The Foundation Matters

Introduction

Anyone who has ever built anything, knows that the foundation matters.

When you build anything you must first make sure the foundation is going to be good enough to hold the construction.

This is true even if the building is set on a slab or pier and beam construction.

If the piers are not set right and the beams square, the building will suffer.

If the concrete slab is set in a marshy area without the proper footing and then if the concrete is not the proper thickness, the building will suffer.

Foundation Maters.

It matters in life too.

When we raise children we have a goal of giving them the proper foundation.

We train them in manners, work ethic, education, and teach them how to have proper dietary and hygiene structures so they can become productive members of society.

This is laying a proper foundation.

Each of those things listed are great parts of the foundation in our children’s lives, but one key part was left out in this description.

That is the cornerstone: Jesus Christ.

Here in this section under study today, we see that building on the foundation of Jesus is crucial, but so are the materials we use because if we use the wrong materials, we will suffer loss and shame.

Remember what Jesus said in Matt. 7:24-27

Matthew 7:24–27 ESV

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

When we build on a weak foundation, with the wrong materials we will suffer.

We will go down when it gets hard. We will fail and flounder around.

We will be like that ship Randy Travis sang of that was lost at sea, we would be floundering around lost in the rain of a hurricane if we didn’t build on the right foundation with the right materials.

Not to mention if we miss the right foundation, we are building on something other than Christ.

If we are building on something other than Christ, we are building over the pit of hell.

When our building crumbles, and it will crumble, if we have built on something other than Christ, that fall will be into the fires of hell.

Those who have built this way have no idea how close to hell they are everyday.

Hell is real and it awaits all who do not have Christ as their foundation.

This is urgent because we do not know when our last day on this earth will be. We could go at any moment.

Don’t be found having built on something other than Jesus Christ. He is the only foundation and Paul laid this foundation based on the grace of God alone.

In 1 Cor. 3:10-15 we read

1 Corinthians 3:10–15 ESV

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Three main points leap out at me when I read this section.

There is one Foundation, Your Materials you build with Matter, and Joy or Shame are our options we have.

So let us examine that...

There is One Foundation

Here in verses 10-11, Paul makes it clear that he laid the foundation of Jesus Christ in Corinth but only because of the grace of God.

He makes sure all know he was only a man used by God to lay this foundation.

He came in and made it known that Jesus is the only way and that He is the one we must build on.

No one can lay another foundation because there is not another foundation.

The church is not like the world of construction where we have multiple foundations we can use.

The church, and your life as a Christian, is only built on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

Like I have already said, if we build on anything else, it will crumble and tumble us into hell, or at least it will tumble us into despair and hopefully we will wake up before we do tumble into hell.

So, what Paul is saying, is that if someone is building on their fame, style, rhetoric, or anything else but Jesus, get away.

We only grow as believers when we are brought up in the knowledge of the Lord by being built from His foundation and no one elses.

Many churches today have moved away from the foundation of Christ because their growth was not happening like they wanted.

They have added new fancy lighting, brought in rock bands, stopped preaching the Word of God and have started giving pep talks.

They have now built on their model and desires because when people come, money comes.

Yes, the church needs money to operate effectively, but getting people in the doors for their money by teaching them doctrine that will send them to hell, is not building on the foundation of Jesus.

The same is in our walks with the Lord.

We must take care to build on His foundation with correct materials because if we are building on His foundation but with material that will not stand, we will falter too.

We will suffer some when our building collapses.

We will struggle in life because we did not build with the correct materials because...

Your Materials Matter

Erwin Lutzer wrote a book called “Your Eternal Reward: Triumph and Tears at the Judgment Seat of Christ.”

In this book he stated that, “The person you are today will determine the rewards you will receive tomorrow.”

What this means is that what you do today matters to what will come when you are with the Lord.

When we build on the foundation of Christ with the correct materials we will not lose them to fire and destruction.

Look at verse 13. Paul says that your work will be made manifest on that Day because it will be tested by fire.

When you build with things that are only important to this world when you make it to that Day, the judgment day, you will lose everything you built.

Why? Because you built with your desire, what others would see, basically with a desire to receive the applause of man for your glory and not the glory of God.

This is like those churches that have built their numbers on false teaching and pep talks, they will lose all those rewards at the judgment seat.

They will not have rewards in heaven because they received their rewards here in this world because money and fame were more important to them.

This is what Paul is getting at because the context surrounding this section is all about divisions in the church because the people were following specific teachers.

They were going with what this guy said or what this guy said.

They were not growing in their faith because they were building on the wrong foundation.

They were weak in their faith and needed to stop eating milk and grow.

They needed to advance past the petty things of this world and begin to grow and build the temple of God.

The after context speaks of destroying the temple of God, which is us.

We are that temple because we have the Spirit in us.

If we try and build on the wrong foundation with the wrong material we are destroying the temple of God.

We are telling God He is not worthy of our bodies or our growth.

We tell Him He does not know what He is doing and that we know better.

For us to not fall into that line of living, we must seek to only build on the Foundation of our crucified Messiah with material that is fitting of Him.

Do you think Jesus is only worth the frail material of straw that falters when the wind blows, or weak wood that will rot away?

These materials are that of wrong motives or weak living.

Wrong motives may be that you come to church on Sunday mornings just to check a box.

If you are only coming to check a box, then you are building on the crucified Messiah, the man who died for you and suffered in your stead and rose again to give you everlasting life,with straw.

You are slapping Jesus in the face telling Him He is only worthy of cheap straw and nothing more.

Or if you are one who only calls on the name of the Lord to make a point or call out others who are “worse” sinners than you, this is building with weak rotten wood.

Maybe you have built with hay. Yes, hay has thickness to it and may shelter you for a while, but it molds and rots and burns up just like the other two.

Hay is nothing more than a false front of faithful living. The one who talks the talk but fails to walk the talk.

The one who is only a “good” Christian when around other Christians so they look good.

None of these materials are worthy of Christ and none will get you anything when you are in eternity with Christ, if you have even built on His foundation that is.

Paul says to build with material that is worthy of Christ. Gold, silver, precious stones.

These are works that are for the Lord and others.

Works that are about Him above self.

Like living out what the Bible says.

Coming to church to worship God because He is worthy.

Coming to fellowship with others because we gain strength for the wicked world waiting when we have each other.

Serving in the church and community for the glory of the Lord and not self.

Studying the Word so we can help others and help them see the beauty of the Lord.

A good illustration comes from this little writing I read this week:

Self-righteous service comes through human effort. True service comes from a relationship with the divine Other deep inside. Self-righteous service is impressed with the "big deal." True service finds it almost impossible to distinguish the small from the large service. Self-righteous service requires external rewards. True service rests contented in hiddenness. Self-righteous service is highly concerned about results. True service is free of the need to calculate results. Self-righteous service picks and chooses whom to serve. True service is indiscriminate in its ministry. Self-righteous service is affected by moods and whims. True service ministers simply and faithfully because there is a need. Self-righteous service is temporary. True service is a life-style. Self-righteous service is without sensitivity. It insists on meeting the need even when to do so would be destructive. True service can withhold the service as freely as perform it. Self-righteous service fractures community. True service, on the other hand, builds community.

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, "The Discipline of Service."

Seek to build with gold and silver and precious stones because Christ is worth it, your future with Him is worth it, and because to do so is to serve others and they are worth it.

Another reason for this is because...

Joy or Shame? It Is Your Choice

You really can decide whether you will have joy or shame when you see Jesus.

Paul tells us this in verses 14-15.

If the work we built on the foundation survives we receive a reward, Joy.

But if the works burn up, we receive loss and will be brought through the fire.

We will be joy filled or sorrow filled at this point.

If our lives have been based on a self-righteousness or self-serving masked as service to the Lord, it will be made known.

We will be in a state of tears and grief at these failures.

Not because we are being condemned to eternal punishment, but because we have failed to glorify our Savior.

Know this though, these rewards are not something that is expected for you to get more of the inheritance in the kingdom with the Father.

No, these works are part of the tests we either pass or fail.

The Father will test you to see if you are worthy of more inheritance. If you are capable of handling the small portion before the larger.

He is testing your dependability.

As Lutzer stated, “Dependability on earth translates into greater responsibility in heaven.” (Lutzer, Reward, 15).

We are judged on our worthiness and receive more inheritance by being worthy not by earning it.

We cannot earn anything before the Lord.

All we have from Him is from His grace.

These tests are part of His grace.

The rewards are from His grace.

“We are rewarded because of His generosity, not His obligation.” (Lutzer, 15).

When we build on the foundation of Jesus Christ with the materials He desires us to build with, we will receive the ultimate reward that is imaginable: becoming what our Creator intended us to become.

We will become more like Christ. We will begin to grow in Christlikeness.

When we build with what Jesus desires us to build with, and not what we want to build with, we will begin to be who we will be for eternity.

We will impact our eternity by what we do or do not do in this life.

This section is not only about what we build with in our lives for us, but if we build on the foundation of Jesus for the greater good of others.

Do we strive to make people stronger and better disciples of Jesus Christ, or to follow us?

Do we desire likes and loves on social media over making people into committed Christ followers?

But, if we have built on the foundation of Christ with the wrong materials in our own lives, then we will do the same for others too.

Think about this domino effect of faulty building materials you built with and then build others with.

Have you ever seen those shoddy constructed buildings in some foreign countries that collapse at the slightest tremble of the earth?

Like the luxury housing complex in Turkey last year they had an earthquake with a 7.8 magnitude, which is pretty high, and the housing complex that was said to be earthquake-proof collapsed. 

That was not the only building though. No, they said 84,700 buildings collapsed or were severely damaged in that earthquake.

These buildings were all built the same way form many of the same companies, with faulty materials on faulty foundations.

You see, when we build on the correct foundation but with the wrong materials, then we disciple others the same way, they go and do likewise.

This leads to many not even building on the right foundation, and therefore, major collapse will happen.

This is not being faithful with the things God has given us and using it to His glory.

This is the works that we will have burn up before our eyes and cause shame rather than joy.

This is the loss of inheritance we will have at the judgment seat of Jesus.

I say let us go and seek to build people up with the truth of Scripture and help them see who Jesus is and let ourselves always look to see who Jesus is.

It is Jesus and nothing else that is the foundation.

As the song “Cornerstone” sings:

My Hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness

And I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly trust in Jesus name

Christ alone, cornerstone

Weak made strong in the Savior’s love

Through the storm

He is Lord, Lord of all

Jesus is the foundation, and He is what we use to build the rest with.

If we build with anything else, it will fail.

Conclusion

On that note I want to end with a piece I wrote this week about being a failure.

We are failures whether we want to admit it.

I'm a Failure

I am a failure. I know this through and through. But before anyone thinks this is a pity party post, just know you are a failure, too.

You may be saying, “Wait a minute. I am not a failure. I have a good life. I am successful in my work.” Or another may say, “I am a successful athlete with a lot going for me. I am not a failure because I am successful in all I do.”

All that may be true, but you are still a failure. But before anyone thinks this post is from spite, jealousy, or envy, I am a failure at all I have done.

I was a failure as a cowboy. I was a failure as a farrier. I am a failure as a pastor. I am a failure as a seminary student. I am a failure as a husband. I am a failure as a dad.

We are all failures because we are imperfect people. We may perform to the best we can, but even that is still imperfect. None of us are perfect, nor do all things ideally. I would venture to say that even things we think are perfectly done are imperfect. This makes us all failures.

So, I’m a failure. I am, but there is one who is not. He saw me and gave me His grace. He lived perfectly for me. He died where I should have. He, the perfect One, gave everything for me a failure. He gave everything for you a failure, too.

You see, it is in admitting our imperfections and failures that we can rest in the grace He, Jesus Christ, offers. His grace is sufficient for us, and it is by His grace that I am what I am.

So, I will joyfully say I am a failure because, in my weaknesses, His power is made perfect. I will rest in His grace and trust Him to carry me as I struggle through and continually fail. I will because His grace is sufficient for a failure like me. How about you?

When I recognize I am a failure and can’t do anything apart from Jesus, Then I will begin to build on the right foundation.

When I recognize that I am a failure, I will then begin to build with the right material.

When I recognize that I am a failure, I will realize that it is only through Jesus that I will be capable of having Joy at the judgment seat.

The beautiful thing is that we can build on the right foundation with the right material and have joy at the judgment seat when we submit and surrender to the leading and grace of Jesus Christ.