Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be
like a foolish man who built his house on the sand
(1 Samuel
2:30;
Proverbs 14:1;
Jeremiah 8:9;
Luke 6:49;
James 2:20)
Everyone who hears - The
present tense
pictures a continually
hearing of Jesus' words. The implication is one can continually hear the
Savior's voice through His word and His instruments of proclamation
(pastors, relatives, friends, missionaries, etc) and yet refuse to truly
"hearken" ("to give heed to") to His words of warning and wisdom by
obeying them.
As someone has said deeds are fruit
but words are leaves!
Spurgeon put it this way...
I would not give much for your
religion unless it can be seen. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine.
Jesus gave a similar
admonition in His parable of the seed and sower (or "soils") teaching
that...
the one on whom seed (the Word of
God, the Gospel) was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears
the word, and immediately receives it with joy yet (introduces a
critical contrast) he has no firm root in himself, but is
only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the
word, immediately he falls away (Literally "is stumbled" = skandalizo =
habitually is tripped up, offended or "scandalized" by the Word).
(Matthew 13:20,21)
Comment: Note the NAS adds "firm"
(You can discern this word is added by the translators because the NAS
and KJV/NKJV place words not present in the original Greek sentence in
italics something most other versions unfortunately don't do)
so it reads literally "no root" where "no" is the
strongest Greek word (ou) to express the negative sense. This
distinction makes quite a difference in one's interpretation, for a
plant with no root is by definition not really a true
plant, in contrast to a plant that has no firmly attached root.
Jesus is not saying these individuals believe and are saved for a while
and then lose their salvation. They heard the Truth of the Gospel but
had no genuine "germinating" faith by which they might lay hold of true
salvation. Their belief was tantamount to intellectual assent. They were
professors but not possessors of belief in Christ. They liked Jesus'
promises of blessing but not His requirement of belief, the genuineness
of this belief being evidenced by one's supernaturally changed life. Cp
"hears...and does not act")
And does not act on them -
Spurgeon comments that many people...
know as far as the theory goes what
the plan of salvation is, as well as I do. Yet, where the knowledge is
the same, the ultimate result may vary; two men may be equally well
instructed in the Scriptures, yet one of them may be wise and the other
foolish. To know what faith is, what repentance is, what a good hope in
Christ is, may all be yours, and yet it may but increase your misery
forever. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. It is not
the hearer, but the door of the word, that is blessed. Knowledge puffeth
up; love alone buildeth up. My dear friends, I am most earnest that
those of you who are desiring to find everlasting life in Christ Jesus,
may not be content with anything short of a true, deep, and real work of
grace in your hearts; for no clearness of head knowledge, no natural
earnestness of purpose or eagerness of desire can save you; without an
interest in Christ Jesus you are lost to all eternity. “Ye must be born
again;” ye must be brought into vital union with the living Savior, or
your hopefulness will end in overwhelming destruction.
James addressed his critical
concern regarding hearers who failed to be doers
commanding his readers to...
prove
(present
imperative = make
this your continual practice - read the Word, then do the Word!)
yourselves doers (poietes ~ "performers", "poets") of the word, and not
merely hearers (akroates = those who sit passively and listen like a
student who audits a class but is not held accountable for what they
hear! Jesus says we are accountable when we hear!) who delude (present
tense
= continually ; paralogizomai from
pará = beside + logizomai = exercise one’s reason >> literally reasoning
beside the truth) themselves. 23 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 24 for once he has looked (Literally = Put his mind down on
indicating attention and continuous observation) at himself and gone
away, he has immediately forgotten (completely forgot, literally hidden
upon [one's mind]) what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks
intently (parakupto from pará = beside + kúpto = bend, stoop >>
literally stooping sideways in order to see something exactly) at the
perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a
forgetful hearer ("auditor") but an effectual doer, this man shall be
blessed in what he does. 26 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. (James 1:22-26)
Spurgeon explains that...
If any soul will be lost
emphatically, it is he who has been for years a hearer only, a hearer
where thousands have believed unto eternal life. Over the cell of such
a man write, "He knew his duty, but he did it not," and that cell will
be built in the very center of Gehenna. It is the innermost prison of
hell. Willful rejection of Christ ensures woeful rejection from Christ
Built
on sand - Homeowners who have foundation problems find that these
can be quietly costly. How much more eternally costly for those whose
spiritual lives prove to have been built on the wrong foundation!
Arthur Pink writes that these
"hearers"
bring their bodies to the house of
prayer but not their souls; they worship with their mouths, but not “in
spirit and in truth.” They are sticklers for immersion or early morning
communion, yet take no thought about keeping their hearts with all
diligence. They boast of their orthodoxy; but disregard the precepts of
Christ. Multitudes of professing Christians abstain from external acts
of violence, yet hesitate not to rob their neighbors of a good name by
spreading evil reports against them. They contribute regularly to the
“pastor’s salary,” but shrink not from misrepresenting their goods and
cheating their customers, persuading themselves that “business is
business.” They have more regard for the laws of man than those of God,
for His fear is not before their eyes.
><>><>><>
On Rock Or Sand? - Japan's second-largest airport is
sinking into the ocean. When Kansai International near Osaka was
constructed on an artificial island, designers and builders knew that it
would settle. They built hydraulic jacks into the structures to correct
any tilt that occurred. But during its first 6 years, several key
portions of the airport have reached or exceeded their 50-year sinking
projection. They say there is no reason to be alarmed, but local
residents are not so sure.
Most of us will never design or build an airport, but we are all in the
process of constructing a life. There is no more crucial decision than
choosing the foundation upon which we build.
Jesus used the metaphor of building on sand to describe the person who
hears His words but does not put them into practice. "The floods came,
and the winds blew and beat on that house," Jesus said, "and it fell.
And great was its fall" (Matthew 7:27). Merely hearing what Jesus says
is not enough.
In contrast, Jesus likened the person who hears and keeps His teachings
to a wise man who builds his house on the rock (see note
Matthew 7:24). Not even the
fiercest storm can bring it down.
Solid rock or sinking sand? On what foundation are we choosing to build
today? —D C McCasland (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
If you want life's truest treasures
Do not build on sinking sand;
Build upon the
Rock of Ages
,
Trust in God's almighty hand. —Jarvis
With God's word as your foundation,
you can build a godly life.
