Wise Man - Foolish Man Part 1

Introduction to the Concluding Section of the Sermon on the Mount

0:04 We turn again this morning to the 7th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew chapter 7.

0:17 We are presently studying this concluding section of the Sermon on the Mount, which begins with verse 13, Matthew 7, in which our Lord urges upon us, entering into His kingdom, the kingdom which He has been describing in all that preceded in chapters 5, 6, and 7. He has given to us the characteristic of the members of His kingdom. He has told us what their relationship to God will be and must be, what their relationship to their fellow men ought to be. He has given the standards, the regulations by which His people are to conduct themselves as members of His kingdom.

1:00 And beginning with verse 13, He urges upon all of His hearers, and I would remind you that there were great multitudes who heard Him as He spoke upon that mountain. That it's not enough to merely be exposed to indoctrination about His kingdom. There must be an entering to the kingdom by the narrow gate of true conversion, which will always lead to a walking upon the narrow road of true Bible holiness and obedience, and which will ultimately lead to eternal life. And then for everyone who's in earnest about entering the kingdom, our Lord says there are great dangers.

1:39 And so from verse 15 until the end of the chapter, there is one extended warning broken up into two main divisions. There is the warning about false prophets in verses 15 to 20. For all who are in earnest about entering the kingdom, there must be this continual awareness that there are those who would stand in the name of God and of Christ and give us direction that will damn us if we follow it. And so there is the danger of, and then verses 21 until the end of the chapter, there is the second great danger, namely the danger of a false profession.

2:20 For our Lord says in verse 21, Not everyone who says unto me, Lord, Lord. Here's the man who makes a fair profession of Christianity. This is not talking about a liberal. This is not talking about a Jehovah's Witness who doesn't call Christ Lord.

2:35 He merely calls Him an angel. This is talking about people who, who acknowledge Jesus Christ to be God. For the word Lord here, in its strictest sense, has the highest connotation that the word God has. And so our Lord is warning of the danger of a false profession.

2:54 To call Him Lord. To acknowledge Him as God. To verbally assent to His truth. And yet to fail to do His will.

The Danger of a False Profession: Specific and General Classes

3:03 And so verse 21 is the key to the entire remaining section outside of the little conclusion. Including verse, the last verse of the chapter. He speaks in verses 22 and 23 of a special class of false professor. He said, Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name?

3:25 And in Thy name done many wonderful works, and cast out demons? And I will profess unto them, I never knew you depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Here's a special class of false professor. People who wrestle, rested upon their works in the name of Christ, and their zeal for the honor of Christ, but who lack the sanctifying grace of Christ.

3:49 They were still workers of iniquity. And all of their religious activity was simply a veneer over a corrupt and wicked, unregenerate heart and life. Now the second great class of false professors is found beginning with verse 24. Moving from the specific, now we move to the general.

4:12 And this is the subject of our study this morning. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man who 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 everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand.

4:46 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.

The Main Issue: Hearing and Doing Christ's Sayings

4:56 Our Lord is dealing with the same subject as he began to deal with in verse 21. And as we seek to think our way through the passage, we want to first of all consider the main issue that our Lord is dealing with. Then we'll come to the main issue of the passage. Then we're going to look at the similarities in these two different hearers, one called the foolish man, one called the wise man.

5:18 Then we're going to look at the differences between them, and then finally the abiding message of this parable to our hearts here this morning. Now what is the main issue of this parable concerning a wise builder and a foolish builder? There are some who would say, why it's obvious what the main issue is. The wise man, the foolish man is the man who hears the message of salvation and trusts in Christ alone for salvation.

5:46 The foolish man is the one who hears the message and goes out and builds his hopes of salvation upon his own good works. Now that's a wonderful truth taught in the Bible, but that's not the truth taught here. The little song, build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ, the wise man built his house upon a rock, that's a wonderful truth, but that's not what's taught here. Will you notice what the main issue is?

6:09 Notice carefully verse 24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man. Verse 26. And everyone that heareth these sayings and doeth them not shall be likened to a foolish man.

6:33 The subject is not the ground of our salvation, which is Christ alone, but the subject here is the difference between the two. It's between the kinds of hearers of truth, those who hear and do, those who hear and who fail to do the will of God. And this is why I submit that this is simply an expansion of verse 21 in which our Lord said, Not everyone who says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. That's the main thrust of the entire section that we're now, that we're now studying.

7:14 You had those religious leaders who felt that entrance to the kingdom was secure if they were simply doing some religious works. Jesus said, No, you must do my will, and my will is that you be holy. And so when they stood before him, he said, Depart from me. You didn't do my will, though you cast out demons in my name, though you did many wonderful works, you were practicers of iniquity.

7:37 Depart from me. I never knew you. Moving from that special class, he comes to the generalist, general class now, of the person who hears and does, the person who hears and refuses to do. There's a choice quote of Bishop Ryle, the godly Anglican preacher of a hundred years ago, who said, We must be careful in interpreting and explaining this parable that we do not lose sight of its proper scope and intention.

8:06 It is surely not handling Scripture honestly to tell people that the rock here is Christ and the man who is in it is Christ. The man who builds on it the true believer, that the foundation of earth is false grounds of confidence for justification, and the man who builds on it the deluded Christian who trusts in them, all of this is excellent theology. But this is not the point in question. The point is, does this passage teach that lesson?

8:34 I answer, and I'm quoting still, unhesitatingly that it does not. The object of this parable is not to teach the doctrine of justification. That's taught elsewhere. That sinful men are accepted as righteous in the sight of God only for the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to them and received by faith.

8:58 That's a poorly quoted answer to the question in the Shorter Catechism, what is justification? Now that's a glorious truth of the Bible, that the only rock upon which we can build if we hope to be accepted before God is the rock, Jesus Christ our Lord. That's a wonderful truth, but that's not what's taught here.

9:19 The teaching of this passage is trying to expose the folly of Christian profession unaccompanied by Christian practice and the certain ruin to which such profession must ultimately lead if persisted in. End of quote. Our Lord is not dealing with the person here who hears that he is a sinner, and that Christ alone can save sinners, and who says, I reject the offer of mercy, I want to go out and establish my own righteousness. He's not dealing with that person.

9:53 The person he's dealing with is the one who hears the message of salvation, who hears the words of grace that fall from the lips of Christ. Hearing them, he says, I like that. I believe that. I ascribe to that, or I subscribe to it.

10:09 I ascend to that. And he embraces those words, but then you wonder, watch him. He does not put them into practice in the day-by-day experience of his thought life, of his home life, of his work life, of his social life. He hears, but he does not.

10:27 This is the subject of the passage. The wise man is the one who hears and who practices. The foolish man, the one who hears, but who does not practice. Now we must keep before us that this is the main thrust and emphasis of the passage which our Lord has given to us.

Historical Background: The Palestinian Riverbed

10:47 Now just a little historical background before we look at the similarities. No doubt many of those to whom our Lord was speaking had actually seen a situation like this. Late in the winter there in Palestine and early in the spring, the streams of Galilee will rush down and as they rush down, they overflow their narrow banks and as any overflowing river will do, which is moving at any degree a degree of speed, it picks up rock and stone and sand and other debris and then when the warmer weather comes and the stream recedes to its normal boundaries, it will leave, wherever it has gone, this layer of stone and sand and perhaps some rubble that it's carried with it, but it will leave it scattered out in a rather level way and to the foot it feels rather solid and stable. It's got some sand and sand and sand in it and it's got some rock in it and it's the picture of a man who comes perhaps in midsummer and he sees one of these sections perhaps a few hundred yards away from the actual stream and he says, my, I want a house and I want one quick and here's a nice level piece of ground. I don't need to move in a bulldozer. I don't need to spend any time laboring to clear the ground and there's that guy up there having to dig deep and spending hours and expending sweat and toil digging, digging, digging, digging until he can find some rock.

12:12 Why be bothered with all of that? Here's a nice place, nice location overlooking a nice little bubbling stream. What more could you want? Wonderful place for not only a summer cottage but a year-round house.

12:23 So he starts to build and his friends come by and they tell him, now look, bud, see that little stream? Oh, yeah, it's beautiful. That's why I'm building here. Ah, listen, it's not going to be that way all year round.

12:32 Late winter and early spring, that becomes a raging torrent of water. He says, oh, come off it. Now that innocent little stream, I can't believe that. Listen, will you please listen to me?

12:44 Listen, fellas, I want a house. Now just leave me alone. Don't bother me. So he goes on and stops his ears to the advice of his friends and to good judgment and common sense.

12:54 He doesn't think ahead to winter. All he's concerned about is I've got a nice spot. I'm going to build me a house. So he builds his house.

13:02 And it isn't long before fall comes and fall gives way to winter and winter gives way to early spring. And that little stream, that innocent little stream upon which he looked with such delight for those few months, suddenly begins to overflow its banks and becomes a wide raging torrent and it comes and sweeps his house away. That's the picture. And no doubt many of the hearers of our Lord had actually seen such a thing.

Similarities Between the Wise and Foolish Builders

13:29 So much then for the main thrust of the passage and a little bit of the historical background. Now let's look very carefully at the similarities between the two men. One was a wise man. One was a foolish man.

13:43 But our Lord said they had some very interesting things in common. First thing, they both heard the message of Christ. Notice verse 24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine I will liken to a wise man.

14:00 Verse 26. Everyone that heareth these sayings of mine shall be likened to a foolish man. Every one of you here this morning has inscribed over your minds or over your forehead one of two words.

14:15 Wise or a fool.

14:24 These two men heard the sayings of Christ. They were similar in this respect. They were exposed to divine revelation. Our Lord is not talking about the fool and he is a fool who never has time enough even to come and hear the words of Christ.

14:42 The man who considers the Bible and its truth a thing of no account and never cracks the book and opens its pages or goes to it, to a church where it's expounded, surely that man is a fool in the truest sense. But the fool that our Lord's talking about is not that man down the street who's sitting out this morning in the backyard in his Bermudas and his pipe and the Sunday morning paper and couldn't care less that there was a place in his community where the word's being preached. He's a fool. But that's not the fool the Lord's talking about.

15:11 The Lord's talking about a fool who thinks it worthwhile to come to church and to hear the sayings of Christ. And who even asks sense to the truth of those sayings. He hears the message of Christ.

15:28 This relates exclusively to those of us who are exposed to the word of God and particularly to the Sermon on the Mount. He said, Whosoever hear these sayings of mine and there were the multitudes who stood before him who had heard that sermon of sermons and in a very special way the only one who can be a fool are those of you today who at least more or less have been exposed to these three years of exposition of the Sermon on the Mount. You have sat here Sunday by Sunday and you have heard the unfolding of the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the first thing they had in common.

16:06 They both heard the message of Christ. Second thing, they both built a house. It says of the wise man that he built a house. It says of the foolish man that he built a house.

16:19 A house is a place of refuge. A place of refuge. A place of comfort. A place of domesticity where you relax with friends and loved ones.

16:29 And I'm inclined to believe with the majority of the commentators who say that the significance of the house is this. That it's the building of a profession of Christianity. Both of these men want the comforts of the gospel. They want its peace for it offers peace.

16:44 They want its joy. They want its forgiveness. They want its life. And both of them construct an edifice which is a place of peace.

16:51 They want its peace. Which is the profession of Christianity. For remember later on when the flood came, it's the quality of the house that is tested. One house stands firm.

17:02 The other is swept away. And the time is coming. Our Lord speaks of it in this context. When many who built the house of profession and say, Lord, Lord, will find to their everlasting shame that all they had was a house built upon the sand.

17:19 And so they both built a house. Both were, both were professing Christians. They both subscribed to the truth of divine revelation. The third thing they had in common is this.

17:30 That both homes or houses were exposed to a time of testing.

17:37 We read that the same rain and floods and storm which beat upon the wise man's house beat upon the foolish man's house. There was no difference in degree or kind concerning the testing. They were both testers. They were both exposed to the same testings.

17:56 And the words flood, rain, storm do not refer to any specific kind of testing but just those stresses that come from temptation, persecution, affliction, and ultimately the judgment of Almighty God which always act as a test to the reality and stability of our profession of Christ. As we saw in our studies, last Lord's Day evening, and this is why we're studying together because one throws light upon the other. You remember the stony ground here. The little shoot springs up and everything was fine until the sun came up.

18:35 The sun then sent out its rays and it withered that plant. And Jesus said the sun was the rising of persecution and tribulation and temptation which tests the genuineness of profession. You have essentially the same thing here. Two men, they hear the word.

18:53 Two men, they both build a house of Christian profession. They name the name of Christ. But a time of testing is going to come to both and that time of testing will create nothing. It will simply reveal what was true all along.

Differences Between the Wise and Foolish Builders

19:09 Now let's consider the differences between the two men. And the first thing we notice about their differences is that they were not obvious to the average passerby. If you were to walk by, if you were to walk by the foolish man's house, you'd say, now that's a right nice looking house. If you were to pass by the wise man's house, you'd say, well that's a nice looking house.

19:31 But you see, the foundation lay out of sight. It says, and it's particularly strong in the original, in the Gospel of Luke, Luke chapter 6, verses 46 to 48. You have a parallel passage. That the wise man digged deep.

19:46 Literally translated would mean he digged and he deepened. He went down and laid his foundation and acted on it. After it was done, as I remember doing so often and sometimes when the fellows who operated the bulldozers weren't too careful, they'd crack a wall on us. The bulldozer would come in, clear out a hole in the ground and then we'd pour the concrete and build up the walls and after we were done and ready for the carpenters to come in and work, the bulldozer would come back and do what we call backfill.

20:13 He'd hide that foundation. The foundation isn't there to look at. But it's there to make stable the structure upon which rests upon it. And so the difference between these two kind of hearers is not an obvious one.

20:29 They both hear. They both subscribe to the truth.

20:35 And the difference did not become obvious until the time of testing. You see, if the difference between the wise and foolish this morning were the difference between the profane and irreligious and those who were religious and gave the semblance of piety, this would be an easy matter.

20:56 But the difference between the wise and foolish is not found, as I mentioned earlier, between those of you who are here this morning and the guy that's sitting in his Bermudas with his pipe and his Sunday paper. Wise and foolish is being written over the forehead in every one of you sitting here. And I look out on your shining faces. Some of you ladies don't like to be told it's shining.

21:18 But I look out and I see you sitting there in your white shirt and your jacket and you give attention to the Word. Who can tell? Some of you are wise. Jesus Christ said, some of you are fools.

21:33 And the difference isn't obvious. That's the first thing we notice about the differences is that they are not obvious. Second great difference. We're moving sort of backwards now.

21:43 One stood the test. The other failed it. Notice the wording of Scripture. That when the storm came, verse 25, and beat upon that house, it fell not.

21:54 Luke adds and says this. It wasn't even shaken, let alone fall. It didn't even shake. It didn't even have a tremble.

22:03 A fellow could sleep the night through. Never had to grab the lamps. Think they were going to fall off the lamp's table? No.

22:10 It wasn't even shaken. But it says of the other that when it fell, notice this added word in verse 27, great was the fall of it. When it fell, it fell. When it went to pieces, it went to smithereens.

22:23 There was nothing left. Even the house of profession was completely destroyed until there was not even a willingness to name. The name of Christ. Now, why?

22:37 And this brings us to the third great difference. One man built a stable foundation, and the other didn't. One man built a stable foundation, and the other didn't. Look at the foolish man for a minute.

22:51 Everyone that hears this saying of mine, verse 26, these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, should be likened to a foolish man that built his house upon the sand. man is he's in a hurry to get his house built. He wants a house. And when people come along and try to give him some advice and try to tell him he ought to have some architects come in and analyze where he's building, he says, look, I've got no time for that thing.

23:17 I'm in a hurry. I want a house. Second thing about him is he wasn't willing to take advice. When people saw him beginning to put his headers down right on that sand, they came and said, now, look, mister, you just better stop that and consider it. He said, look, I don't need your advice. I've built a house. I've seen other people build houses. I know how to build a house. He wouldn't take advice. Third thing about him, he wouldn't look ahead.

23:45 They'd say, look, it's a beautiful summer day, but it's long before fall's coming and winter and then spring. And when spring comes, that stream, he says, look, look, that's a long way off. I want a house right now. I've got no time to look ahead. What a picture.

24:01 Of the person who hears the message of Jesus Christ, who ascends to it with his mind and begins immediately to construct a house of profession. He says, well, I'm a Christian. I subscribe to that and I subscribe to this and I'm a fairly nice fellow. And people come along and say, look, sir, have you soberly considered the issues that you're subscribing to? Do you realize what it means to be a Christian? Do you realize what it means to be a Christian?

24:31 Do you realize what it means to be a Christian? Do you realize what it means to be a Christian? Do you realize what it means to be a Christian? Do you realize what it means to be a Christian?

24:32 Do you realize what it means to be a Christian? Do you realize what it means to be driven out of yourself to the place where you lay hold of Christ and Christ alone? Do you have any idea what it means to become identified with the Savior who will give you no grounds of glory but in his own love and mercy and grace? Do you realize what it will cost you in terms of the frown of an angry world that put him to death? And this person says, look, I've got no time for that. I want peace. I want joy. And the gospel promises it. And I believe it. Therefore, I'm a Christian. He's got no time to do what Jesus Christ said we must do in Luke 14. He said to the multitudes that came after him, count the cost. Count the cost. But this person has no time to count the cost, rushes into the profession of Christianity. He will not take the advice of the word of God or of God's servants. The word of God speaks so soberly, as we've seen in these past days, that it's possible to even work miracles by the name of Christ and perish. And when you try to warn this person, he says, oh, look, come off it. Don't

25:39 try to disturb me and bother me. I know what it is to be a Christian. I've built my house. Leave me alone. He won't take advice. The son of truth rises and sets on his head. And when he hears sermons or hears about sermons and books that warn him to examine himself, to prove himself, he says, I can't be bothered. The third characteristic, as we saw, is he refuses to look ahead. He doesn't think about judgment. He's got no time for that. And when he's warned, the day is coming when you'll stand before him whose eyes are as a flame of fire. And the profession of Christianity will not suffice. For Jesus said in verse 21, not everyone who says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father. He doesn't want to think of judgment. He's a fair professor in the eyes of his friends, his wife,

26:34 his family, or his, her husband. That's all he or she is concerned about. Contrast with this, look at the wise man. He was willing to take whatever time and pains were necessary to dig deep and lay a solid foundation. As I mentioned earlier in the parallel passage in Luke 6, the Greek is emphatic. He digged and he deepened. It took time. Sweat, maybe nicked himself on the rock and lost some blood. And while his buddy down there on the old riverbed was all the way up on his roof, maybe he was just beginning to put down some cement blocks for his foundation. But he realized no pains were too great to build a stable foundation. He was the man who counted the costs. He was the man who weighed the great issues of the soul's relationship to God.

27:33 He was willing to hear instruction. He didn't just grab one verse of the Bible. He looked at the entire breadth of the scriptures. He was willing to expose himself to the whole counsel of God.

27:46 He realized that though the Christian life involved great blessings, it involved some terrible dangers. Jesus invited men to a cross. He invited men to die. He invited men to suffer.

27:59 And so this man takes time to listen to instruction. And he always keeps his mouth shut. He keeps his mouth shut. He keeps his mouth shut. He keeps his mouth shut. He keeps his eye looking out to the day of testing. He might have been tempted to put down his pick and his shovel, for this was the day when they had no dynamite. And if you were to dig down through and lay hold of rock, it meant hard hand sweat work. And he might have looked at his friend down there in his house beginning to be erected and everyone admiring it. But he said, no, that little stream down there is going to swell one of these days. And when it swells, that my heart will be firmly rooted on the rock. It'll be swept down the stream. He was continually looking ahead as he built. One of the most touching experiences I've had in some time I had just a week ago, when a young man sat right down there in my study, and that's where it is, right about below that window there. A young man in whose life I see many positive evidences of a work of grace, tenderness to sin, hunger for the word of God, hunger to pray. Desire to witness. And that young man sat there, and it's as vivid in my mind as though it happened

29:13 ten seconds ago. And he looked at me through tear-filled eyes, and he said these words, and I'm quoting them to you. Pastor, if I'm not found in Christ in the day of judgment, and if he hasn't covered me with his righteousness, I've had it. You see what he was doing? This young man was looking ahead, dear ones. He was not content.

29:43 Sure, he was a Christian. Everybody in this church was confident he was a Christian. He realized one day he was going to face the living God. And he said, if I'm not found in Christ in his eyes, I have it. I'm done. It will be my portion. When in God's name, if you sat down and said those words in the presence of God. Convinced, beloved, if you're not up and saved. A judge who sees not his men see. Beloved sees the heart. If he sees that you're just a fair professor who's never dug deep, he says,

30:46 depart from me, ye curts. Small comfort it would bring in hell to remember the approval of your friends when you have the disapproval of the Son of God. Beloved, I'm not going to take anybody's word for it that I'm a Christian. I want to know that I have his word for it. And he says in this passage that the only wise man, the true Christian, is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who hears and who does the will of God. Now that's not the source of his life. That's the expression of it. The Lord isn't dealing with the source of life here. He's dealing with the expression. He's not talking about the root, but he's talking about the fruit. One built a stable foundation. The other one was too much in a hurry to build a foundation. As we bring this to a

The Searching Message: Wise Man or Foolish Man?

31:50 conclusion, I just want to say that I would like to express a thought, which is that we are able to think and you are able to act and that we are able to believe. And that's so in the Lord's Word. Just the way he believed in his own will. I'm going to bow my head in prayer and I'm going to ask you to bow your head in prayer too. Because I'm going to ask you to pray in prayer, and then I'm going to ask you to get up and be prepared for the Gon還 It's not an obvious contrast. It's a contrast seen in the fact that one stood the test, the other one failed. And that was rooted in the fact. I would like to make a point of reference here. That that one had a foundation the other did not what is the searching message of this parable to me today as you sit here as I stand here what is the message of this parable to you and to me well the first part of that message is very obvious that every one of us this morning is a wise man or a foolish man and there ain't no middle class Jesus said all of my hearers are wise for they're foolish no middle class the same Jesus who spoke these words said in

33:01 Luke 11 23 he that is not with me is against me he that gathers not with me scattereth it's the same truth of James chapter 1 be not a forgetful hearer but a doer everyone this morning is a wise man or a fool and there's no middle ground what does God write over your forehead this morning Adam young person teenager what I write over it doesn't amount to a hill of beans but what does God write over your forehead wise man or foolish no middle ground no middle ground what does he write it's one or the other because all of you this morning sitting here in the sound of my voice you who have heard the exposition of the teaching of Christ in this marvelous passage you're either seeking to do what he says or you're either seeking to do what he says or you're indifferent to what he has said second great part of the message of his parable is that there's no more common deception than that of being an idol here of the word of God way back in Ezekiel's time the Prophet had this trouble for God

The Deception of Idle Hearing

34:23 said through the Prophet Ezekiel in chapter 33 in verse 31 these words that are an excellent commentary on the words of Christ I will read them now Christ, Ezekiel 33 and verse 31. And they come unto thee, speaking of the prophet and the people, they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words. Now up till then, that's a perfect description of the members and friends of the North Caldwell Church, isn't it? They come unto thee as the people cometh, they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words. But now what happens? Listen. But they will not do them,

35:20 for with their mouth they show forth much love, but their heart goes after covetousness, and lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument, for they hear thy words, but they do them not. When you go to...

35:40 When you go to a concert, and you enjoy the orchestra or the performers, you have absolutely no intention of taking that fiddle back home and learning to play on it yourself. You go to be entertained, to hear, to have an aesthetic lift, and to go your way. God says this is what happened to his people. They had no intention of doing what the prophet declared. This problem is as old as humanity and divine revelation, for wherever the word of God has come, there have been wise men and foolish men. The foolish who think that simply hearing and assenting is the substance of Christianity. But others realize that until my relationship to Jesus Christ is such that it brings my will captive to his word, I have no saving relationship to him. One servant of God has said that open sin and unbelief will slay its thousands, but profession without practice will slay its tens of thousands. A Christianity which costs us nothing,

36:43 but a little time in church, in which consists in nothing but hearing sermons, will always prove at last to be a worthless thing. We have been told during our generation that our works do not save, and they do not. But we need to be told that the Bible teaches with equal clarity that we are not saved by faith, unless that faith is a living faith and produces a life of obedience. For James says, you say that you have faith, faith that is an issuing in you, that you have a life of obedience, that you have a life of obedience, that you have a life of obedience, that you have a life of obedience, and that faith without works is dead. Will thou not know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

37:23 Back in the Reformation, the teaching of Rome had brought delusion to millions of people. They thought they could gain eternal life by thumbing through prayer beads, and by walking on their knees to a certain place, or up the steps of a certain church, or by beating themselves, and they thought that salvation was to be married to Jesus Christ. By some of the labors of their hands. And God brought a great host out of the terrible bondage of the Roman delusion when the glorious truth of the book of Romans and the book of Galatians was held forth in the power of the Spirit that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. And that truth, in that context, was God's liberating truth. And I confess today that it's my own deep conviction that if we're to see a reformation within the Evangelical Church, it must come as the truth of the book of James, and the truth of this passage is once again resurrected by the power of the Holy Ghost. Standing on that foundation given to us in the Reformation, not turning our backs upon it, but gladly confessing,

38:37 nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling, foul I to the fountain fly, wash me, Savior, or I die. Standing on that glorious truth, but then incorporating into our confession the truth of the book of James, that if that faith by which I profess to be justified and saved does not produce a life of diligent, earnest obedience to Christ, it is a damning and a delusive faith that will land me in hell just as surely as the man who thinks he can be saved by mumbling over his prayer beads.

39:14 And that's the truth that our Lord is dealing with here.

How to Build a Foundation of Obedience

39:19 Now, how do I get to the end of this? How do I get down to that place where my relationship to Him is one of obedience?

39:27 That's what our Lord's talking about. The man who builds his profession on the basis of a deep experience of grace that has laid hold of his will so that he practices the words of Christ. If you want a searching experience, do as I did yesterday, and go through the Sermon on the Mount and circle every command. And I just started to ask myself, am I doing what I've been preaching to you?

39:54 He says, lay not up treasures in earth, but lay up treasures in heaven. That's a command. Am I really seeking to do that? He says, if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out.

40:05 Am I seeking to mortify sin? He says, when ye pray, say, and he gives me a pattern for prayer. Am I really endeavoring to conform my prayer life to that pattern? He tells me, judge not that ye be not judged.

40:19 Am I honestly seeking to be free of a hypercritical spirit? Where he says, Cast not your pearl before swine. Am I careful that I won't throw out his truth to just anybody, but to see if they're prepared to receive it?

40:34 The Lord says, he that hears and does is the man who's building a stable building. He who hears and does not is the fool. But how, pray tell, how can I have that ability to hear and to do? I don't believe it's the primary interpretation, but certainly it's an analogy here.

40:57 You'll never do that until you're joined to Christ, who is the rock of our salvation. For he said, without me ye can do nothing. Without me ye can do nothing. And if you would be the wise man who builds his profession not upon notions and emotions, but upon a submission of will to Christ, then you must consider no pain too great, no advice irrelevant, which will help you to know how to be joined to Christ.

41:26 You must. You must soberly weigh the fact that judgment is coming, and if you're not united to him, your fair profession of Christianity will be swept away by the flood tide of God's judgment.

Personal Application and Exhortation

41:42 All of us will leave here in about three minutes,

41:47 and I'll stand at the door and shake your hand, and I'll look into your face,

41:54 but there's one thing I can't see about you this morning that God does, and that's the name written over your forehead as you walk out.

42:05 Why?

42:08 For food.

42:10 And every one of you has got it written on your forehead as you go out this morning. Every one.

42:18 What's written on yours?

42:21 Are you hearing and doing the word of Christ?

42:26 Are you doing his word by the power of the Spirit, because you are joined to him, out of love to him, not perfectly, but purposefully? Not perhaps without some intermission, but as the bent and drift of your life? Or are you going to go on building your profession upon mere notions, in the face of such sobering words as this? Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father.

42:53 What about it, young people? Are you doing his will? Adults, members of this church? I know quick ways to become a popular preacher, but I'm going to answer for your souls.

43:06 And I know it's not going to make me popular with some of you to tell you this, because you're going to think about what I've said when you go out and I shake your hand, and I hope you do. I honestly hope you do. And I hope you do. And I hope when you leave, the word, FOOL, FOOL, FOOL, will follow some of you to your table, make your food distasteful, until you say, Oh, God, you described me this morning, Lord.

43:30 I've heard, I've heard, I've heard, but I don't do. And send you to your room, crying to God for mercy, pleading that the Holy Spirit will do a work of grace in your heart. That's what I long for. Not your approval, but your salvation.

43:50 Not your approbation, not my ministry, but your approbation of Christ and His salvation. May God grant that if you've been described as the foolish one, you'll thank God that in mercy, He described your house before the stream came and carried it away. Thank God that in His mercy, He's warned us and He's exhorted us. Check your foundation now.

44:17 Thank God it's not too late to call an architect and get some builders and do some digging, and get on the rock. The door of mercy is open. And those of you who can say, by the grace of God, I've not only heard the Sermon on the Mount, but it's made a difference in my life. It's made a difference in my attitude to my thought life.

44:38 I can remember, Pastor, when we went through that section on whosoever looketh to lust, how God wounded me. And there's been a difference in my life as a man or a woman since that time. I've sought to be pure in thought as well as in action. It has made a difference.

44:53 When we came to that section on lay not up treasures, how much more shall your Father care for you? It's made a difference. I don't fret now the way I used to about my daily bread. I've been enabled to trust the Lord that if He feeds the birds and takes care of the lilies, He's going to take care.

45:09 I have done some sanctified bird watching. Can you say that? Has the sermon been put into practice? If so, then dear ones, thank God that He's enabled you to build upon the rock.

Closing Prayer and Benediction

45:21 Thank God that by His grace, every test that comes into your life, rather than shape you, will simply be witness to you and to others that you're founded upon the rock. May God grant that this will be true of you and of me. Let us bow together in prayer. Oh Lord, as we face your searching words this morning, we confess again that we feel by nature that we are, as it were, a brute beast, that we trifle so with our never-dying souls. Father in heaven, have mercy upon me, that as the shepherd of this people, I know so little what it is to yearn over their salvation with every ounce of desire within my own breast. Forgive us that we trifle so with things eternal. Help us today to know and to know in the light of your word, what you have written over our foreheads, whether it be wise or fool.

46:42 God honor your word today. We believe you, Lord, to honor your word in causing people to relocate the house of their profession, to move it off the sands of a mere intellectual ascent to truth, until it's founded upon the rock of a volitional commitment to Jesus Christ, the Lord, Father, for your glory, honor the word. Comfort those who are your true people. May this exposure to truth confirm them in the conviction that they are yours by your infinite grace.

47:23 We pray that you might be pleased to help us to sanctify the remainder of this your day. Oh Father, we thank you. You've given us one day in seven to be set apart from the normal activities of life. Help us to buy.

47:38 Up this opportunity to reflect upon things eternal. And now may the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ and the love of God, the father and the fellowship communion of the Holy Spirit abide upon each one who is joined to Christ, founded on the rock and may a holy restlessness be the portion of all others who are building upon sand. We ask in his name. Amen.