I need not dwell upon the picturesque force of our Lord's description,
so true to the sudden inundations of Eastern lands, and as true to the
sudden floods of Northern countries when the snows melt. The house is
attacked on all sides. From above, the rain comes down to beat on the
roof, the wind rages round the walls, the flood comes swirling round the
eaves from beneath, and if the house stands upon a cliff, the polished
rock turns the flood off innocuous, but if it stands upon sand, the
furious rush of waters eats a way beneath and undermines the whole.
But you will notice that the description of the storm is repeated in
both cases, and is _verbatim_ the same in each. And the lesson from that
is just this--let no Christian man fancy that he is not going to be
judged according to his works, for he is. The storm that comes, which I
take distinctly to mean the final judgment which falls upon all men,
beats against the house that is built upon the rock. For every one of
us, Christian or not Christian, 'must all appear before the Judgment
Seat of Christ, that we may receive according to the deeds done in the
body.' Christian people, do not fancy that the great doctrine of
forgiveness of sins and acceptance in the Beloved, means that you have
not to stand His judgment according to your works. According to the
other metaphor of the Apostle, working out the same idea with some
changes in figure, the Christian man who builds 'upon the foundation
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble,' has his 'work tried
by fire.' So all of us have to face that prospect, and I beseech you to
face it wisely. A sensible builder calculates the strain to which his
work will be exposed before he begins to put it up. Or if he does not
there will befall it the same fate that years ago befell that
unfortunate Tay Bridge, where, by reason of girders too feeble, and
piers not solid enough, and rivets left out where they should have been
put in, one December night the whole thing went over into the water
below. You have to stand the hurtling black storm. Take into account the
strain which your building will have to resist, and build accordingly.