Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may
be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
Pas oun hostis akouei (3SPAI)
mou tous logous toutous kai poiei (3SPAI) autous homoiothesetai (3SFPI)
andri phronimo, hostis okodomesen (3SAAI) autou ten oikian epi ten
petran:
(Mt 7:7,8,13,14; 5:3,
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; 28, 29, 30, 31, 32; 6:14,15,19, 20, 21;
12:50; Lk 6:47, 48, 49; 11:28; Jn 13:17; 14:15,22, 23, 24; 15:10,14;
Ro 2:6, 7, 8, 9; Gal 5:6,7; 6:7,8; Jas 1:21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
26, 27; 2:17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26; 1John 2:3; 3:22, 23,
24; 5:3, 4, 5; Re 22:14,15) (Wise Job 28:28; Ps 111:10;
119:99,130; Pr 10:8; 14:8; Jas 3:13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
(1Co 3:10,11)
Matthew 7:24-27
Two...builders
two...houses
two...foundations
two...outcomes
Therefore (term
of conclusion) in light of the fact that there is no middle ground between
profession and possession of kingdom life and the destinies are so
diametrically different, Jesus reemphasizes the crucial nature and need
for personal choice and genuine, not feigned obedience to His Word, in
order for one to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Hearing the word and even
approving of it is not sufficient unless it is accompanied by obedience.
Everyone (pas) makes
this application general and leaves no room for exceptions. All must
pass the test of application. Either everyone responds or does not
respond, which leaves no room for middle ground. Both groups have heard
the truth that Jesus is the only Way to enter the kingdom of heaven and
eternal life.
Marvin Vincent commenting on "may
be compared" writes that...
The picture is not of two men
deliberately selecting foundations, but it contrasts one who carefully
chooses and prepares his foundation with one who builds at hap-hazard.
This is more strongly brought out by Luke (Lk 6:48): “Who digged and went
deep, and laid a foundation upon the rock” (Rev.). Kitto (“Pictorial
Bible”) says:
At this very day the mode of building
in Christ’s own town of Nazareth suggests the source of this image. Dr.
Robinson was entertained in the house of a Greek Arab. The house had
just been built, and was not yet finished. In order to lay the
foundations he had dug down to the solid rock, as is usual throughout
the country here, to the depth of thirty feet, and then built up arches.
The abrupt style of verse 25 pictures
the sudden coming of the storm which sweeps away the house on the sand:
“Descended the rain, and came the floods, and blew the winds.” (Matthew 7)
Hears (191)
(akouo) means to hear with attention, to hear with the ear of the
mind or to hear effectually as to perform or grant what is spoken. In
this verse the
present tense
indicates this person continuously listens to Jesus' words.
Note that both "builders" heard the
same message. The difference is that this builder heard and responded in
faith, becoming a doer of His Word. This builder placed His trust in the
Lord, while the other builder, who heard the same message, placed his
confidence in himself.
Acts (4160)
(poieo) means does which expresses action either as completed or
continued. In this verse the
present tense
calls for this to be one's lifestyle.
Jesus is saying that obedience to God’s Word not just the hearing of it
is an evidence of true faith.
Dear pastor, how would you describe
His church which you shepherd? Are you a Bible
believing church or as Richard
Wurmbrand asked Pastor R Kent Hughes "a
Bible-living church"? A good
question to ponder.
Spurgeon writes...
&Here is the Savior’s peroration, and
yet, it is as simple as any other part of the address. Here is an
evident absence of all artificial oratory. The whole of his hill-sermon
was intensely earnest, and that earnestness was sustained to the end, so
that the closing words are as glowing coals, or as sharp arrows of the
bow. Our Lord closes not by displaying his own powers of elocution, but
by simply and affectionately addressing a warning to those who, having
heard his words, should remain satisfied with hearing, and should not go
forth and put them into practice. As according to usual experience a
preacher warms to his subject as he advances, and becomes more intense
as he nears his final sentences, we are bound to give the more earnest
heed to the words which are now before us, with which the Lord of all
preachers concluded his memorable discourse.
Jesus had been saying many things,
but these are two words to which I think he specially alluded when he
said, “&Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will
liken him unto a wise man.&”
The first of these words was, “&Enter
ye in&” (&Matthew 7:13&); and the second was, “&Beware&” (&Mt
7:15&).
Our Lord had spoken of the “&strait
gate,&” of the “&narrow way,&” and of the few who travel it, and his
urgent admonition was, “&Enter ye in.&” Not “&Learn ye all concerning
it, and then be satisfied;&” not “&Find fault with the travelers and the
road;&” not “&Seek to enlarge the gate and widen the way,&” but “&Enter
Ye in.&”
Be obedient to the gospel, believe
its testimony concerning Jesus; enter into fellowship with its
mysteries, receive its blessings: be travelers along its road. “&Enter
ye in.&” He who hears of the way to heaven, but enters not into it, is a
foolish man; he who hearing of the strait gate, presses to enter in, is
a wise man.
Afterwards our Lord added the other
admonition, “&Beware.&”
Beware,&” saith he, “&of false
prophets;&” and after having dwelt for awhile on that, be added in other
words, “&Beware of false professions.&”
Of false prophets beware, for they
may delude you, they may bring before you a salvation which will not
save, a mere mirage that looks like the pure, cooling, refreshing
stream, but which only mocks your thirst. Beware of all teaching which
would lead you away from the one Savior of the souls of men.
And then he adds, “&Beware of false
professions,&” however loudly they make you cry, “&Lord, Lord.&” You may
have in company with these professions the loftiest gifts, Such as
casting out devils, and the greatest abilities, such as only prophets
possess; but they shall not avail you. In that day when the Master shall
only accept into his marriage-feast the companions of his warfare on
earth, he will say to those who have not done the Father’s will, “&I
never knew ye; depart from me, ye workers of iniquity.&”
These are two of the savings of
Christ, and they are comprehensive of almost all be ever said: “&Enter
ye in&” and “&Beware.&” Take heed that ye do them as well as hear them.
What a mercy there is a rock to build
on! We could not have made one; but there is the rock.
J C Ryle comments that we have
here...
a striking picture of two classes of
Christian hearers. Those who hear and do nothing--and those who hear and
do as well as hear--are both placed before us, and their histories
traced to their respective ends.
The man who hears Christian teaching, and practices what he hears, is
like "a wise man who built his house on a rock." He does not content
himself with listening to exhortations to repent, believe in Christ, and
live a holy life. He actually repents. He actually believes. He actually
ceases to do evil, learns to do well, abhors that which is sinful, and
cleaves to that which is good. He is a doer as well as a hearer. (James
1:22.)
And what is the result? In the time of trial his religion does not fail
him. The floods of sickness, sorrow, poverty, disappointments,
bereavements beat upon him in vain. His soul stands unmoved. His faith
does not give way. His comforts do not utterly forsake him. His religion
may have cost him trouble in time past. His foundation may have been
obtained with much labor and many tears. To discover his own interest in
Christ may have required many a day of earnest seeking, and many an hour
of wrestling in prayer. But his labor has not been thrown away. He now
reaps a rich reward. The religion that can stand trial is the true
religion.
The man who hears Christian teaching, and never gets beyond hearing, is
like "a foolish man who built his house on the sand." He satisfies
himself with listening and approving, but he goes no further. He
flatters himself, perhaps, that all is right with his soul, because he
has feelings, and convictions, and desires, of a spiritual kind. In
these he rests. He never really breaks off from sin, and casts aside the
spirit of the world. He never really lays hold of Christ. He never
really takes up the cross. He is a hearer of truth, but nothing more.
And what is the end of this man's religion? It breaks down entirely
under the first flood of tribulation. It fails him completely, like a
summer-dried fountain, when his need is the sorest. It leaves its
possessor high and dry, like a wreck on a sand bank, a scandal to the
church, a by-word to the infidel, and a misery to himself. Most true is
it that what costs little is worth little! A religion which costs us
nothing, and consist in nothing but hearing sermons, will always prove
at last to be a useless thing.
So ends the sermon on the mount. Such a sermon never was preached
before. Such a sermon perhaps has never been preached since. Let us see
that it has a lasting influence on our own souls. It is addressed to us
as well as to those who first heard it. We are they who shall have to
give account of its heart-searching lessons. It is no light matter what
we think of them. The word that Jesus has spoken, "the same will judge
us in the last day." (John 12:48.)(Matthew
7:21-29 Expository Thoughts)
J C Philpot asks that...
What is the Lord's own test of
distinction between the wise man who builds on the rock, and the foolish
man who builds on the sand? The rock, of course, is Christ, as the sand
is self. But the test, the mark, the evidence, the proof of the two
builders and the two buildings is the hearing of Christ's sayings and
doing them, or the hearing of Christ's sayings and doing them not.
We may twist and wriggle under such a
text, and try all manner of explanations to parry off its keen, cutting
edge; we may fly to arguments and deductions drawn from the doctrines of
grace to shelter ourselves from its heavy stroke, and seek to prove that
the Lord was there preaching the law and not the gospel, and that as we
are saved by Christ's blood and righteousness, and not by our own
obedience or our good works, either before or after calling, all such
tests and all such texts are inapplicable to our state as believers. But
after all our questions and cavilings, our nice and subtle arguments to
quiet conscience and patch up a false peace, there the words of the Lord
stand, and, what is more, will stand forever, backed as they are by that
solemn declaration from the same lips of eternal truth—"Every tree that
does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by
their fruit you will recognize them. "Not everyone who says to me,
'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:19-21) (The Precepts of
the Word of God)
James also emphasizes we must
be doers and not merely hearers writing...
Therefore putting aside all
filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the
word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves
doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if
anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who
looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself
and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and
abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual
doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks
himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives
his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. This is pure and
undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans
and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the
world. (James 1:21-27)
An illustration of Jesus' call for
hearing to be followed by doing is given by Chuck Swindoll
in his book
Improving Your Serve...
Let’s pretend that you work for me.
In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing
rapidly. I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull
this off, I make plans to travel abroad and stay there until the new
branch office gets established. I make all the arrangements to take my
family in the move to Europe for six to eight months, and I leave you in
charge of the busy stateside organization. I tell you that I will write
you regularly and give you direction and instructions.
I leave and you stay. Months pass. A
flow of letters are mailed from Europe and received by you at the
national headquarters. I spell out all my expectations. Finally, I
return. Soon after my arrival I drive down to the office. I am stunned!
Grass and weeds have grown up high. A few windows along the street are
broken. I walk into the receptionist’s room and she is doing her nails,
chewing gum, and listening to her favorite disco station. I look around
and notice the waste baskets are overflowing, the carpet hasn’t been
vacuumed for weeks, and nobody seems concerned that the owner has
returned. I ask about your whereabouts and someone in the crowded lounge
area points down the hall and yells, “I think he’s down there.”
Disturbed, I move in that direction and bump into you as you are
finishing a chess game with our sales manager. I ask you to step into my
office (which has been temporarily turned into a television room for
watching afternoon soap operas).
“What in the world is going on, man?”
“What do ya’ mean … ?”
“Well, look at this place! Didn’t you
get any of my letters?”
“Letters? Oh, yeah—sure, got every
one of them. As a matter of fact … we have had letter study every Friday
night since you left. We have even divided all the personnel into small
groups and discussed many of the things you wrote. Some of those things
were really interesting. You’ll be pleased to know that a few of us have
actually committed to memory some of your sentences and paragraphs. One
or two memorized an entire letter or two! Great stuff in those letters!”
“Okay, okay—you got my letters, you
studied them and meditated on them, discussed and even memorized them.
BUT WHAT DID YOU DO ABOUT THEM?”
“Do? Uh—we didn’t do
anything about them.”&&
(Improving
Your Serve is a great
little exhortational book - I found it good for a dull or dying marriage
in need of some "polishing")
D. L. Moody once said that...
Our great problem is the problem of
trafficking in unlived truth. We try to communicate what we’ve never
experienced in our own lives.
Harry Ironside wrote that...
If lips and life do not agree, the
testimony will not amount to much
Puritan Thomas Brooks
warned...
Reader, remember this: if thy
knowledge do not now affect thy heart, it will at last, with a witness,
afflict thy heart; if it do not now endear Christ to thee, it will at
last provoke Christ the more against thee; if it do not make all the
things of Christ to be very precious in thy eyes, it will at last make
thee the more vile in Christ's eyes.
Søren Kierkegaard (bio)
addressed Jesus' warning regarding hearing and doing in his animal
parable on "Duckland"...
It was Sunday morning, and all the
ducks dutifully came to church, waddling through the doors and down the
aisle into their pews where they comfortably squatted. When all were
well-settled, and the hymns were sung, the duck minister waddled to his
pulpit, opened the Duck Bible and read: “Ducks! You have wings, and with
wings you can fly like eagles. You can soar into the sky! Use your
wings!” It was a marvelous, elevating duck scripture, and thus all the
ducks quacked their assent with a hearty “Amen!”—and then they plopped
down from their pews and waddled home!
Wise (5429)
(phronimos from phronéo = think, have a mindset related to
phren = diaphragm, regarded by ancients as seat of mental
and spiritual activity, came to mean mind or understanding) is an
adjective which describes one who is thoughtful, sagacious or discreet.
It describes the quality of one's thinking which is the result of
insight and stands in opposition to moros which means foolish. The idea
is that there is understanding combined with wisdom and insight.
Phronimos implies a cautious, sensible, prudent character and in Mt 10:16 refers to one as
"shrewd" as a serpent. One who is shrewd has clever
discerning awareness, acute perception and sharp powers of judgment. Phronimos also includes the ideas of one who is
prudent, sensible and practically wise in relationships with others.
There is a type of phronimos that is desirable (eg, here in Mt 7:24,
10:16, et al) and a type that is not desirable (Ro 11:26, 12:16) this
latter describing the person who relies on their own innate wisdom.
In
context Jesus explains that a truly wise person is the one who
puts His words into practice, proving that faith in Christ's finished
work on the cross (Jn 19:30, 1Jn 2:2) is
genuine. On the other hand those builders who profess or pretend to have
faith or who have a merely intellectual commitment are foolish builders
and when the storms of life come, including and especially the final
eschatological "storm" leading to the "Lake of fire", their structures
fool no one, especially not the Living God.
Phronimos is used 14 times in
the NT -
Matthew 7:24 "Therefore everyone who
hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise
man, who built his house upon the rock.
Matthew 10:16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves;
therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves.
Matthew 24:45 "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his
master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the
proper time?
Matthew 25:2 "And five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.
Comment: Prudent in English
describes one who is circumspect and who acts or shows care and thought
regarding the future. Not surprisingly each of these uses of phronimos
in Mt 25, describe those in a state of a preparedness. The Septuagint
uses phronimos in Pr 18:15 -- "The mind of the prudent [Lxx =
phronimos] acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks
knowledge.")
Matthew 25:4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
Matthew 25:8 "And the foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your
oil, for our lamps are going out.'
Matthew 25:9 "But the prudent answered, saying, 'No, there will not be
enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for
yourselves.'
Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and sensible
steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give
them their rations at the proper time?
Luke 16:8 "And his master praised the unrighteous steward because he had
acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to
their own kind than the sons of light.
Romans 11:25 (note) For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this
mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial
hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has
come in;
Romans 12:16 (note) Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty
in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own
estimation. (cp similar use of phronimos in Septuagint translation of Pr
3:7)
1 Corinthians 4:10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are prudent
in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but
we are without honor.
1 Corinthians 10:15 I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say.
2 Corinthians 11:19 For you, being so wise, bear with the foolish
gladly.
There are 27 uses of phronimos
in the
Septuagint (LXX)
- Ge 3:1; 41:33, 39; 1Sa 2:10; 1Ki 2:35; 3:12; 4:20, 30; 5:7; Pr 3:7;
11:12, 29; 14:6, 17, 35; 15:21; 17:10, 21, 27, 28; 18:14, 15; 19:7, 25;
20:5; Isa. 44:25; Hos. 13:13. The first use in Scripture is notable...
Ge 3:1 Now the serpent was more
crafty (Heb = 'aruwm = subtle, shrewd, sly; Lxx = phronimos) than
any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the
woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the
garden '?"
MacDonald rightly observes
that...
If a person lives according to the
principles of the Sermon on the Mount, the world calls him a fool; Jesus
calls him a wise man. The world considers a wise man to be
someone who lives by sight, who lives for the present, and who lives for
self; Jesus calls such a person a fool. (MacDonald,
W., & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson)
Both "builders" hear His Word, and both build houses that
ostensibly exhibit no differences in structure and quality, so that each
house looks quite secure in good weather. However the land of Israel is
known for sudden, torrential rains that can almost instantly turned dry
wadis (Wadi)
into potentially devastating raging torrents. It is the storm which
tests the quality of the house, and specifically the nature of the
foundation the builder built his or her house upon.
Jesus has a similar statement
in the gospel of John declaring that...
"If you love Me, you will keep My
commandments....22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, what
then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us, and not
to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me,
he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come
to him, and make Our abode with him. "He who does not love Me does not
keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's
who sent Me. (John
14:15,22-24)
The "rock" (4073)
(petra) is "these words of
Mine", the message of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Petra
is the Greek word, not for a stone or even a boulder, but a word that
describes a great outcropping of rock, a large expanse of bedrock which
is solid, stable, and unmovable.
Petra is used 15 times in the
NT - Matt. 7:24, 25; 16:18; 27:51, 60; Mk. 15:46; Lk. 6:48; 8:6, 13; Ro
9:33; 1Co. 10:4; 1Pe 2:8; Re 6:15, 16
The "house" that is built on
the rock is the life lived according to Jesus' teaching
BUILD ON THE ROCK
by Franklin Belden
(Play
hymn)
We’ll build on the Rock, the living Rock,
On Jesus, the Rock of Ages;
So shall we abide the fearful shock,
When loud the tempest rages.
Refrain
We’ll build on the Rock,
We’ll build on the Rock;
We’ll build on the Rock, on the solid Rock,
On Christ, the mighty Rock.
Some build on the sinking sands of life,
On visions of earthly treasure;
Some build on the waves of sin and strife,
Of fame, and worldly pleasure.
Refrain
O build on the Rock, for ever sure,
The firm and the true foundation;
Its hope is the hope which shall endure,
The hope of our salvation.
Refrain
><>><>><>
ACTING ON HIS MASTER'S WORDS -
Archibald Rutledge wrote that one day he met a man whose dog had just
been killed in a forest fire. Heartbroken, the man explained to Rutledge
how it happened. Because he worked out-of-doors, he often took his dog
with him. That morning, he left the animal in a clearing and gave him a
command to stay and watch his lunch bucket while he went into the
forest. His faithful friend understood, for that's exactly what he did.
Then a fire started in the woods, and soon the blaze spread to the spot
where the dog had been left. But he didn't move. He stayed right where
he was, in perfect obedience to his master's word. With tearful eyes,
the dog's owner said, "I always had to be careful what I told him to do,
because I knew he would do it."
If a dog can be expected to obey his master, how much more should we who
know the Lord and have been redeemed be obedient to His commands! May
you and I be so dependable in doing the Lord's will that our Master
would be able to ay of us, "I knew he would do it!"—R. W De Haan
(Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
><>><>><>
The Storm - Neal Beidleman survived the ill-fated
1996 expedition in which eight climbers died on Mount Everest. Some of
them had paid $65,000 for a chance to scale the world's highest peak. In
assessing what went wrong, Beidleman said,
"Tragedies and disasters...are not
the result of a single decision, a single event, or a single mistake.
They are the culmination of things in your life. Something happens and
it becomes a catalyst for all the things you've had at risk."
On Everest, that "something" was a
raging blizzard. According to journalist Todd Burgess, "If not for the
storm, the climbers may have gotten away with taking so many risks. But
the storm exposed their weaknesses."
The things at risk in our lives today—matters of spiritual indifference
or disobedience—can overwhelm us when the storms come. Jesus told a
story of the wise and foolish builders to stress the importance of
obedience to His words (Matthew 7:24-27). He said, "Whoever hears these
sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built
his house on the rock" (Mt 7:24).
Obedience to Christ doesn't eliminate the tempests of life, but it does
determine whether we fall or stand in the storm. —David McCasland
(Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
Living for the Lord, fearing Him each
day,
Best prepares the soul for the stormy way;
Then as trials come, tempting to despair,
We can rest secure, safe within His care. —D. De Haan
The storms of life reveal the
strength of our faith.
The wise man builds his house on rock
Instead of sinking sand
By doing what the Builder says
And following His plan. —Sper
To build a godly life,
let God be the
architect and His Word the blueprint.
><>><>><>
How To Build A House - I am
not an expert carpenter, but I did build my own house (at least most of
it). In the process, I learned that I needed a detailed blueprint and
the help of someone who had building experience.
The construction project referred to in Matthew 7:24-29 makes mine look
like child's play. What Jesus said applies to the lifelong process of
building godly character. The detailed instructions are outlined in the
Sermon on the Mount. Here are some of them: We must go the extra mile
(Mt 5:41-note),
bless those who curse us (Mt 5:44-note),
and treat others as we would want them to treat us (Mt 7:12-note).
As we try to put Jesus' instructions into practice, we face the
challenge of building. No sooner do we seek to obey than we see our need
for the help of someone who is wiser and stronger than we are. Jesus,
the Master Builder, is that One. He lived a perfect life and died on the
cross to pay the penalty for our sins. When we receive Him as our
Savior, we receive the One who was tempted just as we are, yet He was
without sin (He 4:15-note).
And He will never leave us (He 13:5, 6-notes).
Study the plan carefully and seek the wisdom of Jesus always. Only He
can help you to build a house that is strong enough to withstand the
storms of life. —Dennis J. De Haan (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
The wise man builds his house on rock
Instead of sinking sand
By doing what the Builder says
And following His plan. —Sper
To build a godly life,
let God be the architect and His Word the blueprint.
><>><>><>
A heavy rain had stopped falling just
before a man drove down a lonely road. As he rounded a curve, he saw an
old farmer surveying the ruins of his barn. The driver stopped to ask
what happened. "Roof fell in," said the farmer. "Leaked so long it just
rotted clear through." "Why didn't you fix it before it got so bad?"
asked the stranger. "Well, sir," replied the farmer, "I just never
seemed to get around to it. When the weather was good, I didn't need to.
And when it rained, it was too wet to work on!"
It's easy to think, someday I'll take care of those little sinful
habits; someday I'll start living for Christ. Such an attitude is no
different from that of the farmer. Jesus said, "Therefore whoever hears
these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who
built his house on the rock" (Matt. 7:24).
We grow strong in character by applying God's Word to our daily
activities. —D. J. De Haan
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Charles Simeon...
THE WISE BUILDER
Mt 7:24, 25, 26, 27
IT is of great importance in
preaching the Gospel, to discriminate between the different characters
to whom we deliver our message, and to separate the precious from the
vile. If this be neglected, the wicked will hold fast their delusions,
and the righteous continue in bondage to their fears: but if we be
faithful in the discharge of this part of our duty, those among whom we
minister, will be led to a knowledge of their own proper character and
condition. Our blessed Lord, at the conclusion of his Sermon on the
Mount, shews us how we should apply our subjects to the hearts and
consciences of our hearers. In the words before us he describes,
I. The character and condition of the godly—
Their character is drawn in simple but comprehensive terms—
[“They come to Christ:” this is absolutely necessary to their entrance
on the divine life: till they have come to Christ under a sense of their
own guilt and helplessness, they have no pretensions to godliness; they
are obnoxious to the curse of the law, and the wrath of God&&.
After they have come to Christ, “they hear his sayings;” they sit at his
feet, like Mary&&,” desiring to be fully instructed in his mind and
will. With this view they study the Holy Scriptures, and “meditate in
them day and night:” with this view also they attend the ordinances, and
“receive the word, not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the
word of God&&.”
They do not, however, rest in hearing his sayings; but they go forth to
“do them.” They desire to know his will in order that they may do it.
They love the most searching discourses, because by them they discover
the evil of their own hearts, and are led to aspire after a fuller
conformity to the Divine image: nor would they rest, till they feel
every “thought and desire captivated to the obedience of Christ.”]
Their condition is exhibited in an apt similitude—
[A man who builds his house upon a rock, shews that, however temperate
the weather may be at the time he is building, he expects tempests to
arise: and when the storms do come, he feels himself secure, from a
consciousness that his house is so constructed as to withstand their
violence.
Now a godly man resembles him in foresight and in security. He knows
that, though he may at present be able to live in some tolerable comfort
without religion, it will not be always so: he feels that, when
misfortunes, troubles, sickness, and death shall come, he will be
miserable without a well-founded hope of immortality. Hence he will not
be satisfied with any religion that will not stand the test of
scriptural examination; for he knows that no other will prove sufficient
in the hour of trial.
When the storms blow, and the tempests beat upon him, then he finds the
benefit of having “digged deep,” and laid his foundation well. Then he
stands immoveable secure: the promise and oath of Jehovah are his firm
support: Omnipotence itself upholds him. In vain do troubles from
without, or temptations from within, assault him: even in the immediate
prospect of death itself he retains his confidence, “knowing in whom he
has believed&&,” and assured that Jesus will save him to the uttermost.]
In a perfect contrast to this, our Lord exhibits,
II. The character and condition of the ungodly—
Their character is the very reverse of that already drawn—
[It is worthy of observation, that nothing is said of their coming unto
Christ. Here is their radical defect: had they ever come as perishing
sinners to him, they should have wanted nothing for the perfecting of
their salvation: but they are too proud to stoop to such an humiliating
method of obtaining mercy: they do not feel their desert of God’s wrath,
or their need of a mediator: and therefore, though they will compliment
Jesus with the name of Saviour, they will not flee to him for refuge as
those who know that without him they must for ever perish.
They will indeed “hear his sayings; but they will not do them.” They may
take a pleasure in hearing the Gospel preached; and, like Ezekiel’s
hearers, attend the ministration of the word with as much delight, as
others listen to a musical performance&&. They may even shew an
extraordinary zeal about the ordinances of religion&&, and may alter
their conduct, like Herod, in many things&&: but there is some darling
lust with which they will not part. When their besetting sin comes to be
exposed, they draw back, unwilling to have their wounds probed, and
their lusts mortified. When they are required to “pluck out their right
eye, and to cut off their right hand,” they turn away, exclaiming, “This
is an hard saying; who can hear it&&?”
This stamps their character as ungodly. It is not the commission of any
gross sin that constitutes men ungodly; but it is the retaining of some
bosom lust, the rendering of only a partial obedience to the law, the
“not having the heart right with God.”]
The similitude also reversed exactly describes their condition—
[A person who, because the weather is fair, builds his house without any
proper foundation, will, as soon as storms and tempests arise, find
reason for regret. The house, for want of a foundation, will be
undermined, and fall. He will then lose all the labour and money that he
has bestowed upon it, and perhaps, with all his family, be overwhelmed
in its ruins.
The ungodly man “is like to him” in folly, and in danger. His religion
must come to the test at last: if it bear him through his trials in
life, and uphold him with some degree of comfort in death, still it can
never bear the scrutiny of the judgment day: then every man’s work will
be tried as by fire; and that which does not endure the fire, will be
burnt up&&. How will the folly of trusting to vain delusions appear in
that day! What regret and sorrow will arise in the mind of him who has
laboured so much for nought! And how “great will be his ruin,” when he
shall have no shelter from the wrath of God, and when the goodly fabric
that he built shall crush him to atoms!
O that we well considered this; and that all of us would build as for
eternity!]
Let us learn from hence,
1. The necessity of practical religion—
[Religion does not consist in mere notions, however just or scriptural;
but in a conformity of heart and life to the will of God. We must not,
however, mistake, as though our works were the foundation whereon we are
to build (that would indeed be a foundation of sand): Christ is the only
foundation of a sinner’s hope&&; the only rock on which we must build:
but then we must shew that we do build on him, by the super-structure
which we raise upon him: and if the superstructure be not such as to
prove that we are founded on him, our hopes of standing in the day of
judgment are vain and delusive.]
2. The excellence of practical religion—
[A house, whose foundation is deep, and fixed upon a rock, will stand,
whatever storms or tempests may beat upon it. And thus it is with the
practical and consistent Christian. His principles will bear him up in
the day of adversity: he may defy all the hosts both of men and devils;
for none shall ever separate him from the love of God that is in Christ
Jesus our Lord&&. And when the most specious structures shall fall, to
the confusion and ruin of those who erected them, the wise builder shall
dwell secure amidst the desolating judgments and the wreck of worlds.]
