Luke 6:49
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. 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 one who hears and does not do is a man who built a house without a foundation upon the earth, on sand, on sliding sand, with no firm foundation and no sure standing when tested. Jesus gave this picture at the close of His teaching on the mount as a vivid warning that hearing without doing ends in complete ruin. Its setting reflects building around the Sea of Galilee, where peasants put up hovels on the grassy plain or on dry dusty stream channels that look safe and inviting in summer when the mountain streams disappear, but wintry storms turn the valleys and ravines into fierce raging torrents overspreading the valleys.
Building without a foundation is easy and pleasant, while building on the rock high on the hills is done with toil and difficulty in a place hard to reach and less inviting, yet only the house founded upon the rock stands when wind and flood and tempest beat upon it, enduring even a thousand years. When the flood arises and the stream beats vehemently and storm and tempest test it, the foundationless house stands only a short time, then falls immediately and is swept away at once, and the ruin of that house is great. It sets forth one of two classes found in every place and in every church, in contrast to those building for time and for eternity on the rock, exposing the condition and fate of those who fail to realize the evil of what they are doing, which all are to read and understand.
Undertaking to build a new faith and establish new principles is building without a foundation upon the Rock. Hearing without doing leaves a life without a sure foundation that cannot stand when tested, while a sure foundation with persistent firm building in gentleness, meekness and love enables the house to withstand temptation and the overwhelming flood of divine wrath. A life must be built from the foundation upward with the foundation properly laid before the building rises, so Saxby has not begun to build rightly but needs discipline and experience in everyday duties, since education and the sciences alone do not give the physical exercise needed to endure hardships.
The foundation is a practical understanding of the principles behind actions, so accepting a reform only because others do, without understanding or acting from principle, is building without a foundation and leads to failure. Those who have not made their foundation sure and been riveted to Christ the eternal Rock may turn away from the truth in testing and trial and suffer spiritual ruin, so hearing the word must lead to learning and practicing it, otherwise its correction can be forgotten and the person continue unreformed. Many have built that sandy way to ruin, so without delay a person must build for time and for eternity on the rock Christ Jesus by holding every jot and tittle of the Word in full authority, which gives wisdom in the perfect converting law and keeps from being deceived by false philosophy and science falsely so-called come what will though heaven and earth pass away.