“Are you a Christian?” by Sinclair Ferguson

“I heard of a little boy who used to help his mum whenever she took part in the church-cleaning day. The congregation knew that as he moved around the building with his little duster, helping her clean, he would sing his favourite Bible song:

The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
And the rain came tumbling down

Oh, the rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down And the floods came up
And the house on the rock stood firm.

The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
And the rain came tumbling down

Oh, the rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the foods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
And the house on the sand fell flat.

So, build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ…

Some time later, the little boy became gravely ill and died. At the end of his funeral service, as his casket was carried from the church, the organist began to play a familiar piece of music:

The wise man built his house upon the rock…

I think about that little boy, whom I never knew, quite often.

Through his short life the Lord was teaching everyone who knew him a wonderful lesson. Understanding the gospel and becoming a Christian is not a matter of age, or intellect.

It is a matter of being helped to realize that you have no righteousness of your own and that you need Christ, coming to trust him by God’s grace, turning away from the sin that has so mastered your life, and building your life on him.

A child can understand and do that.

And yet, sadly, many intelligent adults never do. They assume that at the end of the day being a Christian is about trying to get a pass mark. But that is the sure way to fail.

We can never find acceptance with a holy God on the basis of what we have done. Like Saul of Tarsus, no matter what our religious pedigree may be, the righteousness we seek to establish is inadequate.

We need the righteousness that God provides. And that comes to us only through faith in Christ.

So—if someone were to say to you: ‘Are you a Christian? I’d love to hear your story‘ —would you have one to tell?

It could begin in a very dramatic way, like Paul’s; or it could be comparatively undramatic, like mine. Either way, at its heart will be this:

I knew I could not stand before God as I am in my sin and failure.I learned that Jesus Christ is able to save anyone who comes to Him.I turned to and trusted in Christ– and now I am clothed in His righteousness.Now I want to know Him, love Him more, and serve Him.

So we end this chapter where we began, with the question, ‘Are you a Christian?‘

Is there something in your heart that responds “Yes! Yes! I am’?

If not, put this book down, think about the question, and ask the Lord to help you to see why you need a Saviour, and why it is that Jesus Christ is the Saviour you need.”

–Sinclair B. Ferguson, Devoted to God’s Church: Core Values for Christian Fellowship (Carlise, PA: Banner of Truth, 2020), 32-34.