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The Reward Ceremony before Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)
13 Plays16 days ago
If you enjoy the award ceremonies of the Olympics, or the Academy Awards in filmmaking, the Grammy Awards in music, the Emmy Awards for television, The Tony Awards for Broadway, etc, then you will love the first nine verses of the third chapter of First Corinthians as they introduce us to the context for the award ceremony of the ages presented in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, the one that will take place in front of the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10-12).
From 1 Corinthians 2:12-3:4, we are reminded that congregations usually have a mix of three different levels of devotion to the Lord: the natural man (2:14), the spiritual man (2:13, 15; 3:1) and the carnal man (3:1-4). Often times all three types are “serving” the Lord.
The church in Corinth was heavy with carnal Christians, making it clear why they divided up over which preachers they liked best. Paul, however, shifts the discussion in verses 5-9 to the Lord not man. Pastors are there on God’s assignments (v. 5) as He causes growth (vs. 6-7) in His service (vs. 8-9). Paul mentions His rewards to His servants in verse 8 with these words, “…and each will receive his wages according to his labor.” Paul will take the next six verses (vs. 10-15) to explain how these rewards will be given by Christ and on what basis or criteria.
Motivation towards Labor for the Lord, 3:10
Illustration of Labor for the Lord, 3:10
Maturation for Labor in the Lord, 3:10
Foundation when Laboring for the Lord, 3:10-11
Edification in Laboring for the Lord, 3:10, 12
Evaluation of Labor for the Lord, 3:13
Remuneration for Labor for the Lord, 3:14
Salvation is not Labor for the Lord, 3:15
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Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations
Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam Street
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Prayer
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message.
00:00:22
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If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, fbccolumbustx.org.
Focus on 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
00:00:32
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And now, take your copy of God's timeless Word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome to Growing Grace. So glad that you're listening today, whether you're listening to a broadcast or a podcast. I'm just glad that you're with us.
Spiritual Rewards and Devotion Levels
00:00:52
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I want to be talking today from 1 Corinthians 3, verses 10 through 15, the reward ceremony before Christ.
00:01:01
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You know, if you enjoy the award ceremonies, let's say of the Olympics, or the Academy Awards in filmmaking, the Grammy Awards in music, the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards,
00:01:13
Speaker
for Broadway, and on and on we could go, then you will love the first nine verses of the third chapter of 1 Corinthians as they introduce us to the context for the award ceremony of the ages presented in 1 Corinthians 3, 10 through 15.
00:01:32
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and That's the one that's going to take place in front of the judgment seat of Christ, according to Romans 14, 10 through 12.
Carnal Christians and True Focus
00:01:39
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ten through twelve You know, ah those initial verses there at the beginning of this chapter and the end of chapter two, ah we're reminded that congregations usually have a mix of three different levels of devotion to the Lord.
00:01:56
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There are some that are described as the natural man. They don't understand the things of the Spirit. So it's all kind of confusing to them because they don't yet have a personal relationship with Christ.
00:02:09
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You've got others called the spiritual man, not because they're better than anyone, but they're growing. They're trying to walk with God. They're listening really hard to what the Holy Spirit is saying through the Word of God.
00:02:22
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But then you've got others that are called the carnal man. And these are all divided up. They can't get along. They're trying to do the Christian life in the flesh. So they're up and they're down. They're up and they're down.
00:02:35
Speaker
But what's happening is oftentimes all three types in any given church, anywhere in the world, they're all trying to serve the Lord. So the church in Corinth was heavy with carnal Christians, making it clear why they divided up over which preachers they liked best.
00:02:56
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Paul, however, shifts the discussion as we go down through the chapter in verses 5 and 9 to the Lord, not man.
Labor and Rewards Analogy
00:03:05
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You see, pastors are there, according to what Paul wrote, on God's assignment.
00:03:10
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He is the one that causes the growth. It is also him and his service that they're involved in. And so Paul mentions his rewards, God's rewards to God's servants in verse eight.
00:03:24
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And here's the way he sets it up that we're about to read verses 10 through 15. In verse eight, he says, "'And each will receive his wages.'" his wages according to his labor.
00:03:38
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Paul will take the next six verses, verses 10 through 15, to explain how these rewards will be given by Christ and on what basis or what criteria.
00:03:51
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For example, let's say a company. How does a company decide the allocations and what factors will they use whenever they're going to decide, okay, this one's going to be paid this amount and this one that amount?
00:04:04
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Well, I found a bunch of things like job performance, benchmarking, what are others receiving? What's the internal equity? How does what I pay this one compared to what I'm paying that one?
00:04:16
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Sometimes it's based on skill, other times education, experience, cost of living in a particular area, perhaps the company size, the proportion of available financial resources, or maybe industry standards.
00:04:31
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Any and all of those things may be a part of deciding how much someone is to receive for a salary, but what about this whole idea of God giving his servants rewards.
00:04:45
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Maybe this is totally new for you. So i want to invite you to track with the Lord as he speaks to us from 1 Corinthians 3, verses 10 through 15.
Motivations for Spiritual Labor
00:04:56
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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.
00:05:08
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Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
00:05:20
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Now, if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious as stones, wood, hay, straw, 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 is done.
00:05:42
Speaker
If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." Let's consider this whole idea of the awards or reward ceremony that will take place before the Lord.
00:06:08
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The first thing we need to know is what's the right motivation? The right motivation for somebody saying, I want to use my skills, my gifts, my abilities to labor for the Lord.
00:06:20
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What is a good motivation towards labor for the Lord? Well, I like the way that Paul begins this whole discussion. He says, according to the grace of God given to me.
00:06:32
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Oh, I like that. I like that because I think that our labor for the Lord should be nothing more than an overflow of appreciation. It shouldn't be, let's say, an undertow of obligation as much as it is, look, God has been so good to me and out of his goodness to me, i want to serve him.
00:06:54
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I think that God's grace is a much better motive for service than, let's say, well, how about numbers? Or how about the approval of other people? You know, your motivation is going to be up and down all your life if you go by those things.
00:07:10
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But if you go by the goodness of God, how he has loved you in Christ, you would say, Lord, I want to serve you until my very last breath.
Foundations in Faith
00:07:20
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I love that.
00:07:21
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That is the best motivation toward labor for the Lord. But what is labor for the Lord? How would you describe it? what is it What could it be compared to?
00:07:33
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Well, we want we don't have to guess because Paul gives us a metaphor, a simile. And he says, according to the grace of God given to me, Like, ah that's our pointer right there.
00:07:46
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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.
00:07:57
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It's interesting, you know, because in the previous verses, he was comparing God's work, let's say to agricultural type work, but now he's shifting and moving more into architectural type of work.
00:08:11
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And so I thought, that's interesting. Paul and and just the Holy Spirit, I think the Holy Spirit longs for us to understand what what is written in the Bible.
00:08:22
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And so we have this wonderful simile of comparing it to building. But I don't want you to get lost in that comparison because the illustration is only meant to cast light on the content.
00:08:36
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And the content is serving the Lord. You know, by the way, Since I used to do house churches in Japan, I just want to remind you that church buildings were not built until the fourth century.
00:08:50
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And so just think of how long we waited for all of those kind of things to come. i mean, I enjoy the building that we have now here in Columbus. It's wonderful.
00:09:01
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But you know what? The church is people. And so I think, thank you, God, that you called us to labor for the Lord in building people.
00:09:12
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A congregation is not the building. A congregation is the people. So let's go to the third principle when he uses that word, skilled master builder.
00:09:26
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You know, a skilled master builder,
00:09:30
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is one who is wise. Some translations use the word wise. It's the word Sophia or Sophos. You know, back when he was talking about the natural, the carnal, the spiritual, it's all propelled by spiritual growth.
00:09:47
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That's why many times in scripture, we're encouraged to grow first and then serve. The scope of our ministry, the scope of God's blessing upon our ministry, it's all going to hinge on our maturation, our maturation for labor in the Lord.
00:10:06
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So I recommend just grow in the Lord. Get to know Him. Serve Him out of that overflow of God's grace. What has God called you to do?
Evaluation of Spiritual Work
00:10:16
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How can you join with Him in building up the body of Christ?
00:10:22
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But if you're going to get involved in ministry, even if it's music ministry, even if it's a preaching ministry, a teaching ministry, a serving ministry, I want to remind you that there's really only one foundation when laboring for the Lord.
00:10:37
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He makes it clear. He said, there's no other foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Reminds me so much of what you know Peter said in Acts 4.12.
00:10:50
Speaker
There's salvation in no one else other than the Lord. Someone who wrote a poem that said, you may build great cathedrals, large or small. You may build skyscrapers, grand and tall.
00:11:02
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You may conquer all the failures of your past. but only what you do for Christ will last. You know, there's like a provision of one acceptable approved foundation.
00:11:16
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That's Christ. But notice that there's a prohibition of other unacceptable, inadequate foundations. So just make sure that everything you're doing is based on Christ and for him, and you're gonna enjoy serving the Lord.
00:11:35
Speaker
But as we are building, you know, he uses that word a lot, doesn't he? Let me review some of the ways he uses it as I read verses 10 and 12. And someone else is building upon it.
00:11:47
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Let each one take care how he builds upon it. Now, if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, Did you know that the word build there is the same word for edify? Because sometimes that word is translated as edify.
00:12:06
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Other times it's translated as build. Build. but it means that you're going to build upon something. It's epi and okodomeo, which okodomeo is to build a house.
00:12:20
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But epi means, what gonna build on that house? And so that's the idea. So when he gives these possible comparisons on how we might serve the Lord, he says, are you gonna build with gold, silver, precious stones?
00:12:35
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Or are you gonna build with wood, hay, straw? You see, there are worthy materials and there are worthless materials. And we need to say, God, help me build with worthy materials where I'm motivated with the right kind of motivation.
00:12:51
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where I'm serving you in an alignment with the word of God, where I'm trying to point other people to Christ. Those are worthy, but worthless ones would be, wanna make sure I get my needs met. I wanna make sure I get my preference met, those kinds of things. That's why he tells us,
00:13:10
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Quite clearly in verse 10, take care. He says, take care how you build. So we have to be very careful as we're building the people of God, that we build with the right kind of building materials.
00:13:25
Speaker
So that's the edification in laboring for the Lord. But are you aware that verse 13 teaches there's going to be an evaluation of labor for the Lord?
00:13:36
Speaker
Listen to verse 13 carefully. 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, what sort of quality is the idea, what sort of work each one has done.
00:13:56
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Did you notice that the evaluation is specific? Yeah, maybe you think, well, nobody's noticing what I do for God. Oh, yes, they are. You know, how do I know that?
00:14:08
Speaker
Because twice it says here in verse 13,
Rewards vs. Salvation
00:14:12
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each one's work, each one, what each one has done. Wow, you know, God's, he's taking notes up there.
00:14:20
Speaker
Your work is gonna be noticed someday by him if by no one else. But also want you to know that Paul hints that the evaluation, oh, it's scheduled.
00:14:30
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It's scheduled. Did you see that it's called for the day? Whoa, one day each one's work will become manifest for the day. We'll disclose it and day is capitalized.
00:14:43
Speaker
It's the same idea in Hebrews 10, 24 and 25. you know We need to encourage one another. We need to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. And it says, and all the more as you see the day, same idea there, you know coming, it's getting closer.
00:15:02
Speaker
So one day we're gonna stand before God And we have to say, Lord, I know that's on your ah calendar for me. It's on your appointment book for me. And so I want to be ready for it.
00:15:14
Speaker
I want to work for you now. I want to serve you now with honor so that I can bring you honor later when I'm in your presence. But did you notice how the evaluation is not only scheduled and specific, but it's rather sweeping, don't you think?
00:15:30
Speaker
Listen to the words that the Holy Spirit gave Paul when he was describing that day and this evaluation. Each one's work will become manifest for the day will disclose it.
00:15:43
Speaker
because it will be revealed by fire. You see, all of those are like these sweeping words that would say, you know what? It's going to be so obvious when we stand in God's presence.
00:15:57
Speaker
And so we want to bring him honor and we we we need to prepare to bring him honor. But I also want you to see that there is a sifting He says that this fire is going to test what sort of work each one has done.
00:16:15
Speaker
oh okay. So now we're talking about quality control. The evaluation is sifting. You see, God's going to say, why did you do that, Victor? Why did you teach that class?
00:16:27
Speaker
Why did you give that sermon? Did you give people what I wanted or what you wanted? Were you teaching the word of God? I think that's very important. So we're going to face the evaluation for our labor for the Lord.
00:16:43
Speaker
But then it talks about a remuneration where we are actually paid for the labor that we do for the Lord. Here's the way it puts it in verse 14.
00:16:53
Speaker
If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. The word reward there in the Greek is mistos.
00:17:07
Speaker
It means to pay what is due for labor performed. That's the word for reward that is mentioned here. Do you know that word is mentioned several times?
00:17:19
Speaker
In the New Testament, and for example, in the Gospel of Matthew, it is mentioned nine times. Here in this letter to Corinthians, to first in 1 Corinthians, it's mentioned one, two, three, four, four times.
00:17:35
Speaker
But just know that God says his rewards, they're going to be a reality, but there's some things we need to remember about the rewards. The first thing is God's rewards are conditional.
00:17:49
Speaker
See, his salvation is unconditional. His love, his grace, unconditional. So that's so wonderful whenever we turn from our sin, put our faith in Christ, that God's salvation, his love, his grace every single day, it's unconditional.
00:18:06
Speaker
You don't have to work hard to earn God's favor. But notice that he puts at the beginning of verse 14, that little word, yeah if, if.
00:18:17
Speaker
the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. So definitely the rewards are conditional, the word if, but also I think the rewards are going to be in line with biblical principles.
00:18:33
Speaker
And that's where he uses the word survives. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, survives what? Survives the testing by fire.
00:18:44
Speaker
Then he says, he will receive a reward. Let me slow it down one more time so you understand how personal this is. He will receive a reward.
00:18:56
Speaker
Not they We're not talking here about rewards for a whole church full of people. We're not talking about rewards that a whole family is going to receive from God.
00:19:07
Speaker
When we stand before Jesus Christ at the judgment seat of Christ, when we stand there, the Lord's going to say, I've seen what you have done. And I want you to know I've appreciated all that you've done.
00:19:22
Speaker
And so the rewards will be conditional, yes. They'll be based on biblical principles, yes.
Crowns for Faithfulness
00:19:28
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But they'll also be very personal when he says he will receive a reward.
00:19:35
Speaker
You know, um a lot of Bible scholars, I've heard this many times, and so I can give you the verses here real quickly, but did you know that there are different kinds of crowns that are promised to to New Testament believers?
00:19:50
Speaker
Throughout the New Testament, there are these five different crowns that are promised. For example, to those who are faithful to Christ, He says in 1 Corinthians 9.25, there's a certain kind of crown crown that we're going to receive.
00:20:05
Speaker
If we have said no to some temptation and we have overcome temptation, then James 1.25 promises another kind of crown.
00:20:18
Speaker
So that's another one. So faithfulness gets one kind of crown, overcoming sin and temptation, That's another kind of crown. And then 1 Thessalonians 2.19 says there's a crown for those who win souls, for those who lead other people to Christ.
00:20:34
Speaker
And so wouldn't that be wonderful to receive kind of recognition from God because you've introduced other people to His Son, Jesus Christ. But then 2 Timothy 4.8 speaks of those who anticipate his return.
00:20:54
Speaker
If we anticipate the return of Christ, then there's going to be another recognition, another reward, if you will, a crown it's called. But then there's a crown, of course, for those who shepherd, 1 Peter 5, 4.
00:21:08
Speaker
So those are five different kinds of crowns or rewards that the Lord is going to say, I've seen your work for me, and now I want to give you a reward that because you've honored me with your life, with your skills, your talents, with your treasures.
00:21:26
Speaker
You've honored me with what you have done on this earth. So let me close with one more thing that I think really needs clarification because it is so possible for people to get this wrong.
00:21:40
Speaker
And I want you to get it right. And it's this whole idea of ah salvation. Do we work for salvation? do Or are we saved by grace through faith?
00:21:52
Speaker
Well, Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 through 9 makes it quite clear that we are saved by grace through faith, and it makes it so clear it's not based on our works.
00:22:05
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Here's what he says in Ephesians 2, 8 through 10. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, but It is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
00:22:31
Speaker
And so I wanted you to understand this principle that we are saved by grace, but we are created for these good works that we're going to do, Right.
00:22:44
Speaker
And so when you come to this passage about the awards or reward ceremony that God is going to have out there in in the future for each one of us, it says, if anyone's work is burned up.
00:22:59
Speaker
So all that you did, let's say it didn't pass the test. Let's say it was tainted. Like there was selfish motives in there. There was some other reason that you were serving. You weren't serving to obey God and to honor him.
00:23:13
Speaker
It wasn't for God's glory. It was for you. Well, he says, if anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss. So it's all gone. It's like that fire tested all that you laid down there and it was wood, hay, and straw.
00:23:29
Speaker
It all burned up. But listen what he says next. though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Isn't that wonderful?
00:23:41
Speaker
Yes. Yes, my friend. Our works will be tested by the fire. but our soul is saved by the blood.
00:23:54
Speaker
I'm so grateful because we don't know until we get there and our works are tested, whether they were for the right motives and done the right way and and all of those kinds things.
Gratitude and Service
00:24:08
Speaker
But even if all that I've done in my whole life, even if it all burns up, God is promising me here, God is promising you there, that still you will be saved, not based on your work, because they all burned up, right?
00:24:26
Speaker
He's going to still save you based on the perfect work of Jesus Christ on that cross. And the reason it's perfect is because Jesus never sinned.
00:24:39
Speaker
He never disobeyed God. And so the sinless perfection of Christ, when he completely obeyed the Father in everything, every different area of life, he completely obeyed God.
00:24:54
Speaker
So when he died on the cross, as that substitute for our sins, I want you to know that Jesus was saying to us when he said, it is finished, he meant it.
00:25:08
Speaker
It's finished. You and I do not have to work for our salvation, but once we trust in his finished work, then we're going to be so grateful for that grace and for that salvation, for that wonderful work of Christ in us.
00:25:26
Speaker
We're going to say, I want to serve him. I want to honor him. I want to live for Christ and I want to do something. I want to make a difference for this one who laid down his life for me.
00:25:38
Speaker
And so I thought, you know what? If I don't say anything else loud and clear at the end of this message, I wanted to say this eighth principle that I see represented here in these wonderful verses about the judgment seat of Christ.
00:25:53
Speaker
And that is salvation, salvation, It's not labor for the Lord because he already did it. He already finished it. His work was perfect and there's nothing else that we can add to it.
00:26:07
Speaker
And so I'm so grateful that our salvation is based upon his finished work. So let me review just so we got it all in our our minds and our hearts so that you can see the big picture of this wonderful reward ceremony that will take place before Christ.
00:26:25
Speaker
Remember what we said the motivation was? Grace, the grace of God. God loved me. God has been so good to me, and it was unconditional. And out of that, I want to labor for him. I want to honor him.
00:26:41
Speaker
But remember the illustration that the Holy Spirit gave the Apostle Paul? At first, he was talking about you know the body of Christ being like a field, right? But then he switched and said, no, the body of Christ is more like, well, a building.
00:26:56
Speaker
And so we're building people. We're building disciples. We're building future laborers who are going to help us to build that kingdom of God.
Review and Principles
00:27:06
Speaker
That's the illustration of labor for the Lord.
00:27:10
Speaker
But we also pointed out that if we're going to be the most effective worker we can be, we first need to grow. And that's why we don't need to rush that thing. We need to say, Lord, help me to be a wise master builder, a skilled builder so that I can be used by you.
00:27:29
Speaker
But we need to remember the foundation. You know, the word of God makes it clear that there's only one foundation. You can't lay a foundation of your own works.
00:27:41
Speaker
It's not all of our church traditions, as wonderful as some of those may be. We need to say, no, not church tradition, not my work. It's his work. It's what Jesus did for me. That's the foundation.
00:27:54
Speaker
And that's why I serve him. But as I serve him, I want to build people up. I want to use worthy materials that will help them be more like Christ.
00:28:06
Speaker
Because I know that there's coming an evaluation of the labor that is done for the Lord. That's what verse 13 was all about. It'll be specific. It's going to be scheduled sweeping and sifting, but we need to say, God, help me.
00:28:22
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And if we have works that stand the test of fire, then God says, you know what? You will they ah reimbursed you'll be You will receive a remuneration for that labor that you did for the Lord.
00:28:38
Speaker
But just don't forget, salvation, that's not our labor for the Lord. That's his labor for our souls. Wow, what a wonderful passage. 1 Corinthians 3, verses 10 through 15. Why don't you visit it again sometime and let it really sink in what he's trying to say.
00:28:58
Speaker
Let's pray together. Lord, I thank you so much for all the servants that are scattered out everywhere serving the Lord. Help us all serve you with the right motives. Help us serve you in the right way because, Lord, you're worthy.
00:29:12
Speaker
You're worthy of our best. You're not worthy of just throwing things together. You're worthy of us giving everything the kingdom of God, the very best that we have. So thank you for all your gifts, all the abilities and all that you have blessed us with.
00:29:27
Speaker
And so help us to serve you with honor.
Closing Prayer and Encouragement
00:29:30
Speaker
It's in Jesus name that we pray. Amen. Well, thank you so much, friend, for listening to Growing Grace. I pray that you are blessed today.
00:29:39
Speaker
And so I pray that you will also find your way to serve the Lord and make sure that it matches what God has said in his word. God bless.
00:29:52
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.