The hopes built upon the Lord's promises and unaccompanied by works are hopes built upon the sand. It is only a question of time until the great testing time shall come and such hopes will be shown to be worse than useless. They will be shown to have deceived their possessor, who thought himself safe in his assurances of a share in the Kingdom. On the contrary, those who build with obedience, their hearts as well as their tongues confessing and honoring the Lord, their deeds corroborating their faith, and their fruits bearing testimony of their vital relationship with the Lord—these shall pass through all the storms of life and shall never be moved, never be shaken, because they are on the foundation.
Jesus' sayings and the teachings of the Bible are equivalent terms, because God gave the Scriptures through His Son, both during and since His pre-existence. To hear His sayings means to understand them. They effect responsiveness in the meek alone. Foolish indeed is he who, understanding them, does not submit to their influence. All his efforts to do wonderful things in the Lord's name will result in failure, so far as the development of a Christlike and thus a God-pleasing character is concerned. His faith structure, like a house built upon sand, will be swept away by the rain, winds, storms and floods of the great Time of Trouble that will come upon him as well as upon the world.
Prov. 10:8; Matt. 5:6; 7:24, 25, 27; 13:7, 14, 15, 19-23; Ezek. 33:30-32; Rom. 2:13; 10:14-21; Jas. 1:19, 22-25; Luke 6:49; 11:28; 13:24-27.
