New Calvary Baptist Church
610 South Heald Street - Wilmington, DE. 19801
The Sermon on the Mount Bible Study
Matthew Chapters 5-7
June 1, 2022 - December 7, 2022
Lesson 1 - Introduction - June 1, 2022
Introduction
The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ well-known sermon that He gave in Matthew Chapters 5-7. These three chapters, taken as a whole, offers a remarkable window into the One Who we Christians hold up as our standard for living. Matthew 5:1-2 gives the reason it is known the Sermon on the Mount: "Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them..." The Sermon on the Mount is the longest continued discourse of the Savior that we have on record in all the Gospels.
Lesson 2 - The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12 - June 8, 2022
Introduction
The word “beatitude” means a state of supreme happiness or blessedness. Found in Matthew 5, the“beatitudes” are a collection of statements from Jesus that show us how we can be “blessed” or “happy” in this life as well as the next. Jesus shared this wisdom during His Sermon on the Mount. It can’t be proven, but the “beatitudes” were a part of Jesus’ standard sermon. “The beatitudes are not words of advice. These are the words of life meant for all believers, at all times, and in all places.” (Jen Thorn, Christian author)
Jesus teaches us how the Kingdom of God works versus the ways and attitudes of the world. For example, the world teaches, “Blessed are the proud and the powerful,” but Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek and the humble.” 17th century puritan preacher and writer, Thomas Watson wrote, “Happiness is too delicate a plant to grow in this world’s soil.” We are so used to operating according to the world’s values that the beatitudes may seem almost impossible to live by. But as with all of Jesus’ teachings, faith and trust in God are the keys to successful and blessed living. Charles Spurgeon noted that the word, “blessed” is in the present tense in each one of Jesus’ statements; meaning they are to be enjoyed and delighted now. Jesus did not say “Blessed shall be,” He said, “Blessed are.”
Lesson 3 - Salt & Light - Matthew 5:13-16 - June 15, 2022
Introduction
In the Beatitudes, Jesus taught about the character of individuals – “poor in spirit, meek, merciful,” and so on. Without referencing any of His listeners, Jesus spoke on the nature and temperament the believer should exhibit. Here, He taught a practical application of the principles that had been set forth in the Beatitudes. Jesus began to address His disciples who stood before Him. His subject goes from attributes to persons. Those humble men must have been startled to hear themselves being described in such exalted terms.
Jesus used the present tense, “you are” when He said, “You are the salt of the earth,” and “you are the light of the world.” These two words, salt and light, are what Jesus called His disciples to be. These are not things we desire or hope to be; this is what He declares us to be as His disciples. Salt and light are the essences of what it means to be a disciple. These two qualities are the very heart of what it means to follow Jesus. This lesson will break down what Jesus had in mind when He compared us to salt and light. To follow Jesus is to become like Jesus. To become like Jesus is to serve others and to love our neighbors like ourselves. Molding ourselves into the image of Jesus is the goal for all disciples. Jesus gave Christians both a great compliment, as well as a great responsibility, in His salt and light analogy. John 8:12 and John 9:5, He even used the title as “light” to describe Himself.
Lesson 4 - Jesus Fulfilled the Law - Matthew 5:17-20 - June 29, 2022
Introduction
In this section of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins a discussion on the Law contained in the first five books of the Bible. It is commonly believed that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, while the “Prophets” wrote much of the rest of the Old Testament. Even though Jesus’ message is radically different from the system being taught by the scribes and Pharisees. He has not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill what Moses and the Prophets taught. The scribes and Pharisees were the recognized religious leaders of the day. They had created a long list of rules to follow which they thought would help the people achieve righteousness. But Jesus makes it clear that the professional law-keepers had insufficient righteousness to enter the kingdom of heaven. So, Jesus has to explain to His disciples why His teaching is so different. He says He has not come to abolish or replace the Laws, but rather to fulfill – to accomplish them. Jesus is in fact, the theme of the Old Testament. His message in the Sermon on the Mount is about how to keep that long list of rules that the Pharisees and scribes taught.
Lesson 5 - Anger and Murder - Matthew 5:21-26 - July 6, 2022
Introduction
In the next several passages Jesus challenges what were the traditional ideas of righteousness. He exhorts His listeners to see that righteousness goes far deeper than certain behaviors. In the last section we learned that Jesus fulfils all righteousness. In Him, we see what righteousness actually is. In Him, we see what true humanity looks like without the deforming effects of sin. This righteousness of Jesus is the righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees. His righteousness involves not just what He does, but who He is. That is why He is the fulfillment or completion of the law. That is why we see in Jesus a perfect communion with His heavenly Father. Jesus' righteousness is the only kind worth having because it is the true relationship with God and creation.
In this section, Jesus addresses the commandment “Do not kill,” which is one of the ten commandments given to Moses. Jesus reminds His listeners that “whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.” His disciples were familiar with the law, they already knew that this is the case. But now Jesus begins to reveal more of His special relationship to the law as the One who fulfils it. In His classic statement, “But I say to you...” Jesus is telling them the deeper meaning of God's Law. God's intention was not just that people do not actually murder each other. You have not necessarily fulfilled this commandment when you have not physically killed another person. The Jewish teachers had taught that the sixth commandment was simply about not committing murder. Thus they attempted to explain away its spiritual meaning. To “explain away” something means “to diminish or nullify the significance of by an explanation or excuse.” But Jesus wanted to show the full meaning of this commandment, according to which we must be judged. So, Jesus uses this sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” to teach on the spirituality of true righteousness in contrast to that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus talks about not only the ends of murder, but the beginnings of it. both the ends of anger as well as the beginnings of it.
Lesson 6 - Lust and Adultery - Matthew 5:27-30 - July 13, 2022
Introduction
In this section Jesus is dealing with the subject of adultery or sex outside of the marital union. He states that we can commit adultery in the mind as well as by the literal act. As Jesus teaches on the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery;” He includes a prohibition of all other acts of uncleanness, and the desire of them. But the Pharisees, in their interpretation of this command, made it to extend no further than the act of adultery. The Pharisees explained the seventh commandment the same as they did the sixth, dealing only with the external act, suggesting that they regarded evil thoughts and lustful imaginations as of no consequence with God. But Jesus assures them that prohibitions included in the seventh went beyond the mere act to include the secrets of the heart and the use of the eyes.
He talks about our right eye or right hand causing us to stumble. It's obvious that He's referring to the sin of adultery. He's not referring to you literally plucking your eye out, or cutting your hand off. He's using these two parts of our body symbolically. The eye is referring to what we allow ourselves to see. The hand is referring to our actions.
If there is something in our lives that continually causes us to fall into the sin of adultery (or any sin), then we need to cut that out of our lives. This is just as painful as plucking out our eyes or cutting off our hands. We need to focus on the rewards as Jesus soothes our pain.
Lesson 7 - Divorce and Remarriage - Matthew 5:31-32 - July 20, 2022
Introduction
In the last section (Matthew 5:27-30) Jesus corrected the Pharisees views of adultery. Here in Matthew 5:31-32 He corrects their permissive views of divorce. In Jesus’ day, people generally interpreted permission or grounds for divorce according to the Mosaic law of Deuteronomy 24:1-2 – “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, "when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man's wife.” Most Jews interpreted this law to include virtually any reason as grounds for divorce. Some rabbis taught this law extended to allowing a man to divorce his wife no matter how trivial; for example even if she burnt his dinner. Thus the Mosaic law had become an instrument of cruelty against wives. However, it was also debated that Deuteronomy 24:1 only referred to the serious crime of sexual infidelity.
The intent of Jesus’ teachings on divorce and remarriage was to move back to the original intent of the law, instead of allowing it to be used for frivolous grounds for divorce. Jesus taught that the God-ordain institution of marriage was a lifetime commitment, which was only severed by sexual infidelity.
Lesson 8 - Oaths - Matthew 5:33-37 - July 27, 2022
Introduction
We begin to see that one of the goals of the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount is to expose the Pharisees’ false or incomplete teachings on the Mosaic laws. In this section Christ corrects another false interpretation of the Mosaic laws - those pertaining to oaths. They are found in Leviticus 19:12 – “And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD;” and Deuteronomy 23:21-23 – “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you; But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.”
Here in Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus is referring to the ceremonious way in which Jews, particularly the Pharisees, took oaths. It was a common practice in the culture of the time. However, the Pharisees were using so called “oaths” to impress and produce acceptance of things in relation to the vows, when in fact they never intended to keep the promises or commitments that they were declaring. In short, they were deceiving the people. Jesus demonstrated that righteousness and harmony were not a part of oaths, but instead plain honesty and simply telling the truth.
To vow or make an oath by something was to say that your promise is as good or as lasting as the thing you are swearing by. If someone were to swear by this mountain, they are saying that “As long as this mountain is here, I will do what I am promising to you.” People typically swore by things that endured permanently, as a way of adding gravity and importance to their oaths. The most permanent thing or person to swear by is of course God. In Moses Psalm 90:2 described God as being, ”from everlasting to everlasting.” To appeal to God by invoking the Lord’s name when making an oath was to be absolutely bound to that oath in the strongest possible terms. Jesus taught not to make an oath. “Do not swear at all,” specifically by God, His name or anything related to Him. He taught that our honesty and integrity should be all that we will need for an oath or vow to be given.
Lesson 9 - An Eye For An Eye - Matthew 5:38-42 - September 7, 2022
Introduction
In previous sections of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus dealt with our wrongdoing: anger, murder, lust, adultery, divorce and remarriage. But here He teaches about the wrongdoings of others. Jesus quotes from the OT portion of the Scripture that makes up what is called, the Law of Retribution, or Retaliation. What is righteous punishment when someone does wrong? Jesus is correcting the misunderstanding of this law which occurs in 3 verses in the OT: Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20 and Deuteronomy 19:21. According to the OT law, the punishment must fit the crime. As with all the OT law, it represented God’s righteousness and it was a good law. It allowed for fairness in the administration of justice and it restrained man’s sinful nature. But according to Exodus 21:22 it was never meant to judged and administered by individuals.
But today’s approach to retribution seems to have shifted. I remember the line from the crime movie “The Untouchables,” the head FBI agent said of the criminals, “They pull a knife you pull a gun. They send one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue.” That may be today’s approach to retribution, but this is a violation of the OT law. We want two eyes for an eye and two teeth for a tooth. Christ corrects the misapplication of the Law that was occurring in His day. God’s Law of Retribution was for judges and magistrates to punish those who had done wrong. Jesus taught that the law had no bearing on individuals using the law to justify personal revenge. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, not to us. Our response – the Christians’ response to wrongdoing is tolerance and self-sacrifice. In most cases, being a Christian means giving up our right to retaliation.
Lesson 10 - Love For Enemies - Matthew 5:43-48 - September 14, 2022
Introduction
Some passages of the Sermon on the Mount are designed to be encouraging, to give joy and confidence in Christ; some passages are designed to cause you to fear God and still others to act as a hammer to break up your hardened heart (Jeremiah 23:29). Our study is one of those passages that was spoken by Jesus in order to break up our stony hearts. It is Jesus’ lesson of how we are to use God’s divine love our enemies. Jesus specifically teaches how the Jews of that day misrepresented what the Old Testament taught. He takes a direct quote from Leviticus 19:18, however, the Jews added, the phrase “hate your enemies.” And it seems that they had forgotten the verse where it says “Love your neighbor as yourself.” They actually taught, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.” By taking out the phrase, “as yourself,” they lowered the bar, or the standards of their personal responsibilities. They lowered God’s standards of what it means to love properly. But if we only love those who love us, then how different are we from the rest of the world? The human tendency is to base our love on desirability. We love people who are attractive, we love activities that are enjoyable, a house or a car because it looks nice. The love of which Jesus speaks of here, however, and which is most spoken of in the New Testament, is agape love. The unconditional love that seeks and works to meet another’s highest wellbeing, regardless of who they are or whether they meet our standards for loving them. This is the kind of love that characterizes authentic Christians.
Lesson 11 - Giving To The Needy - Matthew 6:1-4 - September 21, 2022
Introduction
In Matthew 5 Jesus taught on the different subjects of how to live as Christians. He showed the outward manifestations of being a follower of Christ. In Chapter 6 He begins to show us the inner signs and evidence of living for God. He teaches Christians what do and how to do it. He begins this section of His Sermon on the Mount with Christian charity. Note that there is no discussion on should we give to the needy, but rather how do we do it. How could we be in Christ and not have compassion and charity for others? Having armed His listeners with truth about the corrupt doctrines of the Pharisee, which led to false opinions, Jesus now warns them about dangers of so-called godly giving that was motivated by hypocrisy.
Some of the most valuable lessons learned are of those of how not to do something. These lessons are learned by the poor examples of others, or our own failures. As Jesus speaks on giving, He shows us how not to give. In doing so, He exposes the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, but more importantly He addresses the key issue of our motives.
What separates Christianity from other religions is its focus on our hearts. Yes, God cares about the things we do, but He is primarily concerned with why we do certain things. God is interested in the inner intentions that are hidden from human eyes. God is after our hearts. The next time you read or listen to the words of Psalm 100 where it commands us to “serve the Lord with gladness,” ask yourself, “Am I serving the Lord out of obligation, or out of tradition, or am I really glad and thankful to be able to do it.”
Lesson 12: Part 1 - How To Pray - Matthew 6:5-10 - September 28, 2022
Introduction
In Matthew 5 Jesus taught on the different subjects of how to live as Christians. He showed the outward manifestations of being a follower of Christ. In Chapter 6 He begins to show us the inner signs and evidence of living for God. He teaches Christians what do and how to do it. He begins this section of His Sermon on the Mount with Christian charity. Note that there is no discussion on should we give to the needy, but rather how do we do it. How could we be in Christ and not have compassion and charity for others? Having armed His listeners with truth about the corrupt doctrines of the Pharisee, which led to false opinions, Jesus now warns them about dangers of so-called godly giving that was motivated by hypocrisy.
Some of the most valuable lessons learned are of those of how not to do something. These lessons are learned by the poor examples of others, or our own failures. As Jesus speaks on giving, He shows us how not to give. In doing so, He exposes the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, but more importantly He addresses the key issue of our motives.
What separates Christianity from other religions is its focus on our hearts. Yes, God cares about the things we do, but He is primarily concerned with why we do certain things. God is interested in the inner intentions that are hidden from human eyes. God is after our hearts. The next time you read or listen to the words of Psalm 100 where it commands us to “serve the Lord with gladness,” ask yourself, “Am I serving the Lord out of obligation, or out of tradition, or am I really glad and thankful to be able to do it.”
Lesson 12: Part 2 - How To Pray - Matthew 6:11-15 - October 5, 2022
Introduction
This prayer is most often referred to as the "Lord's Prayer,” but Jesus never actually prayed it Himself. For example, there was no need for Him to pray, “forgive us our debts” (Matthew 6:12). The actual “Lord’s Prayer,” found in John17, was prayed by Jesus to His heavenly Father on behalf of His disciples. This prayer that we find as a part of The Sermon on the Mount is presented as a model for the followers of Christ. So, it might be better titled "The Disciple's Prayer." According to Luke 11:1 they asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus never intended for this prayer to be repeated ritualistically with regular, repetitious recital, but rather as a guide or model for our prayers.
In Verses 9-10 Jesus teaches us to honor God’s holy name, and to seek God’s continued glory. Here Jesus teaches us the ability to make requests concerning our lives. He gives us the model of three petitions that should draw us closer to God and motivate us to pray. Whereas the first three statements of the model prayer are independent, these three petitions are connected by the word
“and.”
“Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation.”
Why connect the last three? This connection speaks of all three as being absolutely necessary: food for the body, forgiveness for the soul, and deliverance from temptation for the spirit. We can pray to our Father for our personal needs. So, let us look at what Jesus says we should pray for when it comes to our needs.
Lesson 13 - How to Fast - Matthew 6:16-18 - October 12, 2022
Introduction
Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned us against hypocrisy in giving and called upon us to be concerned about giving for the glory of God rather than men (6:1-4). Then He warned us against hypocrisy in praying and taught us to be concerned about praying for the glory of God rather than the admiration of men (6:5-8). Then He even gave us an example of what sincere, heartfelt prayer looks like when He gave His disciples The Model Prayer (6:9-15). In the passage before us today – Jesus warned us against hypocrisy in fasting and called upon us to be concerned about fasting for the glory of God rather than men. The Master’s teaching themes delt with exposing false motives, and proper application for the glory of God.
Many Bible scholars have made the observation that this text on fasting is one of the most ignored. According to the Reformed Baptist Blog: “I suspect that some of us live our Christian lives as if these verses had been torn out of our Bibles. Most Christians lay stress on daily prayer and sacrificial giving, but few lay stress on fasting.”
The word “fast” literally signifies to abstain from food and drink, whether from necessity or as a religious observance. It is, however, in the Bible it is commonly applied to the latter. In the Old Testament it was an expression of grief or sorrow. Fasting is the natural reaction of the body in times of grief and severe stress;
we are not disposed to eat; or, we have no appetite. Old Testament fasting was always connected to scenes of penitence, godly sorrow, or some impending calamity such as storms, pestilence, or destruction by an enemy. It is also used to humble us and to bring to reflection and intimacy with God. In this passage we will see that 1) Jesus assumes that we will fast, 2) Jesus warns us against hypocritical fasting, and 3) Jesus admonishes us to heartfelt fasting.
Lesson 14 - Treasures in Heaven - Matthew 6:19-24 - October 19, 2022
Introduction
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns us about two temptations that we all face as Christians that distract and pull us away from a good relationship with our Father in Heaven. The first temptation is the religious man doing his work before man to receive human praise instead of doing them in secret where only God knows. Jesus taught if we seek the praise of men, we already have our reward. (Matthew 6: 6,16) But if we seek to glorify God, the Father will reward us openly. (Matthew 6:18) The examples that Jesus gave were charitable deeds, prayer and fasting. The temptation is to seek to be noticed and celebrated as someone who is religious and to gain the praise of men. The second temptation we face as believers is the temptation of being like the world in seeking treasures on this earth. The worldly ambition is to gather as much treasures as we can, to be secure and satisfied. The problem is that we seek to find security in temporary things instead of what we already have in our relationship with God the Father, through Jesus Christ. Both temptations want our attention, and both distract us from our relationship with God. The deeper lessons that Jesus taught with these two warnings is: 1) God will not allow you to steal His glory, 2) God will not share His glory.
Matthew 6:19 – “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.”
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth;” treasures in the ancient world consisted of clothes, change of beautiful raiment, as well as gold, silver, gems, wine, lands, and oil. It meant an abundance of anything that was held to be beneficial to a life of comfort. In Genesis 45:22 Joseph’s love for his brothers who betrayed him is underscored in that he shared his great wealth with them.
“Where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.” The moth is a small insect that finds its way to clothes and garments and destroys them. The moth destroys apparel, the rust ruins silver and gold.
“And where thieves break in and steal.” Something or someone is always after your treasures. Treasures attract the wrong attention. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” (John 10:10a)
Lesson 15 - Do Not Worry - Matthew 6:25-34 - October 26, 2022
Introduction
In His Sermon on the Mount Jesus shifts from warnings concerning placing worldly treasures over eternal wealth, to giving sound advice about the danger of worrying. The Master’s lesson on worrying is a good transition from His discussion about our concerns for clothing, wealth and the “good life.” The presence of worrying speaks of our lack of trust in God. Jesus taught that worry is unproductive. Worry keeps us from fulfilling the kingdom purposes to which He has called each of us. When problems show up in our lives we are quick to forget that God uses all situations to accomplish His purposes for our lives and in the world, and He wants us to learn how to simply trust Him. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Lesson 16 - Do Not Judge Hyprocitically - Matthew 7:1-6 - November 2, 2022
Introduction
Previously, Jesus had primarily dealt with themes connected with our attitudes in giving, prayer, fasting, materialism, and anxiety over material things. Now He touches on an important subject matter related to the way we think of and treat others. People tend to think that they can appear more righteous than others by judging how they live and what they do. But Jesus warned against this kind of so-called righteousness in Matthew 5:20. He said our righteousness must be greater than that of the Scribes and Pharisees. This text is often misinterpreted to mean we should not judge others. But Jesus did not say never judge. He warns that there is a consequence to judgement. Then Jesus gives us instructions on the proper way to judge. Jesus’ teachings in John 7:24 indicates that proper and right judgement is necessary, while hypocritical and shallow judgement is wrong. “Let not your decisions be based on what you see, but on righteousness.”
Lesson 17 - Ask, Seek, Knock - Matthew 7:7-12 - November 9, 2022
Introduction
In this section of His Sermon on the Mount Jesus is giving us the standards for living in His Kingdom. In the first six verses of Matthew 7, Jesus gave a summary of how we are not to treat others. We are not to use false and unfair standards of judgment. We are not to judge others differently than we would judge ourselves. We are not to judge hypocritically. While the first six verses tell us how not to act toward others, verses 7-12 tell us how to act toward others.
All of this leads up to the Lord’s “Golden Rule” of how we are to treat our neighbor. The fact that Jesus taught the “Golden Rule” as a part of His sermon endorses this as a part of God’s will for His people. It is a proper understanding of the Law of Moses and God’s Word to Israel through the prophets. The “Golden rule,” “whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.”
is an important principle that can be applied to most situations in life where a specific rule of conduct is not in place.
Lesson 18 - Narrow and Broad Gate - Matthew 7:13-14 - November 16, 2022
Introduction
After teaching His disciples how to treat their neighbor, along with lessons on prayer, personal behavior and attitudes, Jesus turns to a kingdom principle for Christian living. Kingdom Principles are any teachings or standards in the Bible that direct the believer toward God and heaven.
Lesson 19 - False Prophets - Matthew 7:15-23 - November 30, 2022
Introduction
Jesus now turns His Sermon on the Mount to the subject of False Prophets. The threat of false prophets in the land was not new to the people of Jesus’ day. Jeremiah 14:14 tells us: “And the LORD said to me, "The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination (insight or foresight by the aid of supernatural powers), a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.” Although spoken in the 6th century, these words were still true in Jesus’ day, as well as today. A false prophet is someone who misuses the Word of God to take advantage of people who are easily misled. Jesus was warning about those who would oppose Him, those who would lead the people on a path of destruction. The most prominent examples were the religious leaders of Israel. These would be the same men who would one day accuse Jesus of false teachings and blasphemy. The Master’s lesson on false prophets is all the more vital today as false prophets continue to prey upon the church and influence the world. The first part of Jesus’ lesson (Matthew 7:15-20) is a warning concerning those who would fool the people. The second part of the Master’s lesson (Matthew 7:21-23) is a warning against the dangers of fooling ourselves.
Lesson 20 - The Wise Builder - Matthew 7:24-29 - December 7, 2022
Introduction
Jesus’ concluding lessons in His Sermon on the Mount has to do with the subject of choices. In Matthew 7:13-14 He gave His disciples the choice of taking the narrow or the broad Gate. In Matthew 7:24 -27 the Master concludes with a two-part parable concerning the lesson of choices between two types of foundations upon which to build – on the rock or on the sand. Ultimately, the choices come down to being wise or foolish. The consequences are stability or destruction; temporary or enduring. These contrasting choices will determine our eternal destination. Obedience results in our vindication (from sin); disobedience means God’s condemnation. This lesson is about establishing a life that is able to withstand the many storms that are sure to come. The real foundations of our lives are usually hidden, and only come to light in times of storms, hardship and distress. Both wise and foolish men are confronted with the same challenges in life. Jesus teaches that how we prepare for and respond to those challenges will make the total difference.