Sermon – 1st Corinthians 3

Title – Will Your Work Survive?

2 – (1) Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you, I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. (2) I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready,
3 – (3) for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? (4) When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
4 – (5) After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. (6) I planted the seeds in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.
5 – (7) It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. (8) The one who will be rewarded for their own hard work. (9) For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.
6 – (10) Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. (11) For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have – Jesus Christ.
7 – (12) Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials – gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. (13) But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.
8 – (14) If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. (15) But if that work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
9 – Paul founded the Corinthian Church during his 2^nd missionary journey, around AD 50.
10 – Paul wanted to talk to them like people who were full of the Spirit – people who were mature believers; but they were neither. Paul said that he had to talk to them like they were still of this world; or at best, babes in Christ.
11 – Paul said that he had to feed them with milk – just like babies, who only receive milk for every meal – because they were not yet strong enough; and even when Paul wrote this letter, several years after founding the church, they were still not ready for solid food.
12 – Paul said that they were still controlled by their sin natures – which is something that Christians are not supposed to do. When a person is saved, they are to throw off the sin nature; and never put it back on. Rid themselves of the old man; and just be the new.
13 – Paul said that they were still jealous of each other and were quarreling. Both of those actions were proof that they were still controlled by their sin nature; and were acting just like people of the world – just like unbelievers – just like heathen.
14 – Just because a person is a believer, doesn’t make them perfect or mature.
15 – Maturity doesn’t always have to do with age. Some believers have stayed babies for years, if not decades. Other believers may know more or have their faith as a higher priority and they may have only believed in Jesus for a short time.
16 – We all live in fleshly bodies and are all tempted. But whether or not we train ourselves determines if we will mature and how fast we will mature. We must flee from sin and pursue holy living at the same time.
17 – 1^st Timothy 6:11 (NLT) … But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so, run from these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
18 – We are not to live like the world but show them a better way. Our lives are to be examples, that lead people to Jesus. If we act, look, and talk, like the world, then the world will see no difference and will have no reason to want to visit our church or ask about our beliefs. If we look and act like the world, then we will not be able to lead anyone to Jesus.
19 – Paul asked the Corinthians who he was; and who Apollos was. Paul answers his own question by stating that they were, both, only God’s servants through whom the Corinthians came to believe the Gospel.
20 – Paul said that he and Apollos did the work that the Lord gave them to do. Paul planted. Apollos watered. God made what they did grow. God brought forth the increase. The results of their labor – the planting and watering – came from God.
21 – We each have jobs to do – given straight from the Lord – along with spiritual gifts and talents – that are to lead people to Him. We have to be faithful to our own individual missions and the mission of the church.
22 – We can’t always have our focus on the end result and think that if there is no growth or no immediate results that we have failed. We have to obey God and trust Him with whatever work He has for us; and we can’t argue about whose job is better or more important.
23 – We all have to work together – in how we live – in how we act – in how we talk – in how we serve our church – in our attendance – in our unity … because we should all be focused on the same purpose – to bring other to Jesus Christ, to grow the universal church, and to grow the Zion church. If we don’t work together, if we are not focused, then the church at large will not grow, and the doors of these church will close and never open again.
24 – Back to Paul … Both, he and Apollos, were God’s workers … the Corinthian believers were God’s field and building.
25 – Remember, Paul was God’s instrument to take the Gospel to the Gentiles and because of God’s grace, he was chosen and allowed to do this. Paul says that he laid the foundation like an expert builder; and that others were building on what he started.
26 – All of us are also building upon the work of others. This church has been around for over 100 years, and none of us were around when it started. Some of us have been around for a long(er) time though and we all have learned from others, who learned from others, and that goes back and back and back through the pages of time.
27 – We have to be careful on what we teach – how we build – and those who come after us must also be careful on what they teach – and how they build. If Christ Jesus is not our focus – is not we build upon, then our endeavors will not last.
28 – Anyone who builds on the foundation of Jesus may use a variety of materials, gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. On Judgment Day, fire will reveal what kind of work we have done; and if any of our work survives.
29 – Verses 14 and 15 tell us that if our work survives, that a reward will be given to us; but if our work is burned up – destroyed – that the builder will suffer great loss but will be saved as someone escaping a fire.
30 – The focus of this sermon is about what our work is. Look back to verse 10 – Paul said the Corinthian believers were God’s field and building. Those that Paul and Apollos shared the Gospel with and more specifically, those that accepted their teachings are their work.
31 – If those we have shared the Gospel with survive – endure to the end – make it through the fire – then we will receive a reward. Now, what this extra reward is, is up for debate – more jewels in the crown – a bigger mansion – more room on the new earth … but whatever it is, all hinges on if those we bring to Lord endure.
32 – In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower, in which seed falls along the footpath, rocky soil, among thorns, and on fertile soil. Each soil type refers to different people that will hear the Gospel.

33 – Some are not ready to hear it, and some are not going to accept what we have to say, because they are so in love with the world, but we are still required to share.
34 – Some people we share with will accept what we have to say – they will believe the Gospel – they will repent – they will get baptized – they will come to church – they will pray and study and give … but then, something happens, and they fall away.
35 – Some don’t have deep roots … some don’t want to be persecuted … some can’t balance the worries/cares or life with what it takes to be a committed Christian … and others want to chase after earthly wealth instead of spiritual or heavenly wealth.

36 – It is our job as believers, especially those of us who are mature in the faith – those of us who know the Scriptures well – those of us whose faith is #1 in our lives – to make sure that fellow believers do not fall away.
37 – Jude 1:20, 22-23a (NLT) … But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit … And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment.
38 – We have to make sure to disciple other believers – to make sure they are faithful – to make sure they are reading and studying the Scriptures – to make sure they have an active prayer life – to make sure they are fleeing sin – to make sure they are pursuing a life of holiness – to make sure they are faithful to attending services; and not just on Sunday morning; and that they are fulfilling their obligations to their church – that they are serving and using their talents and abilities to help others to grow … we must disciple everyone or risk them falling away from the faith and spending an eternity in Hell.
39 – If those we have brought to Christ do not survive, if they fall away, if they leave the faith – then all of our work – what we have built God’s house with will perish.
40 – We are told that, even if all of our work is burned up, that we will be saved, but will suffer loss. It is just like someone barely escaping a fire.
41 – The imagery is quite fitting. If any of us were to lose our house, then we would lose the place in which many memories were made; along with our furniture, clothes, games, movies, furniture, pictures … but we would survive, but at a very great cost.
42 – Watching someone fall away from Christ is horrible – but someone else falling away or leaving the faith or returning to a life of unrepentant sin doesn’t mean that we have.
43 – We will survive, but all we have worked for will have perished – Paul had the same concern for the church in Galatia – that all his hard work would have been in vain (Gal. 4:11)
44 – My challenge for us this morning and my word of encouragement is this … make sure all of your hard work is not in vain … we have worked too long and too hard to see things not amount to anything.
45 – Look around the room – you see who is here – you see who is not here – those are the people you are accountable to – those are the people you are responsible for … make sure to love these people … make sure to encourage these people … make sure they have not fallen away from the faith or make sure they don’t … do whatever it takes to bring them back if they have or should they fall away … call them, text them, email them, send them messages on Facebook, visit them, send them cards or letters, and always pray for them.