Put The Gospel Into Practice

The Gospel, the teachings of Jesus, are not simply words to make us feel good or give us something to think about. They are words that exhort us to change, act, and conform our lives to their message. Our Lord will judge us based on the measure that we do this. Consider this as you read the Parable of the Builders.

Gospel - Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'

will enter the Kingdom of heaven,

but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them

will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

The rain fell, the floods came,

and the winds blew and buffeted the house.

But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.

And everyone who listens to these words of mine

but does not act on them

will be like a fool who built his house on sand.

The rain fell, the floods came,

and the winds blew and buffeted the house.

And it collapsed and was completely ruined."

Scriptural Analysis

It would not have been unusual for a Jewish Rabbi to remind his students to avoid the teaching of false prophets or to emphasize the importance of bearing fruit in their work. However, it would have been unheard of for a Rabbi to claim that he was the one who would determine who would enter the Kingdom of Heaven. That is precisely what Jesus does to open this scripture passage. He positions himself as the judge of mankind.

Jesus closes his Sermon on the Mount with a parable about two builders. One builder is described as foolish, while the other is described as wise. The central point of the parable is that one must be obedient to the teachings of Jesus. We will stand before our Lord on the day of judgment and have to give an account of our lives. Did we not only hear the Gospel message, but did we put into practice the Gospel message? Did we live our lives in accordance with the teachings of Christ?

The context of the parable would have been familiar to a Jewish listener. It is the winter rainy season in Palestine. Storms will roll in with powerful winds and downpours. Flash flooding is a common occurrence. This sudden rush of water would devastate any building constructed on sandy soil. A house must be built on solid rock to withstand these rains. A Jewish listener would also see a similarity between this parable and the Book of Proverbs. Here, we are told that “the house of the righteous will stand” (Proverbs 12:7) while also being told that “The house of the wicked will be destroyed.” (Proverbs 14:11) This reinforces that teaching that the wise man is indeed the one who listens to Jesus and lives his life in accordance with his teachings.

Daily Application

This Gospel passage illustrates two essential aspects when it comes to the Word of God. We must hear it, and we must put it into practice. First, we must hear the Word of God. That means we must actively listen to it, wrestle with it, think about it, pray about it, and internalize it. That is critical. It is not enough to passively hear the Word, and of course, if we ignore it completely, that is another problem altogether. The Word of God is not like a television show that we can passively watch or even have on in the background. To truly understand it, we must engage with it.

Once we engage with and understand it, the Word of God demands a response. It requires that we act upon it and conform our lives to it. Now, this can seem overwhelming, and it certainly can be if we try to change everything at once. This can cause us to delay or not respond at all, which is precisely what the evil one wants. What the Lord requires of us is that we make progress. We continually try to enact the Gospel more and more in our lives.

Perhaps this Advent, you can pick an area of your life where the Gospel has not fully taken hold. Maybe there is a particular sin you are struggling with or a person you have not fully forgiven. Pray on that and ask the Lord for the Grace to conform those areas to the Gospel.