“Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will compare him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be compared unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.“ Matthew 7:24-27
When building a house, almost anyone knows that in order to have a solid construction, one must first build a solid foundation. In fact any part of the foundation which is not solid will not be able to hold over time the construction built upon it. The parable spoken of by Christ here clearly defines the principle of this matter. This “common sense” principle applies to all things which need built. Christ with this illustration is talking about our faith. We can see that Christ says there are two different types of people who will build their faith. One type will be wise, and the other foolish. This comparison of a wise man and a fool is in the formula presented by Solomon in all of his Proverbs.
Wisdom, as defined by a Webster’s Dictionary, is “understanding what is true, right or lasting, having common sense, a good judgment, being educated and knowledgeable”. This would imply that one who is wise has a previous knowledge of a matter and a solid discernment for it. A fool would be ignorant and therefore without any discernment at all. Ignorance is of course being “without education or knowledge”, as defined by a Webster’s Dictionary.
Christ describes that if our faith is not founded in wisdom on a rock, that the rain and the floods and the wind will come and beat down our house. So how does one know if they have built their faith on a rock? Well if Christ says a wise man will build his house on a rock, then I guess one might find that wisdom has something to do with it. As we read earlier, wisdom is the understanding and application of good knowledge. For some direction in finding the wisdom of God, let’s examine what Solomon writes on the matter:
“My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou cries after knowledge, and lift up thy voice for understanding; If thou seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 2:1-5
These verses in the book of Proverbs sound just like the parable spoken by Christ. Whether it is “If you hear my sayings, and do them…”, or “If thou receive my words and hide them…” the same will happen. It says “you will be like a wise man”, or “You shall understand and find the knowledge of God”. Let’s examine what Scripture says you will receive when you find and speak the knowledge of God:
"I will give you a mouth and wisdom, in which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay, nor resist." Luke 21:15
Here we see that with the gift of wisdom, those who are your adversaries will not be able to oppose you or deny you. If you were a house, your adversaries would be the wind, the rain and the floods. If it was built in wisdom on a rock, it will not fall. Since this house represent our faith, if it is built in wisdom on the rock, then our “adversaries shall not be able to gainsay, nor resist.” So I think the only obvious question to ask is “What is the Rock?” Many will claim that this rock simply is Christ. Although this is an accurate assessment, a little more investigation of the matter will reveal a more abundant and defining truth. Placing a foundation always happens at the beginning of any construction. Scripture says:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." John 1:1, 14
The Word of God is the rock that our faith must be built on if we do not want our faith to fail. Christ says, “If you hear my sayings, and do them…” Solomon says, “If thou seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasures…” So where do we find these sayings and where do we seek this treasure? Where does one find the Word of God? We find it in the Bible of course, IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. The expression “The Word of God” and “The Word of the Lord” is used over 400 times in the Bible. It is used to express that the content of which is being written by the writer as directly dictated by the mouth of God. One must then recognize, as professing Christians, that it MUST BE our responsibility then to know our God. Think about it, what kind of person wouldn’t take their moral conviction this serious?
"Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless." 2 Peter 3:13-14
I know that almost everyone who “seeks silver” puts in up to 40 hours a week or more to attain it. Most people take their jobs very seriously. So what should this say to a Christian seeking a rock to build his faith upon? Could it be our job to know the Bible and make it our foundation? This seems like an obvious assessment to me, yet there are some who would argue this. Before the arguments begin, let’s examine what happens when one does not build his faith on the teachings of the whole Bible. Please read:
"Hear the WORD OF THE LORD (the Bible, old testament in fact since the new wasn't written yet), ye children of Israel: for the lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no TRUTH, nor MERCY, nor KNOWLEDGE OF GOD in the land. Therefore shall the land mourn, and everyone that dwelleth therein shall languish (decline). MY PEOPLE ARE DESTROYED FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee: SEEING THOU HAST FORGOTTEN THE LAW OF THY FATHER, I will also forget thy children." Hosea 4:1-6
These people were destroyed for a lack of knowledge because they must not have taken their faith very seriously. They must not have been reading their Bibles. Christ says “Great was the fall of it” about the house in his parable that had no foundation. “Completely destroyed” is what he really means by this. Great rains and floods and winds it an extreme case are the equivalent of a hurricane. We all have seen the destruction that these adversaries are capable of.
“Forgetting the Law of the Father” is an interesting comparison to the “Rejection of Knowledge”. Especially considering that most Christians refuse to believe that the Law and the Old Testament have any place in the “New Covenant”. “Modern Religions” have Bibles printed that have even removed, or rejected, the Old Testament completely, save the Psalms and Proverbs for poetic purposes. Why do you think they would do that? You would think that when Scripture says “Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee”, one would be more inclined to maintain this knowledge.
Who knows really, but Scripture couldn’t be more right about what is happening to these people. In their ignorance of God, “Everyone that dwells in the land shall languish”. Let’s look at a New testament passage for a promise that Christ gives when building a house with God:
"Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man loves me, he will keep my commandments: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode (house) with him." John 14:23
Are we expressing a love for Christ in our modern church? Do we keep the commandments of the Lord that our house is built properly in him? Look at what is happening nowadays; our nation, and church body for that matter is falling apart at the seams. The very foundation of the "Modern Church" is proving to be sand.
Priests are molesting little children, homosexuals are preaching lawlessness from the altars and the pastors encourage sin by denying its existence. Thousands of people are leaving the church due to the lack of understanding in its ministry and this ignorance spreads into the foundation of our national survival. We have children killing children at school, with no one raising them at home. We tolerate child molesters living next door, preying on our posterity. Drug dealers (doctors, aka sorcerers- pharmakia) sell their drugs to our children in the guise of “medicine” while parents and our entire community foot the bill. With a divorce rate through the roof, a yoke of debt and usury upon the shoulders of every citizen, and a justice system which honors abortion as a means of individual right, one can see that the “flock has gone astray, washed away in the rains and the floods, and blown to and fro in the winds of adversity”, and “Great is the Fall of us”.
With all this being only a scratch on the surface of what has truly befallen us in modern times, it is still enough to send a shiver up the spine of those who have “Ears to hear and eyes to see”. For it is said:
"Every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is CUT DOWN, and CAST INTO THE FIRE. So either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt,and its fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit." Matthew 7:17-19 & 12:33
The doctrine of lawlessness, or antinomianism, that claims Jesus Christ fulfilled and thereby abolished all the law is the cause of all our problems today—our health, economic, political, military, social, and financial problems. Until we clear up the dissolution the error of this teaching has befallen us, and restore the precedence of the entire Holy Bible as the Inspired Word of God, we will not be able to reestablish a solid foundation for the true Church. The moral law of God, as written in the Old Testament, is the foundation of true faith, of the true Church, and the revelation of God’s will for the conduct of men and nations. When obeyed and taught in church, it is the fulfillment of the prayer:
"Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will (law) be done on earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:9-10.
When disobeyed and not taught in Church it is the destruction of its people due to a lack of knowledge. We have been warned:
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23
