The Story of Two Houses: Matthew 7:24-27
““24) Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26) Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27) The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”” Matthew 7:24-27
Jesus closed the Sermon on the Mountain with the story of two houses. In the story, two people built themselves a house with totally different outcomes. It appears that they lived in the same area, because they both experienced the same storm, but one stood fast and the other was destroyed.
The spiritual side of the illustration is that they attended the same church, heard the same sermons, maybe had the same version of the Bible and even knew many of the same people. But their outcomes were totally different.
Have you noticed all the comparisons of two’s in last part of Matthew chapter seven? Two gates, two roads, two trees, two kinds of fruit and now two houses. Jesus is warning that two very similar people will face two radically different destinations.
Note, in the story of the two houses, the storm hit hard. The rain descended, the floods came and the winds blew. This was a severe trial. The rain tests your roof, the winds test your walls and the floods test your foundation.
Trials are going to come in life. 1 Peter 1:6-9 tells us that trials come to test our faith. They are intended to refine us like gold in fire. The outcome of genuine faith is the salvation of our souls.
It amazes me how often people go through very similar life circumstance but it affects them radically differently. On person seems to get stronger while another falls apart. Why? Trials expose us! They reveal our core make up.
In the story, one man built his house on the rock, the other build his house on the sand. One stood fast through the storms of life, while the other collapsed. What was the difference?
Jesus said it came down to how they responded to His words. They both heard His gospel. One acted upon it and the other did not. One received Him by faith and the other did not. One embraced Him and the other held Him at arms length. One was wondrously saved, the other was tragically lost!
The irony in the story is that man who built on the sand was religious. He listened to the same gospel about Jesus, but did not act upon it. He built his house on worldly sand. He was religious but lost! He acknowledged Jesus, but chose his own way in life.
This describes so many people today. What about you? Are you building on the solid rock or on sinking sand? Have you accepted Jesus Christ by faith and building your life on His Word, or are you merely religious… but lost?
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global