Works Burning Up
Works Burning Up
1 Corinthians 3:10–15 (NASB 2020)
10 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 person must be careful how he builds on it.
11 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,
13 each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work (or what kind of work it is).
14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire.
Paul wrote this to the church in Corinth. They were having a lot of trouble. There were arguments about whose teaching should be followed, who baptized whom, and a host of other things such as overeating, getting drunk, and passing out while supposedly sharing in “the Lord’s Supper.”
Paul says that he has laid the foundation of Jesus Christ. The good news about who Jesus is and what He has done is the stone upon which the Church is built. (see Matthew 16:18) This is the Gospel of the grace of God.
Paul is saying that anyone who wants to build, or flesh out, the day-to-day ramifications of the Gospel needs to do it based on the foundational principle that it is Jesus and nothing else.
He is saying that in the end, works of the flesh (things we do to try to justify ourselves or prove our righteousness) and teaching that mixes law and grace (which is fleshly and worldly teaching and not the Gospel), will be shown for what it is. It will amount to nothing. On the other hand, things we do by dependence and trust in Jesus, teaching that does not adulterate the message of grace, will be of value.
He is speaking to the believers here, and he makes it clear that fleshly behavior and even fleshly teaching is not going to impact their salvation. Nevertheless, there are rewards to be obtained by walking according to the Spirit rather than according to the flesh. We will suffer loss of those rewards whenever we try to live in our own power.
For example, if I get thinking that the work I do in this ministry is up to me, I will begin to feel stress, dread, and worry. On the other hand, if I keep my focus on Christ and rely upon Him to be guiding me in what I do and to produce whatever results may come of it, I may see evidence that I am participating in some wonderful things Father is doing in others.
As believers we all share in the inheritance, our reward, which is eternal life, and Jesus Christ Himself. Ultimately, He is our reward. That doesn’t change at all based on our attitudes and actions.
