Author : Keith Sharp
Series : The Parables of the Master
Text : Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46-49
In the Sermon on the mount (Matthew chapters 5 – 7), the Lord reveals the nature of the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20). Entrance into the kingdom of heaven, in other words, being saved (cf. John 3:5) requires that our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:20) and that we follow the narrow, difficult way rather than the broad, easy way (Matthew 7:13-14).
As the Master brings the great discourse on the righteousness of the kingdom to a close, He does not relax or tone down His message. He urges upon His disciples the absolute necessity of obedience as opposed to any supposed easier way to God by warning of the judgment to come.
The Protestant denominations urge sinners to “pray the sinner’s prayer,” promising immediate and sure salvation. You can find such a prayer inside the cover of Bibles the Gideons leave in motel rooms, but you cannot find it in the inspired words of Scripture. In fact, the Lord Himself emphatically declared, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21; cf. Luke 6:46). It is not enough to plead in prayer, “Lord, Lord, save me.” Salvation not only requires obedience to God (Hebrews 5:8-9), it necessitates obedience to all the will of Christ (Matthew 28:19).
“That day,” is Judgment Day, when one will either be welcomed into the eternal, heavenly kingdom or be told to depart into eternal condemnation (cf. Matthew 25:31-33,46; Jude verse 6).
It is not enough to do what we consider good works. Many will be lost on judgment day who not only will have done what they thought were good works, but they will think they were acting in the name of Christ (Matthew 7:22). But because their deeds were “lawless,” unauthorized by the Lord, they will be commanded to depart, for the Lord never recognized them as His own (verse 23).
It is not enough to pray; nor is it sufficient to be religious, even sincerely religious, in fact hard working and sincerely religious. To be saved, we must do all the Lord directs us to do and only those things He has authorized.
To illustrate the lesson, the Master told the story of two men who each built a house. One was wise, and the other was foolish. What made the difference between wisdom and foolishness?
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). This wisdom is proven by obedience (Ibid) and demonstrated by careful preparation for the future (Matthew 16:26-27).
Much of Palestine is similar to the American Southwest. In the dry season there are places known as “dry washes” (called “wadis” in Palestine) that might have flat, sandy beds. They become raging torrents when rain comes.
The wise man of the story built his house on a rock (Matthew 7:24-25). He exercised the foresight and expended the effort to build a secure foundation for his house (Luke 6:48). The work is more difficult, but the reward is a reliable house that can withstand the wind, rain, and flood of the storm.
The foolish man constructed his house on the flat, sandy bed of the dry stream (Matthew 7:26-27; Luke 6:49). Construction was easy, but when the storm came, the bed became a flood that swept all before it. The sand beneath the building quickly eroded, and the house collapsed violently. The result was disaster.
In the parable, the houses are the lives of the builders. There is no apparent difference in their lives, but the difference is in the foundations. No building is more secure than its foundation. The foundation of stone is obedience to the Lord. The foundation of sand is hearing without obedience. The storm is the judgment, as the context demands (Matthew 7:22-23).
It is not enough to hear and to know what the Lord says; we must do His will (James 1:22-25). Obedience to His will is the secure foundation that will withstand the storm of judgment.
The only one who can successfully stand before Christ in judgment is the one who both hears and obeys the doctrine of Christ. Prayer apart from obedience is futile, working zealously at religious deeds unauthorized by Christ is vain, and hearing without doing is a foundation of sand. The only way we can be ready for the great storm of judgment is by obeying all the will of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The storm is coming. Will your house stand, or will you suffer the greatest of all tragedies?
