A study of Mattew 7:24-29

Matthew 7:24-29

The Two Foundations

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.

"And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.

"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.

"The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall."

When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching;

for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.


In these verses you have two people who hear the same thing but have two different responses and therefore two different ends. But what I want to draw your attention to first is the promise of these verses. Christ promises that if you respond in one way, act upon, you will still have problems in life. That doesn't differ between the two people; the same calamity happens to both people. But what differs is that one stands, he who acted, and one falls, he who didn't act. So Christ promises that if you do something, you will be able to stand no matter what life throws at you and you will not be carried away with the flood that is coming.

That is a promise that ought to make any sane person ask; What must I do? Well, glad you asked. The first thing is that you need to hear something; and something very specific. these words of mine, whose words? The very words of Christ, the word of God. See John 1 And just for clarity this doesn't just mean the four gospels, it means toto Scriptura, all of scripture. See Luke 24:27 and Hebrews 1
Now the second thing that must happen is the difference that makes all the difference; you must act upon what you hear. This however opens a huge discussion on why the two different responses. If somebody with that much authority says something to you, you ought to do it and do it quickly.
But this idea of someone having authority over us and telling us what we ought to do and not do cuts to the very heart of the matter. Men who have not been born of the spirit have inherited from their first father, Adam, a spirit and nature that will not have anyone else rule over them. You can see this quite well, everyone is busy building their life as they see best. Then along comes the master builder and he says; hey if you use those materials and that foundation your structure will collapse. And what is the natural response? Thank you very much, but this is my life I'll do with it what I want and you will not tell me what I should do or not do with it. I will decide what is good and bad, I'll decide what is true and false, and I'll decide what is beautiful and ugly. Is that not everyone of us? Because of that nature, that is in rebellion against God, The natural man can't and will not act upon the words of Christ. And therefore he will perish, unless God himself intervenes. Hence the ultimate meaning of this text. So, the very first thing that must happen, is that one must be born again. Or to put it another way, you must receive a new nature, one that willing submits to the law and authority of God. And only God can cause that to happen and that's what we call sovereign grace.

So the promise of these verses for the ability to stand can only be applied to those for whom Christ is King, their authority and their sovereign. To those who have put down their arms and surrendered their wills and life to God. Because, only those for whom Christ is King, will Christ save. All others will perish and that without exception, for there can be no rebellion in the Kingdom of Heaven for it is a kingdom of peace.

The last thing I want to point out is that this passage is a contrast between a wise man and a foolish man. Now, no one wants to be the foolish man. But isn't that the tragedy of all tragedies to spend your whole life thinking you are wise only to get the end and realize you were a fool. That's why scripture implores us to seek wisdom, but the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. And there we go back again to the issue of authority. Who rules over you? you or God? If it is God, then go get your Bible and seek wisdom and seek the face of God. A good place to start is the book of Proverbs. It works out really nice because there are thirty one chapters in it and thirty one days in a month, most times. So here is a place you can go daily, like you do for food, and find wisdom. And remember Christ said that man doesn't live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. So if you go to the word very little, you'll starve and have no vitality. Give us this day our daily bread takes on a whole new meaning.. And keep in mind that faith is active trust; it requires action. It's the difference between saying; yes if I put on that parachute and jump out of this plane, the parachute will save me and putting on the parachute and jumping out of the plane. So, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and jump because nothing else will prove your faith in Him than trusting Him to catch you. So read His word and then go do it, for the Lord promises you success, you will stand and not fall, for underneath you are the everlasting arms Deuteronomy 33:27

Breaking The Silence and Lunch With the Jehovah's Witnesses

Well my friend Paul reminded me today that I have a blog, something I seem to have forgotten. So Paul, this blog is for you.

I've decided that I will at least try and post something at least once a week; either Friday or Monday. If time permits I'll offer a daily special. So my apologies to all the patrons of Robby's Pancake House who I have left famished for the last several months.

So, Thursday I had lunch with some Jehovah's witnesses; not intentionally though. And I would like to share my thoughts about that with those of you who are followers of Jesus of Nazareth. The rest of you might find the following odd.

So Thursday I was starting to enjoy my Lunch as I sat in my truck at work. When I was approached by two Ladies representing the Jehovah's witnesses. I thought this was a little bold of them and I respect them for their zeal; I wish all Christians were this bold in sharing their faith. Now I had an encounter with some witnesses several days ago, so the topic was fresh on my mind. That conversation didn't go as well has I had planned, so I was rethinking my tactics. When talking with those who are trying to work their way into heaven I take them to Matthew 5:20. But I had taken the conversation to Matthew 7:21. This approach fails because they believe they are the ones doing the will of the Father. And then trying to argue against that takes you away from the cross and the need for a savior. So this time I was going to stick to Matthew 5:20 and open up the law as Christ does in His sermon. But the conversation turned to the deity of Christ and I didn't want to go there because they love to debate this. And I want to show them their true state in the mirror of God's law. Now this is where I think I stumbled in the conversation; not that I can't argue for the deity of Christ. Which is something they agree with only that He is not Jehovah, God himself. But this begs the question; Why must the Christ be God himself and nothing less. This is why I think Matthew 5:20 is helpful but there is somewhere else I would have gone as a follow up, but I'll get to that in a minute. They agreed that Christ had paid our debt. And I agree with that, but that's only half the story. There are two problems I see in their position; First, Can a christ who is not fully God pay that debt fully? and second the payment of the debt only brings the balance to zero. And we need righteousness to get into heaven. And according to Matthew 5:20 we need an amount that no human can acheive, not even the most religious and devout. Which ought to frighten any sober minded individual. So where does one get this kind of righteousness? I did press this point with them, but In hindsight I should have gone to Matthew 19:17 as a follow up and here is why. Matthew 19:17 makes it clear that their is only one who is good, who posses the kind of righteousness we need; God himself. This is why the Christ must be God himself and nothing less as the Jehovah's Witnesses teach. So next time I'll be sure to take them their. Also if you read this passage carefully you will notice that Jesus is making a claim to deity here and not denying it as some would teach.

And just as a side note; Heaven should never be the goal of the Christian, God himself should be. Heaven is only the place where we enjoy the presence of God, forever. So we are saved from God, by God, to God so that God himself my receive all the praise. Change any of those objects and God is robbed of His glory. The Jehovah's Witnesses change the "by God" to "by a lesser deity" People like Joel Stohl change the "from God" to "from a bad life" and most Christians, not all, change the "to God" to "to heaven" So let's examine ourselves to make sure we don't make these errors and the next time you are talking to someone who is religious listen to see who or what they have substituted for God himself as the means and object of all things.

Isaiah 42:8
I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.

The just shall live by faith

Do you think there is a difference between believing in God and believing God?

I ask that question because I doubt any of us don't believe in God. But I do doubt that any of us really believe God. Sure we can all say we do when things are good. But how many of us could sit on the ashes of our lives, naked and scraping the sores that cover our body and say; The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD as Job did. When things don't go as we planned, do we worry? When our country seems corrupt, do we worry? When everything in your life is shaken or removed, where will your confidence and hope be? Will it be in someone else or perhaps yourself? Is it in your things or were you live? What is it in life, that if you lost it you would be troubled by? If your hope is not in God alone, then you have just found your idol. What I see is everyone worried about all sorts of things, worry is the opposite of faith. But how many of us even care that the one who gave us life, eyes to see, ears to hear and filled our lives with beauty, that His name is blasphemed constantly. Does it break our hearts when God is lied about? Does it concern us that we honor Him with our lips, but our hearts are far from Him. Does our soul yearn for God as King David's did in Psalm 42; As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? When is the last time you picked up your Bible because you thirsted after God and wanted to meet Him? Some don't even believe God when He says that it is His word. How many of us call God a liar by our thoughts and actions every moment? If the things that are done to God were done to someone you love, you would be outraged. Yet we yawn or turn away when God is dragged through the mud and sometimes we are the ones doing it to Him. Let's get passionate about something that really matters, God and His honor. The rest of the stuff is just window dressing. This is not to say that I'm a perfect representative of God and everyone should be more like me, I dishonor Him more than I care to remember, and it breaks my heart. Honestly, I wish I was more like a door than a wall. I want people to see God, in all His beauty, and fall madly in love with Him. I don't want them to see me, but he has chosen this imperfect vessel of clay to proclaim His majesty. So my question is; do we believe that God is good and He always does what is right? We can rattle of so easily all we know about God and talk as If we know Him. But remember, even the demons believe in God, yet they tremble James 2:19 Do we tremble? or do we mock Him and say Ah! He doesn't really mean that and He most certainly won't do that. God has sworn that a day is coming when he will balance the scales of justice and that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:20 That righteousness is found only in Christ. You don't posses it, nor can you earn it. It is the free gift of God by faith alone, in Christ alone. It is attained by believing that God has done for you what He promised He would do. Remember that Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Galatians 3:6 And faith is the gift of God Ephesians 2:8 So my challenge is this; Tolle Lege, take up and read. Go get your Bible and knock of the dust. And when you do, do it with the eyes of faith, believing God and His word. Seek His face. For He promises that all who seek, shall find Matthew 7:7

On The Solid Rock I Stand

Matthew 7:23-25 (New King James Version)

24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

As I get older and study history; I notice that a lot of philosophies and ideas come and go. But one remains the same and still stands. Take for example the hottest book out right now The Secret; in a few years this book will fade into history like all the other ideas of men. But I can certainly understand the reasons for all these philosophies. We instinctively understand that the world is not as it should be, something has gone wrong. Why do children die? Why do people murder each other? Why is it easier for me to lie than tell the truth? The questions could go on and on. But the question remains, why? What has gone wrong with the world? We know that things are not as the should be or could be. We have a sense of right and wrong and we want things to be right, but they're not. We are desperately looking for answers and constantly trying out new theories. We want to know what we can do to fix it. Yet, after thousands of years we (collectively speaking, people in general) are no closer to the answers then when we first began, which ought to tell us that the answer lies outside of ourselves. We can not get there from here. And where is "there", from where does this notion of the good come from and why don't we experience it? Some would say "don't worry, be happy" or "love is the answer" or any other empty platitude. But those notions will not help when someone walks into the mall where you are sipping your latte and starts gunning people down. How do you make sense of that? How do you make sense when your son is born with a birth defect that takes his life before he can ever say " I love you" . I don't know about you, but I need real answers to these questions. I need to base my life on something that can carry me through tragedies, loss, suffering, old age and death. Passing fads, and empty platitudes are like chasing bubbles, touch them and they are gone. I need something I can stand on, build my life on and die on.

Let's consider the Pilgrims, since it is Thanksgiving. On what did they build there lives? What was it that was so sure and so strong that in spite of all they faced, they carried on. When faced with months at sea, cold, hunger, lack of comfort and death, even the death of their own children what carried them through? They could've gone back to their homes, in fact they could've never left. What was it that motivated them, what was it that they were so sure of that they gave their fortunes and lives for. Do you have that kind of passion and confidence in life? Some might say they were just stupid. Were they? their children were more educated and more read than any college graduate today. What was it that they built their lives on and on what did they build our government? A little study of history will show that these people knew in whom they believed and knew that scripture was given by Him to them and us. History is filled with men and women like this; they are Christian Martyrs. These are people who gave their lives for the cause of Christ, not taking the lives of others for their cause. These are the people who founded the greatest nation the world has ever known. These are people who started hospitals, founded universities, and have done more to relieve human suffering than any other group of people the world has ever know. You might say they knew why there is suffering and sorrow in the world and they knew what to do about it. And they most certainly knew were to find answers to life's toughest questions. Consider Horatio G. Spafford who lost his four daughters at sea and only his wife survived. On his way to join his wife, he stopped at the place where they died and pen the words to the classic Hymn, It Is Well With My Soul.
Faced with that kind of loss, could you say "it is well with my soul"


That is what I want to build my life on, the word of God as contained in scripture. History ought to tell us that those who stand on scripture alone, stand on solid ground. And those who stand on the philosophies of men, stand on shifting sand. The Bible has withstood thousands of years of criticism. Countless philosophies have come and gone but God's word remains. We as a people need to see in scripture what these great people saw in scripture, a complete and sufficient worldveiw, not just some place to get some personal values. The word of God is so much more than that. So the question is; Will you be the wise person who builds on the Rock or the foolish one who builds on sand?

Matthew 7:23-25 (New King James Version)

24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

Are you born again ?

In recent studies the Barna Group has determined that Born Again Christians are no different from the world. Is it possible for someone to change and not change? The Barna Group would say yes, but the New Testament clearly says no. John Piper has started a series on defining what the New Testament means by born again or regenerate. Here is a quote from the first installment, to read the whole article and follow along as he explores this topic, click here.

The New Testament Moves the Opposite Direction

I’m not saying their research is wrong. It appears to be appallingly right. I am not saying that the church is not as worldly as they say it is. I am saying that the writers of the New Testament think in exactly the opposite direction about being born again. Instead of moving from a profession of faith, to the label “born again,” to the worldliness of these so-called born again people, to the conclusion that the new birth does not radically change people, the New Testament moves the other direction. It moves from the absolute certainty that the new birth radically changes people, to the observation that many professing Christians are indeed (as the Barna Group says) not radically changed, to the conclusion that they are not born again. The New Testament, unlike the Barna Group, does not defile the new birth with the worldliness of unregenerate, professing American Christians. Quoted from John Piper at desiringgod.org