“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” [Matthew 7.24-27]
The storms of life come against everyone just like natural storms come against every house. The difference between weathering the storms and losing everything is found in the absence or presence of prudence when building.
Jesus said, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.“ Here is where the difference is made. What is Jesus' teaching? It is the Word of God - all of it. Let's just establish this first and foremost: Jesus was clear on the topic:
“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! [John 5.39]
Genesis to Malachi and Matthew to Revelation are all Scriptures and they are all Jesus' teaching!
Christians today have mistakenly adopted the idea that only the New Testament really applies to them. Nothing could be further from the truth. The New Testament, wonderful as it is, has no meaning without the foundation of the Old Testament! Remember what Jesus said:
“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. [Matthew 5.17]
It is not ironic that Jesus used the word "obey" in Matthew 7.24-27. "Obeying" is the essence of Old Testament teaching in which faith is found. Without obedience, faith is of no use because faith, in and of itself, is obedience!
This is also seen in Paul's writings: faith is to be obeyed:
So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. [2 Thessalonians 1.11]
The notion that God's Word - Jesus - the Old and New Testaments - do not ALL apply to us is ludicrous. Undoubtedly, Jesus used the illustration of a house and its foundation because He knew, in time, this illustration would accurately depict the absolute necessity of the Old Testament "foundation" to support the New Testament "house" in which we live.
The Old Testament is the foundation upon which the house of the New Testament stands. Yes, we may think we live just fine in the New Testament, but when the storms of life come, the house we live in better be built on the right foundation! There is simply no other solid foundation upon which our New Testament house can stand firm than the Old Testament. The storms of life will prove it.
Our takeaway from this is that there is no substitute for knowing God's Word cover to cover. Ever how we do it, we simply must gain as much knowledge of God's Word as we possibly can. And, it starts with the foundation of the Old Testament! But, our house is not complete with just a foundation! Where we actually reside is in the New Testament and so, it must be given as much energy to build as the Old Testament.
Can we build a beautiful house without a solid foundation? Of course we can. It foolishly happens every day both physically and spiritually all around us! And, while two houses may look just the same inside and out even though one is built on a solid foundation and the other is not, all it takes is a good storm to reveal the difference.
Father, help us build our New Testament spiritual house on the foundation of the Old Testament so that the storms of life do not destroy us. Help us to see that both are Jesus' teachings. So be it.
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