Accountability for Quality of Work

Transcript

GR 1305
10-09-05
Accountability for Quality of Work
1 Corinthians 3:10-15
Gil Rugh


Let me direct your attention to 1 Corinthians 3.  And we are talking about the church of Jesus Christ at Corinth, belongs to Him, because it has been redeemed by Him for Himself.  The church is comprised of all those who have come to trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior, recognizing my sin, recognizing Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin.  I turn from my sin and place my trust in Him, and in that instant of time I am cleansed from my sin and its guilt and its condemnation.  I am made a new creature in Christ and the Spirit of God comes to indwell me.  And I become a member of the body of Christ, which is the church.  As we look at the New Testament, the focus on the church in the Word is on the local church, the church as it is manifested in concrete, tangible ways in certain places. A church such as this church.  This is not all there is to the church, but this is a church, complete as an entity and called by God to manifest His work.  That's the church at Corinth.  They had clearly experienced God's saving grace, and now Paul is writing to exhort them to live lives as God's people, live as God's church, manifesting clearly God's work in their lives.

Paul is concerned for the church at Corinth.  It is a church that is wracked by division and conflict.  We can see not a lot has changed in the 2000 years since Paul wrote this letter.  Division and conflict can be a problem in churches today, even as it was in Paul's day.  And that's why the Spirit of God has directed that this letter be part of our Bibles, so that we, the church today, can learn from it and be careful not to do those things which are dishonoring to the Lord.

Paul has used himself and Apollos as focal points.  The division in the church at Corinth centered around personalities.  Paul, for example, said some of you claim to be followers of Paul, some of you claim to be followers of Apollos.  Now what's the issue here?  Who was Paul and who was Apollos?  The church doesn't belong to Paul, it doesn't belong to Apollos.  The church ultimately is not a result of Paul's work or Apollos' work, it is a result of God's work.  And so the focus ought to be on God and the work that He has accomplished in His Son, Jesus Christ.  And that brings unity and harmony.  As far as we can tell, the issues in the church at Corinth are not doctrinal, not an issue over someone denying the deity of Jesus Christ, someone saying that you can be saved by your good works.  Rather, the divisions at Corinth center around personalities.  Some people liked Paul, some people liked Apollos, some people appreciated Apollos' ministry and the way he had worked with them, some people thought Paul had been more effective.  And all these things, Paul said, are distractions and causes of conflict which ought not to be there.

In verses 5-17 Paul uses two analogies or metaphors to picture the church.  Important we keep before us what the context is.  He's talking about the church, the local church.  In this particular context, it's the church at Corinth.  The first analogy he used was that of the church being a field.  And in the field there are different workers, servants, that the master sent out to do specific tasks.  Some were in the field and they were responsible to sow the seed, some were responsible to water the seed, some would go in at harvest time and cut down the harvest and bring it in.  Paul said, just remember, these are all simply servants doing what they have been assigned to do.  So in verse 5 he had asked the question, what is Apollos?  What is Paul?  Servants, through whom you believed, just servants that became instruments that God used to bring about your salvation.  And servants as each was assigned by the Lord, as the Lord gave to each one.  In other words, God had assigned Paul his responsibilities, God had assigned Apollos his responsibilities.  So why are you honoring these men as though they were what the church was all about.  God is the one causing the growth in the field, verse 6.  And so down in verse 9, the workers belong to God, the field belongs to God, the building belongs to God.  The workers are God's, the church is God's.  Everything belongs to God.

Now you'll note in verse 9, he picks up the analogy he had just used, the fellow workers, Paul and Apollos, are simply workers who serve God.  They belong to God, they are His servants.  The field I've been talking about, that's God's.  You, the church at Corinth, are the field that the servants were working in.  The building belongs to God.  Now he's going to change the metaphor.  Instead of picturing the church as a field in which the servants are working, he's going to use the analogy of a building being constructed, and God assigns workmen to work on the building.  But you understand that just as in the field there was one task, the production of a harvest and God caused the growth, so in the building there is one task, building a building.  So don't get too focused on the individual workmen.

But the emphasis in verses 10-17 is on the accountability of the workmen for the quality of work that they do.  He had alluded to this in the analogy of the field, because he talked about the reward.  Verse 8, “each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.”  The workers in the field, God's servants, doing the task He has assigned them and ministry to the church, will be rewarded according to their labor.  Remember it was according to their labor, not according to the results, because God causes the growth.  So the workers are rewarded according to the faithfulness in labor.  In the building of the building the workmen will be rewarded, not for the building itself, but for the quality of work they do in contributing to the development of the building.  Strong emphasis in this section on the accountability of teachers and leaders in particular in their ministry to the church.  But as will be developed in the rest of Corinthians, later in Corinthians, each believer is gifted by God to contribute in the ministry that will develop the church.  And so they could be in view as well.

When we talk about this building in verses 10-15, is where we're going to focus our attention in our study today. We need to keep in mind we're not talking about the believer's body here individually.  We're talking about the church as the local church, the church at Corinth, for example.  That is the building in view.  We're talking about the workmen and the teaching and leadership that they give in the developing of the building.  Ultimately the building is going to be tested by fired, and that will reveal the quality of the work that has been done.
           Let's look, picking up with verse 10.  Paul starts out by saying, according to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder, I laid the foundation.  Begins by the reminder that my role is a result of God's grace bestowed upon me.  God's grace was given to me.  And that's a reference to God's enabling him to serve in a special capacity as his workman.  Just as, the end of verse 5, the Lord gave to each of the servants his responsibility in working in the field, so in the construction of the building it is God's grace that has given to Paul his particular role.  He will be an apostle, a wise master builder.

Back up to Romans 12, just before 1 Corinthians, Romans 12:3.  And Paul is starting with verse 3 to talk about spiritual gifts, the gifts that the Spirit of God gives to individual believers to enable them to do the work that God intends them to do in serving Him.  And so he says in Romans 12:3, “for through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment.”  Now note this, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.  I want to speak according to the gifts that God has given me by His grace, and I remind you God has allotted to each of you a measure of faith, which is another way of referring to God's grace being given to you to enable you to function and make a contribution to the ministry of His church in the world.

Look at 1 Corinthians 15.  Paul is talking about his role as an apostle. I Corinthians 15:9, “For I am the least of the apostles.”  Verse 10, “but by the grace of God I am what I am.”  Everything I am in service and ministry for the Lord Jesus Christ is a result of God's grace.  I don't deserve to be an apostle, I of all men was least deserving of this privilege, but I am what I am by the grace of God.  Is there any room for Paul to boast and brag?  No, it's by grace and if it's by grace it is not of works, otherwise grace would not be grace.  If what Paul does is a result of God's grace in gifting him, why are people exalting and honoring Paul as though he were someone special by His own doing.  Honor the God who has gifted him and works in and through him.

Now there is an interesting balance in verse 10, and this is going to come out in our analogy of the building.  By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain, but I labored more than all of them.  Yet not I, but the grace of God with me.  I didn't deserve to be an apostle, but I worked harder than anyone to be faithful as an apostle.  Yet, I don't get any credit for that because it was God's grace that enabled me to work for Him.  This is almost a paradox.  And we're going to see in the building, the workmen are going to be rewarded, but all that's done really can be traced back to God's grace.  And yet, it is so crucial that we labor and serve faithfully, because we will be rewarded for that faithfulness that is enabled, if you will, by God's grace.

Back in 1 Corinthians 1, Paul has spoken to the Corinthians about the fact that God's grace had been given to them to enable them to use gifts for the development of the body at Corinth.  1 Corinthians 1:4, “I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus.”  In chapter 3 verse 10 he refers to “the grace of God which was given to me.”  In chapter 1 verse 4 he referred to “the grace of God which was given to you” Corinthians.  Look at verse 7, “so that you are not lacking in any gift. “ So God's grace was given so that they might be given a special ability to function in the way that God desires them to function.  That's true of every single believer.  This will be developed fully when Paul talks about the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14.

But that's what he's talking about when you come to chapter 3 verse 10 it says, “according to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid the foundation”  Paul's responsibility in building the church was to go and lay the foundation.  He's called a wise master builder.  The word translated master builder, compound word, good word, good translation—master builder.  The word is architecto.  Recognize it?  Architecto, I wonder what English word we get from that.  Could it be architect?  It is, and in our day an architect is primarily one who designs and plans the building.  The word is a compound word from the word for a carpenter or a mason, and then the word chief on the front, or leader.  And the idea, wise master builder, and the master builder probably referred to Paul's role as the skilled builder here, the one skilled in the task that God has assigned him in the building of the building.  The word wise, sophos, we saw that used in contrast in chapter 2.  Remember we talked about the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God.  Now Paul by the grace of God that has gifted him is functioning according to the wisdom of God in his role as a master builder.  And his responsibility was to establish the foundation.  I laid the foundation.  That's what God's grace had gifted me to do as a wise master builder.  I laid a foundation.  Paul was the one who came to Corinth and preached the message of Jesus Christ, resulted in the conversion of some.  The church at Corinth was established on the message of Jesus Christ that Paul had preached.

Back up to 1 Corinthians 2:2, “for I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”  I didn't come and preach human wisdom, philosophical speculation, I didn't mix the message of Christ with human wisdom.  I came and preached the person and work of Jesus Christ, and declared Him as the Savior.  That was the foundation for the church, that is the foundation on which the building will be constructed.  Now Paul is going to be talking about the local church at Corinth, he's talking about genuine believers in verses 10-15.  He's talking about workmen who will be rewarded or lose rewards, but all of them are going to be saved and enjoy the glories of heaven.  I came and preached Jesus Christ, I laid the foundation for the church.  It's on this foundation that the building will be constructed.

Now another is building on it, that's not bad.  Paul's role was to lay the foundation.  He saw his prime role as establishing a foundation upon which the church could be constructed.  Another is building on it.  Apollos came, as we noted in a previous study, after Paul had been to Corinth, after he had preached the gospel the church had been established on the foundation of Christ.  And Apollos, then, continued the ministry.  Others are saved and added to the church, the church is brought to further maturity.  That's the picture.

Back up to Romans 15:20, Paul says, “and thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man's foundation.”  That's why Paul hadn't been to Rome yet, someone else had already carried the gospel to Rome.  Paul, in Romans 1, told them he was looking forward to coming for ministry to them, but he tells them here in chapter 15, it wasn't my first priority.  Because he saw his prime responsibility according to what God had gifted him to do, was to go to places where people had never heard about Jesus Christ.  The gospel had not been preached, so he went to places first where they hadn't heard.  He's the foundation layer.  Just like in construction today, there are those in the building trades, their prime responsibility is what?  Go and do foundations, and you go around and you see a foundation has been put in.  And it's waiting, now, for other workmen to come and begin to build on that foundation.  That foundation is the foundation for everything, that's why we call it the foundation, right?  And that determines what the building will be.  You drive by and you see a house foundation, you have an idea in looking at the foundation what they're going to build.  If one of your young children says, I wonder if they'll build a 20-story building there.  You say, no.  They say, how do you know, Dad, there's nothing there but the foundation.  Well, I can tell from the foundation that wouldn't be the kind of foundation you put for that kind of building.  So the structure built will be determined by the kind of foundation.  The foundation is Jesus Christ.

So Paul's ministry was to go and preach Christ, then others come and build on it.  That's good.  Paul understands that is what is to happen.  Now you recognize, again the picture is like the field.  There is only one building being built.  I mean there is no competition.  The one who comes and lays the foundation then doesn't go to battle with those who are going to put the rest of the structure up.  They're all working toward one end, right?  The construction of a building.  I mean, that's it.  The construction of a building is the goal.  Individuals contribute in a variety of ways, but it's for the construction of the building as a whole.

Okay, the key point in the rest of this section is the last part of verse 10, but each man must be careful how he builds on it.  That's what this section is about.  Each man, each individual must be careful how he builds on it.  And that emphasis on each one individually will be carried out through here.  Look down in verse 13, “each man's work will become evident. “ The end of verse 13, “will test the quality of each man's work.”  Remember in the field, verse 8, “each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.”  There will be individual accountability, so each workman on the building is contributing in a particular way, but it's to the overall construction of the church, and each will be accountable, each workman must be careful regarding the quality of his work.

Verse 11, “for no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”  There is only one foundation, so everybody now carrying on a ministry in the church at Corinth is building on the foundation that the Apostle Paul laid—the preaching of the gospel.  Someone else laid the foundation for this local church, I didn't come here and preach the gospel and thus lay the foundation.  I came after the foundation had been laid and the structure was being built.  And my ministry has contributed to that.  That's not in conflict with the one who laid the foundation.  He will be rewarded for the faithfulness of his labor, even though obviously I've gotten more glory or credit because I have been here during the construction of the building.  But it's because of the foundation that was laid that we can be building today.  And the Corinthians needed to understand that.  Paul wasn't working against Apollos.  Paul laid the foundation so the church could be built on it.  He didn't lay a foundation so there could be a foundation.  What would it be like if you drove through a whole development and all there were 340 foundations.  Isn't this wonderful?  Not particularly.  The foundation is for a purpose, to build the structure.  And look at the structure, and it's tied to the foundation.  So that's the picture.

When he says in verse 11, “no man can lay a foundation.” He uses an aorist tense there to speak of the fact of doing something.  And no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid or has been laid.  In other words, the one that Paul established, perfect tense.  I am the one who laid the foundation.  That happened in the past, the results continue on.  The foundation is the same. There is no new foundation to lay for the church at Corinth.  The only issue is how is the building being constructed on that foundation.  For there is no other foundation.  Well, people could lay a different kind of foundation, not preach Jesus Christ, but then it wouldn't be the church of God.  It would be a club, it would be a social organization, it would be some kind of entity with some kind of purpose, but it wouldn't be the church of God.  Because the true church is always on the foundation of the person and work of Jesus Christ.  So Paul says there is no other foundation.  Anyone who comes and ministers in the church at Corinth, don't divide me against them, because I laid the foundation so that the structure could be built.  I'm not opposed to Apollos; Apollos is not opposed to me.  We have one task, build a building.  My part in building the building was the foundation.  His part was to contribute to the structure, someone else's part is to contribute in the structure.  We are all working together.  The goal is to have the building built.

Listen to Isaiah 28:16, “therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation firmly placed.’”  He who believes in it will not be ashamed, will not be disappointed.  Speaking of the coming of Christ to be the foundation for God's redemptive work.  Paul quotes this verse twice in writing to the Romans, Romans 9:33 and Romans 10:11.  Peter quotes it in 1 Peter 2:6.  Jesus Christ is the foundation stone, and it's upon Him that God's redemptive work that will result in the culmination of His plan for the nation Israel is founded.  And it's upon the redemptive work of Jesus Christ the cornerstone that His work in building the church today is found.  He is the cornerstone, the foundation.

All right, now we move, what we build on the foundation.  Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, straw.  Now we have to be careful we don't run down rabbit trails.  When we're looking at a metaphor and an analogy, we want to stay on track.  Otherwise we begin to make metaphors on top of metaphors, and analogies on top of analogies.  And we allegorize scripture.  There are just two kinds of materials here—materials that are precious and enduring, and materials that are worthless and not enduring.  And that's the point.  There is no particular significance in gold, or the silver as silver, or the hay as hay.  The point, and that becomes clear in how he applies it, there are two kinds of materials to be used in this building.  One kind of material is precious and will endure the coming test of fire.  The other kind of material is not worthy or worthwhile, and it is combustible, it will not endure the test of fire.  So the workmen can use one of two kinds of material in their work.

Verse 13, “each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.”  Now note what's going on here.  There is only one foundation.  We're not talking about what the Buddhists do, what the Mormons do, what the Muslims do.  We're talking about what the church of Jesus Christ does, and the workmen in that church, working on that building.  We're talking about believers, particularly in this context, the leaders, the teachers in their ministry.  But what is true of them will be true of every believer making a contribution in the building of the church, as every believer does with his gifts, as he exercises the gift God has given him.  Keep in mind, we're talking about what is built on this foundation, we're talking about the ministry in the church at Corinth, or the ministry that would go on in another church.

Each man's work, you'll note the word work here is singular, not plural, because the work that he does is an entity, a unit.  Not just talking about one particular thing, but the work.  Remember in our building, and I'm reminded by it when I look carefully, we had bricklayers.  We did an addition back here and first of all if I remember correctly the bricks that were fired that we had ordered came and they didn't match the bricks so they had to go back.  Then they started building.  They got up so far and we realized the mortar didn't match the previous mortar, it wasn't being mixed right.  So we stopped them.  Now we didn't have to tear the bricks off, so if you look at the brick on the back of the building you can see where up to a certain point the mortar is a different color.  The work of the workmen was not acceptable.  It's not this particular brick or this particular line of mortar is not acceptable, the work is not acceptable.  The particular material you are using is not of the quality that is to be used.

So that's the picture, the workman here, his work is viewed as an entity, and really he's either working with this kind of material, or this kind of material.  Each man, there's an individual focus here as there was in the field.  Each man's work will become evident, manifest.  Now you note, will become evident.  It may not be clear now, it will be at a future time.  The true quality of my ministry has yet to be tested, the true quality of other people's ministry has yet to be tested.

“For the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire.”  The day refers to the coming judgment day, and that is a day of fiery testing.  That's the point here.  When you talk about the day will test it, you're talking about the day of fiery testing.  And so each man's work will be tested.  The fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.  Believers will stand before Christ at His judgment seat, every single one of us.

Back up to Romans again, Romans 14:10, “why do you judge your brother?  Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt?”  See what's going on in the church at Rome?  Conflict, division, some believers thinking they could sit in judgment of other believers.  Now again, Paul will get into issues where believers are responsible to exercise judgment.  We'll get to chapter 5, particularly of 1 Corinthians, he'll rebuke them for not doing their duty and exercising judgment.  But you know there are certain things that we are not to.  I mean the Romans were divided over what kind of food you eat, what kind of drink you drink.  Forget it.  It's an area of liberty, an area of freedom.  So what are you doing, judging your brother or looking down your nose at him because he doesn't do what you do, or doesn't do what you think ought to be done.  It's not your role.  Look at the end of verse 10, and he's writing to believers in a local church, for we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.  And we often refer to this as the bema seat, because the Greek word here for judgment seat is the Greek word bema, and we carry it over.  “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, every tongue shall give praise to God” (Romans 14:11). So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.  Now there's an area where the shepherds will give an account for the flock, but you understand there is the personal accountability.  So you don't eat the kind of food I think I should eat and everybody should eat, because I eat it, you don't dress the way I do, you don't................  Well, who am I?  You don't belong to me.  You aren't my servant, you're the Lord's.  So you'll note the point, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God, all of us believers.  Each one of us will give an account of himself to God, each one of us believers.

Look over in 2 Corinthians 5:10.  Paul writes in verse 9, he's talking about death and physical death and what that means for the believer and what happens to the believer at physical death.  Then in verse 9 he says, “therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”  Whether I'm on earth or in heaven, I have one ambition, one goal—to please God.  What will be your purpose in heaven?  To please God.  What is your purpose on earth?  To please God.  Paul says he had that as motivation.  “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”  There is a day of judgment coming for the church, for believers.  This judgment will not determine your eternal destiny, because everyone at the bema seat is going to heaven.  This will come out in a moment in 1 Corinthians 3.  The Great White Throne judgment is the judgment where all unbelievers will stand to be judged, Revelation 20. Everyone at the Great White Throne is going to hell, everyone at the bema seat is going to heaven.  The judgment for believers is to determine their rewards, that's what he is talking about in 1 Corinthians 3.

Go to Revelation 22.  Remember this is part of a letter, the whole book of Revelation, that is addressed to the churches, local churches, particularly the seven churches which were found in Asia.  They each had their own message attached at the front in chapters 2-3, but then the letter that we call the book of Revelation is written to the churches.  And it's in the context of the soon return of the Lord.  Revelation 22:7, “behold, I am coming quickly.”  Verse 12, “behold, I am coming quickly.  Verse 20, “yes, I am coming quickly.”  End of verse 10, “the time is near.”  He wants the church to be alert.  In verse 16, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches.  The church is to be alert, to be aware, to be watching.  Look at verse 12, “behold, I am coming quickly, my reward is with me to render to every man according to what he has done”.  Salvation is not by works, but rewards are by works, punishment is by works.  So all the judgments of scripture are by works, but everybody at the bema seat is going to glory and everybody at the Great White Throne is going to hell.  Because salvation is by grace through faith.  But within those eternal destinies, there will be individual judgments exercised.  What is the church to be alert to?  Jesus Christ is returning soon.  And we will be judged by Him and rewarded by Him.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 3.  You know we want to be careful.  Some people get so spiritual they think they're more spiritual than God.  Some believers, and it almost borders on blasphemy, but we think we become more spiritual than God because we say, I don't work for rewards.  Just going to heaven will be enough for me.  You are a big phony.  That is a terribly unscriptural thing to say, when Almighty God, who is the only one who knows, says that the rewards are of great importance and value and you say, I don't care, I don't care if I get any.  There won't be one believer who is at the bema seat who won't be in awe.  And I'm sure we all will have the thought, if only I had known, I would have worked harder, I would have been more faithful.  I mean, I couldn't imagine that this is what God had in mind when He talked about rewards.  There has to be that sense, we're going to be judged for the things done, good or bad.  We're going to be confronted with the loss as well as the gain.  The fact that God doesn't go into details with us, He lays out the importance of it, the significance.

Each man's work is going to be tested, its quality, not its quantity.  We have to be careful.  My church is larger than the vast majority of churches, I know that my work must be better. Has nothing to do with it, has nothing to do with it.  What's tested is not the quantity, it's the quality.  The fire is testing the quality of each man's work. I need to remember that.  What I'm going to be judged on is the quality of my work.  Can I build with gold, silver, precious stones, or wood, hay and straw.  You know you can take these inferior material and maybe make a good looking building.  I had a friend who bought a car one time, great looking car.  It was an old car and he brought it by and it looked like it had come off the showroom.  You know within a year it was a rust bucket, it was just some Bondo held together with some metal that was left over.  Somebody sold him a bill of goods, and when they sanded it all off and painted it, it looked like a new car.  The problem was, it was all inferior materials and it didn't last.  So we need to be careful, and in the context what is Paul talking about?  You know we don't want to use the world's wisdom to build the church on the foundation of Christ and say, look what we've done.  It looks beautiful, and it's bigger and it has more going for it.  But the test is fire, the test will be on the quality.  Was I faithful with the truth of God, did I build with materials consistent with the foundation?  Or did I try to mix that with the wisdom of men so that I would have what?

I watched a program...........  You know, I don't have any manual skills, I couldn't even get the wire out of the trapdoor, but I like to watch building programs.  Maybe I feel safe, I know I'll never be doing any of it so I just watch what others do.  I was watching them building a house in England, and you had to build it according to the way it had been built in the 1500’s.  It was in a preservation area.  So it had to have a thatched roof.  And I said, I wouldn't want a building with a thatched roof.  And then I think, what if they had a fire, what happens to a thatched roof.  Now if they had told me, this house, when it's all built, we're going to torch it.  And whatever is left..........  I think the worst thing you could do is put a thatched roof on, right?  I mean, I don't want a wood shingle roof, either, if there's a chance the house is going to catch fire.  Now here God tells us, we're going to light a fire, the quality is going to be tested by fire.  If you haven't built with quality materials, nothing will be left.

So verses 14-15, “if any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.” You know Paul doesn't go into a discussion of rewards here.  It's enough that God says it.  If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he receives a reward.  What is left?  All my labors, all my toil, all my years of ministry in this church put to the fire.  What is left?  On that I will be rewarded.  If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss.  I don't minimize this doctrine—no matter how you cut it, you'll suffer loss.  But he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.  Here is a person saved by the skin of his teeth.  Amos talked about a brand plucked from the burning.  It just makes it.  You know it would be like somebody comes by there after the judgment and says, you stink like smoke.  I just made it.  Where are your rewards?  It all got burned up.  You mean all your ministry, all your labors, all your preaching, all the teaching, all the..........  It just all got burned up.  Why?  It was hay, it was wood, it didn't stand the test of fire.  I wouldn't want to build with that.  We're talking about now what will be carried through eternity.  And the Corinthians are trying to mix the wisdom of the world with the message of Christ, thinking they're going to build a better building.  Sad.

Listen to how one writer put it.  “If the church is being built with large portions of charm, personality [you know I'm not guilty of that], easy oratory, positive thinking, managerial skills, powerful and emotional experiences and people smarts, but without the repeated passion and Spirit anointed proclamation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, we may be winning more adherents than converts.”  Man comes up with many ideas and many plans.  Well understand we have to build with gold, silver, precious stones.  The only foundation there is to build on is Jesus Christ and the super structure must be built accordingly.  We're not now to come up with plans to help God out, and look what I built.  No, He must be the one who builds His church, I must labor with quality materials.

This ought to be extremely sobering to all who are engaged in ministry.  It is possible to build the church with such shoddy materials that at the last days you have nothing to show for your labor.  We need to understand, God takes the ministry of the church seriously.  The local church is the focus of His work in the world today.  What is going on here is more important than what is going on anywhere else in the world.  Believers get all worked up over who the next Supreme Court justice will be, they get all worked up with what's going on in the social realm and the political realm.  What really matters in God's work in the world today is what is going on in the church.  We will stand to be judged by Him some day on the quality of the materials we have used.  Strong warning to pastors, men who would function with the responsibilities as Paul and Apollos and others had in leading the church, in teaching the church.  We can do great and wonderful things, but if it's with material of wood, hay and straw, what do we have?  The test will be fire, it will test the quality, not the quantity of my ministry.  I need to be careful.  I'm expected to know the quality materials as a workman.  I'm expected to use only the materials that will be consistent with the foundation and continue on with the ministry of the person and work of Jesus Christ and His truth.  Otherwise I may be in the hopeless position of building a beautiful structure out of materials that will someday be turned to ashes.

Paul will continue on with this warning, it gets more serious as he proceeds into coming verses.  This is God's church.  I'm just a workman.  Everyone in his own way is just a workman.  Our responsibility is to be sure that we build with materials of quality that will withstand the test of fire in the presence of Christ.  And what remains will be the basis of the rewards that He will give in glory.

Let's pray together.  Thank You, Lord, for Jesus Christ, the only foundation.  Thank You, Lord, that salvation is by Your grace through faith in Him alone.  Thank You by Your grace that we have come to turn from our sin and trust in Him.  And Lord it is awesome to consider that we're involved in Your work as Your workmen, building Your church in this place.  And some day our work will be put to the test to determine our rewards.  Lord, it is overwhelming to consider that we shall enjoy the glory of heaven and yet on top of that You have planned rewards for us, for our faithful service.  May we take this diligently and recognize that what we are doing will matter through eternity.  Thank You for Your grace in saving us, thank You that this message still saves each and every person who responds and believes in Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.  Amen.