A Sure Foundation
"Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will compare him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house and it didn't fall, for it was built upon a rock." – Matthew 7:24-25
A friend of mine recently asked me for advice concerning her aunt who was being misled by false doctrine. In short, her aunt was being told that there is not a literal heaven or hell. The doctrine's argument is that a loving God would never send someone to hell. She was being taught that everyone is going to be saved to live forever on earth. No one would be lost to damnation. It was so compelling and made sense. It seemed right to her understanding. The Holy Spirit helped me to recall several scriptures that might help her see the truth and to refute these teachings. She was almost misled.
Whenever we are introduced to an unfamiliar doctrine, it is important to challenge it with the Word. We will likely be confronted with many false doctrines in our lives, so it is vital that we stand on the Word's foundation so that we will not be tricked or misled like my friend’s aunt.
Jesus spoke about building our lives upon the truth of scripture. He knew that our reasoning could be skewed by our sinful nature and cultural influences. Similarly, King Solomon warned about the consequences of man walking according to their own understanding. In Proverbs 14:12 he said, "There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."
Satan is our enemy who seeks to kill us, steal all that we have, and to destroy our testimonies (John 10:10). He knows exactly what to whisper in our minds to get us to believe what is false. He works diligently to guide us into taking that one false step that will lead us down the wrong path. Therefore, we must stand on the foundation of His Word and walk by the light that it brings.
The apostle Paul warns us about the end times and how vital it is to have a scriptural foundation in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 11-12:
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there comes a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition... And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
The words "falling away" infer that some who have the name "Christian" will no longer adhere to His doctrine, will listen to lies and their faith will be in a false gospel. One such message is that we do not have to repent from our sins, and that we can still live in the flesh because God loves us anyway. Another says that we must labor for our salvation and fulfill the covenant law to be saved. These work contrary to the gospel and must be refuted.
The Word says that we are saved by grace working through repentance and faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8, Romans 6:1). We cannot do enough good to earn salvation. We have been buried with Him and risen again to walk in new life and to rest in the promises of His word. These are foundational issues that are vital to the gospel message.
On the other hand, not every question of our daily lives is answered specifically in the Bible. There are disputable matters that are not foundational to the gospel and are not spelled out. If we are not careful, these issues could lead to arguments and divisions. Romans 14:1 instructs us to restrain from judging others and to focus on our common salvation. Each of us should search out the scripture and have it settled in our own conscience as the Spirit leads us.
We are commanded to love God, love each other, and to always be ready to testify to what God has done for us when people question why we have joy (Matthew 22:37-40, 1 Peter 3:15). Having a sure foundation will allow us to testify to the gospel, and then we can offer safety to those caught in the storm.
