11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15
I am intrigued by these verses by Paul. He wrote to a church he planted in Corinth. After he left Corinth to plant another church in another city, Paul would write letters to all the churches he started across Asia Minor (mostly in modern day Turkey). The church in Corinth was troubled. If you read 1st and 2nd Corinthians you can tell that people are contentious, even with their founding pastor.
We do not have the letters that the church in Corinth wrote to Paul but we do have his responses in 1st and 2nd Corinthians. You can sense the trouble and tension between Paul and the church in his reply.
In chapter 3 Paul is clarifying that there are no factions in the Church of God. We all follow God through the person of Jesus Christ. Back then some of church folks were saying things like, “I follow Paul” and others saying, “I follow Apollos.” Paul and Apollos were friends and not competitors. Neither of them tried to attract disciples. They both pointed to Jesus. It is a little odd that people within the church of Corinth were picking “non-existent” sides within Christianity.
Paul writes to correct this by saying we are all in this together and everyone has his or her assigned task, but we are all on the same team. It is just like building a house. It always begins with the one foundation. As Christians our foundation is Jesus Christ.
The question becomes—what do we build upon the foundation (faith and trust in Jesus Christ)? Clearly there are lots of choices. We see the gamut of choices just through the variety of Christian denominations in the world today. All of them build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. Yet, it is more than that.
As individuals, we too build upon the foundation of faith God has given us. Some of it is strong and other parts wouldn’t pass a building inspection. Paul gives a list of things that we should build upon this foundation in Galatians 5:22-23: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Yet in the world we have brothers and sisters in Christ who try to justify hate, selfish ambition, idolatry (of all kinds), rage, exclusion and racism. Some Christians even claim that is the Christian thing to do. Some people in the media spotlight who claim to be Christians and Christian leaders have said some very outlandish things over the years.
Paul’s response to that is this: God will test whatever you build on the foundation of Christ. If it is worthy of the foundation it is built on it will stand. If it is not, it will burn to the ground like dry firewood.
Imagine that for a moment. At the end of your life and you get to see a building of faith that you built with your actions and beliefs. A building made of everything you did that you gave God credit for. This building is also built with every stance on every issue that you took for God. This same building is constructed with how you treated everyone, including the least of these. It is quite a building!
Then the ultimate building inspector comes to see how worthy the structure is and this is what happens: It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
Does your life’s work as a Christian stand or fall? I am not talking about sin. Our sins are forgiven. I am talking about all things we attribute to God or we believe are from God, including our mindsets and attitude towards others. Do those things survive the “refiners fire”? We can fireproof our life’s work as Christians when we seek forgiveness and live by the “Fruit of the Spirit” that I mentioned earlier.
I am also not talking about salvation here. Because of the foundation in Jesus Christ, salvation is assured to both the person whose life’s work (spiritual house) stands up to the “refiner’s fire” and to the person who life’s work (spiritual house) goes up in flames. The grace of God abounds to the person who rightly follows God and the grace of God abounds to the person who wrongly follows God.
Yet, I don’t want to get to the end of my life to discover that my life’s work was not worthy of the foundation it was built upon. I don’t want to enter the Kingdom of God by the “skin of my teeth” as if I was jumping from a burning building. I want my actions, attitudes, and service to be tested and found worthy of the foundation that it was built on. What about you?
Lord, help me to be the person you want me to be. Help me to build upon the gift of faith that you have placed in my heart. Help me to love others as you have loved me. Help me to reflect your gentle kindness to this hard-hearted world. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.