By: Buddy Morefield
While staying at Hilton Head Island, my family and I stumbled upon a historical marker and a sandy trail leading up a hill into a wooded area, decorated by Spanish moss. After walking a few hundred feet, we noticed a rectangular shaped foundation and a sign which read, “Domestic Slave Quarters.” Sure enough, what we had found were the remains of the 336 square foot dwelling of the Stoney-Baynard Plantation slave quarters (c.1811). Adjacent to this foundation were the remains of Captain Stoney’s mansion. This structure was built between 1793-1810, standing for approximately 50 years before being burned during the Union siege of Hilton Head in 1861. Although the wooden structures are long gone, their “tabby” foundations (a concrete type mixture made from lime, sand and seashells) have stood the test of time and remain to this day.
Jesus spoke of foundations when He addressed Peter in Caesarea Philippi, “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 16:18). Unlike the Stoney-Baynard Plantation, Jesus referred to a spiritual house, built upon the solid foundation of His deity. Contrary to one peculiar doctrine, Jesus did not build His church upon the man Simon Peter, for grammatically this cannot be sustained from Matthew 16:18. The word for “Peter” comes from a Greek word (petros) which means “detached stone, a stone that might be thrown or easily moved” (Vines), whereas Jesus said, “on this rock I will build my church” (emph. added), a distinction clearly made by the Lord. For, the word “rock” (petra), means “a mass of rock, metaphorically of Christ” (Vines). Furthermore, for Jesus to have built His church upon a mere man negates the entire eternal nature of God’s immovable establishment. Any religion or church established on the basis of mere humanity is not built upon the rock solid foundation of Jesus “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16). No wonder the scriptures affirm that Jesus is the head of the church, and not man (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18).
The church which the Lord built is not made of wood, brick, mortar, or tabby; His church is a spiritual house, made up of precious souls, founded on the Chief cornerstone–Jesus. Peter wrote, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4, 5). Wherever the gospel of Christ is preached and people are baptized to be saved, the Lord adds them to His church (Acts 2:47). During his second missionary journey, Paul preached the gospel at Corinth and many, “hearing, believed and were baptized” (Acts 18:8). This is why Paul could later encourage them by writing, “For we are God’s workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building…For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:9, 11). Overtime, the faith of the Corinithians would be tested by various trials and persecutions. Depending on the material (person or congregation), gold, silver, stone, wood, hay, straw, would determine whether or not they could withstand the test of fire (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
So it is today, although two-thousand years have passed, the foundation of Christ is just as strong as the day it was laid. The only way we can withstand the test of time, is to build our hopes and dreams on things eternal–the teachings of Jesus. “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” (Matthew 7:24). If we build our lives upon Christ, we are wise; we are able to withstand whatever life throws at us. However, if we build our lives upon the ever shifting sand, it has the opposite result–our lives will succumb to the storms. What about my faith? In eternity, will they stumble upon the remains of a foundation washed away by the storms of life, or one that withstood the test of time because it was built upon the firm foundation of Jesus Christ?