MATTHEW 7:24-29 - Stand or Fall
A New Way of Being Human: The Sermon On the Mount • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 39:44
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· 64 viewsOnly when you build your life on the promises of God in Christ will you be steadfast in the face of trials and judgment
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Introduction
Introduction
Over the past few months we have seen the devastation of two different hurricanes that have slammed into the United States. One of those storms, Hurricane Helene, caused unprecedented damage and loss of life in North Carolina—a state that has been hit with no less than 79 tropical storms and hurricanes since 2000 (Wikipedia). But the reason that Helene caused so much more devastation is because it tracked up the western side of the state instead of the eastern coast, where houses are specifically built with hurricanes in mind. The houses in and around Asheville, NC were not designed for the kind of flooding, wind and torrential downpours that the ones on, say, the Outer Banks are.
Jesus concludes His application on the Sermon on the Mount by making a comparison of two houses that were hit with torrential rains, flooding and wind. One stands, the other collapses. This is the third illustration that Jesus uses here at the end of His sermon—all of these illustrations, you’ll notice, have a similar focus. In verses 15-20, the focus is on false teachers who look genuine, but are actually wolves. In verses 21-23, the focus is on false testimonies from those who seem to be Christians but were never in fact saved.
And here in our text this morning, Jesus makes His final warning about lives that look like genuine Christian lives, but that are in fact living lives that will someday be shown to be false. Jesus concludes His application with a dire warning that when the storms of adversity and judgment fall on the house that is “built on sand”, it will not survive.
The time to evaluate your house is not after it’s built, is it? It’s not really helpful to say, “Well, I suppose I’ll see if this house is sturdy enough to survive the storms after I build it...” You want to know beforehand whether you are building a house that will survive. You do not want to come to the end of the life you have built and find out only then that it will not stand up under the judgment of God on the Last Day. And so the question that we must answer this morning from Jesus’ words in our text is how can we know that the Christian life we are building will survive the storms of adversity and judgment that are coming?
You and I have both seen (and we’ve talked about before) how some people name the Name of Christ and order their lives around their Christian identity and make clear declarations of their love for God, His Word and His people. But then calamity strikes; disease or violence or sudden loss or persecution overwhelms them, and all of their declarations of loyalty to God and love for Christ fall like a house of cards. On the outside, they looked as sturdy and solid and steadfast as every other Christian, but when the rain falls and the rivers come and the floods strike, they fall.
What does this mean? How do we examine our own lives to see whether we are not building our Christian lives on the same faulty foundations? This is what we need to hear from God’s Word this morning. So this is the way I want to encourage you and exhort you today from the Scriptures here before us:
Stand FIRM on CHRIST and you will stand FAST in CRISIS
Stand FIRM on CHRIST and you will stand FAST in CRISIS
What does it mean to stand firm on Christ? In order to answer that question,
I. Consider the two HOUSES
I. Consider the two HOUSES
There are two men, each building a house. The indication in this parable is that both of the men built their houses in the same location, since they both had the same storm hit them at the same time (v. 25; v. 27). And if we follow Jesus’ argument down from the previous verses, we see the same pattern of comparing genuine with counterfeit—but the differences aren’t obvious. The wolves look like sheep, the good works look like genuine Christian deeds. And so with the two houses in these verses:
They look the SAME from the outside
They look the SAME from the outside
You see this a lot in our area, don’t you? Just about any town around here you can see all of the old company houses, right? Same construction of several houses all in a row—some have since been re-sided or had additions or whatnot, but if you know what you are looking for, you can see which houses in town were built by the lumber company or the mining company back in the day: Same construction, same, location, same materials, same configuration.
In the same way, Jesus says, people will build their Christian lives along very similar lines—just as the two men in this parable both wanted the same general type of house in the same location built with the same materials, there are a lot of reasons why people might be drawn to a church. We all want some kind of comfort in the middle of this weary and wicked world. We all want true and trustworthy guidance to navigate our troubles and difficulties. We all want to be able to say we live a good life of integrity and morality. We all want to be assured that we will go to Heaven when we die. Think about it and you will see that everyone wants these things—Christian and non-Christian alike. Believer and unbeliever alike. And so there are all sorts of reasons that someone will come to church and want to be a part of a church and arrange their life and their priorities and their affections around Christianity. Genuine Christians and those who are “Christian” in name only both build lives that look exactly the same from the outside.
But Jesus says
The difference is in the FOUNDATION
The difference is in the FOUNDATION
You can’t see the foundation from the outside of a house (can you, Jeff?) Consider brother Jeff’s new house; it looked fantastic from the curb, didn’t it? Beautiful home, lots of land, very pleasing to the eye—you wouldn’t understand why it was on the market so long until you got down into the basement and saw that basement wall bulging inward like a dam about to burst. No matter how beautiful the house, what really matters is what shape the foundation is in.
Jesus says that was the difference between the two houses—one was built on the rock, and one was built on sand. One had a firm foundation, the other on an unreliable layer of sand. And that makes all the difference in whether those houses stand or fall when calamity strikes:
Matthew 7:25 (LSB)
“And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and fell against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
Matthew 7:27 (LSB)
“And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
But as we said earlier, once the house is built, it is too late to ask whether the foundation is good or not. The time to consider the foundation of the house is before it has been constructed (or at least while it is being built.) And so what does it take to build a house that will not fall when the hurricane hits? We are back to our main question: How can we be sure that we are building our profession of faith in Christ on solid bedrock and not shifting sand? In order to answer that question,
II. Consider the two BUILDERS
II. Consider the two BUILDERS
Jesus paints a picture of two very different men in this parable—compare the way they went about building their houses. First,
One is PATIENT, the other is RASH (cp. Luke 6:48-49)
One is PATIENT, the other is RASH (cp. Luke 6:48-49)
This becomes easier to see when you consider the parallel passage of Jesus’ sermon in Luke 6. (It’s on page 863 of the pew Bible if you want to turn there). Look at verses 47-49:
Luke 6:47–49 (LSB)
“Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the river burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. “But the one who heard and did not do accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the river burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
The first man took his time to dig down deep. He spent the time and effort to really get to a solid foundation. The other man couldn’t be bothered to take that kind of time—all that mattered was that the house got built. It’s the attitude that says, “Quit being so nit-picky about everything! What does it matter whether you have everything just so? It’s fine, nobody cares that much!”
The man or woman who hears Jesus’ words and has no patience for them; who has no real interest in digging in and applying them; who barely has enough time to sit through a whole sermon on Sunday morning, who lets all of the invitations to worship in song and prayer just kind of pass him by (“Hey, I’m HERE, aren’t I??”); who knows what Jesus says about integrity and honesty and seeking His Kingdom and acting as salt and light in the world— “Yes, yes, I’ve heard it all before; right, we should be pure in our thoughts and compassionate towards others, right, got it...” The man with no patience to hear and apply Christ’s teaching to his own life is building on sand.
Closely related to this impatience is the recognition that between these two builders
One is HUMBLE, the other is PROUD
One is HUMBLE, the other is PROUD
One of these builders knows what he doesn’t know. He wants to make sure he is building on a solid foundation; he wants to know that his house will stand when crisis comes. The other can’t be bothered to be told what works; he knows everything there is to know about houses, and can tell you with all kinds of certainty that in this particular case, a foundation really isn’t necessary.
And one of the bizarre things about these two attitudes, the humble man who knows what he doesn’t know is always treated as if he were proud by the know-it-all! The man who humbly digs in to Christ’s words and desires to mine them for everything he can; who studies and absorbs himself in understanding Christ’s teachings so that he can anchor the foundation of his life in the bedrock of the Word is always accused of being proud and conceited. Digging in to the Scriptures and seeking to understand and apply it to your life will always draw a charge that you are too “religious”, or “so heavenly-minded that you’re no earthly good” or too “super-spiritual”, and you really ought to loosen up and get some fresh air from time to time.
But the wise man isn’t digging into the bedrock of God’s Word and absorbing the words of Christ into his life for nothing—he is doing it because he knows the river is going to flood someday. He is wise enough to know what he doesn’t know, and he is wise enough to know that if he doesn’t anchor his life in the trustworthy words of Christ, he is doomed.
Looking at these two builders you see that
One wants SUCCESS, the other wants SURVIVAL
One wants SUCCESS, the other wants SURVIVAL
The foolish builder just wants to have a nice home—he wants to build a life that guarantees him peace and happiness and self-worth. He wants to be sure that he is living a moral life, and he wants to live in such a way that he can feel good about himself and be on a track of self-improvement. And if building your life in the “Christian” neighborhood gets you there, then great! Everyone here wants the same things you do—direction for your life, freedom from your guilt, a hope of going to heaven when you die, a good reputation with others for your compassion and selflessness.
But the wise builder wants more than just the happy and peaceful sensations of “being a good man”. The wise builder wants to escape the peril that he knows he is in. His neighbor may be building a deck out in the front of the house because he is looking forward to enjoying the view of the river, but the wise builder knows that all it takes is one storm and the “view” will be coming in his basement.
it’s significant that Jesus characterizes the Christian life in these verses not as a life of success and ease and victorious living, but as surviving a hurricane. The goal of building your life on Christ is not so that you can have ease or comfort or answers to your prayers—the goal of building your life on Christ is so that you will stand on the Day of Judgment.
This is clearly laid out in Jesus’ words here in our text--
III. Consider the two OUTCOMES
III. Consider the two OUTCOMES
The wise man who digs deep and builds his life on the solid foundation of the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount—who builds his life on all of God’s Word revealed to us in the Scriptures—is
A life that will NEVER be SHAKEN (v. 25; cp. Psalm 15)
A life that will NEVER be SHAKEN (v. 25; cp. Psalm 15)
Matthew 7:25 (LSB)
“And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and fell against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
The man who builds his life around hearing and obeying Christ is a man who will not be moved by the calamities and chaos of this broken, evil world. Oh, he might be bowed down to his knees, he may reel and stagger under the blows; he may be struck with such sorrow and pain as he never thought could descend on mortal man, but he will not fall when he stands on Christ and His promises, because even if the calamities and storms rip from him everything he ever loved or needed or desired, he still has His dear Savior!
He is the man who—even in the smoking ruins of everything he ever held dear—will be able to say with Job:
Job 19:25–26 (LSB)
“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will rise up over the dust of this world. “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall behold God,
He is the unshakeable man who will declare with Asaph:
Psalm 73:25–26 (LSB)
Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart fail, But God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.
King David was a man who knew what it was to be so devastated by the storms of life and yet stand firm in the end. The Fifteenth Psalm is a song that echoes so much of what Jesus would teach in the Sermon on the Mount. (It’s on page 453 if you want to turn in the pew Bible). It’s only five verses long, but listen to how it ends:
Psalm 15 (LSB)
O Yahweh, who may sojourn in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain? He who walks blamelessly, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear Yahweh; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
But the man who has no time to dig into the Words of Christ to find a solid footing for his life; the man who wants the peace and comfort and purpose and fellowship and morality of the Christian life but has no real desire to submit everything in his life to obedience to Christ Himself is living
A life that will UNEXPECTEDLY be DEVASTATED
A life that will UNEXPECTEDLY be DEVASTATED
Matthew 7:27 (LSB)
“And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
The foolish builder in this parable watched the same storm coming as his wise neighbor. He was just as confident as his wise neighbor that his house would stand. He figured the storm would come and go, and that he would just go on with business as usual. But he had no foundation; at the end of the day his allegiance was not to Christ but to his own desires. His hope was not in Christ’s promises but in his own inner fortitude and self-reliance. He thought he could build his “Christianity” without Christ, and when the storm came, everything blew apart.
Think back to verses 22-23, to the false professors who had put all of their assurance of their salvation into the fact that they had worked all kinds of wonderful works in the Name of Christ. They were utterly convinced by their miraculous signs and wonders that they belonged to Christ. In the same way, so many people today believe they are Christians because they are experiencing such a great sense of peace and joy in their “Christian lives”.
Listen to the way Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones puts it in his commentary on these verses:
Do you realize that it is possible to have a false sense of forgiveness? Do you realize that it is possible to have a false peace within you? You say, ‘I have not worried about my sins for years.’ I can well believe that, if you are only a nominal Christian. The fact that you have not thought about these things for years is an indication in itself that there is something wrong about your sense of security and peace. The man who never knows what it is to have certain fears about himself, fears which drive him to Christ, is in a highly dangerous condition. You can have false peace, false comfort, false guidance. (Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (1976). Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (Second edition, p. 619). Inter-Varsity Press.)
Beloved, what does God’s Word reveal about the state of your “house” this morning? Everyone in this room is building their lives on something. ALl of you here have been drawn to this place at this hour because here in this place at this hour is something that you want—something that you need.
Are you here for the fellowship and friendships of these people, and they have a positive influence on your life? That’s a good reason to be here. Are you here because you need guidance for your life and the church is a good place to find that guidance? That’s a good reason to be here. Are you here because you are struggling under a heavy load of stress and weariness? This is a good place to find peace. Are you here because someone you love wants to be here and you want to build a life together with them and so you come along with them? Are you here because you are struggling with guilt and shame and hopelessness? That’s a good reason to come to church as well.
But here is what Jesus is demonstrating with this parable—everyone who desires to build a “Christian life” wants the exact same things. All of those things are the common desires of every person in the world, but the fact that you feel as though Christianity fulfills all those desires doesn’t mean you are a Christian.
Here is the difference between the wise man and the foolish man; the one whose house will never be shaken and the one whose house will suffer a catastrophic fall: A true Christian can live his whole life never having any of those things I mentioned—loneliness instead of fellowship, bewilderment instead of good guidance and counsel, unrelenting battles with guilt and hopelessness, weakness and pain and poverty and loss—but still be unbroken because he knows he has Christ Himself!
The foolish builders have their house devastated by the floods because they wanted all of the benefits of Christianity but did not want Christ. But the genuine Christian, the one whose life will be beaten by the rains and the winds and the floods of crisis and calamity and loss, will never be shaken because his greatest desire is to know Christ and become more like Him in obedience no matter the storm. The false professor looks at the storm and says “How can I believe in Jesus in the face of this?” The true Christian looks at the storm and says “How can I obey and glorify my Jesus in the face of this?”
Stand firm on Christ and you will stand fast in crisis. Not because of your great capacity for steadfast fortitude; not because you have achieved some great heights of spiritual and moral superiority, but because you are clinging to Christ for all that you’re worth because you realize how lost you are without Him. The believer stands fast in crisis because he was clinging to Christ for dear life before the crisis ever began. The believer is clinging to Christ for dear life because he knows that apart from the death, burial and resurrection of Christ for him he would be eternally lost. He has obeyed the call of Christ to repent; he has listened to the voice of His Master commanding him to turn from his sin and submit to His words. The wise man who hears Christ’s words and does them is first of all obeying His command to repent and believe the Gospel (Mark 1:15).
And when you obey Christ’s command to repent and believe the Good News that He paid the penalty for your sin, He counts that faith as righteousness. You are righteous before Him and you are given His own presence through His Holy Spirit to dwell in you and make you a new creation—to give you a new way of being human—that delights to obey Him, that wants to do what He commands and become more and more like Him with each passing day.
But if you hear these words and do not do them; if you hear the call of Christ to repent and submit to Him for salvation but would do not have the patience for obedience or have too much pride to submit or would rather have your own path of success and fulfillment apart from Him, then can I ask that you look with me at the last two verses of our text this morning?
Matthew 7:28–29 (LSB)
Now it happened that when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
What I want you to see here is that the people were astonished at Jesus’ words because of the authority with which He spoke. They were struck by the authority of His words. They realized that this was a Man who had authority to be obeyed. He did not say that someday God would the counterfeit miracle workers out of His presence; He said,
Matthew 7:23 (LSB)
“then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
Friend, if you want to leave here this morning having heard the words of Jesus but having no intention of obeying them, let me plead with you this morning that if you refuse to be struck by the authority of His words today, the Day is coming when you will be astonished when His authoritative Word casts you out forever. You may weather all kinds of storms in this life; you may even prevail over all of them without building your life on obedience to Christ. But there is a calamity coming one day; an eternal Crisis from which there is no recovery: The day when the authority of the Risen King Jesus will pronounce words that you will obey: “…Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”
Do not let that Day be the first day you submit to the astonishing authority of Christ. He has made His word plain to you this morning:
Mark 1:15 (LSB)
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Won’t you be wise this morning? Won’t you hear His call? Come, build your house in the midst of His people. But beware that only houses built on the Rock will endure to the end, (and AT The End...) Let His Word amaze you now as you submit to His authority, or be amazed and dismayed at His Word when it speaks your eternal calamity on the Last Day. Come to the Rock, come to your refuge, come to your righteousness. Come—and welcome!—to Jesus Christ!
BENEDICTION:
Ephesians 3:20–21 (LSB)
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or understand, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION:
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION:
What are the main differences between the two houses illustrated in Jesus' parable? How does Jesus’ teaching in these verses connect to the broader themes in the Sermon on the Mount?
What are the main differences between the two houses illustrated in Jesus' parable? How does Jesus’ teaching in these verses connect to the broader themes in the Sermon on the Mount?
In what ways are the “general interests” of Christians and non-Christians similar? How do those similarities create a sense of false assurance in some people who associate themselves with Christianity?
In what ways are the “general interests” of Christians and non-Christians similar? How do those similarities create a sense of false assurance in some people who associate themselves with Christianity?
Why is it important to evaluate the foundation of your faith prior to disaster, as illustrated by the two builders? What are the signs of foolishness versus wisdom that Jesus points out?
Why is it important to evaluate the foundation of your faith prior to disaster, as illustrated by the two builders? What are the signs of foolishness versus wisdom that Jesus points out?
What does it mean that some people want all of the benefits of Christianity but do not want Christ? What does this passage reveal about your own desires to obey Christ in every area of your life?
What does it mean that some people want all of the benefits of Christianity but do not want Christ? What does this passage reveal about your own desires to obey Christ in every area of your life?
