pro football
than on the Bible, more interested in politics than in the Beatitudes,
more involved in hobbies than in serving God. And yet, he feels all
right because he has a little dab of religion. Building on sand is
easier!
3. Harder.
Paradoxically, building upon the sand, though
easier at first, becomes harder with the passing of time. The man is
sitting home watching TV and suddenly sees a big, ugly crack in the
wall. He patches it up and then later sees one on the ceiling. His
soft foundation is settling and his house slowly comes apart at the
seams. He paints and patches all the time.
A pretentious- Christianity is hard to maintain. Cracks keep appearing. Our un-
yielded will rebels and we find religious duties to be burdens. Our
awful lusts break through and we fear being caught in unholy acts
and thoughts. We pray well in church but private prayer is a burden
we cannot bear. How hard it is to be a hypocrite! We also have:
C. A TESTING TO FACE
The life and faith of every one of us will be tested. The strength or
weakness of our foundation will be revealed.
1.The Test of Life.
Our days on earth are stormy. Afflictions come like the rain. Our bodies will be racked with pain. Our businesses will fail. Our loved ones will die. Trials will come from Satan’s hand and from God’s hand and only those on the rock will stand. Satan’s winds will blow right out of hell. There will be fierce temptations that torture us day and night. There will be prosperity and the love of ease to make us worship Mammon. There will be despair and depression that puts us on the edge of insanity.
2. The Test of Death.
The hour of death is a severe test. Will we pass it? If we are not drugged and have our senses, will we face death unashamed and unafraid? Can we, like Jesus, commit our spirits to the Father? I like what Hannah Moore said, “No person ever repented of being a Christian on his death bed.”
3. The Test of Judgment.
Above all, the Judgment Day of God will be our greatest test. Every human being is going to stand trial before the Almighty. Every secret will be shouted from the rooftops. What we think about will be made known. The books we read in secret, the things we do in secret, the thoughts we think in secret will be exposed. Can you stand it? Will you pass this test?
D. WE HAVE A DESTINY TO RECEIVE
The character, built on faith and obedience, which stands the tests of time and the judgment, will live forever with God in heaven. It will “stand.” The character built on human lies, excuses, faith in self pretense, wickedness, and superficiality, will have “a great fall.” Hell will be its lot. The old saying is right,
“Sow an act and you reap a habit, Sow a habit and you reap a character, Sow a character and you reap a destiny.”
Illustration: A man gave a trusted employee a sum of money and asked him to build him the best house possible for that money. The employee saw a chance for gain and built the house out of shoddy materials. It looked good on the outside but was weak in unseen placed. He kept the extra money. When he gave his employer the key, he gave them right back. He said, “John, this house is yours. It is my gift to you for your service to me.” What kind of house are you building? You will have to live with it forever, in heaven or in hell. It all depends on what you do with Jesus - the foundation; and what Jesus does in you - the fruit.
