March Like Jesus
… Do Life on the Rock! – Part II
Scripture Reading: Matthew 7:24-29
Key Verse: Matthew 7:26
“But anyone who hears My teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand”.
Jesus did not leave it to the imagination what it looks like when a person decides to build their life contrary to His teaching. Jesus put it bluntly, “that person is foolish”!
Oxford Languages define “foolish” as “…lacking good sense or judgment; unwise”. It is interesting to realize that Jesus does not say it is sinful to not build on the Rock. It is obvious that that a person will undoubtedly do a lot of sinning once they decide not to build on the Kingdom Rock, but the critical decision not to build life on Jesus’s teaching lacks good sense and is unwise. This is true because following Jesus’s teaching for this life makes life better and healthier, even if a person does not accept Jesus as their Savior.
In other words, something that is true and wise is true and wise for everyone, not just believers! (However, it is true that no one could truly live out all the instructions of Jesus without the Spirit’s inner transformation that changes the way they think!)
There is another important issue involved with these last few verses of Matthew 7. It is the phrase “But anyone who hears My teaching”. People have asked me many times over the years about the eternal destination of those who never hear the teachings of Jesus. Find the answer to these types of questions in the first chapter of Romans:
But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. (Romans 1:18-22)
In other words, God holds everyone accountable because of the revelation of God in the creation around them: “they can clearly see His invisible qualities”.
God uses us, His children, to help people see in more detail what God can do in a life surrendered to Him. But even without our testimonies, they have no excuse for not knowing God!
Father, thank You for revealing Yourself in all of creation. Help me to be an example of the wisdom of living for and like Jesus. In Jesus’s Name I pray, amen.