God’s Firm Foundation
A sermon by the Rev Hien Nguyen
Brisbane BPC, 23 January 2011
A building can collapse because of a weak foundation and structure. All of us must agree that the foundation is the most important structure that supports a building. A building with a firm foundation and structure can stand and last long despite the floods, heavy rains, strong winds, or light earthquakes while many others collapse due to their weak foundation and structure. The recent floods in Brisbane with mighty flowing waters easily dragged many cars away and destroyed weak structures. How about our spiritual lives? Our Lord Jesus Christ continues to warn you and me, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matt 7:24-27). Then, are you and I truly standing on a sure and firm foundation? How can we be sure that we shall still stand firm despite all the opposition, temptations, trials, or persecutions until our Lord Jesus Christ comes? We must trust and obey our Lord Jesus Christ Himself alone and His Word alone. There is no other way.
David gave a rhetorical question, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Ps 11:3). We must give thanks and praise to the Lord, for His foundation is so firm and perfect that Satan and the ungodly can never destroy it and that human beings, efforts or ideas can never have any part to improve it. God’s firm foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and His Word alone, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:11) and “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles (the New Testament) and prophets (the Old Testament), Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Eph 2:20). God’s children are not exempt from troubles, trials, temptations or disasters in life. God’s children and unbelievers may suffer from the same illness like cancer, the same trial, or the same natural disaster, but God’s children can stand firm and have peace and hope in their hearts. Why? Because they have the firm support from the Lord Jesus Christ and from God’s Word, whereas those who trust in themselves, in their own goodness or righteousness, in their wealth, in their power, or in their relationship with powerful people in the world will be in fear, worry or despair.
The vital key is not only to know God’s firm foundation, but to really accept it and stand on it personally. Dear friends, are you and I wholeheartedly trusting in our living Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ with a dependent and submissive heart personally? Are you and I wholeheartedly trusting in God’s divinely inspired and divinely preserved Words in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, the very texts that underlie the faithful and reliable King James Bible, without any doubt, question or criticism? Then, Jesus Christ and His Word will surely and firmly support us, strengthen us, comfort us and see us through all the temptations, troubles, opposition, persecutions and trials in life. Praise the Lord!
How to stand firm on God’s perfect foundation?We must:
Be Justified in Christ: Since “there is none righteous, no, not one…For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:10, 23), there is not one human being, human religion, human philosophy, human work that can support and assist sinners to stand before the holy and righteous God in the Day of Judgment. God’s Word confirms, “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous” (Ps 1:5). No one is righteous before God, then the only way for you and me to be justified is to humble ourselves, to cry unto the Lord for His mercy like the tax collector and to trust in our Lord Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection for us, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13) and “And therefore it was imputed to him (Abraham) for righteousness…But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom 4:22, 24, 25). Dear friends, no one can condemn you and me, and Satan cannot accuse you and me if we personally stand firm on the foundation of Christ’s righteousness alone and His precious blood alone, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (8:33-34) and “And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Rev 12:11). Without the Lord Jesus Christ and God’s Word, you and I are just standing on the sand, and we cannot stand before the holy God on the Judgment Day!
Be Born Again: Many professing Christians confess that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Saviour and believe that they have been saved by their faith in Him, but their hearts have not been changed and they still live in sins! God’s Word confirms that God’s true children will not intentionally keep on living in sins, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9) and that they will sincerely repent right away when they are convicted of their sins just as David did (Ps 51). Dear friends, to have a right stand before God and a righteous position in Christ is not enough, you and I must live out a righteous life, and we can only do this when we have Christ’s life in us or we must be born again by the Holy Spirit and by God’s Word, “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom 8:4; cf. John 3:3, 5; 1 Pet 1:23). Without being truly born again, you and I are just standing on the sand, and we have no strength and power to obey God’s Word or to overcome sins, self, worldliness, and temptations by ourselves.
Be Sanctified: Today, we hear about interfaith with human love and unity, but the genuine faith God has given to His children (Eph 2:8) is our “most holy faith” (Jude 20). Many professing Christians just compromise and are conformed to this world, and many churches think that God has blessed them so much with big membership and wealth through their new ideas or worldly ways and means! However, God’s Word confirms, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). To be sanctified, you and I must be willing to separate ourselves from sins, unbelief, wrong doctrines and worldliness (2 Cor 6:14-7:1), and then to dedicate ourselves, our hearts, our minds, our lives, our time, our bodies, and our all to the Lord to live for Him and for His glory alone. Those who compromise and ignore Biblical separation and sanctification are just harming themselves! Dear friends, are you and I sanctified by the Holy Spirit and by God’s Word to be like our Lord more and more each day? Without Biblical separation and sanctification, you and I are just standing on the sand and we shall not see the Lord when He comes!
Be Wisely Obedient unto Death: Our Lord Jesus Christ “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil 2:8) and He demands His followers to do the same, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 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” (Luke 6:46-48). Dear friends, to be wise before God, you and I must submit to the sole authority of God’s Word and to do His Word. Those who despise God’s Word, doubt God’s Word, criticise God’s Word and disobey God’s Word are just foolishly standing on the sand. The more you and I read, study and keep God’s Word, the wiser we will become and the more firmly we will stand on God’s foundation. This requires our commitment, diligence, effort and time to “dig deep” to know God’s Word and to keep God’s Word.
Dear friends, the perfect and firm foundation God has given to mankind is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God’s Word. Believing it or not, you and I, while living in the troubled world, shall encounter problems, temptations, or trials in life. Then, are you and I truly standing firm on God’s perfect foundation or just standing on the sand? Shall we still stand firm and live a victorious and godly life? We do need the support and power from our living Lord Jesus Christ alone and from God’s Word alone. May God graciously help you and me personally know, trust and stand firm on His perfect foundation with a justified, regenerated, sanctified and obedient heart no matter what may happen to us. Amen.
Thank You!
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. My thanks and appreciation to you for the regular issues of “Read, Pray and Grow” (RPG). God be thanked for everything. Like to share with you that your materials are very demanded not only by the church congregation but also the Bible College students. They appreciate these gifts coming from Singapore. Difficult concepts and passages in the Bible are well defined, explained and applied in these materials. Personally, I benefited from the recent issue (October-December 2010). These materials arrived in a good time when I was teaching a course on the Book of Acts and the Pauline Epistles. Although a good number of the students are from Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, they are well persuaded in the reformed doctrines so much that they have requested for these materials. Some are using it in their churches for Bible study. You are doing a good thing for the believers in Sierra Leone. Ours is to continue to pray for this ministry. We are praying for new issues. Thanks and God bless.
Albert Ben Kainesie
[Ed: Albert Kainesie is a graduate of FEBC and he lectures at a Reformed Bible College in Sierra Leone. The RPGs sent to him are sponsored by True Life. If you still have not gotten your copy of the RPG, please help yourself to one at the book table after service. Read, pray, and grow in the Lord.]
