J. C. Ryle's Devotional Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke. Section 36. The Wise and the Foolish Builders. Luke Chapter 6, verses 46 through 49.

And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like. He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth, against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.

It has been said with much truth that no sermon should conclude without some personal application to the consciences of those who hear it. The passage before us is an example of this rule and a confirmation of its correctness. It is a solemn and heart-searching conclusion to a most solemn discourse.

Let us mark in these verses what an old and common sin is profession without practice. It is written that our Lord said, Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? The Son of God himself had many followers who pretended to honor him by calling him Lord, but yielded no obedience to his commandments. The evil which our Lord exposes here has always existed in the Church of God. It was found 600 years before our Lord's time in the days of Ezekiel. My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Ezekiel 33, verse 31. It was found in the primitive Church of Christ in the days of James. Be doers of the word, he says, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James chapter 1 verse 22.

It is a disease which has never ceased to prevail all over Christendom. It is a soul-ruining plague which is continually sweeping away crowds of gospel hearers down the broad way to destruction. Open sin and avowed unbelief no doubt slay their thousands, but profession without practice slays its tens of thousands.

Let us settle it in our minds that no sin is so foolish and unreasonable as the sin which Jesus here denounces. Common sense alone might tell us that a mere profession and a form of Christianity can profit us nothing as long as we cleave to sin in our hearts. and live unchristian lives. Let it be a fixed principle in our religion that obedience is the only sound evidence of saving faith and the talk of the lips is worse than useless if it is not accompanied by sanctification of the life. The man in whose heart the Holy Spirit really dwells will never be content to sit still and do nothing to show his love to Christ.

Let us mark, secondly in these verses, what a striking picture our Lord draws of the religion of the man who not only hears Christ's sayings, but does Christ's will. He compares him to one who built a house and dug deep and laid the foundation on a rock. Such a man's religion may cost him much. Like the house built on a rock, it may entail on him pains, labour, and self-denial. To lay aside pride and selfishness, to crucify the rebellious flesh, to put on the mind of Christ, to take up the cross daily, to count all things but loss for Christ's sake. All this may be hard work, but like the house built on the rock, such religion will stand. The streams of affliction may beat violently upon it, and the floods of persecution dash fiercely against it, but it will not give way. The Christianity which combines good profession and good practice is a building that will not fall.

Let us mark lastly in these verses what a mournful picture our Lord draws of the religion of the man who hears Christ's sayings but does not obey them. He compares him to one who built a house upon the ground without a foundation. Such a man's religion may look well for a season. An ignorant eye may detect no difference between the possessor of such a religion and a true Christian. Both may worship in the same church, both may use the same ordinances, both may profess the same faith. The outward appearance of the house built on the rock and the house without any solid foundation may be much the same.

But the day of trial and affliction is the test which the religion of the mere outward professor cannot stand. When storm and tempest beat on the house which has no foundation, then the walls, which looked well in sunshine and fair weather, are sure to fall to the ground. The Christianity which consists of merely hearing religion taught without doing anything is a building which must finally fall. Great indeed will be the ruin. There is no loss like the loss of an eternal soul.

this passage of scripture is one which ought to call up in our minds peculiarly solemn feelings the pictures it presents are pictures of things which are daily going on around us on every side we shall see thousands building for eternity on a mere outward profession of Christianity they're striving to shelter their souls under false refuges they are contenting themselves with a name to live while they are dead and with a form of godliness without the power.

Few indeed are the builders upon rocks, and great is the ridicule and persecution which they have to endure. Many are the builders upon sand, and mighty are the disappointments and failures which are the only result of their work. Surely, if there ever was proof that man is fallen and blind in spiritual things, it may be seen in the fact that the majority of every generation of baptized people persist in building on sand.

What is the foundation on which we ourselves are building? This, after all, is the question that concerns our souls. Are we upon the rock or are we upon the sand? We love, perhaps, to hear the gospel. We approve of all its leading doctrines. We are sent to all its statements of truth about Christ and the Holy Spirit, about justification and sanctification, about repentance and faith, about conversion and holiness, about the Bible and prayer. But what are we doing? What is the practical history of our lives in public and private, in the family and in the world? Can it be said of us that we not only hear Christ's sayings, but that we also practice them?

The hour comes, and will soon be here, when questions like these must be asked and answered, whether we like them or not. The day of sorrow and bereavement, of sickness and death, will make it plain whether we are on the rock or the sand. Let us remember this presently, and not trifle with our souls. Let us strive so to believe and so to live, so to hear Christ's voice and so to follow him, that when the flood arises and the streams beat over us, our house may stand and not fall. so so