Matthew Henry Commentary Matthew 7:21-29

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and if fell not: for it was founded upon the rock. And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching: for he taught them as [one] having authority, and not as their scribes." — Matthew 7:21-29 (ASV)

Christ here shows that it will not be enough to acknowledge Him as our Master, merely in word and tongue. It is necessary for our happiness that we believe in Christ, that we repent of sin, that we live a holy life, that we love one another. This is His will, namely, our sanctification.

Let us beware of resting in outward privileges and deeds, lest we deceive ourselves and perish eternally, as multitudes do, with a lie in our right hand. Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from all sin. There are others whose religion rests in mere hearing, and it goes no further; their heads are filled with empty notions.

These two kinds of hearers are represented as two builders. This parable teaches us to hear and do the sayings of the Lord Jesus: some may seem hard to flesh and blood, but they must be done. Christ is laid as a foundation, and everything besides Christ is sand. Some build their hopes on worldly prosperity, others on an outward profession of religion.

On these they venture, but they are all sand, too weak to bear such a structure as our hopes of heaven. A storm is coming that will test every person's work. When God takes away the soul, where is the hope of the hypocrite? The house fell in the storm when the builder most needed it and expected it to be a shelter for him.

It fell when it was too late to build another. May the Lord make us wise builders for eternity. Then nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ Jesus. The multitudes were astonished at the wisdom and power of Christ's doctrine. And this sermon, however often it is read, is always new.

Every word proves its Author to be Divine. Let us be more and more decided and earnest, making one or another of these beatitudes and Christian graces the main subject of our thoughts, even for weeks at a time. Let us not rest in general and confused desires for them, by which we grasp at all, but catch nothing.