The man who built his house on the Rock

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BibleBy Hephzibah Stephen

Passage for reading: Matthew 7:21-27

IT is so very easy to quote the Scripture. The devil took Jesus to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple and quoted the Scripture (Matthew 4:6). Even the devil can quote the Scripture! Knowing the Scripture is one thing, but doing what it says is quite another.

Jesus gave the example of a wise man and a foolish man when He taught about who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Very often, we hear this verse being interpreted differently. The wise man is supposed to be the one who built his life on Jesus, the Rock and the foolish man was the one who did not have Jesus in his life.

But if we read the above passage, it clearly says in verse 24, “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”. Here, Jesus is referring to His words found in verses 21-23.

Jesus is saying that even those who prophesy or drive out demons and perform many miracles will be called only ‘evil doers’ if they do not put the teachings of Christ into practice in their own lives (v 23).

Prior to this, Jesus had been teaching the people about many things through the Sermon on the mount. Jesus taught them about practicing the commandments of God (5:19), controlling anger (5:22), forgiving those who offend us (5:23), about lust (5:27), about divorce (5:31), about vows (5:37), about going the second mile (5:38), about loving our enemies (5:43), about giving to the needy (6:2), about sincere prayer (6:5), about fasting (6:16), about money (6:24), about worry (6:25), about criticizing others (7:1), and about treating others (6:12).

After teaching about all of the above, Jesus said anyone who hears all His teachings and does not do according to it is like the foolish man who built his house on sand!

My friend, let us take time to think where we have built our house. We may be doing great ministry, prophesying and driving out demons. People around us may be praising us. But if we do not practice all of what Jesus taught us, our lives, sadly, will be like the life of the foolish man who built his house on sand.

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