Articles
Two Foundations - 12.24.23 Bulletin
Two Foundations
Matthew 7.24-27
Having a strong base to build upon is important for proper development. If you want to learn how to play the guitar, the first step is not to find the guitar tabs for your favorite song and just start playing. You are not going to get very far or any better. Instead, you must learn the basic cords and practice those first, progressing from there until you learn how to play a full song. Before building any kind of structure, a strong foundation must be laid first. Without a strong foundation, the building will be unstable and have a greater chance of collapsing. Our spiritual lives are no different. If we want to have a strong spiritual life, it must be built on a strong foundation.
Jesus, in His parable describes two people. The first is a wise man who built his house upon the rock (the gospel of Jesus), he is the man who hears the words of Jesus and does them. The second is the foolish man who built his house upon the sand (the opinions and doctrines of man), he is the man who hears the words of Jesus and does not do them. Each of these men faced the winds, rains, and floods, which represent the trials of life. The man who built his house upon the rock, his house stood when faced with the elements. The same cannot be said for the man who built upon the sand, his house fell, and the text even says, “and great was the fall of it” (v. 27 ESV). What applications can we make from this parable by Jesus?
Doing the Lord’s will is better than only hearing it. One thing these two men had in common is they both heard the word of the Lord. The foolish man cannot use the excuse that he was unaware of what the Lord said. Hearing the word of the Lord is good, it is how everyone begins their spiritual development. The wise man is called wise because he not only heard the word of the Lord, but he then acted on what he heard. It is not enough for us to only listen to a message delivered from the pulpit, or during a Bible study, or to just read the Bible during our personal study, it is essential that we act on, and properly apply what we hear and read. Romans 2.13 says, “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified” (ESV).
We must build upon the proper foundation. In the parable, each man faced the trails of life, represented by the rains, winds, and floods. The house that remained standing was the one that was built on the solid foundation of the rock. If we want to remain standing spiritually when we face the trials and tribulations of life, we too must have our lives firmly built upon the rock of God and His word. A person who builds their foundation on the doctrine and teachings of men, materialism, or on societal norms, is not going to stand. One question we can ask ourselves to see if we have the proper foundation is, where do we turn when we are sad, dejected, overwhelmed, anxious, or even happy, excited, or joyful? If it is not God, then we have built our spiritual house on the wrong foundation. God needs to be at the center of our lives, during the bad and the good because He cares so much for us.
We must also be careful how we build upon our foundation. There are many false teachers in the world who on the surface appear very knowledgeable in God’s word, but their teaching is leading people astray. We must test the words spoken or written by men to see if they are from God or not. Just because we start with the right foundation doesn’t mean our house can’t become compromised. Our loyalty must be to God’s word first and foremost, because He is the sole authority. If we do that we will not fail.
We must consider the influences around us. Our choices will determine if our foundation is going to be strong, and if it will stand when tested by the trials of life. One of those choices is who we choose to surround ourselves with, these influences will play a major role in the success or failure of our spiritual house. 1 Corinthians 15.33 says, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals” (ESV). Peer pressure affects all people no matter their age. We need to be mindful of who we choose to spend time with. Who we date, who we marry, the job we have, the friends we have, the activities we engage in, all can have either a positive or negative influence on us. If any of these are causing us to take our eyes off the Lord, and compromise the structural integrity of our spiritual house, we need to remove ourselves from that influence.
DS
- Glad_Tidings_12.24.2023_PDF.pdf (5.05 MB)
