The Wise and Foolish Builder - Which builder are we?

But let's take our Bibles and let's turn to Luke chapter 6 and find your way there to verse 46 to verse 49. We'll be there here in just a few minutes. Now we'll mention some other scriptures that might help you in your study. And as always, you can write those down. You don't have to turn there and I'll read them as we progress through the message. Now it's been quite a while since we've been here together on Wednesday nights. I mentioned earlier we've been in our holiday break. It's been nice. It's been good. But I have really, really missed being here. I've missed the study that I normally put in to teach.

And I've missed the time in these parables, not just to teach, but to study for myself. And I miss seeing you. I've missed seeing everything that we do here. Now some of you will remember that we have been studying the parables taught by Jesus for well over a year. Our approach has been to study these parables according to the aim of the purpose of the teaching. And with the help of some scholars, I have categorized or grouped the parables together so that we can study the point and the purpose of each parable, but also so that we can study the point and the purpose of the parables as they're grouped together.

You'll see what I mean here in a minute. Now first we studied the kingdom parables, and then we studied the parables concerning the Christian life. Then we studied those salvation parables, and now I think everyone knows we're dealing with parables that speak to and teach to wisdom and foolishness. We are in the parables concerning wisdom and foolishness and wise living as compared to foolish living. Now we have studied three so far.

We studied the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, which brought us to a question, "Are we ready for the return of Christ?" We then studied the parable of the rich fool, which brought us to the question, "Are we greedy or covetous for riches?" And then last we studied the parable of the dishonest manager, and that brought us to a question, "Are we foolish managers turned wise?" Now here's where I want to show you how grouping these things together have helped us. Those last two parables deal with money and possessions and riches.

And bringing them together like that has helped us study money and riches and possessions and greed and covetousness in a very good way. As a matter of fact, in some of my counsel with one of the men of the church, I was able to go back to some of that and help him. So it's been good to group them together like this. Now tonight we're going to study what I call the parable of the wise and foolish builder. Now your Bible might not have a heading that states that this is indeed a parable, but when we get into the verses, it will be plain to see that it is a parable. Also, you're not going to find the word wise or wisdom.

You're not going to find the words foolish or foolishness within the parable. But when we get through the teaching and into the teaching, it will be plain to see that this parable is about wise living and foolish living. Now let's get to our verses. Let's read them. Verse 46 and verse 49. This is a rather short portion of scripture.

Jesus says, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord?" "And not do what I tell you." "Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like." "He is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock." "And when the flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it." "Because it had been well built." "But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation." "When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell and the ruin of that house was great." Now the story of the parable here is really easy for us to see.

It is really easy for us to grasp and understand. But notice we have two different kinds of people who are illustrated by the story of two specific men who built homes and there was a flood. One man built his house on a solid foundation but the other built his house with no foundation. And within the story we see that both built near a stream. Maybe they needed good access for water. I don't know. Maybe they did this for some type of a business deal. I don't know. Maybe they did it for a view. Now I ask those questions just to stir our imagination. We really do not know why, but they built near a stream.

But when the inevitable flood came, the house that had a solid foundation was safe and secure because it had a solid foundation. Jesus says that it was not even shaken. But the house that had no foundation was destroyed totally. Jesus says the ruin of that house was great. Now before we get into the point of the parable, which is really loaded for application in our day, I want us to see the context or the setting of the parable. And I think we all know by now that the context of all of these parables has a tremendous bearing on the meaning and the application. If we don't get the context, I think we miss a lot.

And this will help us understand why Jesus taught this parable in the first place. And this will help us see even more how this applies in our day in a great way. So the first thing I want us to look at is the context of the parable. Now here in verse 46, here in verse 46, it is obvious that Jesus is addressing a particular people, a crowd of people, a group of people. He says, why do you call me Lord, Lord, but you do not do what I tell you to do. Now we need to ask what's going on here. We need to ask why Jesus asks this question and we need to see who these people were.

Well, to see and understand what was going on in verse 46 and in the parable, we need to recognize certain things that went on in the earthly ministry of Jesus. All throughout his earthly ministry, many times there were these crowds that followed him and they made some sort of a profession of allegiance, believing or hoping that he was the promised Messiah. Some even followed him from town to town, watching all of his miracles and listening to his preaching and they profess to be disciples or followers. But although many followed him and many profess to be disciples, most did not do as he said for most it was an empty profession.

It was words and no true obedience. And to those there on this day, that is why he says, why do you call me Lord, Lord, and you do not practice what I tell you. Simply those there on that day were declaring to be his disciples, but they were not obeying what he taught. A great example that I would encourage you to go study, especially if you have the time to meditate on the verses. A great example of this is in John six with the great crowd that was following Jesus there in that particular time in his ministry. In John six, we see two great miracles in two days or in a two day event. One miracle was very public and one was private.

Jesus fed the five thousand five thousand men plus all of the others that were there following him and listening to him teach. And then he withdrew from the crowd because they wanted to make him a king. And then later that night he walked on the water to his disciples. And after crossing over the sea of Galilee to Capernaum, the next day that great crowd from the day before followed him to Capernaum or across around the the sea of Galilee. And if you study that chapter and take note of how Jesus addressed the crowd, you will see something extremely interesting. And it's the opposite of what ministers and churches do today with the crowds.

One by one, he identified the different groups and the reasons why they were following him. He singled out those who were following him for the miracles. They wanted a Messiah that would give them the wild. They just wanted to see more miracles. He called out those who were wanting to make him an earthly king. They wanted this physical earthly king, much like King David, and they wanted a king to get rid of the Romans. Then he marked out those who wanted to be fed again. They just wanted their bellies full. They wanted a Messiah that would only meet their physical needs. Now, what is the point?

All those in the great crowds that were following Jesus there in John 6 were professing to be disciples of Christ to some degree of some kind, but they did not put into practice what he told them to do. And that took place all throughout his earthly ministry. Many called him Lord. Many profess to be disciples of Jesus, but the vast majority did not put anything that Jesus taught into practice. And right here in Luke 6, we have Luke's account of the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus is teaching this parable towards the end of the Sermon on the Mount. And it appears that these in the crowd there were doing the same thing.

They profess to be disciples of some kind, but they did not obey Jesus' teaching. James, many of you know the book of James. James would call them hearers of the word, but not doers of the word. So all that I have explained in the context here in the verses, notice, Jesus is saying those gathered around him as he was teaching the greatest sermon that was ever taught, the Sermon on the Mount. He says, "Why do you call me Lord Lord and you do not do what I've called you to do?" And if we see what this Lord Lord means, really it gets even more powerful. This word means master, and a master had complete authority.

They were calling Jesus Lord saying that he had complete authority over them. But Jesus says, "Why do you call me Lord? Why do you call me master? Why do you say I have authority over me, over you, but you do not do what I call you to do?" Now, what about today? What about in our culture? What about in our South Mississippi Bible Belt Christian culture? What about in so many churches? What about in families? You see how the context helps us? In Jesus' day, the context was this. Many professed him, but very few followed him and obeyed him. And today we have the same problem.

We're in this Bible Belt culture and everybody professes to be a Christian. Many would tell you that they've committed their life to Christ and been baptized and a member of a church. But here's the question. Do they actually practice what Jesus says to do? But more specifically, are there people in the life of our church who do this? Are there people who would say, "Lord, Lord, yes, he's my Lord. He's my Savior. I've been converted or saved. I've been baptized." But yet in their everyday life, they do not practice what he says. So notice again how this context just opens our eyes to see that it's just the same today for us.

Maybe not in other cultures, but it definitely is for us. Now at this point, I want to contrast what I call the wise builder up against the foolish builder. Again, you do not see Jesus call them wise or foolish, but that's what they were. That's what they are. So I don't think I'm wrong in using that language. So the wise builder here in verse 47, Jesus says, and I'm quoting the verse, "Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like." And then he illustrates what that person is like with a parable. And we see that in verse 48.

He says, and I'm paraphrasing, he says, "They are like a man who built a house near a stream. He dug deep and he laid a foundation on the rock, and then he built his house on the foundation. And then when the flood came and the flood broke up against that house, it could not be shaken. His home was well built on the rock, on the foundation, so the flood couldn't shake it, much less destroy it." Now understand what Jesus is teaching here. To understand what Jesus is teaching here, we need to ask two questions. First, what does this mean to dig deep and to lay a foundation on the rock?

Well, in all of Jesus' teaching, and specifically the Sermon on the Mount, which precedes this parable, Jesus was not calling those listening to be better people. And in all of his teaching, and especially in the Sermon on the Mount, he was not calling them to be more moral or more honest or more respected or more religious. No. Jesus was and is saying that this is all about building one's life on Jesus himself. Jesus himself is the rock in the parable. The rock in the foundation of Jesus is Jesus. Many times in the Old Testament and the New, the Messiah of God or Jesus is called the rock.

Isaiah wrote, and I'm quoting, "Therefore, thus says the Lord, behold, I am the one who has laid a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. Whoever believes in him will not be in haste," Isaiah 26, 16. We know that Isaiah was speaking and prophesying about Jesus. Paul said in Ephesians 2, 19 to 20, "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone." Peter called Jesus the stone that was rejected in Acts 4, 11.

Peter also wrote in his epistle, 1 Peter 2, 6 to 7, that Jesus was a stone in Zion, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. So Jesus is the rock in the parable. And he was saying that the one who builds their house on the rock is the person who builds their life on him and they obey his teaching. And look, we can't make the mistake of believing the wise builder simply obeys Jesus' teaching and that's all. That would be a life and death error. And conversely, we can't make the mistake of believing that the wise builder simply builds his life on Jesus and that's all.

That would be another life and death error. But the error that Jesus is pointing out here is this. To believe one can have Christ without obeying his teaching. And that is the, but the error that Jesus is pointing out here is this. The error is to believe that one can have Christ without obeying his teaching. And that is what so many in the crowds that were following Jesus were doing, not just in that particular day in which he was teaching, but all throughout his ministry. I like how the Bible commentator James Boyce explains it. It's catchy and it helped me.

He says, and I'm quoting, "According to Jesus, we cannot have his ethics without himself, but neither can we have him without his ethics. We must build on both." But our second question, what does this flood that broke out against the house here mean? King James says the flood beat vehemently against the house. This flood or this flooded stream is the divine judgment of God on the life. When the flooded river of God's judgment hits the house of the one whose life is built on Christ. Well, first Christ himself is their salvation. And then second, it's built on Christ teaching. Well, that house cannot be shaken. It can't be destroyed.

Now, Jesus says the very same thing in other places. In John five, he says in verse 24, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me as eternal life, and he does not come into judgment, but he has passed from death to life." Jesus says the same thing in John three 16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." And he goes on to say in verse 17, "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he is not believed in the name of the son of God." So the great flood in the parable is the judgment of God upon the life.

And he was saying that the one who builds his house on the rock is the person who builds their life on him and they obey his teaching. And when the flood of divine judgment comes on that life, that house will not be destroyed. It will not even be shaken. Now, sometimes I ask you to do this. It helps me. Maybe it helps you. But take a step back and look at what Jesus was saying. He was and is saying that the wise man builds his house on Jesus. They've been converted to Christ. They've been born again. They are a true believer. Christ is their personal rock, their personal foundation. And they in turn build their lives on his teaching.

His teaching is the house of life that they build. They build their lives according to his word, all with Christ as their personal rocker foundation. They are the wise builder. And when the flood of life comes, they stand firm and unshaken. And then when the flood of judgment comes because the fire will be put to the life of the believer, they stand firm. They are not shaken. And we must see how relevant this teaching is for us in our day. We must see the great need for this teaching. So many today in our Christian culture say they follow Christ, but they do not obey his teaching.

They're proving their lives are not built on Christ, the solid rock, by not obeying his teaching. And let me tell you where this comes from. This comes from the easy believeism that is so prevalent in our culture. This comes from churches that have a low view of conversion, a low view of church membership. It's so easy to be a quote unquote Christian, but that's not a Bible Christian. So, so many in our Christian culture have adopted this low standard of what it means to be a Christian. And look at the ramifications. But remember how James Boyce just summarized what Jesus was saying.

Jesus is saying here that we can't have his ethics or his teaching without himself. And we can't have him without his ethics or his teaching. You can't divide them. And you tell me, how many try to have one or the other? How many try to have one or the other? They'll try to have his ethics without him. They'll try to have his teaching and they've never been born again. And then some try to be born again and not obey what he says. You can't have it, but one way, Jesus way. So the wise builder builds their life on Christ first in personal salvation, and then they build the house of their life on his teaching.

And oh, when, when even judgment comes in the world, and then when the final fire is put to the light, they stand. But then we have the foolish builder. Now the foolish builder is in verse 47 and verse 49. I want to read these verses. "Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like." Then he goes on in verse 48 to describe the wise builder, but then verse 49, "But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who's built his house on the ground without a foundation.

When the stream broke against it vehemently, immediately it fell and the ruin of that house was great." Well, I think in understanding the wise builder, I think in taking our time with the wise builder and understanding who and what the wise builder is, well, it is easy to see who and what the foolish builder is. He's just the opposite of the wise. The foolish person hears the words of Christ regarding eternal life, and they do not savingly believe in Christ. They do the opposite. They reject Christ. They refuse Christ. They walk away from salvation.

And this foolish person hears the words or the teaching of Christ, but because they do not have a saving relationship with Christ, they do not obey his teaching. And as a result, a natural result, this person builds the house of their life on what the world says and what their sinful flesh says is best. They build the house of their life on the world's morals, on the world's values, on the world's standards, on what the world says is best for life. They simply build the house of their life just like the lost world does.

And when the raging flood of judgment comes, when that raging flood of the judgment of God hits that life, that will all be swept away in an instant totally it will be all gone. Now we need to ask here a couple of questions. What do these people really, really look like? What do they look like? Jesus says here, Jesus says they hear his words, but they do not put them into practice. But what does that look like? They can look to have, they can look to have their lives completely together spiritually. They can look like they obey Jesus' teaching in his commands just right. They can profess to know Christ savingly.

They can profess all the right things. They can be members of a church. They can serve in a church. They can live and function among believers. They can even look like true believers in every way. Look, sometimes these false believers, they make it as false believers all the way unto death. Sometimes they look real, real. Sometimes they look like real Christians all the way to the end. And when they stand before Jesus at death, this is what they say. Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not cast out demons in your name? And did we not do many, many mighty works in your name? Matthew 7.22.

But then Jesus turns around and says, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Those professed him, but they did not have his ethics. Those had his ethics, but they did not have him. But then sometimes these false converts make it for a while, but then they reveal themselves a little later on in life. Some crisis, some opportunity, some event, or a series of events proves who they are. They then leave their professed faith in the church behind. Many times, if not most of the time, they venture off in the worldliness and even in the sin and gross sin.

John describes these perfectly in 1 John 2.19, where he says, they went out from us, but they were never of us. Notice his language. They went out from us, but they never were of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that it might become plain that they were not of us. So we see the foolish builder. He's just the opposite of the wise. He may appear to be wise even under death, but in the end, that foolish builder is revealed. The total destructive flood of God's judgment destroys all that he has. And then sometimes in God's providence, he's revealed even in life.

And look at how all of this applies today. And I apply this with a question. How many people are just like what we have seen here? Some you'll never know until they stand before God. But some you do know. I remember years ago, serving in the life of the church. There was a man in the life of the church. He was a leader in the church, not a pastor. But I mean, he professed Christ. He could tell you when he was converted to Christ, he was a leader in the church and did a lot of good things. And he looked apart and acted apart in a very good way for a long period of time. But then that opportunity came by. That temptation came.

And oh, he went the way of sin. And he went the way of more sin and gross sinfulness. And lo and behold, he left the church. He left his family. He left his Christian friends. And he just went the way of the world and sin. He went out from us because he never was of us. And he ignored rebuke and he ignored correction. And what am I trying to show you? He revealed himself as a foolish builder. But again, there are some you never know because they make it all the way to the end, if I can use that language. But then last, the point of the parable. The point of the parable.

First, Jesus was revealing the critical life and death error that so many who professed him were making. Many, many in that day, all through his ministry, were following him and calling him Lord, that Jesus knew their profession was a false profession. He said, why do you call me Lord, Lord? Why do you say I have authority over you? Why do you call me Lord and you do not practice what I tell you? James Boyce described their critical life and death mistake. They thought they could have him without his ethics. And Jesus was attacking that and he was exposing that.

And James McDonald's believers Bible commentary, many of you have that in commentating and teaching on these verses. He gives a poem that was written. This describes the false. This describes this false, foolish believer in builder. Let me read it. You call me the way and walk me not. You call, you call me the life and live me not. You call me master and obey me not. If I condemn thee, blame me not. You call me bread and eat me not. You call me truth and believe me not. You call me Lord and serve me not. If I condemn thee, do not blame me not.

But then second with the point, Jesus was revealing what true discipleship was and is by exposing the error. He was elevating the fact that true discipleship meant two things. First, having a saving relationship with him and second, obeying his teachings. Borrowing Boyce's language again. The true disciple has him and his ethics. And John MacArthur's commentary on these verses, he mentions an old hymn which describes these true believers. You tell me if you know it. My hope is built on nothing less, but Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but holy lean on Jesus' name. What's the rest?

On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. Sounds to me like the writer of that hymn was reading these words. So the point of the parable was to reveal the fact that so many were professing true discipleship, but they were false. They called him Lord Lord, but they did not follow his teaching. But the point of the parable was also to reveal and highlight and expose what true discipleship truly is. And he was calling those who were listening to pay the price, meet those conditions and become true followers. Now as I close, I have to ask a question. Which are we?

Are we the foolish builder? Are we the wise builder? Are we the wise builder? Are we the foolish builder? Have we come to a place where we have savingly trusted in Christ and our hope is Him? Our foundation is Him. Our peace is Him. Our security is Him. We've got Him. And then we are building our life on Him and building our life on His teaching. But are we the foolish builder? Somehow we're missing one of the two. We don't know Him, but we try to live His teaching. All we say we know Him, you see. Let me give you an example, and then I will tell you my opinion here, and then we'll close.

One of the greatest examples of one who was foolishly building their life was a man that served in the life of the church that I served in years ago. This man was a leader, I mean a leader, very wealthy. But you know, he fought against the pastor. Just somehow he always fought against the pastor. Now he was a leader, very well respected. And in time, God did a work and God saved you. Yeah, he was a leader. And he stood on the platform and he gave his testimony. And he gave his testimony with the pastor and he professed to have come to faith in Christ.

And he said, "You know, I fought my pastor and now I publicly repent." And the pastor embraced him, everybody clapped, and everybody cheered because he had him. And then what did he do? He started obeying His teaching. He started obeying His teaching. He started doing things that he'd never done before. And because he was blessed financially, he used his money to do good things. And you know what? Last I heard, he was still obeying His teaching. Why? Because he had him. But I've alluded to this, I'm going to share it again. One of the biggest problems we face in our culture today is the easy believism.

One of the biggest problems we face in our culture today is that so many people think that they don't have to have him. They can obey His teaching when they're okay. Or they can have him and they don't have to obey His teaching. You see, that's what we face. Now, let me show you why it's important for you to see this. You have family who are just like this. You have moms and dads, brothers and sisters, maybe children. This is what we fight against. We really don't fight against the cults as much. We really don't fight against Catholicism and all that stuff as much.

We fight against this easy believism that has produced so many who are nothing more than foolish believers. I don't always have time to do this. And I conclude, but let's read the verses one more time and I'll share with you the title of the message. Remember the context, so many who professed him right here as he has been teaching the greatest sermon that has ever been taught. Of course, Luke abbreviates his version, but what does he say? Why do you call me Lord, Lord? Why do you say I have authority over you as the Messiah? And you do not do what I tell you.

Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you exactly what they are like. He is like a man building a house and he dug deep and he laid a foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose in that stream broke against that house, he could not shake it because it was well built on the rock. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built the house on the ground without a foundation. When that stream vehemently broke up against it, immediately it fell and the ruin of that house was great. So the title of the message is like all of these other ones. The wise and the foolish builder.

Here's the question. Which builder are we? Let's pray. I'll commit these things to the Lord and then we'll look at some prayer needs.