Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: Ezra 1-4
     New Testament Reading: Matthew 7

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash” (Matthew 7:24-27).

Our Lord closed His Sermon on the Mount with the familiar story picturing two builders and their houses. Often this parable is miss-applied stating that the foolish builder is a non-Christian having rejected Christ, and the wise builder one who accepted Christ. But a closer look shows that is not the case.

To understand the meaning of this parable, we must remember that Jesus is speaking directly to those who were His followers, to His disciples. This section of scripture begins in chapter 5. When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to teach them, saying: (Matt 5:1-2).

Both builders are followers of Christ, both are Christians. The difference does not concern salvation, but obedience after salvation. Jesus isn’t using houses and sand, and rock literally but figurative sense. He is talking about building a philosophy of life, establishing values, and making decisions that relate to life.

Both builders face a storm of rain and winds and floods. Again, the storm is not to be taken literally, but symbolically. They represent the storms of life. Jesus is telling us how to build lives that can withstand the calamities He sees looming on the horizon of our future.

Both builders listened to and heard the words of Jesus, the only difference is one little word. Jesus said, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man (v24) Then said, everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man (v26) The only difference is the wise man acts on what he hears, and the foolish man doesn’t.

You can listen to hurricane warnings on the radio all you want and know what to do, but unless you get up off the couch and do something, you are going to get blown away. The same is true of the Christian life. You can listen to all the sermons in the world and read and study the Bible every day, but unless you apply the teachings to your life and do what God instructs us to do, you will not be prepared to handle the storms of life.

God’s Word has not been preserved through the ages because it is a literary masterpiece. God has given it to us to be acted upon. We are to step into it, make its truths our own, and in doing so, we can discover the simple secret of an unsinkable life. A life built on the right foundation, the solid foundation of God’s Word.