I. WHAT IS COMMENDABLE OF THE FOOLISH BUILDERS..

A. IT WAS NOT A NEGLECT OF RELIGION—BECAUSE HE DID BUILD.

1. So it does not refer to a mere professor of religion.

2. It does not refer to a pagan in the darkness of ignorance.

3. It does not refer to a Jew who utterly rejected Jesus,

4. It does not refer to an infidel who despised all sacred things.

5. It does not refer to a profane man who cared for none of these things.

B. THE FOOLISH BUILDER HAD HEARD THE SAYINGS OF JESUS. (Vr. 26)

1. By this house is, doubtless, meant his hope of salvation;

2. (Job 8:14) "Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be as the spider's web,"

C. HE UNDERSTOOD—THOUGH HE DID IT NOT.

1. One had the name and the nature of a Christian, the other the name only

2. The foolish builder had the form, but was without the power.

a. He was a talker-admirer-professor, but not a doer of the Word, was a forgetful hearer.

3. (John xv. 14) “Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I say,"

D. HE WAS INFLUENCED BY THE GOSPEL—BECAUSE HE DID BUILD, THOUGH WRONGLY.

1. The Cults build on the wrong foundation and so do many evangelicals??????

E. HE SELECTED THE SITE TO BUILD AND FINISHED IT.

1 (1 Cor 3:13) “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

F. HIS HOUSE NO DOUBT LOOKED GOOD.

1. (Acts 19:28) "And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians."

2. J. F. & B. says: "These people were so proud of this temple that they refused to write the name of Alexander the Great on it, even though he had offered them all of his eastern countries in return.”

II. CONSIDER WHAT HE NEGLECTED...

A. HE DIDN’T CONSIDER THE TRIALS OF “RAINS”.

1. Like many, he desired to be a fair-weather Christian.

2. (Mt 13:21) “Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.”

3. The wise builder remained steadfast and unmoved in affliction, and death and eternity presented nothing terrific or destructive to his best interests.

B. HE DIDN’T SELECT A “SURE FOUNDATION.”

1. A sandy foundation might do for a building as long as there was never any rain

or contrary winds.

2. Some folk attend very expensive churches and give enormous sums of money to a hopeless cause.

3. However beautiful and costly the structure may be, the results mainly depend upon the foundation.

Ill. Study the foundations of great structures in our country.

4. The mere pretender is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing; you cannot turn a wolf into a sheep by merely putting on it a coat of fleece.

5. In California, Five million dollar homes have been washed away in mud slides because of a faulty foundation.

6. (Matt. xvi. 24) “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me,"

"Jesus, to win Thyself so fair,

Thy cross I will with gladness bear:

Since so the rules of heaven ordain,

The first I'll wed the next to gain."

7. ( John 6: 26.) “Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did not eat of the loaves, and were filled,"

a. The Silence of God by Sir Robert Anderson..pg. 7 in his preface: "In the ages before Christ came, men may well have craved tokens of the action of a personal God. But in the ministry and death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, God has so plainly manifested not only His power, but His goodness and love toward man, that to grant evidential miracles now would be an acknowledgement that questions which have been for ever settled are still open."

C. FOR A LASTING HOUSE, ONE MUST HAVE A GOOD FOUNDATION.

1. One must know who Christ really is. (Mt. 16:16-18) “Upon this Rock”

a. "The sound Christian is like a rock, if he is thrown into the pool of false doctrine, he may get wet by it, but he does not receive it into his inner self.

b. Whereas the unsound professor is like a sponge, he sucks it all in greedily, and retains what he absorbs.

c. (Psa 18:2) “The Lord is my rock and my fortress."

2. One must deny self and follow Christ.

a. Benjamin Keach says: “Many false professors and foolish builders, fall by this trial, and with the dog, turn to their own vomit, and with the swine to their wallowing in the mire.”

3. One must submit to the Lordship of Christ.

4. The foolish builder thought all was well. In perfect imaginary security. When he looked for light, he found darkness; for life, death; and for heaven, hell.

5. As one must have a good foundation when building a house; so one must have a perfect righteousness when seeking heaven. (Phil 3:8-10)

D. THE RAIN SYMBOLIZES BAD WEATHER, AFFLICTIONS, PERSECUTION, TRIALS, ETC.

1. Jesus taught doctrine; just hearing was not enough–one must obey.

a. (James 1:22) “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

2. The Bereans reflect the wise builder of our text.

a. (Acts 17:11) “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

3. Benjamin Keach: “If they heard the words of Moses with such trembling and holy awe, who was but the servant, and but a man as we are ; with what fear and awe should we hear Christ's word, who is the Son of God, the Lord from heaven; we certainly should give the more earnest heed to the things he says.”

4. The wise builder heard the sayings of Christ and retained them.

5. He was not a forgetful hearer; He was like to Mary who pondered and kept all these sayings in her heart." (Lk 2:19)

6. The wise builder was like David; he loved God's word above gold, yea, above fine gold "(Ps 119:127)

III. CONSIDER SOME POINTS OF RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE TWO BUILDERS.

A. BOTH HEARD THE GOSPEL.

1. It may said of the world, as-it is of the harlot, or adulterous woman; " She hath cast down many wounded, yea, many strong men have been slain by her," (Prov. vii. 26)

B. BOTH SAW THE NECESSITY OF BUILDING A HOUSE OF REFUGE.

1. The wise builder knew that rains, winds and storms would come eventually.

C. BOTH ERECTED HOUSES–MANY RESOLVE BUT NEVER BUILD ANYTHING.

1. Some start out to build, but never finish. (Lk 9:62)

2. (Lk 14:28) “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

D. BOTH BUILDERS FELT SECURE.

1. Many a mere church member feels secure, but knows little or nothing of saving grace.

E. BOTH BUILDERS WERE EXPOSED TO THE STORM.

1. The wise man built his house upon a Rock, however.

2. Rocks are durable, permanent, and lasting.

3. Jesus Christ hath the stability of a rock, he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever ; hence he durable rock, and is called, the Rock of Ages.

ROCK OF AGES

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eye-strings break in death]
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

IV. CONSIDER SOME POINTS IN WHICH THE TWO BUILDERS DIFFERED.

A. THEY DIFFERED IN PERSONAL CHARACTER.

1. One was wise and the other was foolish.

a. (Ps 119:6) “Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy commandments,"

2. Ancient folk built their houses on a huge Rock.

3. Doves built their nests in the clifts of a Rock.

4. (Isa 22:16) "What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?"

B. THEY DIFFERED IN THEIR PRACTICE.

1. One was a mere hearer of the gospel and the other was a doer of the gospel.

2. (Luke 6:47) "Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like:"

C. THEY DIFFERED IN THEIR FOUNDATIONS ON WHICH THEY BUILT THEIR HOPE FOR THE FUTURE.

1. One was involved in eternal destruction.

2. He was involved in disappointment of cherished hopes.

a. A hypocrite will do some things, but he falters and declines to do every thing, which he is convinced to be his duty: "

3. His fall was total and irreparable.

4. The wise builder preferred the good of his soul above all things in this world.

5. (Prov 1:7) “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

6. (Job 28:28) "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding."

7. (1 Sam. 15:22, 23) " ...Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. {23} For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. ....."

V. CONSIDER SOME OF THE DANGERS IN MERE RELIGIOUS ZEAL.(Vr. 21-23)

1. One had a false doctrine of assurance.

a To simply build one’s hope on the “Roman Road” is a poor foundation upon which to build one’s hope of eternal life.

2. A refusal to examine one’s hope is very popular in “evangelical circles” today.

3. Living on one’s activities is another sandy foundation. (Buses for Jesus)

4. To try and balance one’s life by putting one good work against a condemning conscience is building on a sandy foundation.

5. Giving mere lip service to the Scriptures is to build on a sandy foundation.

a. (Jer. 8: 9) "They have rejected the word of the Lord, and what wisdom is in them?"

6. To the mere professor, Christ becomes the Rock of offence–stumbling.

a. (Rom 9:33) "As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

7. (Matt. 25:3. 4) “The foolish virgins took lamps, but took no oil ; but the wise took oil in their vessels,"

VI. CONSIDER SOME THINGS THAT CAN BE DANGEROUS IN THE PROFESSING BELIEVER’S LIFE.

1. When one’s main interest is in mere church attendance.

a. The Jews had a zeal of God, but without knowledge. (Rom 10:3)

2. Undue interest in organizations, denominations, some movement or fellowship.

3. Over emphasis on apologetics—contending for the faith..(Some preachers had rather fight over the truth than to live it.)

4. Over interest in academics and Theoretical interest in Theology.

5. Studying the Bible simply to prepare a sermon or Sunday School Lesson.

6. Over emphasis on “Grace and playing down the law”

7. Undue interest in exalted feelings, healings, etc.

Conclusion: (1 Cor.3:11) “And other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ,"

On Christ, The Solid Rock

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name

When darkness veils his lovely face
I rest on his unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

His oath, his covenant, his blood
Supports me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay

When he shall come with trumpet sound
Oh may I then in him be found
Dressed in his rightousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne