I Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, [d]precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident, for the day will indicate it because it is revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test [e]the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
If you’ve been with us for a while, you know that we’ve been studying the 1st epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, and that the letter addresses problems that Paul had heard about in that church. He is in another city. He hasn’t been back to the Corinthian church for years. But his coworkers have. And I can just imagine what the conversation was like with one of those coworkers. Maybe a church elder finds him in Ephesus, and after greetings they say, “Paul, I need to let you know what is happening at the church in Corinth.” He says, “I’ve heard some things. Tell me what have you seen.”
And I imagine his coworker saying, “Hold on, I made a list.” “Okay, lawsuits; members are suing each other, marriage trouble; members are divorcing their unbelieving spouses, others are saying that nobody should get married at all, Oh and when they gather for the Lord’s supper, and a fellowship meal, the rich people get there first, because they can, and put out all their crockpots, and they start the meal before the poor people have even gotten off work, and when the poor people arrive, the food’s all gone, and some of the rich people are drunk, some members are visiting idol temples to buy their groceries then bringing the food to the church potluck, oh, yeah, there’s a man in the church who slept with his father’s wife, and some members may be visiting prostitutes. Paul says; “Oh my, is that all.” “No, also in their worship services, the women have embraced their liberation, and they are uncovering their heads. And in service, oh Paul, you would be appalled, the whole service is a mess. One person is speaking to the group, and somebody jumps up saying something in tongues. So, the speaker stops, and someone else pops up to interpret what was said in tongues, but before they can finish, somebody else interjects with a word, prophecy, or tongue. We don’t even get the announcements finished. And someone a few weeks back, gave a sermon saying that there is no resurrection from the dead. And for weeks, that has been a bone of contention.
Paul says, “Is that it?” And the elder replies, “yes, I think so, oh hold on, just one more thing, it’s kind of minor, but people are kind of dividing up into opposing factions in the church. And they are dividing up along their lines of loyalty to you, and former teachers. They are calling themselves; the Paul party, the Apollos party, the Cephas party, and the Christ party.”
Paul says, whew, I may have to write two letters! Well, can you stay here a couple of days? I need to write the church a letter to address these issues. “Yes, I can stay.” So, you are going to write a letter. I’m curious, where are you going to start?” Paul thinks for a moment, and says, “I’ve got to start with the factions in the church. Because if we can’t undo the disunity, we’ll never get all these other problems resolved. So that’s what he does. He writes a letter. This letter to the church. And the first four pages of the letter are dedicated to bringing them to unity. They have to have a united understanding.
Unity in our understanding of wisdom, (1:10-17, 2:1-2)
Unity in our understanding of the Cross of Christ, (1:18-25, 2:2)
Unity in our understanding of Greatness, (1:26-31)
Unity in our understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit, (2:1-16)
And now, he continues with his essay on unity with a fifth kind of unity.
Unity around the definition of maturity and growth. (3:1-20)
And chapter four will be about unity in understanding the nature of Christian leadership.
Paul addressed all of this to the church in Corinth. So why are we studying it today? Because somewhere along the way, the church in Corinth got their act together. And they credited their reform to Paul, and his letter. And they thought, you know, there’s good stuff in here. Let’s copy this letter, and send it to some other churches, I think it will be helpful to them. And this letter, and others of Paul’s letters, and other writings began to circulate around the churches, and eventually became a part of our New Testament.
We are reading and studying it because, churches are churches are churches. The same problems resurface in churches in every culture, every age, and every class of people in the church. Unity is one of the keys to our Spiritual growth in this church, just as it was in Corinth.
Before we jump in, let’s pray.
As the church we need to have a unified understanding of Spiritual growth. Last time we looked at the source of our Spiritual growth; God. We have to understand that any true growth in our church, or our lives will occur because God did it. As Paul said last time; “I planted” the seed, “Apollos watered” the seed. God is the one who performed the miracle of the seed’s growth. That was last week. And you know, when we get our eyes on God, it makes factions disappear; because it takes the ego out of any disagreement. We all just want to know what God says.
The section we are looking at today concerns the testing of our spiritual growth. God is the source, but how will our spiritual growth and maturity be tested? Let’s read verses 10 through 15 again.
I. The source of our Spiritual growth; God
II. The testing for our spiritual growth
10 According to the grace of God, which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, [d]precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident, for the day will indicate it because it is revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test [e]the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Paul wants the Corinthian believers to understand something here. All that they are doing. All the factions. All the decisions they are making in the church, and for their lives. All that they are teaching. All the words that come out of their mouths. And every action they take, will one day be tested. So, he says to them, be careful how you build.
A. Judgment day is coming
We often forget that in the middle of living our lives. We make decisions based on personal preferences. We choose the course of our lives because it suits us. But judgment day is coming. Scripture says,
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Jesus said,
Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Let’s stop there for a moment and consider that. Judgment day is coming. Before we jump into the theology of Christian versus non-Christian, just consider those two truths together. Hebrews tells us that everyone dies, and then comes the judgment of every person. And Jesus tells us that that judgment will cover every idle word that a person speaks. Every word. Every word. Think about your words this week. And we know from other Scripture that it will not just be our words that will be judged, but our every thought, our every action, our every inaction.
All of it. That thought alone should cause us to take stock in how we live our lives, how we build the church. I want us to just marinate in that thought a moment. Do you know what that thought does to me? It sends shivers up my spine.
I watched a fictional story this week about a guy who was blackmailed by someone he didn’t know because that person had hacked his computer, and his computer camera, and was threatening to publish on the web, all that he saw on that camera, a video he had taken of the guy. And what is frightening is that that is possible.
That’s a frightening thought, that today, IPhones, with camera, computer technology, Alexa, Smart TVs, GPS, someone can know where you are, and what you are doing and saying at any moment. It could happen.
That’s distressing. Now just think about it. That’s what the Bible is saying. There is coming a judgment day, and every person will be judged, for every word, thought, and action.
But you say, “I’m a Christian.” Will I be judged? Yes. But you need to understand how that judgment takes place. There are two parts; judgment for sin and judgment for reward.
First, and this is where all believers can sigh a collective sigh of relief; you were already judged for sin. If you know Jesus as you Lord and Savior, you have already been judged for sin. Your record of evil thoughts, evil words, and evil actions is a blank page.
Judgment for sin
Now, this is not described in this passage of Scripture. But I think it is important for Christians to have a complete understanding of the judgment they face. There is all kinds of misinformation and lies about Christian judgment being taught. Some teach that somehow, as a Christian, you will die, and then you will meet Saint Peter, or an angel at the gates of heaven, and then he will check a list of your deeds to determine whether you get in or not. That’s not Scriptural. Paul wrote to the Christians in Phillipi,
Philippians 3:20 20 For our [a]citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
We are already citizens if we are in Christ. Your sins are forgiven. Now others will teach some sort of partial forgiveness of sin. They will say that when you became a Christian, your sins are forgiven up to that point, all the sins you commit after that, you have to deal with. Or it’s up to your baptism. Any sins you commit after your baptism are not covered. Which explains why some people want to wait for a deathbed conversion or baptism, so they have fewer sins to deal with. That is not in the Bible.
1 John 2:12 12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.
Some will say, that when you became a Christian, all of your sins were forgiven, up to that moment, but then, every sin you commit after that has to be confessed, or it remains unforgiven. That’s not Scriptural.
Colossians 2: 13 And you being dead [f]in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him, having graciously forgiven us all our transgressions.
The verb used in that verse, “He made you alive” is in the aorist indicative tense. That indicates an event that was completed in the past. You say, “well that’s Greek to me.” But this is important, because this is God’s Word. Here in Colossians, God’s Word says that you were “made alive” and forgiven all your transgressions. It happened in the past, and the action is complete. You say, “So you are telling me that all my sins were forgiven, past sins, present sins, and future sins, on the day I repented and believed in the Lord Jesus?” No, it’s better than that.
13 And you being dead [f]in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him, having graciously forgiven us all our transgressions. 14 Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which was hostile to us, He also has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
“having nailed it to the cross,” “having nailed” is an aorist participle. What does that mean? Your sins were nailed to the cross when Jesus was nailed to the cross.
So, as a Christian, you will not be judged for sin after you die. You were already judged for sin on the day that Jesus was nailed to the cross. You will have a blank sin page on judgment day. He was judged on your behalf. You say, “But I’ve sinned after I became a Christian, or after I was baptized.” Was that sin after Jesus was nailed on the cross? Then it’s already been judged.
Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
So, as frightening is the prospect that judgment comes after death, the Christian needs to understand that, for them, it is not a judgment for sin. Well, this is where many in the church get off the bus. They pull the cord. “Bus driver, this is my stop. No judgment for sin.” “Once saved, always saved.” They like this stop because it means that I will not have to give an account for my actions. They forget two things;
First, they forget that if they are truly in Christ, there will be evidence. “You will know a tree by its fruit.” And so, if they are truly Christian, they will desire to produce good fruit, they will produce good fruit. And conversely, if they don’t produce good fruit, they are giving evidence that they really aren’t a Christian. They should examine themselves.
2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?
And the second thing they forget, when they exit the bus at, “all my sins are forgiven,” is that God disciplines His children. If you are truly a Christian, if you go on flagrantly living in sin, God will discipline you.
Hebrews 12:6 For thosewhom the[a]Lord loves He disciplines, And He flogs every son whom He receives.”
So, no judgment for sin, but that is not the end of our thoughts about judgment, or spiritual maturity. There will be…
1. Judgment for reward
Revelation 22: “Behold I come quickly, and My reward is with Me to give to every man according to what he has done.”
2 Corinthians 5:9-10 “We labor that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him; for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the things done in the body whether it be good or worthless.”
Romans 14, verse 10: “Why do you judge your brother? Or why do you set at nought your brother?” What are you doing evaluating other people? What are you doing making spiritual conclusions about other people? “We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” 12, “Everyone of us shall give an account of himself to God.”
Hold it preacher, I thought you said as Christians we won’t be judged for sin? You won’t, but you will be judged for rewards. And that’s where we pick up with our text for today.
10 According to the grace of God, which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it.
Paul starts this section with another analogy. He had been talking about the church as a plant. He moves the analogy from “I planted, Apollos watered,” to “I laid a foundation, and another is building on it.” So, let’s open up this analogy. Because it serves to humble us just as the last one did.
But the focus moves from Paul and Apollos. Paul used the previous farming analogy to teach us that he and Apollos were nothing but servants planting and watering seeds. He is teaching the same thing here when he says; “I laid the foundation and another builds on it.” Paul and Apollos are just subcontractors; God is both the general contractor, and the architect. And He, in Christ, is the foundation.
But he goes further. He brings the analogy down to each of us. He is saying to these Corinthian believers that they need to be careful how they build their Christian life, how they build their church. How they define spiritual maturity. What will they be rewarded for, when they stand at the judgment seat of Christ. If they understood what will be rewarded, they would likely change their actions in the church. They would change what they value.
But each man must be careful how he builds on it. We will not be judged for sin after our death, but we will be judged for reward. And there are several truths that he wants us to understand. The rewarded work… is built on Jesus Christ, is of varying value, will be tested by fire, is not burned up, comes to every believer.
The common understanding that we need to come to is, what will we be rewarded for? Very often, you get from people what you reward. Even animals, you get what you reward.
One morning I opened the door to get the newspaper and was surprised to see a strange little dog with our paper in his mouth. Delighted with this unexpected "delivery service," I fed him some treats. The following morning I was horrified to see the same dog sitting in front of our door, wagging his tail, surrounded by eight newspapers.
I spent the rest of that morning returning the papers to their owners.
Marion Gilbert, Reader's Digest, February, 1994, p. 12.
A. The rewarded work is built on Jesus Christ
11 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
What is the definition of Spiritual maturity? It is defined by what and how you build your life, how we build this church. On what are we building this church. On what are you building your life?
The rewarded work is built on Jesus Christ.
“Built on Christ? Paul is talking about the church in Corinth. They have been arguing about who was greater in the Corinthian church work. Some said, “I am of Paul, I of Apollos.” He is saying, “Neither are greater.” “I laid the foundation of the church in Corinth. I was the one who first came to you with the gospel. Apollos came after the foundation was laid and began building walls, roof, etc.” It is the church in Corinth. But, in a broader sense, we are also talking about the individual lives of believers in the church.
Each of us have had preachers and teachers contribute to the building of our Christian lives. Our church has had pastors and teachers from its founding. Each of us have grown spiritually for whatever number of years based on how we received the spiritual truths we were given. But, our church, and our lives were not built on pastor Hays, or or pastor Harmes, or pastor McClain.
The foundation of the church, and of the Christian life is Christ. The foundation is Christ; it is not Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas.
Matthew 16:18 upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. Psalm 118: 22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.
Isaiah
28:16 16 Therefore thus says Lord
Yahweh, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the
foundation, [a]firmly
placed. He who believes in it will not be [b]disturbed.
Well, we all know the church is built on Christ. We all know that our lives are built on Christ. Do we? Today, many are trying to build churches on many things other than Christ; the interpretations of men and women since Christ. Signs and wonders, morality and good works, social networks.
What is the rewarded work? First, it must be built on Christ. We begin with Christ; the Word of God. So, as we consider our own church, and what we are to be doing, where do we go first for instruction? Do we look around at what other churches are doing to determine what we are to be doing? Do we study church growth websites and books; How to grow your church in 60 days? No, we look to the Word of God.
And your Christian life is the same. We often build our lives on everything else but Christ. We build our lives on comfort. We build them on our kids. On money or personal advancement. We build our lives around our personal entertainment. Do you want to be rewarded when this life is over for your works? Start with understanding what the Bible says you are to be doing. Build on a foundation of Christ.
Your second block of text...