A Firm Foundation
The Sermon on the Mount provides the Christian foundation for life. Yet, many people live an accidental Christian life in their decisions. Building the right way involves paying the price of long-term personal
commitment in order to get it secure. In Matthew 7:24-29, Jesus addressed two reactions to His teaching: building wisely and building foolishly. In order to fully understand the lesson, a grasp of the Judean climate is very important: dry with flooding. Everything in the path gets swept away. First, Jesus addressed the wise builder—“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them.” (v. 24) The first priority of Bible study is personal application and transformation; affirming biblical truth by an act of your will. This is a life that is built upon powerful eternal truth. Second, Jesus addressed the foolish builder—“Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them.” (v. 26) This is the one who refuses to apply truth to his life. Destruction is somewhere out in the future for those who hear and don’t apply it. This is a life that is built on the inadequacy and instability of human understanding, powerless human reasoning. Listen! Rain will descend; wind will blow; and floods will come. These are the tests of life that prove or disprove the foundation. The rains test if our roofs leak. The winds test if our walls are strong. The floods test if our foundations are firm. What will you do with the teachings of Jesus: apply them or reject them? Are you building on the Rock or on the sand? What effect did Jesus’ words have on His listeners? “The crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” (vv. 28-29) The rabbis just passed on what they had read and the people received it as second hand. Jesus’ teaching was all first hand! Even when He quoted the Scriptures, He was the primary source of what He said.
Sin cera, Erik
Erik O. Garthe is Associate Pastor at Canton Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland.
