A Rock verses the Sand

Matthew 7:24-25

“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.  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.”

(The parable ends the Sermon on the Mount)

(“rain came down”; the Holy land is known for rains that often cause disastrous floods)

 The hears of Christ words are divided into two’s: the wise and the foolish.  Those that hear and those that do not hear; the obedient and the disobedient.  Both groups hear God’s true Word, but some hear and obey and some hear and disobey.

There are Similarities and Differences between both the wise builder and the foolish builder:

Similarities:

• Everyone who hears these words of Mine” applies both to the wise and foolish man.  They both have heard God’s word and have heard the way to Salvation.
•     They both build a house after hearing the way to salvation.
•        The wise man builds his house (which represents his life, on “these words of Mine”
•        The implication is that the foolish man although he does not act upon, or follow Christ’s Word (the Word of God), thinks or believes he is secure simply because he has heard and acknowledged the words.  He does not intentionally build a house he thinks is going to fall.
•  Both builders have confidence their houses will stand; but one man’s confidence is in the Lord and the other man’s is in himself.

Differences

•   One Act’s upon God’s Word (obedience) and the other does not act upon His Word (disobedience).  One builds using divine standards, the other uses his own.
•     The wise man built upon the rock, whereas the foolish man build his house upon the sand.
•        The Greek word for Rock is “Petra” this doesn’t mean a stone or boulder but a GREAT outcropping of rock or a large expanse of bedrock.  “Solid, Stable and Unmovable.” 
•        Sand is loose, unstable and very movable. 

The Rock vs. The Sand:

The Rock:

God’s Word is the basis of the Rock.  This builder is the one who hears Jesus’ words and acts on them. 

 “The house built on the rock is the life of obedience, the life Jesus has been explaining through the Sermon on the Mount.  It is the life that has a scriptural view of itself, as described in the Beatitudes.  It is the life that has a scriptural view of the world while not being a part of it.  It is the life that has the divine view of Scripture and that determines not to alter God’s Word in the slightest degree.  It is a life that is concerned about internal righteousness rather than external form.  It is a life that has a godly attitude toward what is said and what is done, toward motives, things, money, and other people.  It is a life of genuineness rather than hypocrisy, and of God’s righteousness rather than self-righteousness. The house built on the rock is the life that empties itself of self-righteousness and pride, that is overwhelmed by and mourns over its own sin, that makes that maximum effort to enter the narrow gate and be faithful in the narrow way of Christ and His Word.  Such a builder does not build his life or place his hope on ceremony, ritual, visions, experience, feelings or miracles but on the Word of God and that alone. ” (John MacArthur)

The Sand:

The sand is composed of human opinions, attitudes and wills, which are always shifting  and unstable.  Building on the sand is building on self-will, self-fulfillment, self-purpose, self-sufficiency, self-satisfaction and self-righteousness. 

“To build the house of one’s life on the sand is to follow the ultimate deception of Satan, which is to make a person believe he is saved when he is not.  Because that person is under the delusion that he is safe, he sees no reason either to resist Satan or to seek God.” (John MacArthur)

The rain, the floods, and the winds:

Signify God’s final judgment.  The storm is the ultimate test that every human will face.  The house that is founded upon the rock (Christ and His Word) will stand; the one that is build upon the sand which is anything other than Christ and His Word will be utterly destroyed.  Whether one’s religion is true or false, one day it is going to be tried.  That trial will prove with absolute finality what is real and what is false. who have entered by the narrow gate to walk the narrow way and who have entered by the wide gate which leads to destruction. The house on the rock of Jesus Christ and His Word will be delivered from the wrath to come and will only have praise from God (1^st Corinthians 4:5) “…and then each man’s praise will come to him from God”

• The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Matthew 1-7
• MacArthur Bible Commentary 
• The NIV Study Bible 
• Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible