We Are The Builders – Sermon 23 June, 2013

We Are The Builders
John 15:14-22 1 Cor. 3:1-17

Charles Spurgeon, the best known British Baptist preacher of the 19^th century have said, “Ask yourself, have I written in the snow?” In other words is what I have built going to last for eternity or not.

During the years we live, we build up our lives. We follow our dreams, emotions, hearts and visions. We try to succeed, to build a home; to make a family, have a good career, or a successful business. But we have to consider how we build our lives today.

There will come a day, Paul says, when all “our work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work” (v.13). The gold, silver, and precious stones will endure while the wood, hay, and straw will decay.

Remember that Paul was speaking to a group of believers; he was speaking to the Christian community in Corinth. According to him, although they believed and trusted Christ, they were immature and were divided into different groups. Some were following Paul and others Apollos. Paul appealed to them on the fact that they were all believers in Jesus Christ and urged them to put aside their differences and do the task that they were called to do.

He says, “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task”.

Paul, Apollos, Peter and all the disciples were doing the same job, but just in a different way. They all were preaching the same Christ, and were building the church on the same foundation. In reality only Christ had changed them and gave them a new life. Through the preaching of the disciples, they were anchored in Christ.

In this sense we are all builders in our own right. But the important issue is the material we are using to construct the building:  gold, silver and costly stones, or wood, hay and straw?

Once we are saved in Christ we are expected to produce works that are similar to gold, silver and costly stones. Or we will end up with wood, hay, straw if we live a careless and unfruitful life. As Christians we are to live for Him.

It is clear from our passage that apostle Paul noticed the Corinthians were not building right – they were living carelessly, not maturing and had worldly thoughts and pride. Knowing this, he had to remind them of the coming judgement – where they would be held accountable and judged based on what they had done. And as a result either they will receive rewards or lose them.

Paul says in 3:10 “But each one should be careful how he builds.” We should act wisely and put our lives into good use for God’s work. It is our choice and we have to choose wisely and do what is right.

According to Paul, there will be two groups of believers before the judgment seat of Christ – those who will receive a reward for faithfulness and others who will be condemned for not doing the task put before them. Paul uses a contrasting picture to describe his thoughts. A group who build on the foundation with gold, silver and costly stones and the other who build on the same foundation, but with wood, hay and straw.

According to Paul, both of them are building on the same foundation, but the structure is different.

So how can we build our Christian lives?

Three basic and important things:

1.    We have to invest in what is spiritual

Notice the first group – gold, silver and costly stones – are works of God. These are created and placed here by God. They are not the result of growth or some kind of development. These are lasting works of God. These refer to spiritual things such as our new life in Christ, our salvation and eternal life.

But notice the products of the second group – wood, hay and straw – they come through man’s work. They are not created in the form in which they appear, but are the result of a process of growth, development and improvement.
They will not last long.

2.    We have to invest in what is valuable

Gold, silver and costly stones are generally not large but they are precious. A small piece has great value.

On the other hand, wood, hay and straw are bulky, but they are relatively worthless.

We as humans usually pay attention to larger things and overlook the little things that could be more precious.

Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward”. Mark 9:41

There will be a time when our motives will be judged, when our works will be weighed in the light of not what we have accomplished but what we might have accomplished.

The servant with one talent who gained only one more will be rewarded, while the one who dug a hole in the ground and hid that talent will suffer loss.

God is not interested in quantity as much as He is interested in quality. It is faithfulness which will be rewarded.

3.    We have to invest in what will last

This is another distinction – gold, silver, costly stones are permanent, and its value will stay, but wood, hay, straw will one day perish.

Therefore only what is done in Christ and for Christ which will last.

What is done only by human effort and for human purposes or glory will perish. No matter how great and impressive it may have been, no matter how much people value and praise it.

Remember God judges the heart, and appraises everything on the basis of our motive and faithfulness with which these things are done. Whatever is spiritual is precious and will last…

If we want to build our lives and be productive we should remain in Him. Apart from Him we can do nothing. The secret is to cling to the Lord like a branch on the true vine.

Jesus said in John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.”

We will be judged if we do not bear abiding fruit. It will be wise to look back over our lives, our experiences and our ministry as Christians. Can we see any change? Have we progressed? Are we standing still? Or have we retreated?

On this special day as we celebrate once again the life and ministry of the Uniting Church, it would be wise to reflect on how far we have progressed in our mission and ministry. Have we accomplished what we have planned in the past 36 years? Have we used the right materials to build the church? Have we made enough effort to reach to those who need our service? Have we followed the example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Have we looked for quality rather than quantity? Have we spread the good news to those who are lost?

It’s good to take a good look and see whether we have made progress and have been productive for Christ’s sake.

There is no standing still in the Christian life. There should always be progress regardless of our age and circumstances. As we look back do we see that we have done our part in the building of the body of Christ? After all we are the builders.

Krikor Youmshajekian