Life Can Be Heaven - If We Have A Good Foundation
The Wise and Foolish Builders
Matthew 7:21-27
Life can be hell ... or life can be heaven. Here Jesus is speaking of the absolute necessity of building your life on the right kind of foundation. At the conclusion of the infamous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus wanted His audience to go and do what He had just taught them because He wanted to implement His kingdom of righteousness (heaven) on earth.
There are only two alternatives in the story.
There are two actions discussed "hearing" and "doing."
There are also only two choices for people: "hear and obey" or "hear don’t obey."
The world would have you believe that there are a myriad of choices.
According to the Bible, there aren’t many ways, there are only two ways – Christ and everything else. One way leads to heaven; the other leads to hell.
Contrasting the two builders.
These builders have several points of resemblance. It was the foundation (what life is built upon) that was the issue.
The man who built his house on the sand did a lot of things right. Yet in the end, all his hard work was for nothing.
We often confuse activity with godliness. We make ministry involvement the mark of spirituality.
The foundation, the motivation, has to be a love for Christ; or else in God’s eyes it has no value.
The house built on the sand was a good, solid structure; one that to all appearances was well-built.
Diligence was no sign he was doing the right thing, neither was the apparent success of his labors.
It is possible to accomplish a great deal in this world without Christ BUT eventually, a storm will come along which will bring it all tumbling down.
When judgment comes, the only thing that will matter is whether we are in Christ, whether by faith we have received his forgiveness and his Spirit.
Listen to these passages which describe that terrible day:
"So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through." – Isaiah 28:16-19
Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ’Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. . . ’ Then he will say to those on his left, ’Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. . . ’ "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." – Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46
Remember that earlier in today’s passage, we heard Christ speak these chilling words: "Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." – Matthew 7:21
Finally, let’s look at the wise builder.
Recall how Jesus describes him:
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."
– Matthew 7:24-25
The only difference was in the foundation he chose to build on. But that made all the difference in the world.
This is a parable about foundations, not avoiding the weather. Jesus expects us to be careful about the priorities upon which we build our lives on.
The idea of a foundation is so critical. If you mess up the foundation, you’ve compromised the entire structure.
To listen with no plan to act, to read with no interest to respond is to miss the whole point of Christ’s teaching. Divine truth is given not to satisfy idle curiosity, but to change lives, not to lull us to sleep in church, but to equip us for today and prepare us for eternity.
Which builder are you, the wise or the foolish? Are you building your life on Christ? Is He your foundation? Or are you relying on something else, or someone else, to get you through the storms of life and the judgement to come? If that’s the case, you’re in great peril. I urge you, come to Christ, even today. Don’t delay any longer. Confess your sins to him in prayer; accept his forgiveness; put your trust and confidence in him for salvation and eternal life.