The Things Men Do Not Do

Introduction:

Did you ever watch anyone building a house? Interesting, is it not? You know, since Christ was a carpenter, it is not surprising to find Him using the building of a house as an example or parable.

I. The Picture of the Parable

A. Two men build houses

1. Nothing is said about the houses, but it is very likely that they were very similar

2. The foundations upon which they built were not at all similar

3. The men are evaluated by the passage

B. The houses are called upon to withstand a test/judgment

1. Rains, floods and winds assail both houses

2. The outcome of the houses varies greatly

II. The Parable Iinterpreted

A. Key

1. Found in the statement “whosoever heareth these sayings of mine” (26)

2. To hear and

a. To do is to build with a sure foundation

b. To fail to do is to build without any sure foundation

C. Explanation

1. Every man builds a house in life

2. The difference is made at the outset

3. Every man’s house will be tested/judged

D. The application

1. Looks like this teaches salvation by works

2. The truth is that the commandments cannot be kept perfectly until one has a new heart, for these are things that men do not do

Conclusion:

Everyone is doing something about religion. Everyone is building a house in life, a brick at a time and day by day. Everyone’s structure will have to undergo examination and judgment. It is only through receiving a new heart from Christ in response to faith that we can lay a sure foundation for our house.

Charles R. Wood, Sermon Outlines on the Sermon on the Mount (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1985), 59–60.