You can build something cheap and then paint it and the project will look pretty good, at least for a while, but it won’t last. I’ve seen dilapidated houses get a face lift and then all of a sudden they look good from the road, but a closer inspection will show it is just fresh paint or siding that has been put on to make it look good but the old house is still there with all its flows and faulty foundation. The house is not going to last even though it may appear to look a whole lot better from the road.

    Today there are many painted and flimsy walls being called the church. That is not how it is supposed to be. Paul said Ephesians 2:19 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” To be called the church and to have God dwell among us, there must be a solid foundation built on the apostles and prophets which covers the New and Old Testaments and Jesus must be the cornerstone, the word of life. Paul also said 1 Corinthians 15:2 “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” If there is no foundation and Jesus is not the cornerstone, God is not dwelling in His temple, of which is not a building, but you and I. As Paul said Galatians 1:6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” And 2 Corinthians 11:4 “For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.”

    When talking about painted flimsy walls, we see rebellion which is a refusal to follow the truth. This means God’s people prefer to listen to the false prophets and teacher who are leading them astray. The problem is that since there is no foundation and what is built is built with flimsy walls and paint, it will not last and will come crashing down. Sadly, many people will die before they see the false teacher dealt with. The false teacher may even die without even being pointed out, but will spend eternity away from God. 2 Peter 2:17 “These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.” And those who listen to them will hear Matthew 25:41 “‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

    When talking about these walls collapsing, we see references to the false prophets / teachers and those who listen to them. Isaiah said, Isaiah 30:9 “For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. 10 They say to the seers, See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. 11 Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!” 12 Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit, 13 this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant. 14 It will break in pieces like pottery, shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment will be found for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern.” 15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” Ezekiel talks about the false prophets and says Ezekiel 13:3 “Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord.” Instead of building the right kind of walls, they are building walls that will collapse. Ezekiel goes on to say, 10 “‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, 11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. 12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?” 13 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. 14 I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, 16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.”’

    In Matthew 7, Jesus talks about the narrow and wide gates and then the true and false prophets, then the true and false disciples and then says this, Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.” Luke said it this way. Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

    Many in the church say Lord, Lord or this is the church, this is the church but do not obey the word of God, follow a different Jesus and adhere to other gospels. There are all kinds of examples of churches and their leaders come crashing down. One was Rob Bell and his church Mars Hill one of the fastest growing churches and many other church leaders followed him until he shared his views on hell amongst other things such as this comment he made to Oprah Winfrey. “We're moments away. I think the culture is already there. And the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago as their best defense," he told Winfrey when asked about the Church embracing gay marriage.” Though he thinks the bible is irrelevant, one writer said, “In fact, he said that by casting aside the Bible's relevance, Rob Bell has diminished his own relevance.” Another church also called Mars Hill around the same time also collapsed because of the pastor Mark Driscoll. Both these pastors had built a flimsy wall but after their downfall rebuilt a flimsy wall, threw some paint on it and kept going. Another church that almost every church followed was Willow Creek. From all appearances this wall was built on a solid foundation and would not fall but it was not built on the word of God and collapsed. Their leader Bill Hybel was not who people thought he was. “The scandal prompted Hybels to resign under pressure on April 10, 2018, and eventually led to the resignation of Willow Creek’s entire board. In 2019, Willow Creek’s new board released a statement accusing Hybels of “unchecked sin and intimidating behavior.” And the board admitted that the church’s initial response, blaming the alleged victims, harmed the victims and their advocates.” The whole church should have shut down, but they threw some paint on it and kept going. I just read that its Chicago campus recently closed and couldn’t handle the financial load.

    Those are just a few examples without going into a lot of detail, of men who built flimsy walls that collapsed and there are many more just like these. The scary part of this is there are many churches that appear to be successful that have not fallen and they may not. Every week people gather and listen to their false teacher teach them other gospels and they love it that way. Can you imagine someone telling John MacArthur, author, educator, preacher, evangelist, that he is building flimsy walls that will collapse. When that leader moves on another like them will take their place and the church will continue leading people astray and the only time people will find out is when they hear depart from me I don’t know you. They should have been fixing the wall, not building flimsy ones. Jeremiah 23:21 “I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.” Lamentation 2:4 “The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The prophecies they gave you were false and misleading.” This is how bad it was in the time of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 22:30 “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. 31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Why Ezekiel 22:26 “Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. 28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’—when the Lord has not spoken.” This also describes the church. Many in our day have used that slogan stand in the gap but they are building flimsy walls because they have not returned to the true gospel and followed God’s word wholeheartedly.

    Jesus made it clear how not to be part of a whitewashed wall that is about to collapse. Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. 15 Watch out for false prophets. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Jesus also said Luke 21:8 “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.” Inspect the wall carefully and test the spirits because the church is not as it appears. It is time to repair the wall the right way. As Nehemiah said, Nehemiah 2:17 “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work. 20 The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding.”