Word of Salvation – Vol. 47 No. 37 – October 2002

 

Two Builders

 

Sermon by Rev. J. Haverland on Matthew 7:24-27

Scripture Readings: Matthew 7:13-29;
            Ezekiel 13:1-16; James 1:22-25; James 2:14-20

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The theme of this sermon is: The storms of this life and the judgment will test whether we have heard and obeyed the word of Jesus.  And the purpose of the sermon is: To urge you to hear and obey Jesus' words.

 

When a building is going up, a person will come out regularly to check on the progress and to make sure that everything is being done according to the regulations.  All cities have a building code and all buildings have to comply with that code.  It is the job of building inspectors to make sure that builders do that properly, that they conform to the rules.

However, building inspectors cannot check on everything and builders could cover up their mistakes so they can't be seen.  They could give the appearance that everything was done properly and according to the plan when in fact they had left something out or weakened the structure in some way.  So, the inspectors can only do so much.

The real test of strength and compliance will come when there is a severe earthquake or flood.  Then the building will be tested to see if it is up to its specifications – up to standard.  Then the work of the builders will be seen for what it is.  We have seen some terrible examples overseas of failure in work done when there have been severe earthquakes.

This passage reminds us that each one of us is a builder.  We are building in our lives.  Every word we say, every deed we do, every action and act is another part of the building.  How are we building?  Is it up to the standard?  Will it pass inspection?  Will it stand up to the ultimate test of the final judgment?

This is the application Jesus wants to press on His hearers and us as He comes to the close of this sermon.  A sermon will often conclude with an application, a final statement to urge us to do what we have heard.  This is what Jesus does in this Sermon on the Mount.

In verses 13-14 of this chapter Jesus highlighted the main issue: You need to choose between two ways – the broad road or the narrow path.  Enter through the narrow gate”, He says.

Then in verses 15-23 he calls us to genuine obedience.  The true test of profession is whether you live out what you say – whether you do the will of your Father, whether you are bearing fruit.

Now He drives this home with a final parable about two builders.  "It isn't enough to hear my words," He says, "you must also put them into practice."

A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.  This story is about two men who were building.  Jesus was a carpenter before He started His preaching ministry.  He knew something about building.  Maybe He went out with His father to look at houses that were under construction and to offer a hand or to give advice.

This story draws on an everyday life example that He knew a lot about and that was familiar to everyone.  It's familiar to us, too, because we see houses under construction all around the city.  In this story there are two builders, two houses and two results.

TWO BUILDERS

There is quite a variety of people here today: young and old, male and female, tall and short; we have a variety of talents and abilities; and we represent a whole range of different backgrounds and places of origin.  Yet, when the Bible talks about the people of the world, it puts all of us into one of two classes.  You are either wise or foolish; righteous or wicked; a believer or an unbeliever; in the light or in darkness; on the narrow path that leads to life or the wide road that leads to destruction.  Everyone of us here is one or the other; no one is in between.

Jesus wants us to be wise rather than foolish, to be saved rather than perish.  He describes a wise man.

We don't often hear people use the word 'wisdom'.  The word has gone out of fashion and, sadly, this characteristic has disappeared out of people's lives.  Today people are more interested in knowledge and intelligence and education and computer literacy.

God, however, wants us to be wise.  He gives us a definition of wisdom in Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."  Biblical wisdom is a knowledge of God and His truth and laws which is lived out and applied to life.  That is, it involves knowledge and the living of that knowledge.

Proverbs is a book of practical wisdom.  It records words spoken by a father to his son: "Be wise", he says, “Know God and obey him." The letter of James is the wisdom book of the New Testament.  It is a letter full of practical Christian living.  It describes how faith must show itself in works.

This is the point of this parable.  It is about a wise man who applied his faith who heard the words of Jesus and put them into practice.  But this parable also describes a foolish man.

The Greek word is moros, from which we get our English word, moron.  That's not a nice thing to say to someone; you might use it to make fun of someone or to hurt them.

In the Bible a moron is a fool.  He is the opposite of a wise man.  The wise man is humble and knows his limitations.  But the fool is proud and thinks he knows everything.  He believes he is okay, that his life is in order, that he has everything under control.  But he is deluded.  He is fooling himself.  The fool may even think he is a believer and that he knows God.  But he is kidding himself because he doesn't live as a Christian.  He doesn't apply what he knows.  It's all in his head but it doesn't show in his life.

You could be foolish, too.  You could be kidding yourself.  You could be self-deceived.  You have to face the possibility that you could have heard thousands of sermons, been to hundreds of Bible studies, been right through Sunday school and catechism, and still be a fool.

How do you know whether you are wise or foolish?

Let's have a look at the houses these men built.

TWO HOUSES

Jesus describes a wise man who built his house on the rock.  This man looked for a good spot to build and he found an ideal place in a gully.  It was sheltered, private and level.  But he knew that it could flood.  It was as dry as a bone now but if there were heavy rains the water could reach this spot.

Being a wise man he scraped away the sand and loose gravel and went down deep until he came to the rock.  This was the only way it would survive a flood.

This is still a building practice today as well.  Often, if you are building, you have to have a soil test and your foundations will have to go down until they are resting on something solid and firm.

Remember that this is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.  Jesus explains the spiritual lesson: The wise man is the person who hears the words of Jesus and does them.  Knowledge leads to action; theology is applied in life; theory is put into practice.

This is the consistent teaching of the New Testament.  Someone once told Jesus, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside".  Jesus replied, "Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (Mat.12:50).

Jesus also said, "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it" (Luke 11:28).  The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus "became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him" (Heb.5:9).  And James says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says" (James 1:22).

This is also the message of the Sermon on the Mount.  To truly confess Jesus as Lord and to be accepted by Him you must be doing the will of your Father in heaven.  That means you must be salt in a rotting world; a light in the darkness of our world; that you must love your enemies and not just your friends; that you must focus on treasure in heaven not on earth; that you must follow Christ along the narrow path and not the crowd on the broad road.  Be a wise man who built his house on the rock.

To highlight the contrast Jesus describes a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  He built in the same location; maybe just down the valley a little.  But he didn't think ahead; or if he did, he thought he would be okay.  It was too much hassle to go to the rock, too much like hard work, all that extra time in excavating, all that trouble.  Forget it!  So he built on the loose gravel and sand.

This is a picture of the man who hears the words of Jesus and does not obey them.  Notice that he does hear.  This person appears to be a believer and is seen in the right places and listens to the right doctrine but this is not applied, not lived out, not put into practice.

You might know all about the piano and all about music theory.  But if you never practice and you can't play, then you are not a pianist!  So, too, with a Christian.  Knowing the Bible and all the theory does not make you a Christian.  If you do not put it into practice, then you will not be saved.

All of us need to take this to heart and apply this in our lives.  This is the final exhortation of the Lord Jesus in this sermon.  Here is the last application.  Are you doing this?  Do you believe in Jesus?  Are you mourning over your sin?  Are you hungering and thirsting for righteousness?  Do you want to live a holy and godly life?  Are you keeping the commands of the Lord Jesus?  Are you doing God's will?  Are you showing the fruit of Christian character in your life – repentance, faith, a love for others, a compassion for those in need, humility, patience, self-control?

Pious talk without genuine obedience counts for nothing.  It is not enough to merely know God's will, we must also do it.  We are not saved by our works, but we are saved to do good works.  No one goes into heaven because of his obedience; but no one goes into heaven without obedience.

Two builders; two houses; and thirdly,

TWO RESULTS

Maybe you know someone who has trained as a civil engineer.  His job is to design buildings so they stand up to certain pressures, like earthquakes or snow loads or strong winds.

The houses described in this parable were tested.  In Palestine the rain came in the autumn.  It was often torrential; it poured, bucketed, rained cats and dogs; and the rivers would rise and turn into raging floods.  The rain thundered on the roof of this house built on the rock; the river washed against the foundation; the wind beat on the walls – but it stood firm.  Why?  Because it was founded on the rock.

The storm represents the difficulties that come our way in life.  These include trials: sickness, losing money or friends, someone in your family dying.  Storms include temptation by satan and evil angels.  Storms also include persecution: people laughing at you, leaving you out of things, being threatened or mocked for being honest.  But if you trust in Jesus and you are honestly seeking to live it out in your life, then your faith will survive these storms.  Believe in Jesus.  Trust in Him.

The storm also represents the final judgment.  In that final storm of the judgment to come, those who believe and who have lived that out will stand firm in Christ.  Others will be swept away to the punishment of hell.  This was the fate of the man who built his house on the sand.

It is difficult to examine foundations once they are laid – they are under the ground and it is difficult to see how well they have been done.  When you compare one house and another they might look very similar.  One may be built on a solid foundation and the other on a weak one.  You won't find out until the storms come.  That is the real test.

The house built by the foolish man was also beaten by the storm.  The rain came, the floods rose and the wind beat against that house and it fell with a great crash.  The Greek reads: "Great was its fall".  You have probably seen pictures on television of floods and of houses washed away by the surging water – utterly destroyed, ruined, demolished.

In the storms of life some who appear to be Christians will give up, toss it in, become bitter and disillusioned.  They are like the seed that fell on rocky ground; when trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, it quickly falls away.  But this storm ultimately represents the final judgment.  At that time the foolish will be swept away.

The wisdom book of the Bible, Proverbs, draws out the contrast between the righteous and the wicked in these verses: "Wicked men are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous stands firm" (Pr 12:7).  "When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever" (Pr 10:25).

Most of you will have heard many of the words of Jesus.  Be sure you not only hear them but that you also do them; be sure your faith is seen in works – that what you know is lived out in life.  Then your house will stand firm in this life, and for all eternity.

Amen.