This morning please to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. I mention again that taking a very short break away from the book of Job that we have been looking at. To talk to you about some things, quite honestly, it's a little bit of a benefit to me. You're helping me to refine some of what I will be saying in Peru, but also because these things are important to every church. We know, of course, that Paul had started the church at Corinth. And there had been some communication back and forth between Paul and the church at Corinth. And they had written him a letter with some questions. And we know that because in chapter eight, Paul says, now I will talk to you about what you wrote about. But Paul had things that he needed to say to Corinth. And it is significant, I think, that he devotes the first four chapters to talking to them about both the message and the methodology of the local church. Let's go ahead and stand. Last week we kind of surveyed the chapter. This week I want to return and focus our attention on verses 10 through 15 of 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Verse number 10, according to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. Now he's talking there, you'll notice, about what he has done, right? And if you look back at verse number nine, which you may have done, it's almost like Paul did it to them. But now notice what he says in verse number, at the end of verse number 10. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon. He's not just talking about them, he is talking to them. For other foundation can no man lay than that 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. If any man's work shall be burned, He shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Let's pray. Father, thank you for Wesslet Heights Baptist Church, your church that you have blessed in so many ways. May we be always faithful to you. righteous and wise in our dealings. And I pray this morning, Father, that you would help us to think rightly about our place and our life's work as pertains to the church. And I pray this for us in Jesus name. Amen. And you may, of course, be seated. Well, last week, it was my intention, I always wonder to how successful I am, to point out that the church is not just what we do on Sunday, although you're a very active congregation and I appreciate so much your participation. But that equally true, and in some ways primarily true, is that the church is what God is doing. It is God's church and God is doing his work. And it is, as so often happens, folks, and this is not really a major part of the message this morning, but it is, as what God does through humanity, there is a genuine complexity to it. God is doing the work. We are doing the work to each other. Jude tells us to build ourselves on our most holy faith. So that God has a ministry to me that is beneficial to me, and God has a ministry to me that is designed to be beneficial to you, and vice versa, it all works to be equally true. Because folks, the church really is a body. And if you'll just think about your own human body and the way that, not simply that you have so many components to your body, but the way that they function together to make your life what it is, and when they don't function as they ought, to make your life what it is. All in one body. All in one body. And this is the church, one body. And one body in a much larger sense than we are, we'll get to that, and we're one body. And we have a variety of components, but we're all working for the same master and we're all working for the same purpose. Somewhere along the lines, the Corinthians have lost sight of this. I don't think it's a question that Paul didn't teach it to them, but that they have most certainly fallen under the influence of others. Paul deals with that more extensively in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. And so Paul begins this book not by responding to their questions, but by pointing out to them in chapters one and two that they have gone off track with reference to the gospel message, and chapter three and four, they have gone off track with reference to the gospel's ministers. And again, in verse number nine, he says, you, right, the plural you are, or we are laborers together with God. Apollos and I are not in competition, or men like Apollos and I are not in competition, We are laborers. We labor together. God is laboring. You are God's farm. You are God's building. But you're not just, I mean, this is really important, folks. You are not just what I am doing. I don't think there's coming a day in which I will present Westwood Heights Baptist Church to Jesus as, look, here's what I've built. but that we together are building. And this is where he goes in verse number, at the end of verse number 10, let every man take heed how we build it thereupon. All of which to say folks, and we'll get to this more in a little bit later, but I am not really preaching at you this morning. I'm not saying here's what I do and you need to know what I do, but this is what we are doing. And not only is this what we're doing, this is what God is endeavoring to do at Westwood Heights Baptist Church and in all of his churches. And there is a proper way to think and do about that. And let me call your attention to that. First of all, Paul viewed his ministry as a privilege, as a privilege. Verse number 10. according to the grace of God which is given unto me. Paul did not view himself as worthy or deserving of this. And in fact, you know, in 1 Timothy 1, 15 and 16, he called himself the chief of sinners. And he was oriented. Why, Paul, are you among all people the chief of sinners? Because I persecuted the church. And he says in 1 Corinthians 15.10 that he is what he is by the grace of God. So here folks is kind of the opening barrage, a reminder to all of us that we serve under God's grace. We are not worthy of the task that we have. We do not deserve the ministry that we have received. And I think we need to be realistic. To me, 1 Corinthians 3.10 is a very convicting verse. According to the grace of God which is given unto me. The longer we serve, the more we do. The longer we do it. Let's be realistic. The more scars we receive in the doing of it, the less inclined we are to be grateful for it. Is that not true? It can very easily be viewed as an unpleasant chore that must be done. But that is not how Paul views his role. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, This is a grace that I have received. I receive salvation as a grace and I receive service as a grace. Ministry is a privilege to be enjoyed. Secondly, without rereading the entirety of the passage, verses 10 through 15, Paul views his ministry as a responsibility to be fulfilled. It is not just God's gift. not just a gift to him. It is a responsibility to be fulfilled as a wise master builder, as a wise master builder, as a skilled architect. It is literally the word architect. As a skilled architect, I have laid the foundation And you know, folks, that if you know much about the building process, while building foundations are far from the most spectacular, and I'm not trying to take anything away from Christ, but laying a foundation is far from the most spectacular part of most buildings. We rarely say to people, come look at my basement. They are critically essential to the integrity of the building. The only foundation that can be laid is Christ, and this is the reason, folks, if we can walk backwards for a moment, this is the reason that the proclamation of the gospel message is so important. 1 Corinthians 1.17, Paul writes to them, for Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. I really do think, folks, and I'm just gonna pause here for a moment, I really do think that there is danger in packaging Jesus Christ as a commodity to be sold. That why you really want Jesus is because of all the good stuff he'll give you or all the cool stuff he'll do for you. Without preaching Christ as he is, the only hope we have of escaping God's righteous anger the very offensiveness of the cross, to receive the ministry of the cross is to stare in the face our own unworthiness and inability in God's presence. And I think if we would think about that honestly, that is a far harder task than we like to admit. For the preaching of the cross, verse 18, is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. So Paul views this as a responsibility to be fulfilled. Other foundation can no man lay than that that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. And he writes to them in 1 Corinthians 2, 2, for I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. He went in with a laser focus to these people with the message of a man on the cross. That was what he did. And part of Paul's frustration going down the road is that it accomplished its purpose. These people had come to faith in Christ and now they were trying to manipulate Christ in a different kind of way, it appears. to make him more palatable for the masses. To go back to 1 Corinthians 3, verse 11, for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. I have laid that foundation. I came in and I preached Christ, Him crucified, and you received Him, not to your glory, but to His. but somebody else builds. Verse number 10, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon. And there is that little beautiful ETH verb ending, another buildeth. The work keeps on going. There really is a, folks, an open-endedness to the life of every church. When Jesus said in Matthew 16 that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church, Beyond almost any shadow of a doubt, he is not talking to us about evangelistic aggression. He is simply making the point that the death of those who constitute the church will not constitute the end of the church. The church has a life that extends beyond its members. Every generation, each local assembly, in Sunday school this morning, I talked about the fact both those men are with the Lord now. The man who founded this church and the man who was his successor, they're both with the Lord. They were building. There were people who were built. Again, I've got the original church documents in a file somewhere. There are a list of names. Most of those people are now with the Lord. It was 50 years ago. They were building. Others have built. If the Lord doesn't come in another 50 years, other people will probably be sitting in pews, building the church. Another pastor will be here. Another build a Theron. This is the divine nature of the work. And may I just be so brazen as to point out to any who would think, well, when you go, I'm gonna go. You're gonna go, if you go to a church, you're gonna go to another church in which 1 Corinthians 3.10 and 11 and 12 are still true. Somebody else is building and the work is never finished. One of the ramifications of this, folks, right, to return to a little more, a little less Westwood Heights directed and a little more broader American world. One of the ramifications of a verse like number 12, if any man build upon, I'm sorry, verse number 10, another buildeth thereon, is that every generation of those who build have to be oriented beyond what simply is working at this moment. This seems to be the plague that has afflicted the modern church in America. What works right now, And the answer to that question in 1985 was different than it is in 2025. But many churches are asking the same question, what works right now? But what we are building, folks, is something that transcends any individual life or any individual time span. I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereupon. Paul's been gone 2,000 years. When we look at what we're doing, and again, what you're doing is real and what you're doing matters, but always what we're doing has to be viewed in light of all that is being done. Paul has, I think, much more in view than just simply the church at Corinth, but the whole of Christianity. A hundred years ago, the church became obsessed with accommodating itself to modern science. You can find people, for instance, who would tell you that the gap theory is very old, but the gap theory got its real traction when the origin of species took off and began to impact churches. And the church began to wrestle through How will we make what is blatantly true in the evolutionary world reconciled with what is biblically true in the biblical world? The gap theory will give us both creation and evolution. Now we're asking the same question with just different answers, but we're always trying to figure out a way to make the cross of Christ relevant. So there is the reality, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereupon. That's followed by a caution, let every man take heed. Let every man take heed. Ephesians 4, 11 through 16 are careful to explain that all of us are in the same work of building a church, just like all of my body parts are in the same work of maintaining my body. Feet do one thing, hands do another, stomach does one thing, eyes do something, but all one body. So all who are involved in church building, which again is you and not just me, build carefully. Build carefully. Let every man take heed. Which seems to imply, does it not, that if every man needs to build carefully, there is a way for every man to build carelessly. I mean, if the only way to do it is the right and proper way, you don't need to tell somebody the only way to do it is the right and proper way. There's no other way to do it. And since it is God's work that he is doing through his people, there simply can be no substitute for obedience to God's word. It is not simply you and I sitting around brainstorming over some novel, creative way to do ministry for Jesus. And Paul tells us to build carefully on Christ, verse number 12. Now, if any man build upon this foundation, the foundation is Christ. We build on him. In 2 Corinthians 11.2, listen to how Paul thinks about the church, this church, the church at Corinth. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy. For I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. If any man build upon this foundation, Peter puts it this way, 1 Peter 2.5, ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. God has never viewed the church as a business, although we have turned many pastors into CEOs, or a party. It is always beautiful and precious and pure. Build carefully, build on Christ. And then finally, in verses 13, 14, and 15, Paul views his ministry as subjected to divine judgment. Christian ministry is a privilege, verse number 10. is not something then to do carelessly, but carefully. Because even though it is a grace that God gives us, it is a ministry that he will judge. Every man's work, verse 13, 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 thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. And I mentioned this last week, but it's worth repeating. Paul here is, I don't think Paul is trying to establish tiers of value. I don't think that's the goal, right? It's like when, and I don't think any of you would do this. I hope that none of you do this, but people have done this. They go to Romans 12, one and two, you know, I was teach your brethren by the mercy of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So that God has a perfect will and God has an acceptable will and God has a good will. And you know, so the really good Christians get it perfect. You know, some people don't get it at all, and some people get the goodwill of God, but you're okay, because it's the good, but he's not talking about tears. He's just talking about three characteristics of God will. It is good and perfect and acceptable. And Paul here, I don't think is talking about tears, that there will be gold star churches and silver star churches and precious stone churches. And those precious stone people, they tried hard, but they just couldn't win the gold. He's making a point. There are things that burn and things that don't. That's the point. That's the orientation. Gold doesn't burn. Silver doesn't burn. Precious stones don't burn. Wood, hay, stubble, it burns. It burns. It all burns. And gold, silver, and precious stones don't burn. And he's likening here to God's judgment being a fire. And it's possible that in some way that we cannot envision, Paul is talking literally that the entirety of Westwood Heights Baptist Church will be tried through God's literal fire and the silver and the gold and the precious stones will remain. What do you think Paul means by that? What does it mean to build on gold, silver, and precious metals? What would we have to do? And I think that the point Paul would be making in 1 Corinthians 1-4 is that if the ministry is built on the cross and if it boasts only in God, And if it is genuinely focused on obedience to the word, that it will withstand the judgment and be approved. And I think, folks, that if you go back to, not go back, but if you would jump ahead, which we will not, to Revelation 2 and 3, when Jesus speaks of the seven churches, that you have the necessary components of an acceptable work. He is talking to those churches basically about two things, their doctrine and their devotion. their doctrine and their devotion. On the other hand, folks, I think we should equally express some concern, right? It is God's fire that will be the judge. It is not Largent's opinion that will be the judge. But if the church is built on human personality, many activities, a large menu of programs, if it is filled with appeals to pop psychology and worldly philosophy, if it is built on patriotism, if it is built on nationalism, if it is built around recovering a particular era of time and culture, that it is potentially unable to withstand the fire of God's judgment. And I would point out to you again, folks, Right? It is not biblically right to come to the passage and go, but pastor, that's talking about you. When verse number 12 says, if any man build, and verse 13 says every man's work, and verse 14 says any man's work, and 15 says any man's work, It is for all who are involved in the work of building the church and all believers are involved in building. That is the work of the ministry in Ephesians four. That is the work of the ministry. The building up of God's body. Turn with me if you would to Ephesians chapter four. And I will not take the time to prove this to you, but I would point out to you yet again that both Ephesians and Colossians, these companion books, have as their primary subject matter what the church is. And the church, of course, is the body of Christ. Let's start in verse number seven. I'm just going to read quickly. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Ministry is a grace given to us. Wherefore, he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth, the death and resurrection of Christ? He that descended into the grave is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all in all. And he gave some, Christ gave some, it is his church. some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith, of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie and wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth according to the effectual working and the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto itself, edifying of itself in love." Folks, this is the gold standard for church ministry. These are the questions to ask both about Westwood Heights and about any other potential church that any of us would be involved in. Is it endeavoring to do these things? Is it oriented around magnifying Christ through the building of his body? Is its boast the cross and Christ? Is its ministry directed toward the maturing of the saints? These are the standards that we pursue. There is an old saying, you know it, not everything that glitters is gold and that is true of churches as well. Temporal success does not equate into eternal success. Let's pray this morning. Father, never, ever, ever what I wish for Westwood Heights or any of your local churches to be boring, dead places. You are the God who is alive. But may we always be a biblical place. May our boast and our glory be always in Jesus Christ and his cross and never in us and our personalities. And may we labor joyfully in the perspective that it is a grace that is given to us. And may we labor responsibly as those who will give an account. I pray this for us in Jesus' name, amen. Well, thank you for being here this morning. It was a good day to start.