Build Your House on the Rock
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and fell against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone hearing these words of Mine and not doing them, may be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24:27
Upon the Rock. Which rock are we referring to?
Whoever hears these words of mine and does them will be like a man who builds his house on the rock
Whoever does not build upon “the rock” builds on shifting sand
Peter confesses Jesus, Son of the Living God
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15 He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ. – Matthew 16:13-20
This passage contains a verse that is misinterpreted to be instructional that Peter is the foundation of the Church. one must consider a few details about understanding individual verses.
First, any verse must be considered in the context of the paragraph it is in, at the least. If Christ was assigning Peter to be the cornerstone of the Church, and not simply trying to teach his students an important truth of Christ’s deity, certainly something that substantial would clearly be the focus of the paragraph.
Second, The meaning of the name “Peter” is a small stone, or pebble, whereas “Christ” is the foundational cornerstone of His Church. Any of the disciples may have proclaimed Jesus as the Christ, but since Peter (the small rock) answered correctly, Jesus being a sharp wordsmith plays on the meaning of Peter, a small Rock, proclaiming the truth of the big critical rock, the Rock that forms the means of salvation by Grace for every believer.
Third, no where in the New Testament does Christ establish Peter as the “head” of the Church although he was a critical leader of the disciples. Nor does Peter proclaim himself the leader of the Church. However, Peter remains an excellent example of how even after a believer sins with cowardice (i.e. denying Christ three times in one night), God’s plans are sovereign and Jesus comes back to Peter in John 21, beautifully restoring Peter’s confidence in himself when he was deeply troubled by his weakness and failure.
In ACTS 4, Peter himself proclaims Christ as the Rock, Chief cornerstone to the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Peters main area of evangelism was to the Jews and at Pentecost, he and the other disciples were given a variety of supernatural powers one of which was to heal the disabled.
5 Now it happened that on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; 6 and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.7 And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are being examined today for a good deed done to a sick man, as to how this man has been saved from his sickness, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” ACTS 4:5-12
In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul explains that the Church can only be correctly built upon the Cornerstone of Christ.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 3:10-11
In other words, if you are building a church, or creating all kinds of spiritual structures, if it is not rightfully built upon the foundation of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, His salvation by Grace, then it is a house that sits on shifting sands. It is unstable and will not withstand God’s judgment.
In Ephesians 2, Paul describes the role of all of the apostles, not singling out anyone in particular except Christ as the cornerstone.
17 And He came and preached the good news of peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, is growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord,22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. – Ephesians 2:17:22.
There should be no worship of any entity aside from the Triune God (i.e. the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). Otherwise one is likely to stray into idolatry, worshipping something other than God and failing to obey the First and Second Commandments.
The Little Rock points to the Corner Stone
From Peter’s thoughts from the Book of 1 Peter 2, we learn how he again emphasizes Christ as the Corner Stone and that we, as believers, are ALL living stones destined to takes part in a joyous future and a holy priesthood in God’s kingdom.
Again, Peter is not drawing attention to himself, rather he is proclaiming the gospel where the only means of Salvation is through a genuine faith in Christ.
2 Therefore, laying aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow]in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For this is contained in Scripture:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone,
And he who believes upon Him will not be put to shame.” – 1 Peter 2:1-6.
The Gospel in full Swing
Christ, the Corner Stone of God’s grace and salvation, will also one day judge humanity for its sins. God, knowing that man cannot achieve righteousness on his own, sent His Son who willingly sacrificed Himself, to death, taking upon Himself the sins of fallen humanity, paying the price that you and I would otherwise suffer for our crimes.
The question is, will you trust Christ? Only God through the Son is worthy of worship.
Are you sorry for the sins you have committed before God and man and will you trust that Christ has paid with His life the due penalty for your sin.
Will you plead with God for forgiveness and repent from your life of sin and follow and confess Christ as Lord and Savior? He is the Chief Corner Stone through whom eternity and your eternal soul will pivot upon.
Note: To “plead” indicates the one who is pleading understands the wretched condition that they are in and the reason why Jesus needed to sacrifice Himself for our inability to save ourselves. This is frequently a weakness in the modern western church that does not make clear the catastrophic consequences, the eternal torment, that can result from an unclear understanding of the Gospel, an ineffectual relationship with Christ, or the just nature of God.
Our Corner Stone & Perfect High Priest
A follower of Jesus Christ, our Rock, knows there is no separation in the relationship with God that requires a human go-between. The writer of Hebrews, emphasizing a believers direct relationship to God and indicates that each believer has the right and freedom to go directly to God in prayer, confession, and worship.
26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has been made perfect forever. – Hebrews 7:26-28
For a one minute explanation of the Gospel, watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCP9UcC7BzE
For a review of the Ten Commandments: https://www.challenyee.com/the-ten-commandments/
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Bible passages from the Legacy Standard Version
CKY
1.23.24