By Daniel Lee Robertson
“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. But 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.” (Matthew 7:24-27)
What is your house built on? As Christians we are faced with this concept of falling. Often it is talked about in terms of fear and it is sometimes seen as inevitable. We all fall short of the glory of the Lord, this is true. There has been and will be only one perfect human being in the history of mankind. We are sinful by nature and thus we have been set up to fall. However, the Bible says that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. We are no longer subject to the law of sin, and if it is truly our desire to live holy, Jesus Christ has instructed us on how to achieve success.
In concluding his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus compares two types of Christians: those who hear his sayings and do them, and those who hear his sayings and do not do them. There is a difference in the life of the Christian who is a believer in what he says, and one who is a believer in what he says, and does. Some of us go to church on Sunday to hear the word of God and spend the rest of the week wondering why we keep falling to the same things over and over again. I know this because I have been there myself. Thank God that, by his grace, we fall down, but we get up. Hearing the word of God is vital to our development as Christians. However what good is it to hear direction and not obey? That is how we get lost.
Do you remember being a child and having your mother or father tell you not to do something? Do you remember what happened when you didn't listen? Do you remember wishing you had done what you were told? As believers, our Father has given us this wonderful book that tells us what to do and what not to do, and when we don't know what the book says he's given us the Holy Spirit to guide us.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Did you read that? God does not allow us to be tempted by anything we are unable to resist. Whatever is causing you to fall, you can overcome it if you “take heed.” That means pay attention and be aware. When you find yourself in a tempting situation, listen to the Holy Spirit and trust in the word of God.
In closing, remember that game show where they show the contestant a wonderful prize and then give them the option to choose what's behind door number two? Sometimes that's how it is as a Christian. In our minds we say, “this looks good and I can see it. I don’t think what's behind door number two can compete with this.” But the Bible says we walk by faith, not by sight. Take heed, and build your house on a rock and I promise you, the prize behind door number two is greater than you can imagine.
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” (Jude 1:24)
Daniel Lee Robertson
