Jesus concluded His greatly beloved Sermon on the Mount (Matthew5-7) with the parable of the wise and foolish builders.

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall" (Matt. 7:24-27).

Are you wise or foolish? Are you building on the rock or sand? To hear the teachings of Jesus and do them is to be wise and build upon the rock. To hear the teachings of Jesus and not do them is to be foolish and build upon the sand.

Are you building on the rock or sand in regards to your salvation? To build on the rock is to hear Jesus say - "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16) and to do so (Acts 18:8). To build on the sand is to reject the Lord's clear teaching and authority in favor of man's doctrines (Matt. 7:21-23), such as: (a) pray the sinner's prayer, (b) just accept Jesus into your heart as your personal Savior, or (c) simply do nothing.

Are you building on the rock or sand in regards to your worship? To build on the rock is to hear and do the teachings of Christ and His apostles - to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24). One is building on the rock when they observe the Lord's Supper every first day of the week (Acts 20:7), sing praises with their voices (Eph. 5:19), give as they have prospered each Sunday (1 Cor. 16:1-2), pray to God (Acts 12:5), and teach faithfully the Word of God (2 Tim. 4:2). To build on the sand is to worship God in vain because we teach as doctrines the commandments of men (Matt. 15:7-9).

Are you building on the rock or sand in regards to your eternal salvation? To build on the rock is to obey the gospel of Christ (John 3:16; Rom. 1:16) and continue to live our lives in faithful obedience to Jesus (Heb. 5:9; Rev. 2:10). To build on the sand is to reject Christ and His gospel (John 12:48) and therefore spend eternity in hell (2 Thess. 1:7-9).

So what about you? Are you presently building on the rock or sand? The answer to that question will determine your spiritual success or failure now and in the future. Jesus asked: "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46).