The Wise and the Foolish Builder

After finishing his famous Sermon on the Mount, Christ said: "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." (Matthew 7:24-27, ESV) In the sermon which preceded these remarks, Jesus of Nazareth had reimagined Torah - the basis of the Old Covenant between God and Israel.

Indeed, Christ had declared: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Matthew 5:17-18, ESV) Did you get that? Jesus said that he came to this earth to FULFILL/SATISFY/ACCOMPLISH/COMPLETE/REALIZE the Law and the Prophets. He went on to say that not even the stroke of a pen or a punctuation mark would pass from the Law until ALL of it had been accomplished! Did Christ complete that mission? Scripture predicted that he would (Isaiah 53), and the New Testament informs us that he did. (See John 19:30, II Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, I Peter 2:22) Later, in that same Gospel of Matthew, Christ also taught that TWO commandments fulfilled the entire Law of God - Wholehearted love for God, and love for each other. (Matthew 22:24-40) Then, after his resurrection and just before his ascension into heaven, we are informed by that Gospel that he commanded his disciples "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-10, ESV)

Jesus Christ is identified as the Rock over and over again in Scripture. (See Psalm 18:2, 62:2, 6-7, 118:22, I Corinthians 10:4, Matthew 16:18, Isaiah 26:4, 28:16, I Peter 2:6, Deuteronomy 32:4, II Samuel 22:47) He was that Rock referred to in the parable of the two builders. Moreover, he explicitly stated that the one "who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock." Is the house to be built on the commandments of Torah? OR Is the house to be built on Jesus Christ and what he taught? How say you? Remember, he was speaking to folks who were accustomed to observing the commandments of Torah, and he had explicitly taught his followers a new approach to righteousness - which would be found in and through him when he had completed his mission!

Paul told the Galatians that "We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified." (Galatians 2:15-16, ESV) He went on to write that "all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.' Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for 'The righteous shall live by faith.' But the law is not of faith, rather 'The one who does them shall live by them.' Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.'" (Galatians 3:10-13, ESV) Paul also told the Colossians that the commandments of Torah were shadows of what was to come, but the reality which they represented was to be found in Jesus Christ! (Colossians 2:17)

Hence, in the light of these passages of Scripture, each of us must ask ourselves an important question. Have you built your house on the foundation of Jesus Christ and his teachings? OR Have you built your house on the foundation of the commandments of Torah? In other words, have you built your house on THE ROCK? OR Have you built your house on the sand? Moreover, for those who have built their houses on the sand, what do you think will happen to their houses when the fast-approaching storm engulfs them? What about you? Will your house stand or fall?

A Distorted Perspective on What's Good or Bad

Too many people evaluate themselves and each other based on their performance of a list of dos and don'ts. For these folks, a moral code is the only way to properly assess behavior - to judge whether they are good or bad. In other words, they would be lost without some well-defined standard with which to compare themselves and others. These folks must rely on their five senses (sight, taste, touch, smell and hearing) to process the way they and others perform in public. Unfortunately, they often do not trust their own consciences, feelings, or the leadership of God's Holy Spirit in evaluating their behavior. Of course, on some level, most of us understand that such evaluations can be very superficial and subjective; but many of us are simply too dependent on these standards and our own physical senses to imagine a better system of judging between good and bad!

In the Hebrew Bible, the Children of Israel were given a well-defined system of dos and don'ts that we call Torah. Within that body of writings, there are literally hundreds of individual commands and instructions related to moral conduct, worship rituals, civil laws, health guidelines, etc. Indeed, there are specific commandments to regulate virtually every area of the life circumstances of those ancient peoples (clothing, food, agriculture, commerce, marriage, etc.). For many of the folks we are talking about, there is no higher law than those contained in the Ten Commandments. For them, they constitute a universal moral code which can be applied to all people in all times - NOT just the ancient people of Israel! The problems with this reasoning, however, became very apparent over time; and, by the time that Christ walked this earth, the complete collapse of that system was at hand.

In those days, the members of the Jewish sect of the Pharisees were considered by most to be the ultimate proponents of the Hebrew written code known as Torah. Indeed, they were fastidious about their observance of circumcision of males, dietary laws, Sabbaths, fasting and prayer, sacrifices and other Temple rituals and traditions. In short, these folks held up the Torah as the ultimate standard of moral behavior - of what constituted "righteousness" in God's sight. Jesus of Nazareth, however, insisted that they really were NOT in a position to judge what was good and what was bad! In fact, Christ clearly condemned the way that they used the written code of Torah!

Jesus told the crowds that followed him that "unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." He went on to tell them that it wasn't enough to simply refrain from murdering another human being, but that they shouldn't even allow anger and bitterness to take root in their hearts toward each other! He said that it wasn't enough to refrain from having sexual intercourse with someone who wasn't your spouse. Jesus told them that they shouldn't even allow themselves to harbor lustful thoughts in their minds about someone who wasn't their spouse! Moreover, Christ taught them that they should even love their enemies and treat them with kindness and respect!

Indeed, Christ went on to attack the very concept of judging public behavior as good or righteous! He said: "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." He went on to say: "when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." In similar fashion, Jesus told them to disguise the fact that they were fasting - that the behavior should be directed at God, and NOT for public consumption! He also condemned their legalistic way of observing the Sabbath and suggested that it had been created to be enjoyed!

Jesus was so very clear about the legalism of the Pharisees that it is hard to understand how anyone could embrace their way of discerning what/who was good and what/who was bad! He said: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean." In the same vein, he went on to say: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." For Christ, scrupulously following a list of dos and don'ts simply wasn't enough. He insisted that the robotic performance of a program was NOT what God was looking for in his people!

On the contrary, Christ believed that TRUE goodness would result from judging all behaviors by the standard of LOVE: LOVE for God and each other! God wants folks who will not murder, because they recognize that that is inconsistent with love - NOT because there is a commandment written down forbidding it! Christ wants people to be faithful and honest with each other, because that reflects an attitude of love - of not wanting to hurt another's feelings or disrespect them in any way. In other words, Christ taught that real moral discernment MUST come from the heart of each and every one of us! Hence, reliance on a written code will only get you a distorted perception of what/who is good and what/who is bad! Christ and God look at what is in your heart. They don't rely on physical behaviors observed by physical senses! So, the question is: Are you relying on LOVE, and Christ's fulfillment of Torah? OR Are you relying on a list of do's and don'ts?

The Spirit, NOT the Letter!

Jesus of Nazareth taught that the Jews had failed to fulfill the spirit of Torah - though many of them were careful to obey the written commandments of that legislation. Indeed, he told his followers "unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!" (Matthew 5:20) In other words, obeying the letter of Torah was NOT enough! (The English Standard Version will be used throughout this post.)

Torah commanded: "You shall not murder," but Christ taught that people shouldn't harbor anger and resentment toward each other (Matthew 5:21-24). Likewise, Torah commanded: "You shall not commit adultery," but Jesus said that husbands shouldn't even harbor lustful thoughts toward women who were not their wives (Matthew 5:27). Torah made provisions for a man to divorce his wife if he was dissatisfied with her, but Jesus said that divorce was NOT what God had intended (Matthew 5:31-32). Torah commanded: "You shall not swear falsely," but Christ said that people shouldn't even be making oaths in the first place (Matthew 5:33-37)! Torah laid down the principle of "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," but our Savior taught that we should love our enemies and pray for those who mistreat us (Matthew 5:38-42). He went on to say: "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" (Matthew 5:46-47)

In fact, according to the four canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Jesus taught that strict obedience to the commandments of Torah was ALWAYS insufficient. It simply was NOT enough! He taught that the Sabbath wasn't just about not doing this or that - that it was more about ceasing from our own evil works and doing good things for each other (Matthew 12:1-13, Mark 2:23-28, Luke 6:1-11, John 5:1-17, etc.). Indeed, Jesus said that the entire approach of the Jewish religious leaders of his day to obeying the commandments of Torah was wrongheaded! He said: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness...You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!" (Matthew 23:23-24) Legalists will note that I left out a portion of this passage and will miss the entire point that Christ was making about obedience by doing so! Jesus went on to say: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So, you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." (Matthew 23:27-28)

When Christ was asked which one of the commandments of Torah was the greatest, he replied: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40) Did you catch that? Christ identified two commandments which dealt with the intent of the heart or "spirit" of the Law as fulfilling the whole thing. According to Christ, this was the kind of obedience that God was looking for from his people - an obedience based on LOVE, NOT in scrupulously following a list of dos and don'ts!

The Apostle Paul compared a Christian's relationship to the commandments of Torah to a wife who had been released from her marriage bonds by the death of her husband. He wrote: "Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code." (Romans 7:4-6) Paul went on to say that he served the Law of God with his mind (Romans 7:25). In this same epistle, Paul wrote: "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." (Romans 13:8-10) In other words, if we keep this commandment, the other commandments become redundant - unnecessary!

Likewise, in his second epistle to the Christians at Corinth, Paul assured them that his message about Jesus of Nazareth was sincere and heartfelt. He went on to write: "Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (II Corinthians 3:1-6) Clearly, for Paul, it was what was in the heart that was important. For him, the stuff that was written down was of little importance. Instead, it was what the believer had internalized - what was written on his/her heart!