Back in the late 1970’s, as a newborn Christian and as a much younger man, I was very excited by the revelation that came to me that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. That He died for my sins, and I could now have a relationship with our Heavenly Father. My excitement spilled over into wanting everyone to know the Jesus that I had encountered and the God that I knew was truly alive, especially after being a professing Atheist. But one thing that I learned from those who were my pastors and spiritual mentors and that was the importance of God’s Word, the Bible.
Despite being raised in very Spirit-filled churches where there was lots of excitement and exuberance, my pastors and mentors always drilled into us that we must absolutely, first and foremost build our lives upon God’s sure foundation, the Word of God. I learned at a very early stage in my Christian Walk with God two of the most simplistic but important pillars that must be built upon: prayer and God’s Word. Jesus gave us some amazing insight into this when He spoke of how and what we were to build on, giving us two different kinds of people who build: one wise, the other foolish.
Luke 6:46-49 – ESV – Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
The wise man took the words of Jesus and built well, by obeying what was said, thus, building for himself a strong foundation, founded upon a rock. And when the streams broke and rushed upon it, that house remained strong, built well enough to withstand the onslaught of the stream because it says that he “dug deep” to lay the foundation. In contrast, the other person who heard but did not obey the words of Jesus, built his house on the ground (some translations say the ‘sand’) without a strong foundation and when the stream broke against it, that house could not stand and it collapsed. Not only did it collapse and fall, but it says that the ruin of that house was “great”.
The Bible says that no one can lay any other foundation than that which is already laid, and that is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11). We must build upon Him and Him alone as He is our sure and true Foundation. But what does it mean to build upon Christ? It simply means that we build upon His Word and what He has said. We build upon God’s holy Scriptures. But building upon His Word involves doing or acting upon what the Word says. Looking at what the the Epistle of James had to say:
James 1:22-24 – ESV – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
If we are “hearers” only, it says that we deceive ourselves. The truth is, if we are truly saved and born-again, we are graced by God with the ability to do what He says in His Word, especially as Christians who are empowered and submitted to the Holy Spirit, who dwells within each and every believer. We have the Helper, the Holy Spirit to help and strengthen us (John 14:26). He is the One who gives us the power to obey the Lord and submit to His Word.
Going back to what my spiritual mentors taught me, one thing always stood out that they said. And that was to NEVER build your life around experiences alone. Build on the Bible, the more sure word of prophecy (2 Peter 1:19). The Scriptures are reliable, steadfast, stable and trustworthy. I do want to say that there is nothing wrong with having Bible based experiences with the Lord as long as they do not violate or are contrary to Scripture.
Over the years, many have made the mistake of building upon their spiritual experiences more than they have God’s Word which can often lead to error and deception if you are not careful. The Scriptures are the supreme standard and benchmark for any experience that you may have (2 Timothy 3:16). So, I want to encourage everyone who names the name of Jesus Christ to always measure your experiences by the Word! Don’t despise genuine experiences that you may have in the Lord. Just let the Bible be the measuring stick of any experience that you may have.
God Bless!
