A Firm Foundation

A Firm Foundation

 Foundations are important. This fact is quite obvious in the building up of any structure.

 Foundations are always the first part of any construction. They are incredibly important to the durability of a building, and if not completed correctly, they can affect the strength and resilience of the building once it is completed. As some builders are often known to say…”a foundation is meant to last forever.”

 During His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told a story about two men: one who built his house upon a rock and another who built his house upon sand. The house built upon a rock weathered the storm, and the builder is called wise; but the house built on the sand collapsed during the storm, and the builder is called foolish.

 Luke 6:47-49 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great. 

 The meaning of this parable is quite obvious: proper foundations are necessary. With a literal house, it is unwise to build on sand, because the foundation will be unsteady and the house will eventually suffer some kind of damage. 

 This would of course waste resources, and all the time and work put into building the house in the first place will have all gone for nothing. 

 In contrast, it is wise to build one’s house on a “sure foundation;” anchoring to solid bedrock that will enable a building withstand the test of time.

 As it is in the construction of any building, so it is also in the building of a nation, a home, a family, and it is especially true in the lives of every individual. They each need, and can only last with “a firm foundation.”

 In the case of our lives, the Bible lays out very plainly the groundwork for anyone having a “sure foundation.” That foundation is God, his law and the rock of salvation; that is Jesus Christ!

 Psalms 62:7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

 So then, for the life of any individual to be able to withstand the trials and storms of this world; we need this firm foundation. The same is also true of any society! For a nation that forgets God will fall into ruin, decay and disrepair! 

 To try to live ones life without God and his commandments is like building a house without a foundation, or like blindly starting construction without any knowledge of the impending cost. 

Luke 14:28-30 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 

 This Biblical analogy about foundations has very serious consequences for our United States of America too! America was founded upon a solid spiritual foundation, as it was built upon a reverence for the Creator and his law. 

 Sadly, America has not only destroyed its original foundations, it has repudiated the building blocks that formed its structure. The Bible poses a pointed question for people and nations that allow the erosion of their time-tested foundations:

 Psalms 11:3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

 The obvious answer to this question is very little; or at its worst, Nothing! In a nation that has endeavored to uproot the Christian spirit of its foundation, even the righteous left living in that nation are in peril, and will likely see the whole building collapse!

 But even as the perilous times of worldly storms blow all around us, we can still be optimistic about the future. For this world, even our nation is not our eternal home. 

The foundation of the Christian hope rests in our precious corner stone, and the sure foundation, that is in Jesus alone! He is Our Firm Foundation!

 Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

 Psalms 71:1-3 In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. 

How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!
What more can he say than to you he has said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Focus on the Bible

author: Darrell G. Young

October 9, 2021