The Wise Man Built His House

"Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the 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 the rock” (Matt. 7:24-25).

The context of Matthew 7:24-27 goes back to Matthew 7:21-23. On the Day of Judgment, many will say they had done many wonderful works for the Lord. However, the Lord tells them that instead of following His teachings, they were listening and following the advice of men. For one to gain heaven as their eternal home, one must do the will of the Father. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). Hence, we need to build according to the Word of God instead of the teachings of men. Luke says it in this manner:

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Every one that cometh unto me, and heareth my words, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who digged and went deep, and laid a foundation upon the rock: and when a flood arose, the stream brake against that house, and could not shake it: because it had been well builded. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that built a house upon the earth without a foundation; against which the stream brake, and straightway it fell in; and the ruin of that house was great (Luke 6:46-49).

It is essential to watch and be very careful as to how we build. If we are not building on a solid foundation, we will fall when the storms come. The wise man of Matthew 7:24 digs deep and finds the bedrock on which he will lay the foundation. He understands without a proper foundation, the house will not stand the test of time. It will be faulty and collapse. The foundation we are to build upon is Jesus. Paul wrote, “According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder I laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon. For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:10-11). Paul warns us to be careful how we build upon the foundation. To build upon any other foundation is foolish and will eventually cause one’s downfall.

There are far too many in our world today who are building on foundations erected by men and not by God. Men today are bringing in all kinds of innovations that are not of God but rather are grounded in the false interpretations of men. Many today are claiming they have “restudied” the question of instrumental music in worship and have concluded that God would be pleased with the use of such like in our worship to Him. Hence, many today are adding instrumental music to their worship. Also, some of the same people have “restudied” women elders and women preachers. They have come to the conclusion that preachers of the past were wrong in their interpretation of these subjects, and they now have concluded that it is permissible to have both women elders and women preachers.

One can study until the Lord comes back, but you will not find any authority for the use of instrumental music or women elders and women preachers. No matter how many times you study it, it will still say the same thing. God condemns any other kind of music that is not in agreement with His teachings on vocal music. Furthermore, there is no authority for women elders or women preachers. One cannot find it in the Scriptures. To build upon these false teachings and others like them is to build upon the wrong foundation. One day, many will say to the Lord, “…Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works” (Matt. 7:22)? Then they will hear these words from the Lord, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt. 7:23).

It is the words of our Lord that will judge us. Jesus said, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth, not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). Because we will one day hear His words (either “well done” or “depart from me; I never knew you”), we need to be careful how we build.