In June of 2015, residents of the Millennium Tower in San Francisco received the shocking news that the 58 story building that they called home was tilting and sinking.
Most of us who have been to Sunday school are familiar with the song about the wise man who built his house upon the rock. If so, you will also remember that it was the foolish man who built his house upon the sand.
It appears that the builders of the Tower chose to build upon the sand rather than on deep bedrock. The foundation was built into layers of geological material known as the Colma Formation which is a dense sand. The Millennium Tower is literally built on sand. It’s no wonder the building is sinking and cracking.
You may be asking, How could they be so foolish?
I have no doubt the architects and builders felt they were building a structure that would stand secure. Despite their best efforts, however, the reality is that the Millennium Tower has a shaky foundation.
Just as a building needs a solid foundation, so does our faith. Jesus said,
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (Matt. 7:24–27 ESV)
From these verses we see that both the wise and the foolish hear the words of Jesus, but only the wise obey.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22 ESV)
The architects and builders of the Millennium Tower felt that they had designed and built a structure that would last. In the same way, many professing Christians feel sure that their belief in Jesus gives them a firm foundation that will lead to eternal life. But if you hear God’s Word and don’t act on it, the Bible says you are deceived.
One of the tests of true faith is obedience. “And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.” (1 John 2:3 NLT) The flip side of this is that if we don’t obey his commandments, then we can’t be sure we know him. Obedience is the natural outworking of our faith. Faith and action are two sides of the same coin, and they can’t be separated. “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17 NIV)
The Bible is clear that we are not saved by our good works. It is equally clear that a person who is born again will strive to walk in obedience. How we live doesn’t determine our destiny; it reveals it. As John Piper said, “The mark of a believer is not the absence of sin, but the fact that we are fighting sin.”*
The hymn writer, Edward Mote, captures the essence of the Matthew 7 passage: Jesus Christ is the rock on which we must build our lives.
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand.**
*John Piper, Future Grace (Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2005), 329.
**Edward Mote, “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less,” 1834.
