Author: Gary Witcher

The Wise Man Built

	"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine," Jesus promises in Matthew 7:24-27, "and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and {yet} it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."
	Some people are wise.  Some people are foolish.  Notice how Jesus distinguishes between the two.  First of all, the wise man digs in the right place.  He digs where the bedrock is.  And just where is the bedrock?  Well, it is not in the Old Law, the Law of Moses.
	"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways," Hebrews 1:1-3 explains, "in these last days has spoken to us in {His} Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."
	"For not knowing about God's righteousness," Paul points out in Romans 10:3, "and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
	The wise person digs where the bedrock is.  And that bedrock is not in the Old Law.  Neither is it in man-made religion.
	"These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body," Paul notes in Colossians 2:23, "{but are} of no value against fleshly indulgence."
	"Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites," Jesus expresses in Mark 7:6-9, "as it is written, 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.  But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'  Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men...You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition."
	"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men," we read in Romans 1:18-25, "who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.  For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.  Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them.  For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."
	The wise person digs where the bedrock is.  And that bedrock is not man-made religion of any kind.  It is not found in ignorance, either.
	"Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance," Paul preaches in Acts 17:30,31, "God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."
	The wise person digs where the bedrock is.  That bedrock is not the Old Law, man-made religion or ignorance.  The bedrock is found only in Jesus.
	"But when Peter saw {this}," Acts 3:12-16 records, "he replied to the people, 'Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?  The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, {the one} whom you delivered up, and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.  But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, {the one} whom God raised from the dead, {a fact} to which we are witnesses.  And on the basis of faith in His name, {it is} the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which {comes} through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all."
	"And when they had placed them in the center," we find in Acts 4:7-12, "they {began to} inquire, 'By what power, or in what name, have you done this?'  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, 'Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead-- by this {name} this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, {but} which became the very corner {stone.} And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved."
	"And coming to Him as to a living stone," 1 Peter 2:4-8 informs us, "rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  For {this} is contained in Scripture: 'Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner {stone}, and he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed.'  This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve, 'The stone which the builders rejected, this became the very corner {stone,' and, 'A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense'; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this {doom} they were also appointed."
	Who is the wise person?  The wise person is the one who digs a foundation in the right place, where the bedrock is.  That bedrock is not the Old Law, man-made religion or ignorance.  Jesus is the only bedrock.

	The wise person is the one who digs a foundation in the right place, where the bedrock is.  That bedrock is not the Old Law, man-made religion or ignorance.  Jesus is the only bedrock.  There is a second characteristic of the wise man, though, that we should not overlook.  Not only does the wise man dig in the right place, but he also must dig and dig deep.  He must keep on digging until he reaches the bedrock.  It does no good to select the right spot and then simply start building on top of the soil. Some might be tempted to do this, though, since digging requires effort.  It is not superficial.
	"So faith {comes} from hearing," Romans 10:17 instructs, "and hearing by the word of Christ."
	By the way, the "hearing" that is mentioned here is not passive.  It is a continuing action.
	"What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works?" James 2:14-26 asks.  "Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for {their} body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, {being} by itself.  But someone may {well} say, 'You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.'  You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.  But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?  You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,' and he was called the friend of God.  You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.  And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?  For just as the body without {the} spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead."
	"Hear then the parable of the sower," Jesus instructs in Matthew 13:18-23.  "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil {one} comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.  And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no {firm} root in himself, but is {only} temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
	To lay a proper foundation we must dig, even though this requires a great deal of effort.  Sometimes this means that we must go deep...we must keep on digging until we reach the rock.
	"No one," Jesus warns in Luke 9:62, "after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." 
	"Now great multitudes were going along with Him;" we find in Luke 14:25-35, "and He turned and said to them, 'If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.  Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'  Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and take counsel whether he is strong enough with ten thousand {men} to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks terms of peace.  So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.  Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?  It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 
	"Do not fear what you are about to suffer," Revelation 2:10 encourages.  "Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life."
	Some people are wise.  Some people are foolish.  The wise person digs in the right place, where the bedrock is.  That rock is not the Old Law, man-made religion or ignorance.  It is Jesus and only Jesus.  Once the bedrock has been found, the wise person puts out the effort to dig.  That person keeps on digging until reaching the rock.  It is only then that the spiritual house may be constructed.
	"For he was looking for the city which has foundations," Hebrews 11:16 encourages, "whose architect and builder is God."
	"But you have come to Mount Zion," Hebrews 12:22-24 explains, "and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than {the blood} of Abel."
	Let's be wise.  Let's be part of this building. Let's not build just anywhere.  Let's not try to build in the sand. Let's build on the truth and be set free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."