I Corinthians 3:10-15
Since we are Christians, believers in Christ, everything that we do whether in the church, at work, in businesses, or in school, all of these are unto the Lord, and we should do it in the name of the Lord (Col. 3:17). Since what we do is unto the Lord, we must be careful enough to check it out whether our works counts or not! How should I know? How should you know? Or how should we know?
In our passage today the Scripture has something to say about it. Some clues were given to us. Let us discover them. In 1 Cor. 3:10 says, “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 on how he builds on it.”
The warning in verse ten was the first clue given to us, “Be careful on how he/she build on it.” The foundation laid before us was only one, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Now what kind of foundation is he? That leads us to the second clue.
The second clue is that Jesus is the foundation of all of our “belief system-salvation by faith alone, by grace apart from works of the law, etc.,” in which we based all of our works and practices (See verse 11). And that belief system should be found in Christ’s very own words – the Word of God. Now to all Christians/believers of Jesus Christ, everything that we do at the church, at home, at school, at business, are being built upon one foundation. There is an implication to that-and that will lead us to the third one.
The third clue is this: all of our works on this foundation will inevitably fall in one of the two groups or category of works namely, the “GOLD-SILVER-PRECIOUS STONES” and the “WOOD-HAY-STABLE” group (See verse 12). How should we know if our work will fall on one group or another? That will lead us to the fourth one.
The fourth clue is that all of man’s work will go through the test in due time. According to verse 13, “each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because the fire will reveal it, and the same fire will qualify each man’s work.” Now the result of that testing will lead us to the final clue.
The last clue is that, if any man’s work on this foundation remains, then it belongs to the first group-“GOLD-SILVER-PRECIOUS STONE.” These kinds of materials stand the test of fire, and if your work stands the test of fire, then you receive a reward. It means your work counts – it’s genuine, it’s real, and it’s acceptable in the sight of God (See verse 14). Now if your work was consumed by fire or was burned up, then that kind of work belongs to the second group, “ “WOOD-HAY-STABLE” materials. These kinds of things don’t stand the test of fire. It means that the type of work that you have doesn’t pass the standard and will not count. It’s not genuine, and therefore, not acceptable in the sight of God (See verse 15). Any person in this category suffers the loss of rewards.
The testing is how we can tell whether our works counts or not. But there is another important thing on this matter-we can only verify this on the day of reckoning, when we face our God. Therefore, while we are doing our work here on earth, we must conduct our pre-testing. How? (See the second part of this)
