Do you like real estate? I love to look at houses, both in person and online. Back when we were actually building homes in this country, especially when Hubster and I were looking for a home, we loved to walk through homes under construction. Now, I like to roam around Zillow.com and see what's out there, how much folks are asking, etc. I love to build homes, although it is an awful headache. Hubster and I have been privileged to build 2 homes together, and we are still married! :)
Well, enough of that. The reason I went off on that tangent has to do with today's passage, 1 Cor. 3:9-15 (Phillips translation) - -
9 In this work, we work with God, and that means that you are a field under God’s cultivation, or, if you like, a house being built to his plan.
10-15 I, like an architect who knows his job, by the grace God has given me, lay the foundation; someone else builds upon it. I only say this, let the builder be careful how he builds! The foundation is laid already, and no one can lay another, for it is Jesus Christ himself. But any man who builds on the foundation using as his material gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or stubble, must know that each man’s work will one day be shown for what it is. The day will show it plainly enough, for the day will arise in a blaze of fire, and that fire will prove the nature of each man’s work. If the work that the man has built upon the foundation will stand this test, he will be rewarded. But if a man’s work be destroyed under the test, he loses it all. He personally will be safe, though rather like a man rescued from a fire.
1. Jesus Christ must be the foundation of all. If He is not Savior and Lord, if that decision has not been made to accept Him, then all "works" (good deeds) are meaningless in view of eternity. This is the most important point of all.
2. Our eternal salvation is not dependent on our good works. Paul makes this plain in verse 15 (and elsewhere). We can accept Christ as Savior and do little to advance His kingdom, or even accept Him on our deathbeds (provided we receive that opportunity; no one is guaranteed it), passing on into eternity with little to show for our Christian walks (think "not resplendent" here). Such folks will enter Heaven, but with few eternal "jewels". They'll be smellin' like smoke, Y'all...
3. Motivation matters. If a person is working "for the Lord", yet really only doing so to please him/herself (for his or her own glory), those accomplishments won't stand the test of "fire" mentioned in this passage.
4. So, why "work" at all? If doing good deeds is not a factor in earning our own salvation, why bother? Frankly, if a "Christian" has to ask that question, I have to wonder if he/she knows Christ at all, if the heart has even been converted/transformed by His saving grace. Let me quote Tchividjian1 :
The Gospel alone liberates us to live a life of scandalous generosity, unrestrained sacrifice, uncommon valor and unbounded courage. This is the difference between approaching all of life from salvation and approaching all of life for salvation; it's the difference between approaching life from our acceptance, and not for our acceptance; from love not for love. The acceptance {by God} ... cannot be rescinded, thank God!
Those who have truly been redeemed (purchased) by Jesus Christ's blood understand that they are FOREVER loved, accepted and saved. Nothing more can be done (worked) to either add to that or subtract from it. Those who have had this irrevocable transformation happen in their spirits approach life differently from every other type of person on the planet. They "chomp at the bit" to serve Jesus, because they love Him. They long to do "good works" as a love offering to Him. They don't do this so that they will gain God's approval. In Jesus Christ, they already have it!
Have you ever looked for your sunglasses only to realize that they were on the top of your head the whole time? That's the way it is with God's grace. Sometimes, we act as if we have to "add to" our salvation, or exhaust ourselves "staying in God's good graces". We look and search for ways to achieve significance, when everything has been done for us. The sunglasses were there on your head the whole time! You already possessed them.
When as Christians we truly take hold of this crucial truth, it will revolutionize our lives. Put on your "Son-glasses", Christian. Can you see it? Rejoice in the beautiful, secure knowledge of what He has done for you; and then, live out your life as a love offering to Him. Get busy "building", resplendent sons and daughters!
Father, I still cannot even conceive of the depths of Your mercy, the inexhaustible riches of Your amazing grace! No wonder we sing about Your attributes in our worship. You are so far "beyond me", yet You love me and want to draw me ever closer to Your heart. Stupefying! I am so grateful that I don't have to "earn" Your love. Your supernatural acceptance makes me want to serve You with all that is in me, to glorify You with all the gifts You've given, to imitate Jesus Christ in everything. Thank you for forgiving me when I fall short, forgetting that my Son-glasses were on my head all along. In Jesus' name, amen.
Source:
One-Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World, by Tullian Tchividjian, 2013. (chapter 9)
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