intRoduction

Built on nothing less

hen you decide to design and build a house, you need to get the best building materials you can find. Thus supplied, you must start by constructing a firm foundation. The foundation is all-important to your effort. Without a firm foundation, you will be sunk, possibly quite literally. This commonsense principle applies to houses of all sizes and descriptionsand by extension even the most basic house of allthe human body that houses your spirit and soul. God wants to help you build a stable, successful Christian life that is firmly rooted in Jesus Christ. He will provide you with all of the building materials as well as detailed building and maintenance instructions. Because you have given Him your assent, He Himself is the foundation, and He will see to it that you and anybody else who names His name will enjoy eternal-lifetime-guaranteed success. That is the ideal, anyway. But even with everything that has been made available to you as regards His construction 15

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supplies and expert advice, how can you be sure that you have selected the very best foundation-building materials? What if, back when you first became a Christian, somebody sold you a bill of goods? What if your foundation has been laid poorly? Is it too late to rebuild? The writer of the biblical letter to the Hebrews gave us a brief listing of the components of a firm foundation when he wrote the words that I have chosen as the theme Scripture of this study:
Leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Hebrews 6:12

The writer assumed that the believers he was addressing were mature enough to leave behind the discussion of such elementary principles as these. Fair enough for those ancient Hebrews. But for most of us, a review brings tangible benefits. That is what I intend to do for you in this book and its companion book, A Radical Faith Study Guide. Here I have summarized, with abundant biblical support, the basics of the Christian faith. In essence, this is a book-length Bible study on one theme, the enduring fundamentals of the faith that must be built into the foundation of every mature Christian. For some of you, this book will be a simple review. For others, especially those of you who are new to the faith or whose exposure to foundational truths has been deficient or partial, it will provide a vital shoring up of the basis for your new life in Christ. For all believers, this extended study can furnish a framework for personal Christian life as well as an outline for mentoring others. I truly hope this book in your hands will be used to make disciples, not just converts. Lets raise the bar a bit and more 16

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firmly establish the foundational Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. Are you with me? All of us dwell in an environment that is hostile to our outposts of the heavenly Kingdom, and we must battle against an enemy who wants nothing more than to undermine our foundations. King David wrote, If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3). To keep erosion from happening, we must constantly renew our minds with the truth of Gods Word, reinforcing the basic underpinnings so that we can continue to grow and bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. Gods blueprints and His master plan for building the house of your life are contained in the Bible. He Himself is the Architect and the Builder. In this book, I have provided twelve chapters on twelve distinct, foundational aspects of a believers life. These match the chapters of A Radical Faith Study Guide. Other leaders may wish I had covered more (or fewer) topics in greater (or less) detail. But I feel that these particular topics, taken from that verse in Hebrews quoted above and from other important verses, do cover most of the basics. As I have organized this material and reworked it, I have been newly motivated to dedicate myself afresh to the Master Builders excellent construction process, and I trust that the same thing will happen for you. Davids son Solomon wrote, Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it (Psalm 127:1). May the Holy Spirit guide you through this study and help you establish a foundation that grows firmer over time, for the glory of Jesus Christ. Because I have a deep affection for the old hymns of the Church, which so often summarize the basics of the faith in beautiful and memorable words, I have included a verse or two from some of my favorite hymns at the end of each chapter. I want to make it possible for you to read a chapter, replace your bookmark, close the book, and go about your 17

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daily round with a glad heart, humming psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19), all the while reviewing the magnificent truths on which you have built your life. In the words of the old hymn: My hope is built on nothing less/ Than Jesus blood and righteousness. . . . On Christ the solid Rock I stand,/ All other ground is sinking sand.1

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the FoundAtion FoR All BelieveRs

ears ago, when my late wife, Michal Ann, and I lived in Lees Summit, Missouri, we built a new house. We hired contractors to clear the property and to dig a gigantic hole for the basement. They brought in big trucks, and scaffolding appeared. Workers set up beams and poured a concrete floor and reinforced the basement walls. After everything had set up firmly, they shoveled the dirt back against the new foundation. Then and only then did they lay the wooden framework for the first floor. As they framed and completed the first and second stories, the place seemed as tall as a skyscraper to me. Soon the basement disappeared underground and the foundation could hardly be seen anymore. But it had been established deep and strong so the rest of the house could be built securely and well. In exactly the same order, God causes each one of us to become living building blocks of His own house, which is the Church of Jesus Christ (see 1 Peter 2:5). Jesus Christ 19

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Himself is the solid Rock, the foundation of our new life and faith. He is the basement and the footers and the beams and the reinforced concreteour foundation. He is our foundation, not a church, not a denomination, not a set of rules or ceremonies, not even a creed. Our lives, both individual and corporate, are based on His ever-present reality. He is the only source of our salvation and our faith. In the language of the Bible, we see the life of a believer compared to a building established on a firm foundation. Take, for example, the following familiar passages:
We are Gods fellow workers; . . . you are Gods building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 1 Corinthians 3:910 In him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:22, niv As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:67

One fact that can be too easy to miss is that we believers are expected to build ourselves up: You, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit (Jude 20). We must do something with what He gives us. As Gods fellow workers, we have different building assignments within the larger Church. But the bottom line never varies: None of us can build properly unless we ourselves have responded to the grace of God by sinking our roots down into Him. 20

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And we cannot do it alone. The words of the New Testament are addressed to a body of people, not only to individuals like you or me who may sit reading it in our personal easy chairs. While each one of us must make a considered response to the Truth, we hear about it in the context of a vast network of other believers, which makes our personal building project only meaningful as part of the much bigger construction project called the Church. Jesus establishes the Church (capital C for the worldwide group of people over the centuries who represent many cultures and expressions of the Christian faith). In fact, He is the Bridegroom and the Church is His Bride. He died to bring her to maturity so that she could be with Him forever. This means that even when we get hurt by an expression of the Church, we need all the more to forgive and respond with the love that the Holy Spirit supplies. We need to forgive all abuse and wounds, along with too much emphasis on external behavior as opposed to faith-filled obedience from the heart. And we need to trust the Rock more than we trust what has been built on it, believing that our personal response matters to the whole scheme of things, because it does. Staying rooted in Him matters a lot more than signs and wonders and manifestations of glory, as vital as those are to the full expression of the Kingdom of God. (Im saying that as one whose ministry has emphasized supernatural manifestations.) All supernatural wonders depend on the foundations as much as everything else does, and unless our foundation is Jesus Christ alone, even outright miracles will not prove a thing.

Jesus Christ Alone

The apostle Paul wrote to the body of new believers in the Roman-ruled city of Corinth: No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ 21

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(1 Corinthians 3:11, niv). Both the Old and New Testaments agree that Jesus Christ alone is our foundation:
This is what the Sovereign Lord says: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. Isaiah 28:16, niv

Peter quoted this passage much later in one of his epistles (see 1 Peter 2:6). According to Peter and to countless other believers, a person who believes in Jesus Christ will not be disappointed. Jesus own words confirm that He considers Himself our foundation:
He said to them, But who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:1518

Jesus is making a play on words here. In Greek, the original language of this gospel, two different words are used for rock. Jesus is a petra, a large, cliff-sized rock, and Peter, whose name comes from this word, is petros, a small stone. Jesus is the Rock of our salvation, the One upon whom the Church has been situated, and Peter is an apostle (a servant messenger) of the Lord in the foundation of the house. And all of us have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). 22

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As great a prophet as he was, Isaiah is not the chief cornerstone. As much as his name matches the word, Peter is not the Rock Himself. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock (Psalm 18:2, niv).
My soul waits in silence for God only; . . . He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken. . . . My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Psalm 62:12, 57, nasb; see also Acts 4:1012

How does Jesus Christ become our strong foundation, anyway? Only and always by four stages that are common to all believers: 1. A personal confrontation by Christ (see Matthew 16:16). 2. A direct, spiritual revelation of Christ (see John 16:1314). 3. A personal acknowledgment of Christ (see John 17:3; 1 John 5:13, 20; 2 Timothy 1:12). 4. An open and personal confession of Christ (see Job 22:21; 2 Timothy 1:12). With the foundation firmly in place, the house can begin to grow. Like a living plant, we grow out of the Lord Jesus, our living foundation. Thus the apostle Paul tells the believers: Now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified (Acts 20:32). 23

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The Building Process

How does His word of grace translate into growth? In other words, how can you and I cooperate with the construction process? It happens by our hearing and doing the words of Christ Jesus. When He lived with His disciples, He taught them how hearing and doing His words constitutes the crucial essence of the building process:
Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it felland great was its fall. Matthew 7:2427, nasb

Hearing and doing His words entails understanding the message of the Bible, His Word. In other words, the Bible as the written Word becomes coupled with Jesus Christ, the Living Word. You cannot separate Jesus from the collection of books we call the Holy Bible, because He Himself is the Word of God.1 The test of our discipleship will always be this: hearing and obeying His Word. In fact, if we fail to keep His Word, Gods life will fail to flow through us. Jesus said, He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him (John 14:21). Jesus repeated the statement for emphasis: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him (John 14:23). 24

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Our devotion to the Word of God (see 1 John 2:45) proves our love for Christ Jesus and releases Gods favor toward us. His light shines through us as we abide in His Word and increase in the presence and power of His Spirit.2 God establishes His abiding presence with His disciples (thats us!) directly through His Word, which causes us to bear much fruit.3 Gods Word and His Spirit, united in our lives, contain all of the creative authority and power necessary to anticipate and supply every need we will ever have as we dwell on this earth. Built on the foundation of Jesus Christ Himself, we can expect to flourishfrom now to eternity!
FFF FFF FF

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word! What more can He say than to you He hath said, You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?4

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