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Welcome to the Sunday School of the Air, originating from the pulpit at Glen Iris Baptist Church, located at 1137 10th Place South, Birmingham, Alabama, 35205. We study the scriptures consecutively from Genesis to Revelation, line upon line, precept upon precept. We invite you to get your Bible and study with us for the next 45 minutes. Welcome to our class. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Sunday School of the Air here at Glen Iris Baptist Church. It does my heart good to see you all here this morning. Just seeing you guys come in for Sunday school and everybody here. I know the Keys are here. It's just so great to see them. What an encouragement they are. I know we've been praying for them. But good morning to everybody. We are in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. We're in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Let's open up in prayer, and then we'll continue our study in the Word of God. Heavenly Father, we thank You so much for giving us another day of life, Lord. Thank You for Your many blessings. We thank You for the great salvation that You've brought to us through Christ Jesus and His death on the cross and His resurrection. Lord, we praise You and thank You for that. Lord, I pray You'll help us this morning as we go through 1 Corinthians in chapter 3 and look at what You expect of Your church and of the leaders in the church. We look at these things. Lord, I pray you help me to teach it. And Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that you would take your word and apply it to our hearts. And Lord, be glorified this morning. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Alright, so last week we were looking at the, there was a squabble going on at the church in Corinth, and they were dividing up over the type of preachers that they wanted. You know, Paul was the one that established the church. He was the first pastor. God used him to establish the church there in Corinth. The next pastor was Apollos. But the problem with the congregation was they were allowing the worldly thinking, the worldly philosophies to impress upon them what they wanted in church leadership. They wanted, some wanted Apollos. Apollos was a very gifted orator. He was a very charismatic type of preacher. Some wanted Paul. You know, Paul was very skilled in specifically explaining word for word and teaching doctrine. And Paul preached Christ and Him crucified. Some wanted someone like Peter and others, but they were dividing up into different camps, and that was a problem for the church. That wasn't the Lord's will for them. He wanted them to be unified. And so Paul, in this chapter, is explaining, you know, God's wisdom is the cross and that precludes all human boasting. But how silly is it to boast in human leaders when all things are yours in Christ? As a Christian, all things are yours in Christ. And it's silly to be boasting in human leaders or to be dividing up on different kind of pastors. And he's going to explain how Paul and Apollos, they're only servants. They're only servants to the Lord. It's God who is the master of the church. Christ is the one we answer to. And the leaders and the teachers and the Sunday school teachers, they're just servants. of the Lord. But if anybody is going to be saved, it's going to be because of the Lord. It's going to be the Holy Spirit using the Word of God. It's not going to be because of the personality of the teacher or his great oratory skills. That's not the reason. It's Christ and the Holy Spirit raising a sinner from the dead. This morning in our Bible study, Brother Lamb told the story of a seminary professor that took his class to a cemetery. and got them out there and said, preach your hearts out. Preach your hearts out to these graves. Just preach and see what happens. Well, of course, nothing happened. No matter how funny their stories were, no matter how impressive their oratory was, no matter how skilled they were in preaching, nothing happened. And that's what he was trying to teach them was, look, this is how it's going to be when you're behind the pulpit. You are based on Ezekiel's dry bones. You are preaching to dead men and women. And if they are going to come to the Lord, if they are going to be resurrected, it's going to be God's doing. And if you think as a preacher or a teacher that it's your doing, then you're just being prideful and you're not seeing the truth of the matter. And that's what Paul is saying here. Who is Paul? Who is Apollos? We're just God's workers, but it's God's field. You are God's field. You are God's building. Let's read here in chapter 3. We'll start in verse 4, and we will read to verse 15. For while one saith, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are you not carnal? Who then is Paul? And who is Apollos? But ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man. I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God, you are God's husbandry, you are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth their own. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. And if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. So Paul uses a couple of illustrations when talking about the church and the leadership and the ministers. One is, he calls it a field, like a crop field, you are God's field, and we are just ministers working. I, Paul, planted and Apollos watered. And we talked about this last week. you know it's important to have somebody to plant a seed if you're going to plant a crop you got to plant that seed get it in the ground and then it has to have water so those are important things we're not dismissing the importance of dirt and sunlight and water but what happens to make that seed grow roots down into the ground, and then bust up out of the soil, and then grow, and then all of a sudden start putting on leaves, and you got photosynthesis, and then you got flower heads come upon, and then you got seeds, more seeds come on. Like, this is something that who that planted the seed and he that watered could not make that seed do that. I mean, this is God. This is God's work. And he's giving that illustration to show how the church is. Why are you putting so much emphasis on the teacher and the preacher? Why are you dividing up into, I love this preacher, I love that preacher? When it's God that is the one that's causing the growth, the preachers and the teachers, they are just ministers. They are servants to the Lord. They are working for the Lord. And he uses that example there in verse nine. You are God's field. And then also he uses another illustration. He says, you are God's building. And he describes the church as a building that God is building for His glory. And the foundation was laid, and the foundation has already been laid. The Apostle Paul says, I laid the foundation, the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, that is the foundation. Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone of the building. If you're talking about a building in architecture, the foundation is very important. It's everything. If the foundation is off, the whole building could collapse. And Paul is saying, I have laid the foundation, but another comes and builds upon it. And this section, when we look at it in context, he is warning the leaders in Corinth. These leaders, they are taking part in some of this division. He's warning them to be careful how you build on God's foundation. You must be careful how you build onto his church. How are you working? How are you teaching? How are you preaching? It's very important how you build. God is the owner. He's responsible for the growth, and we are accountable to God. So you see here in the things that Paul is saying, who is Paul? Who is Apollos? But ministers by whom you believed. So they didn't believe in Paul. They didn't believe in Apollos, but they were just servants who taught the word and God used that to save them. See, they were just the fellow workers. They were just serving the Lord. But it was God that did the saving. It was God that raised them to life. Paul planted, Apollos watered. So you see, there was a unity between Paul and Apollos. They weren't... Enemies they weren't against one another they were working together and here Paul is actually crediting Apollos He's saying yes Apollos watered I planted Apollos watered so you can see Paul here affirming Apollos We see it wasn't Apollos that was causing this divide It wasn't him that was trying to cause these divisions, but it was just people in the church They were going after fleshly ways. They were being very worldly, but you see that there was unity And God desires that in His teachers and preachers that they be unified in this one thing. They have to continue what the foundation that's already been laid, and that's the preaching of Jesus Christ crucified. When you get away from that, when you get away from what's important, then you start building with wood, hay, and stubble the things that will be burnt up. They're not going to last. Paul and Apollos were only servants. by whom you came to believe. And what's funny is the differences in Paul and Apollos, they were differences. Sure, there's differences in every teacher, in every preacher that the Lord uses, that's a servant to him. There's always differences. God gives them those differences, and those differences were meant for the good of the church. The way Apollos preached, the way Paul preached, they were different. But God used both of them, and He gifted both of them in such a way that their differences were beneficial to the people, and they didn't see that. They were dividing up into sides, but the differences were actually meant for their good. But the main thing has got to stay the main thing. And that's really the context and the take home of this section is that. Paul didn't do anything but preach to them Jesus Christ and him crucified. And he's warning these teachers, do not get away from that. Do not get away from the gospel. Do not get away and wander off into worldly means and worldly practicality, worldly philosophies, worldly ways of running churches. because that is not going to last. It's not going to stand the fires of God's, you know, wisdom in the day of judgment as he reveals all the light and everything comes and is revealed and is open. He said, those things are not going to survive. They're going to be burned up. They're going to smoke away. But the gospel is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, His death, burial, and resurrection. The cross is God's wisdom. And also, you see here that the cross is a basic model for ministry. As our Lord Himself said that, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. So the thinking in the Gentile world was, if you're going to have a leader in that church, he's got to have great authority. He's going to exercise that authority, and people are going to serve him. And he's going to be the guy and everybody's going to serve him. But Jesus said, no, no, no, that's not the way it is in the kingdom of God. It shall not be so among you, but whosoever shall be great among you, let him be your minister. Let him be your servant. But whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Even as the son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom for many. Their teachers, their leaders, are servants. They're not pushovers, but they are following the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are serving the way He served. He gave His life as a ransom for many. He told them the truth. And that's the example. That's the example that the ministers must follow. It can't be one upping one another and leading different divisions of of the church and I'm of Paul and I'm of Apollos. No, that's not how it should be. So he gives this construction metaphor, this foundation, this building with a foundation. Verse nine, for we are laborers together with God. Ye are God's husbandry. That's it, you are God's field. That was the first illustration. You are God's building. So he says we are laborers together with God. He's saying they are working under God. It's not that they are co-equal with God in some way in this building of the church. It's just they are servants together, Paul and Apollos. They are servants together under God. They are working for the Lord. The church belongs to Christ. It's his church. It's Him we must answer to. And I know sometimes the way we talk, oh, my church and this church and the one I got, we know what we mean when we say that, but it is Christ's church. It's no pastor's church or teacher's flock. It is Christ's people and the servants, the pastors are under shepherds. They're under shepherds serving the Lord. and serving the people, but it's Christ's church, and that's what makes it so important. That's what he's telling them. Who's Paul? Who's Apollos? When you start thinking of it in that way and dividing it up amongst men, you're being very carnal. You are God's building. And Paul says in verse 10, it's according to the grace given to him as a wise master builder. It was by God's grace and God's choice that Paul is an apostle. He was chosen by God to be an apostle to the Gentiles. It's just by grace. And he describes himself as a wise master builder. I laid the foundation and another is building upon it. This is how the Lord designed his church to be built. Christ came. He served for three years, taught the apostles. But then remember right before his death, he told them that the Holy Spirit would come and the Holy Spirit would remind them of all the things that he had taught them that the Holy Spirit would bring to their mind. The Holy Spirit would show them the things that they were to do and to say. And it's through the apostles that the word was completed, the word of God. It was through the apostles that the church was established. It was through the apostles that you have the foundational doctrine of the church, it was the apostles' teaching. But once you have the foundation, you have it. I mean, we've been in the church age for 2,000 years, have we not? We're not still building a foundation. We're not still adding new revelation. We're not still adding new doctrines. No, no, we have the foundation has already been laid. It's already been there. Ephesians 2. Therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God. And ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being that chief cornerstone, in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto a holy temple unto the Lord, in whom ye also are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit." So we have this foundation, and that's what Paul is telling them. The foundation has already been laid, but he gives a warning to those that are in leadership in Corinth, and so a warning to any, up to today, in the churches that would be in leadership, whether they're the pastor, they could be Sunday school teachers, or any kind of ministry leadership, there's a warning. You must be careful how you build on this foundation that's already been laid, because everybody's building. I mean, everybody is doing something. Paul says we all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of the things we've done in this body, whether it be good or bad. That's for the believers. And it's not a judgment of eternal salvation. It's a judgment of rewards. And what have you done? How are you building in Christ's church? You must be careful. You must be careful how you build. So Paul was the first pastor at Corinth. He set the foundation. Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone. Apollos, the second pastor. He built on that foundation that was already laid. Now the focus shifts to the others. Now the focus shifts to those that are in charge. And under their watch, there's division. Under their watch, there's arguments over which pastor would be better to have. These things are carnal. In verse 11, No one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. So we're not laying new foundations. The foundation has already been laid. And that foundation, Paul told us already in this letter. He said when he laid the foundation of that church, he said, I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. Jesus Christ and his gospel, that's the foundation of the church. And Paul is warning them not to persist in their present way of using worldly wisdom to add to the church. They were using worldly philosophies. They were allowing the thinking of the world to try to build the church. They were dependent on personalities. They would be maybe dependent on entertainment. They were dependent on being impressive to the lost world to try to impress them to come and join the church. This is how we would build. Can't y'all see this is this teaching is for us today. I mean, this is so relevant. This is so relevant to us today. How many out there in our own lands are building churches in ways that's contrary to the way Paul was building it? They're not building it on the foundation of the teaching of the the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, his death, burial and resurrection, the word of God. But it's entertainment. It's a CEO pastor who can build a church just like the businesses are built, you know, and get many people to come for doing all different kind of things other than just simply preaching and teaching this word and depending on the Holy Spirit to save people. But anything, he's warning them, anything you use, anything you do to build on this foundation that is not in compliance with the foundation that's already been built will burn up in the end. It is not going to last. It is wood. It is hay. It is stubble. Paul is warning them. The foundation was completed by Christ and the apostles, so we aren't looking for a new foundation. Everything God wants you to know, everything, is in the Bible. It's right here. It's right here. We already have it. Jude tells us in Jude 4, To earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered for the saints. You see, it's already been delivered. The faith that we have, the faith, it's already been delivered to the saints. And contend for that faith. So you can just look at history and think, is there any new beliefs that came in after the writing of the book of Jude? Is there any new religions? Is there any new thoughts or spiritual movements that came in after that? Throw them away. We already have the faith once delivered to us. Already. The foundation has already been laid. We are 2,000 years into the church age. In Hebrews 2 verse 3, The word says, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. It was spoken by the Lord and it was confirmed by the apostles. God also bearing them witness with signs and wonders and diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost. We see all these things in the scriptures. We saw it through the book of Acts, all the things that happen to confirm the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the commands of the Lord according to His own will. But we saw it. It's already been delivered to us. It's been proven. It's here in this Word that we have the Scriptures. In verse 12, he says, Now if any man build upon this foundation gold or silver or precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, The foundation is laid, and through church history and the church age, this foundation is going to be built upon. And each person is going to be building. The context, especially, is for leaders in the church, but everybody is... every Christian builds in some way onto the foundation. Now, we don't want to get hung up on, well, what's the difference between gold and silver? precious stones what's you know maybe sums valued more than others the the thing he's saying here is that of three of these materials of the gold silver the precious stone And the difference between them and the other three, the wood, hay, and straw, is that the gold, silver, and precious stone is not going to burn when it's put in a fire. Whereas the wood, hay, and the straw will quickly. Actually, the gold, and the silver, and the precious stones is purified by fire. And these are the things that are compatible with the foundation that has already been laid. What would be gold? What would be silver? What would be precious stones? Souls? Souls brought into the Kingdom of God, gloriously saved? How are they saved? By the teaching of the Word of God. And the Holy Spirit takes the Word and causes them to be born again. This is gold. This is silver. This is precious stones. The faith in the Lord that He alone can save. And He is the only way of salvation. And the trust in Him to do that. But when we start trusting in ourselves, when we start trusting in the show, when we start trying to bring people in by other means, worldliness, entertainment, worldly philosophies, then that is the wood, the hay, the straw. You bring in false conversions. When preachers just bring in their own theologies and they smuggle it into the Word of God, they take Scripture out of context. If you don't learn anything from Sunday school, either this morning or any other time you come in here, please remember, when you study the Bible, It's context, context, context. What is the context? The people that this letter was written to, the Corinthians, how would they have understood what Paul was writing to them? It's context, context, context. You just can't just take the word out of context and just strip it out and then teach your own doctrine or any kind of hobby horse that you have. And that happens all over. It's currently happening everywhere. And, you know, you can just listen to any of the most popular people. I mean, it's sad. It's sad. I was listening to one this week. They were preaching. from Exodus chapter 12. It's a glorious chapter. It's the Passover. It's the Lord rescuing and delivering Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. The firstborn of Egypt was killed by the death angel. But only the ones that had the blood of the lamb on the doorposts were passed over. They were saved. During the Passover, the Lord told them to make sure that they quickly be ready to get out of there, because it's going to be quick, and it's going to happen, and they're going to have to leave very quickly, so they need to gird up their loins and be ready to go quickly. I listened to a pastor preach that, and he just focused on that part about leaving quickly. And he said, well, you better be prepared. God's going to do something in your life, and He's going to bring you from sickness to health. He's going to bring you from poverty to riches, and it's going to be quick, and you better be ready for it. And it was a whole sermon, and it just focused on the quickness of the Lord moving. Was that what that chapter was about? Is that the context of that chapter in Exodus as you read? Is that the context? Or is the context pointing to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ? Does the context point to the blood of the Lamb that's going to have to be shed? And how He's going to rescue His people from the dominion of sin and the slavery of sin. And by a strong hand, the Lord is going to bring them out with great wonders and mighty works. It preaches Christ. There's not an easier Old Testament text to preach Christ out of. It has nothing to do with any kind of thing that God is going to do and promise you, you know, sickness to health or none of that. But that's going on everywhere. So you have to, when you listen, when you listen to a sermon or a teaching, you read the text. Is that the context? Is that what... The Word is trying to tell us here, is that the thing that should be emphasized throughout the text? And if you're going to build on the foundation, you must teach and preach the foundation that's already been established. You can't be adding on things that have nothing to do with the context of the Word. How do we build on that foundation? How do we work in the church? How do we contribute? Again, the context is for the leaders. As they are leading the people, they need to stick to the foundation that Paul has already laid. But as believers, there's also certainly things for us to learn out of it, even if we're just lay people in the church. I mean, how are we contributing to the church? How are we glorifying Christ? Because Paul does say that We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether good or bad. That's 2 Corinthians 5.10. So, we have to look at ourselves. How are we as believers? Now, we're not talking about salvation, but when you stand before the Lord, there will be a judgment of how we have served him, and that should It could scare you, but it also should motivate you. Like, no, yeah, let's work for the Lord. Isn't He worthy? Isn't He worthy? Even if we didn't have any promises of rewards or anything, isn't He worthy? He laid His life down. He died for you. He saved you from your sin and eternal condemnation. Why don't we just work for Him and serve Him? But we got to do it the right way. We got to do it within the parameters that He has set for us in His Word. We can't just do our own thing. We have to be careful how we build on the foundation. So all of these things will be tested by fire at the judgment seat of Christ. Is it a literal fire, or is it just the brightness of the light of Christ whose eyes see all, he knows all? But each man's work will become evident, verse 13. Every man's work should be made manifest, for that day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is." This is what Gordon Fee says in his commentary. Those who stay with the gospel, as Paul preached it, who build the church in Corinth with gold, silver, costly stones, will see their work survive the tests, and they will receive their reward. On the other hand, those who persist in pursuing worldly wisdom, who are building with wood, with hay, and straw, will see their work consumed, and they themselves will suffer loss, although their loss does not refer to salvation." I was just thinking in my own lifetime, the fads that have come into the church, and that people just run after them. Think about the purpose-driven movement. You think about the seeker-sensitive movement. Young, restless, reformed. You think of some people are growing their church because they just preach politics week after week after week, and that's what some people want to hear. The social justice movement. the family integrated church, the culturally relevant church, all of these things, the CEO church, the pastor's a CEO, and they've got all these different churches everywhere, and everybody just watches the big screen, and they just build and build. I mean, there's just all these different types of movements, but if it's not built on that foundation of Christ crucified, It is wood, hay, and stubble. So one thing we can do is try not to get caught up in whatever the fad is. Whatever the fad is of the year, or the week, or the decade. I mean, think about it. Church history is 2,000 years old. There's not new things coming around. If it's something new, you need to beware. There'd be some red flag there. Verse 15. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. I remember as a kid, growing up, my best friend, I would always go and spend the night at his house. Every weekend I could. We were just so close. We lived in the same neighborhood. I'd always go spend the night at his house on the weekends. Wonderful family. But think about it. His dad, I loved him with all my heart. His dad, his father, was a chain smoker. I mean, it was one right after the other, right after the other, right after the other, in the house. It wasn't go outside. It was in the house. And you didn't have to walk in their house for just a couple minutes and you just smelled like a cigarette. So every time I would go home after spending the weekend down there, my mom would make me take off my clothes, go get in the shower, you know. We loved it. That was just, if you went and spent the night at such and such's house, you're going to come home, you're going to smell like a cigarette. And that's what this is saying, that there are going to be Christians and their lives they spend serving the Lord is built on wood, hay, stubble. They didn't stick with the gospel. They didn't stick with the foundation that was already laid. And when it comes to the judgment seat of Christ, all their works, most of it is going to be just burn up. And there's going to be the smell of smoke. on them, but they're gonna be saved. They didn't lose their salvation, they're still saved, but man, do you wanna have a life where everything you live for and your priorities and what you consider to be important and the things you thought about the most in your mind and were so obsessed with, do you wanna get before the judgment seat of Christ and find out, man, that was just wasted. I mean, that was just wasted energy. That was wasted time. We weren't serving in the right way. My motives were not right. It was the smell of smoke there. We don't want to do that. We don't want to be that way. And that's the warning that he's given them. As they are building this church, you better be careful how you build upon the foundation. But remember, guys, everything is by God's grace. Even if you get rewarded, whatever you get, it's just because the Lord allowed you to do that. He gave you the strength to do it. He, if you're faithful and there's rewards for faithfulness, but it's the Lord. It's the Lord that gave you the strength to do that. It's all of grace. So don't, let's not, I don't want people to start inching towards this legalistic view of living, but it's all of grace. And we don't really know the nature of the reward. We just know it's certain. There's a certainty of it. I know I love to listen to Peter Masters. He doesn't think there's going to be any difference in reward. Like we just get Christ. And isn't that enough? Yes. I mean, we have Christ. That's the great reward. He's the pearl of great price. He's the he's our treasure and our reward. But still, I would like to be able to stand before him and You know, your life wasn't completely a waste. You know, you did serve the Lord in ways that will be pleasing to Him. But, you know, sometimes Christ, He's the Lord of the church even now, even before His coming. He removes churches sometimes. If they're not going to do right, He'll just remove them. He'll shut them down. He'll take away the key, as He did in the book of Revelation. He removes their lampstand. That happens. It happens. What are, so I guess the application, the take home, what are our priorities? What are the things we spend all of our time worrying about? I just thought about this, you know sometimes our job can just beat us down and we think, oh this job, this job, I don't enjoy it, I gotta get up every Monday to Friday and go to this job and it's easy for us to get into a complaining attitude. As Christians, it never should be. I pray that none of our co-workers see us in that kind of despair, because it's not a good witness for the Lord. But I was just thinking, even if you have a, let's say you do, you have a terrible job, and it's hard, and it's just hard to do and terrible. But what if you having that job, does it allow you to come in here on Sundays and contribute a little bit to the building of the church? Does it allow you to give to the Lord's work? Well then, hey, it's not in vain. It's good. Think of it that way. Man, the Lord's allowing me to do this job, and that allows me to be able to be a contributor at the church? I mean, we have to look at the bright side of things. C.T. Studd had that great quote, So getting back to the teachers and the leaders, what is Satan's desire? Think about it. What would be his desire? His desire is that people don't get saved. His desire is that people would not be saved, that they would not be forgiven. So what does he do? How does he do that? Luke 8, 12 says in the parable of the sower, the seed is planted And those by the wayside are those that hear the Word. Then cometh the devil, and he takes away the Word out of their heart, lest they should believe and be saved. So he wants to take away the Word. He wants to take away the Word that people would not be saved. That's how they're not going to be saved. If they don't hear the Word. If they don't hear it rightly. If they don't hear it taught like the truth is. That's how the devil works. That's why he's, unfortunately, he's got plants and churches all around. And they teach the word in a way that is not in the context. And it's not the point. And there's no gospel. And there's no focus on the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. There's no focus on the foundation, which is Christ crucified. Look to him and be saved by faith alone. And so that's the way the devil works. He doesn't care that a pastor will get up and read a verse or two here and there if they take it out of context. It don't have anything to do with what the Spirit meant for it to mean to us. In Nehemiah chapter eight, very quickly, I'm gonna look at this. It's where Ezra goes back. Ezra goes back and He's reading the Scriptures to Israel. Remember, they've come back from Babylon, and they open up the Word. In chapter 8, in the Nehemiah, And all the people gathered themselves together as one man in the street that was before the water gate. And they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation, both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from morning until midday, before the men and the women and those that could understand and the ears of all the people were attentive until the book of the law. And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of woods." There you have a pulpit. He's standing and he's reading the word of God. And for time's sake, I'm just gonna skip down. Look at verse 8. So they read in the book, in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense. And they caused them to understand the reading. So the scripture had been written probably a thousand years before this time. And Ezra is standing in the street and he's proclaiming the word to all the people of Israel, but in verse 8 he says, He gave them the sense, like, He helped them to understand, like, this is what this means. This is the context. He caused them to understand the reading. Now, that's just a description of what happened. That's a historical narrative. That's a description of what happened. But in the New Testament, we have a prescription, a command as teachers and preachers to do it that way. In 1 Timothy 1, Paul commands Timothy, telling him, 1 Timothy 1, in verse 3, As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went unto Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine." It's commanded. We can teach no other doctrine other than what's being given. What's the foundation? What's the scripture? We cannot. No teacher, no preacher can teach any other doctrine. That's the command of the Lord. That's a prescription. In 1 Timothy 1, 18, This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went on before thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare. Holding faith and a good conscience, which some have put away concerning faith, have made shipwreck." So those that don't teach and those that don't hold forth the word that they've been taught, these scriptures, They make the faith of those that are here shipwreck. They just bring shipwreck to the faith because they're not building with gold and silver and precious stones. They are doing it with wood, hay, and stubble, and not according to Christ crucified, not according to the foundation that's already been set. In 2 Timothy 1.13, he tells Timothy, Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me. in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. He tells me, you hold fast. You hold fast to those words that you've already been given. That's what you're to preach. In 2 Timothy 2 verse 15, Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. You must handle the word of God according to truth. Truth is the command for the Christian teacher and preacher. In Titus 1.9, holding fast the faithful word as has been taught that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. Sound doctrine is commanded by the teacher. It's based on the foundation that's already been laid. The faith once delivered. In 2 John 4, lastly, 2 John 4. Christians are to walk in the truth. I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking in the truth as we have received a commandment from the Father. It's commanded. It's commanded for Christians to walk in the truth, not lies. You are to walk in the truth, and that's the command. So we see there, we must be careful how we build on the foundation of Christ crucified. It's already been set. It's already been established. That should be our focus. Let's close in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your word. Lord, I pray that you'd help us to stay on the straight and narrow, Lord. May we be completely dependent on you to win souls, that your word and the Holy Spirit, the power to regenerate souls. Lord, please, Lord, Help us not deviate to the right or to the left. I thank you for our pastor who's so faithful to give us the sense and the meaning of the scriptures every single time he comes into the pulpit. I thank you for him. Lord, I pray you continue to protect him and use him in such a mighty way. Lord, give us a zeal for your word. And Lord, a zeal for Christ who died for us. In his name we pray, amen. You've been listening to Sunday School of the Air. Thank you for being a part of our class today. If you'd like a copy of today's lesson on CD or DVD, please call us at area code 205-323-1516 or write to 1137 10th Place South, Birmingham, Alabama, 35205. You may also listen or watch this lesson online at www.glenniris.net. Thank you for being with us today for Sunday School of the Air, and until next week, may God bless you.
Be Careful How You Build
시리즈 First Corinthians
"Be Careful How You Build"
1 Corinthians 3:9-15
설교 아이디( ID) | 223251843264983 |
기간 | 47:44 |
날짜 | |
카테고리 | 주일 학교 |
성경 본문 | 고린도전서 3:9-15 |
언어 | 영어 |
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