MH 23
March 23
Matthew 7:24 to end. The parable of the house on the rock and the house on the sand.
Christ ended his sermon on the mount by warnings against the danger of an empty profession of religion. He first gave the warning in plain language, saying, "Not everyone who says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." Then he related a parable on the subject. It is the first of his parables recorded. It resembles his last parable in this point—both of them convey a dreadful warning to false professors of religion . In the parable of the talents an unprofitable servant is described, who is cast into outer darkness. (Matthew 25:30.) And in this parable a foolish builder is spoken of, who, we have reason to believe, was crushed beneath the ruins of his own house. Why did Jesus thus begin and end his series of parables with warnings against the same sin? Was it not that he knew the great danger in which we stand, of being satisfied with a mere form of godliness?
Nothing is said about the sort of house the wise man built upon the rock. It may have been a large, or a small one; a splendid house, or a shabby one, we know not; but it was a safe one. The foundation was good. The foundation is the unseen part of a house, and yet the most important. So it is in religion. The unseen part is the most important. What is the state of the heart? that is the most important question. Has it been humbled before God? Has it believed in Christ, and been sprinkled with his blood? Has it been sanctified by the Holy Spirit? These are the important points; yet these are the invisible points. None do the sayings of Christ but those who are truly converted; they alone love him; and there is no obedience where there is no love.
The foolish man may have built a better house, in some respects, than the wise man did. The passers-by may have admired it more. He himself may have been much pleased with it. But it had one dominant fault, the foundation was bad. Instead of digging deep down in the solid rock, as the wise man did, he had been satisfied with a foundation in the sand. His house was unsafe; the higher it was, the greater would be its fall in the stormy day. As long as the weather continued fair, the house remained standing. As it was situated by the seaside, it was exposed to the fury of the waves as well as that of the winds. The tempest at length arose, and the house fell. How dreadful was the crash! how total the ruin! The waves would carry its beams and its planks to distant shores.
There is a day coming when the floods of great waters will try every building, and prove its strength. How strange it is that any should imagine themselves safe because they have heard the gospel! This is one of Satan's devices. If he cannot keep us from hearing the truth, he tries to persuade us to be satisfied with hearing; whereas, hearing should always be followed up by praying, and praying by doing. Yet, after all, it is not our own obedience that will save us, but the obedience of Him who bore the punishment of our sins upon the cross. If we believe in Jesus, we are built upon the rock of ages, and shall be able to endure the storm that will destroy the world, and all that is therein!