Our Works Judged

In an earlier post, I pointed out that there were some Christians in the church in Corinth who had convinced themselves that they were spiritual when in reality they were acting lost people. Because of their self-centered attitude the church was divided and they had lost sight of their mission. Paul's solution to their selfishness was for them to make much of God!

In 1 Corinthians 3:10-17, the apostle Paul uses the analogy of a building to remind them that there will come a time when our works will be judged by God.

1 Corinthians 3:10–17 (ESV) -- According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. ¹¹ For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³ each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴ If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. ¹⁶ Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

As God's workers we are called to build God's church upon the foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the passage above we are reminded that the way that we build will be judged by God. Here Paul gives us three warnings.

1. We need to be careful how we BUILD

Paul reminds us that all true building of the church must be in harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ. To build upon another foundation is to build on a false foundation. 

The warning that Paul gives us in verse 10 is very clear! "Let each one take care how he builds upon it." Every believer has a part in the building of God's church and each should be careful how he builds. In 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul warns Timothy, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

2. We need to remember that our work will be TESTED

In verse 12, Paul lists six types of building material that remind us that all of our work in building the church falls in to one of two categories: perishable, or imperishable.

In verse 13, we are reminded that the true value of our work will not be revealed until the Day of Judgment.

• On that Day the fire of judgment will reveal the kind of building material that we used. It will even reveal the true motives of our hearts.
• On that Day the fire of judgment will also test the quality of our work. Did we give God our best or did we give Him our leftovers?

In verses 14-15, we find that the testing of our work will determine our rewards.

• If the work survives, the worker will receive a reward.
• If the work is destroyed, then the worker watches as all that he has invested his life in building is suddenly swept away. He is saved, but just in the nick of time.

3. We need to be warned. Those who harm God's church will be DESTROYED

In verse 16, Paul reminds us that the church is God's temple and His Spirit dwells in her. In chapter 6, Paul tells us that we as believers are the temple of the Holy Spirit, but here in chapter 3, the point is that the believers gathered together as the church are also the dwelling place of His Spirit. 

In verse 17, Paul takes the warnings of verse 10 and verse 15 to another level. He says that for those who seek to cause division and destruction to God's church -- can expect that God's wrath will destroy them. 

The point is not that the believer who attacks the church will lose their salvation. It is that God in His wrath will destroy their earthly bodies. In Paul's discussion of the Lord's Supper in chapter 11, he addresses those who are causing division in the church and taking the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner. In 1 Corinthians 11:29-30 Paul says, "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰ That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died."

The greatest need in the church of America today is for her to recapture her vision of what she is by God's grace. She is the temple of God and she is to reveal Him to the community in which God has placed her.

So what is our responsibility?

1. Let us commit to build careful and faithfully, knowing that one day our craftsmanship will be put to the test!
2. Let us make sure that we are not a source of division and destruction in the Lord's church!
3. If we aren't connected to a local body of believers, let us find a church in which we will commit to be faithful workers, and let us get after it!