Matthew 7:24 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.
The Parable of the Two Builders is just one of the parables Jesus used to teach people how to live. Leading up to this verse, Jesus had been preaching His most famous message, the Sermon on the Mount. He talked about the ways people should be living, warning them of false teaching and false prophets. This parable is a continuation of those lessons.
The two builders approached building the same way, but selected different foundations. The wise man chose to build his house on solid rock whereas the fool built his house on sand. While the houses might look the same, in the storm those foundations will be tested. The house on the rock will stand solid and firm but the house on the sand will eventually fall because its foundation is unstable.
How do we apply this to the previous teaching and to our own lives?
The foundation of the house built on rock is like a life that follows Jesus and His teachings. The house built on sand is like a life that follows false teachings. In Jesus’ time these teachings were works based requirements the Pharisees taught and expected, based on the Law, not the new commands Jesus gave and had been modeling through His own life.
In today’s times, it may be harder to determine exactly what are considered “false” teachings,though there is no doubt we live in a sinful world full of lies and confusion. I am not here to point out differences in denominations or other religions and make accusations of which might be false and misleading. I DO want to point you to Jesus and His Word. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). He provides the direction we need our lives to be headed in, and upon His Truth (the rock foundation) should we be building our houses (lives). We do not want to be like the fool and build our houses on sand or like those mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:4 –“They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
Are you building your house upon the solid rock of Jesus? Take some time to pray about what is influencing your life and beliefs and let the Spirit reveal whether it is truth or falsehood.
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