Hearing and Doing What Christ Says

Once we have laid in our own lives the foundation of a personal encounter with Christ, how can we continue to build upon this foundation?

The answer to this question is found in the well-known parable about the wise man and the foolish man, each of whom built a house.

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matt. 7:24-27)

Notice that the difference between these men did not lie in the tests to which their houses were subjected. Each man’s house had to endure the storm – the wind, the rain, the floods. Christianity has never offered anyone a storm-free passage to heaven. On the contrary, we are warned that “we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

Any road sign posted “To Heaven” which bypasses tribulation is a deception. It will not lead to the promised destination.

What, then, was the real difference between the two men and their houses? The wise man built upon a foundation of rock, the foolish man upon a foundation of sand. The wise man built in such a way that his house survived the storm unmoved and secure; the foolish man built in such a way that his house could not weather the storm.

Just what are we to understand by this metaphor of building upon a rock? What does it mean for each of us as Christians? Christ Himself makes this very clear.

“Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matt. 7:24)

Thus, building on the rock means hearing and doing the words of Christ.