THE BIBLE MADE SIMPLE
Volume 1
William T. Barrett
© 2007
The Bible Made Simple
Lesson 1
The House Upon The Rock
PARABLE
We must follow Jesus’ example and find the “REAL THINGS” in the Scripture and then discover what the Spiritual Meaning is for each REAL THING or Key Word.
Bible verse:
Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these saying of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it”.
2. Locate KEY WORDS in the verse : 3. Discover their SPIRITUAL MEANING :
(usually nouns or “real things”) (by using the BIBLE WORD PICTURES)
| HOUSE | ||
| ROCK | ||
| RAIN | ||
| FLOODS | ||
| WIND | ||
| SAND |
BIBLE WORD PICTURES
2. Locate KEY WORDS in the verse : 3. Discover their SPIRITUAL MEANING :
(usually nouns or “real things”) (by using the BIBLE WORD PICTURES)
| HOUSE | Church | |
| ROCK | Christ | |
| RAIN | Doctrine (of the Lord) | |
| FLOODS | Ungodly men | |
| WIND | Doctrine (of men) | |
| SAND | People |
4. REWRITE THE VERSE : (Substitute the Spiritual Meaning of the Key Word back into the Bible verse and paraphrase it).
Whoever hears the words of Jesus and does what He says is like a wise man, whose _________ (house) was built upon the words of ____________ (rock). And when the _____________ (rain) of Christ were challenged by the ____________ (winds) of __________ (floods), the _____________ (house) founded upon the words of _______________ (rock) maintained its position (fell not) from the Bible!
Everyone that hears the words of Jesus and does not do what He says is like a foolish man, whose _________ (house) was built upon the words of ____________ (sand). And when the _____________ (rain) of Christ were challenged by the ____________ (winds) of __________ (floods), that _____________ (house) could not maintain its position from the Bible and great was its fall!
PARABLE (Spiritual)
We must follow Jesus’ example and find the “REAL THINGS” in the Scripture and then discover what the Spiritual Meaning is for each REAL THING or Key Word.
Bible verse: Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and
(spiritually)
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built
(spiritual) (spiritual)
his house upon a rock:
(spiritual) (spiritual)
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and
(spiritual) (spiritual)
the winds blew, and beat upon the house;
(spiritually) (spiritual)
and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these saying of mine,
and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a
(spiritually) (spiritual) (spiritual)
foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
(spiritual) (spiritual)
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and
(spiritual) (spiritual)
the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and
(spiritually)
it fell: and great was the fall of it”.
DISCOVERING HIDDEN TREASURE
Bible verse: Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house;
and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these saying of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it”.
REWRITE THE VERSE : (Substitute the Spiritual Meaning of the Key Word back into the Bible verse and paraphrase it).
Whoever hears the words of Jesus and does what He says is like a wise man, whose Church (house) was built upon the words of Christ (rock). And when the doctrines (rain) of Christ were challenged by the doctrines (winds) of ungodly men (floods), the Church (house) founded upon the words of Christ (rock) maintain its position (fell not) from the Bible!
Everyone that hears the words of Jesus and does not do what He says is like a foolish man, whose Church (house) was built upon the words of men (sand). And when the doctrines (rain) of Christ were challenged by the doctrines (winds) of ungodly men (floods), that Church (house) could not maintain its position from the Bible and great was its fall!
This Bible verse teaches us the great importance of basing all our beliefs on the words of God (Bible) instead of the words of men.
Summarizing
The differences between these two foundation materials:
| PHYSICAL ROCK | PHYSICAL SAND |
| 1. Immovable. | 1. Easily moved. |
| 2. Changeless with respect to time. | 2. Change constantly. |
| 3. Anything attached to it is secure and can’t be moved. | 3. Anything attached to it is unsecure and can be easily moved. |
| 4. It will support anything that stands upon it and will not let it sink. | 4. It will not support anything that stands upon it, but will allow it to sink. |
| 5. The Physical elements of rain, wind, floods will not affect it. | 5. The Physical elements of rain, wind, floods will affect it. |
| SPIRITUAL ROCK | SPIRITUAL SAND |
| 1. Spiritually Immovable. | 1. Spiritually moved easily. |
| 2. Spiritually Changeless. | 2. Spiritually changes constantly |
| 3. Anything attached is Spiritually secure. | 3. Anything attached is Spiritually insecure. |
| 4. Spiritual Support for anything that stands upon it. | 4. No Spiritual Support for anything that stands upon it. |
| 5. Spiritual Elements will not affect it. | 5. Spiritual Elements will affect it. |
| SPIRITUAL “ROCK” (Christ) | SPIRITUAL “SAND” (man) |
| 1. God is Immovable. | 1. Man is Easily moved. |
| 2. God is Changeless. | 2. Man Changes constantly. |
| 3. Anyone “attached” to God is Spiritually secure. | 3. Anyone “attached” to man is Spiritually unsecure. |
| 4. God will “support” anyone who “stands” or depends upon Him and He will not let them “sink” Spiritually. | 4. Man cannot “support” anyone who “stands” or depends upon him and anyone who does depend upon man will “sink” Spiritually. |
| 5. God is not affected by the Spiritual “Elements” of Satan and is never deceived. | 5. Man is affected by the Spiritual “Elements” and is easily deceived. |
