Latest / Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ) / "A Study of 1 Corinthians" by Neal Pollard - Part 3

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"A Study of 1 Corinthians" by Neal Pollard - Part 3 · Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

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Good morning. You might be wanting to turn in your
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Bibles to 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. We are in the
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middle of that chapter. As you look at the studies
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that we're doing in 1 Corinthians, and we haven't really tried
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to give you an outline, but I would suggest that chapters 1 through 4 really
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work together as a unit. The Apostle Paul is
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dealing with a mindset, a concern, a problem that
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is permeating the church there, and it's going to lead to some
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of the other issues. And as we think about what was
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studied last week, I think that Hiram got about halfway through 1 Corinthians
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chapter 3, and this was the outline that he
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was following. And just in the spirit of that, I'm going to keep the seeds
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going when we go through chapters 3 and 4.
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But in verses 1 through 4, he says, you got to come to terms,
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Paul does, and I think this is a good way to express that, with spiritual
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immaturity. These guys are still in the flesh. They're thinking in fleshly ways
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and they're being in the flesh and walking like men. How did that
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show itself in the context of what we've seen so far?
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Okay, so at the heart of it all, and we'll keep coming back to this,
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is that by walking in the flesh and thinking like mere men, first of all,
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Levi said it, It's causing divisions.
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What does it mean to walk in the flesh and to walk like mere men?
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How were they showing that? How could Paul tell?
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Okay, certainly in their lifestyle. How about in the church context?
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Bickering, dividing.
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Okay, so they were lining up behind personalities in the congregation.
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Perhaps the teaching and preaching was a part of that, maybe not confined to all
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of that. I want to suggest to you, though, I think the principle
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is true. Paul's going to say in chapter 4 and verse 6 that we
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have applied these things in a figure to ourselves,
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Paul and Apollos. I don't know that
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it is the entirety of the case that the congregation was
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lining up at Corinth behind Paul and Apollos and
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Cephas. Perhaps it would have been other names,
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and maybe Paul's trying to spare their feelings, and so he doesn't say it's Aristarchus
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and Sosthenes or whoever
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else, but maybe they were lining up behind them, but they were in their
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fleshly, their worldly wisdom. So you see that throughout
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chapters 1 through 4, they're showing themselves to be immature.
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They're thinking like the world, they're living like the world.
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And when you live like the world and you think like the world, there's going
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to be division. And so Paul is writing to counteract that
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by saying, to be of the same mind and the same judgment is to think
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with the mind of Christ, to use heavenly wisdom. So you think about in chapter
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2 where he says, we have the Spirit of God, we have the mind of
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Christ, and the mind of Christ isn't going to lead to this divisive
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behavior that you're exhibiting. He's given us His revelation so that
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we can know His will. He said, but you guys have a problem,
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and that is that you're still thinking like you did before you obeyed
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the gospel. You're acting like the culture of the world around you,
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and there's division everywhere. Okay, and then in verses
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5 through 9, the idea was that we want to correctly
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see the servants of God. And I think a great emphasis was made
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in that. Takes a lot of pressure off of us.
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We're not winning people to us. And we'll see that principle as we go through
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today's lesson, that it's all about God.
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You may be a part of the process, and you will be, and hopefully you
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are. You may be a planter, you may be a waterer, but who causes the
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increase, the growth? God. Okay, so God's the—
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He's the one in charge of the vineyard. He sees to its success.
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We're just laborers in that vineyard. And that's where Paul is when we pick up
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today and we begin looking at verse 10. And in verse 10, the Apostle
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Paul alludes to the fact that he is the one who has— is
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the one who established the church. He's the one who planted the
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church. And so he's acting like a wise master builder.
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So Take yourself back to Acts chapter 18.
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Paul has gone on the second missionary journey and he's done that 18 months
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worth of work and they won these converts to Christ. This is how the
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church started in Corinth. And so Paul goes back to
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that and he said, I followed a plan. I was going after
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a particular approach and I tried to work as a master
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builder. And so how did he build? First of all, think about this.
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That conversion relies upon God and
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converts are built upon the foundation of the Son of God.
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So what does he say in verse 11? What's the only right foundation?
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It's Christ. Now, I want you to think
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about this for a moment. When you sit down and you try
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to study the gospel with somebody, and by the way, this is an evangelism paragraph
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right here, what are we trying— what should we emphasize?
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In trying to bring them into Christ and help them to obey the gospel.
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So should we, should we emphasize in the study that
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we're the church that doesn't use instruments in worship?
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How about we don't have women preachers?
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How about baptism is for the remission of sins?
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Okay, so here's— so everybody's going, uh-oh, what's Neil doing?
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Look, what's the foundation? What are we converting them
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to? See, a lot of the division that takes place is when we
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put our focus in the wrong direction. Now let's make Jesus the foundation,
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and if we make Christ the foundation, what does that consist of?
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Christ left heaven, became one of
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us, lived a perfect sinless life. He died
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on the cross for us. He was raised from the dead.
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He ascended to heaven. He's at the right hand of the throne of God,
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and he must be Lord of our lives.
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He must be the master. He has to be the one in charge. If we
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can establish that, if we can get that in the hearts and the minds of
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the folks that we're trying to teach the gospel,
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won't the rest follow? If we see him as the authority in
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all things, Colossians 3:17, and we can let
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everyone understand that the way that you interact with the
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one who saved you from your sins is that you try to ascertain his
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will, know what it is and what it— what you're supposed to do with it.
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And you're going to respond to that because of what he's
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done for you and because of who he is and because of what position he
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needs to take in your life. So when Paul says, other foundation
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can no man lay than that, this is not in any way to
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be critical, but to remember that this is to be the emphasis. All right,
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now having said that, any thoughts before we get into this 3rd
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point? If you're going to correct congregational division,
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you've got to construct wisely. We've already kind of talked
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about the first part of that. In any building, you start with the foundation,
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and now we're going to talk about what's put on top of that foundation.
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Any thoughts? All right, so turn your Bibles to verses
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12 through 15. If converts
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are God's building, then they are the materials like Paul mentioned. So let's look
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at verses 12 through 15. Now, if any man builds on the foundation,
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what's the foundation? Christ, with gold,
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silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's
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work will become evident, for the day will show it
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because it is revealed, it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself
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will test the quality of each judge each man's work. If any
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man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.
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If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself
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will be saved, yet as through fire. All right, so what's Paul saying
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here? We've got a foundation.
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We're building on that foundation.
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That's what they were doing, I think. Wasn't that some of
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the particular things they were bringing back, some of the old
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laws and things like that? Okay, so Miss
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Dolores is saying that this has to do with the teaching. Is Paul talking about
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the teaching here? Look at verse 12,
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if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones,
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wood, hay, and straw. Let's just kind of break that apart.
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Who's the— what's the gold, silver, precious stones,
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wood, hay, and straw? It's materials.
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It's the converts. These are the people who
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are won. It does presuppose that they've been taught the right thing.
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Okay? Paul compares those
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who are converted to these different materials. So what's the difference
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between them? Do you detect the difference? In those materials?
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Some are strong and some aren't. Okay?
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So you've got— what would you put in the strong category?
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Gold, silver, precious stones.
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All right, so he's got 2 couplets here, 2 groups, 2 groupings,
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just to kind of flesh out the illustration. So you have some materials that
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are stronger, more endurable— more durable, and in a specific way. We'll see that
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in just a moment. And then you have the others, the wood, the straw,
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and the hay. Now,
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what happens to all of these materials? Yes, ma'am, go ahead, Kim. I have
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a question. Okay. Is there a distinction
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here between God and Jesus?
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Because it talks about the grace of God given to me, but then
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it says the foundation, which is Jesus Christ.
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So, and every time we say God, we say Jesus Christ. So I'm
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wondering if there's a No. And so, you have
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the process of revelation, which involves the Spirit, but not the Spirit alone.
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You have the process of conversion, which is the master plan
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of God, but of course, it's built upon the foundation
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of Christ. And so, no, there's no distinction.
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They're working together. Each has a different role in that.
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Okay? All right. So,
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So what happens to all these materials?
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Okay. All right. So you have a fire. So let's look
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just before we get to that and notice what he says in verse 13,
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each man's work. That's— who's
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each man? The soul winner,
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the person who is winning people. Each man's work will
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become evident for the day will
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show it. What's the day? You would think, but keep
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with the context. For the day will show it because it is to
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be revealed with fire, and the fire itself
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will test the quality of each man's work. Do we have to wait for the
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judgment for that to take place? What's the day if
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it's not the judgment? And I suggest that it's not.
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Okay, in one sense you can say that, but it's the day of trials.
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It's the day when you're tested. Okay, 'cause in that
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day when you're tested and you're tried, you can aptly describe
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that as fire. Maybe it's the fire of trials or the fire of temptation or
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the fire of somebody disappointed you and tempts you to stumble.
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And in that day, not when you're sitting out at camp and you have this
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wonderful fellowship and you're just filled with the euphoria of being
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around God's people and you're singing beautiful songs to God,
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not when you're in the, the comfort of the assembly and we
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have the encouragement, this is not where the day of testing typically comes.
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It's out there Monday through Saturday when you're out in the world or in some
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crisis that comes in your life. And here comes the fire.
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And what happens when that fire comes?
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Different things. What happens to the gold,
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silver, and the precious stones when the fire's acted
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upon it? It's refined. It is not destroyed.
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It may struggle. There may be problems, but on the other side
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of that, they're going to come out and things are going to be great.
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They're going to be spiritually fine, or at least spiritually
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alive. What about the wood, the hay, and the straw?
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Maybe in varying degrees. I think it's very interesting. I don't know that the Apostle
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Paul is trying to do this with this illustration, And you
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might see a difference even on the other side of that with the way that
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fire acts on gold, silver, and precious stones. Perhaps there's a little difference.
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Somebody who knows a lot more about that kind of thing than I do might
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say that higher temperatures, different kind of refinements take place.
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But think about it for just a moment. How long does it take for fire
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to get rid of straw? Hey, what about wood?
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Maybe a little less time, but it's still going to get consumed. And so it
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falls into that category. And so here you are in your Christian life, and the
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Apostle Paul is saying, that each one of us is building on the foundation
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of Christ. And as we build, we are building
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with materials. And what are the— so Paul was the first builder at Corinth.
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He did the first work. And then what happens after Paul's left
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Corinth? What does he suggest is still happening? More builders
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have come onto the worksite and they're continuing to build. See, this house is always
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being built because what is this house? It's the church.
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And so the materials are still being added on. And so Paul says
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each person is coming in and they're placing stones,
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pieces of the building on top of the foundation,
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but not every piece is the same.
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Some are going to endure and others are not going
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to endure. Now, I think that there is
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some further explanation. Look at verse 14 and 15. If any man's work which he
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has built on it remains, remains, he will receive
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a reward. What does that mean? Say it again.
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What will the reward— okay. So what if you convert 15
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people and they all fall away? Do you lose heaven?
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No. Okay. So I certainly think there's an eternal
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perspective in this, but how would one be rewarded
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if he built on the work and the work that he built on the
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piece of the building that he puts on is gold.
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What would the reward be?
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It would be— it would take place in heaven. Yes,
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ma'am. Okay,
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we'll talk about that in just a moment. That's a great thought, but not necessarily
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connected to this. If you win somebody to
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Christ, and they endure the trials and the temptations,
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are you ever going to know about that?
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Maybe not here. Will you ultimately know about it?
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What kind of a response would that be? Or let's say you outlive
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your convert and they have been faithful.
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You've helped to win them to Christ. You're a planter, a waterer. God caused
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the growth. But on the other side of that, they live faithfully, and then you
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go to their funeral, And by all apparent
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perspectives, they died walking in the light of
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Christ. How do you think that would make you feel?
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Would you be able to use the word reward? Each would receive a reward there?
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I would suggest that's what Paul's saying here. 'Cause Paul, I mean,
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if anybody knows about that, it's Paul, because Paul's been going all over
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the known world and he's sharing the gospel with different individuals. And he is seeing,
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he has been able to see, think about him in 2 Timothy 4. He's at
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the end of his life. And he's thinking about people who have made it,
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who have stayed with him, Luke, John Mark. And then
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there are those that have departed like Demas. And it's
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got to be, and maybe even Paul's intimating that when he was first
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arrested, that maybe some were showing that they were hay and wood and straw and
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they weren't, and so that was disappointing. It was heartbreaking.
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But if the work, if we understand that the work that Paul
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is talking about here, those different materials are people who are won to Christ,
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And if that work which he has built upon remains,
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they don't fall away, he will receive a reward.
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Now, somebody might ask, is this talking about degrees of reward and punishment?
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That might be the truth, but I don't think that's Paul's point here.
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I think what Paul is saying here is that in the process of winning
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a soul to Christ, when they remain, when they stick, when they remain faithful,
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that is rewarding. And anybody who's ever been involved in influencing
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somebody to obey the gospel can appreciate and testify to
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that fact. Now, if any man's work is burned
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up, he will suffer loss. We've got to make these parallel, and this kind of
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helps us with the interpretation of verse 14. What's Paul saying?
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That's it. That's it. Thankfully, he's not
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saying, if you— if anybody you win to Christ falls away,
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then that's it, you're going to— you're going to be punished for that.
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Now, if you're a stumbling block and you cause that to happen, we have
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passages that talk about that. Even Paul in 1 Corinthians is going to talk about
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not being that kind of a stumbling block.
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But if you're feeling, thinking,
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sensing people and you're out there trying to win
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people to Christ and you have poured your heart and your soul into
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somebody and they obey the gospel,
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you watch them, man, what a wonderful moment that is, and then you see
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them maybe in a short period of time, maybe it's years before it happens
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and they fall away, it's going— especially if you were directly
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involved in that, man, you're going to suffer loss. It's going to hurt.
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I think this is maybe what Paul has in mind in 2 Corinthians, chapter 11,
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verse 28 and 29, when he said he had pressed upon him the daily
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concerns of the church. He says, who is weak without me being
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weak? And who is led into sin without it impacting me?
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In this direct way,
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I want you to think for a moment about people that
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have obeyed the gospel. And let's just pan out a little bit. Let's say the
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last 10 years, maybe that makes it a little emotionally safer.
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There may be individuals in the last 10 years who,
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as the result of efforts done by members in this congregation,
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have obeyed the gospel. I want you to take the time for just a moment
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to do some mental inventory. Are there some faces that
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are missing? And I want you to particularly think about somebody that maybe you have
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influenced and they're no longer faithful.
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Now, if you can summon up somebody in your mind,
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maybe it wasn't that you taught them the gospel, but maybe you poured into their
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life after they became a Christian. You were one to try to help them to
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grow in their discipleship. You were interested in them and
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you invested time into them, and now you
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know that they're no longer faithful. They've fallen away. Maybe they ghosted
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us. Maybe they gave us a reason for whatever it was. They're gone.
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How do you feel? That's what Paul is conveying
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here, it seems to me, in verse 15. Now,
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let's deal with one other element of this. Will be
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saved, yet so as through fire. First of all, who's the he?
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The converter. All right, the teacher. He himself will
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be saved if the one that he has reached with the
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gospel is wood, straw, or hay. He's going to feel
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the pain of that loss, yet he himself will
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be saved. What does that mean?
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What does this mean though, Chuck? What does this mean? We'll get to the overall
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He himself will be saved. What does that mean? Well, he will be saved because
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he secured the boat. The boat
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is focusing on the believer's works, but he will be saved because
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his salvation is secure through Christ. It is secure through Christ.
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How? You'll answer for yourself.
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Now, here's the cool thing about that in verse 15. This analogy
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puts us on both sides of this. You are a builder,
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but you're also a stone that somebody else has built.
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Isn't that right? Now you go back to Paul, Paul's the first builder in Corinth,
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but other people came along and built. You are to be a soul winner,
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but if you are a Christian, you're somebody else's work.
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How are you going to be saved? By being
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gold, silver, and precious stones when the
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day of trials and temptations are the fires that come into
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your life. And in the face of that and in response to
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that, if you don't fall away, if you continue to be saved,
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you're— it's— I mean, to me, it's an incredible thing to put this
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in a 2,000-year context. Now, when did somebody who's a
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historian for this congregation— '53, '55, is that when
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this congregation was planted? '55.
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Okay, so the church didn't begin to meet here until 70 years
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ago, but we're all part of a continuum of evangelism that
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has taken place throughout time. It started in Jerusalem in Acts chapter 2,
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and the gospel went to the whole world, Colossians 1:23,
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and the gospel was planted at different times in different places.
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Maybe we'd say that it really took off again about 200-something years
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ago in this country through the work of restoration
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individuals who were trying to get us back to Christianity,
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but we're all part of this continuum, this building
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process that's been going on for 2,000 years. And somebody
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laid us on the foundation of Christ. And as those laid there,
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we're all to be trying to put others on that foundation atop
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of us. And it continues, and that building will go on until the end.
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And it seems to me that's what the Apostle Paul is saying here.
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He's saying, man, you have been putting the glory on the
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planters and the waterers, but God causes the growth. And he causes the
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growth by putting it on the foundation, which is Christ. And each one of us
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are building. And what we're aiming at is making sure that we can win as
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many people as possible who endure. But if they don't endure,
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that's as the result of their being tested by fires and trials in just
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the same way we will. Okay? Yes, sir. 2 things.
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One is, uh, Ezekiel specifically says if
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you make the effort to teach and they do
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not stay, God will still credit you as if
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they did stay because you made the effort. Okay. And then the second
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thing, you yourself are a perfect example of
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what Paul is saying here.
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Think about all the young men that you've taught in your life.
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You know, you've taught innumerable young men, and I'm
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sure you followed their lives and their stories as
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they've gone out to preach themselves. And you think about
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all the ones that they have converted who are now Christians because of
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their efforts, but it's also because of your efforts too.
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You're a rewarder of the efforts of those men because
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they're rewarder of your— you're rewarded because of their efforts.
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And that's, I think, exactly what Paul is saying
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here. And then secondly, think about the ones that you've
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taught, because I'm sure there are many you've taught and you're very well aware of
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who've fallen away. Sure. Who didn't continue in the teaching.
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It's very sad, but would you have done anything different in
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your teaching to them? You know, as Ezekiel says,
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that's their problem, they fell away. Right. And the reward
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is you look at it and you think that I've done all I could do
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on that and I could not have done anything else to save
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them. You can't save all people. That's right. You still have the reward both
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ways. Yeah. You yourself in your example, in your life, I think
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are a great illustration of what Paul was trying to say here.
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Well, and Paul, thank you for that. Paul is trying to,
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again, direct the focus to God's efforts
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and God's work, and he's working through individuals. And some of that's
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just the unexpected nature of
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conversion. When you sit down to study with somebody,
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all you get to analyze is what's on the outside and maybe
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the factors that are given to you, the person as they are in their present
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state. Not what they could be or what they're going to
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open up their heart and allow the gospel to do in their lives and they
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develop and grow. And I think all of us could think of individuals
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who far exceeded our expectations,
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that we had no idea when we were sharing the gospel with them that they
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were going to be so hungry for souls and they would go
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out and they would win others.
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And I just want to randomly, I'm just picking one.
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I know I could pick 50 others, but I think about Dawson Hendricks, for example.
25:40
Dawson obeyed the gospel, and who knew? I mean,
25:44
I don't know that there's anything on the outside that said this guy was going
25:47
to be influencing all of his friends and getting them into Bible studies and helping
25:50
them to see their need to obey the truth.
25:54
And how many will ultimately be won through Dawson?
25:59
See, and that perfectly illustrates the principle that Mike has
26:03
said there is, you know, it's that whole idea of how many apples are in
26:05
a seed? When somebody is won,
26:09
you have no idea the amplification. And I suppose that
26:13
each of us could think back in the background if we've been in church for
26:16
any period of time and think about how the gospel went to one person and
26:20
that one person reached out and won somebody else and that person won somebody
26:24
else. And the next thing you know, that the fruit on that tree extends several
26:28
spiritual generations. And who knows at the end
26:32
of that? I think about Andrew. Man, what's the fruit to his account? Who did
26:36
he bring to Christ? His brother Peter. And how
26:41
many folks did Peter win? I can think of 3,000 in
26:44
Acts chapter 2, 5,000 in Acts chapter 4 and 5—
26:48
3 through 5. Man, think about all that came out of that
26:53
initial effort. But on the other side of that,
26:57
it's heartbreaking when it doesn't go that way. For sure. All right,
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any other thoughts on verse 11 through 15?
27:05
Now Paul's using this metaphor of the vineyard, and now he's
27:08
using the building metaphor, and he expands on that. He changes
27:12
this. He refers to this spiritual building as a what?
27:16
It's a temple. All right, and this is the same picture
27:20
that Paul builds for the church in Ephesus. He says to the Christians there,
27:23
he says, you're no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens of the saints.
27:27
And members of the household of God, having been built upon the foundation of the
27:31
apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief
27:34
cornerstone. He's saying the church at Corinth is a temple
27:38
of God with the Spirit of God having his residence among
27:42
them. That makes division doubly
27:46
deadly, doesn't it? Because what does he talk about somebody
27:49
doing with the temple here?
27:53
Defiling it, destroying it, maybe your version may
27:56
say. So here's the question, how does that happen?
28:00
In context, how does one destroy the temple of
28:04
God, the church? That's certainly
28:07
true. That's certainly— and that's a prevailing New Testament principle,
28:11
teaching false teaching. How about in 1 Corinthians specifically? How does
28:15
one destroy the temple of God? Division.
28:19
Now that takes in false teaching, but that takes in lining up behind personalities,
28:23
that takes in fleshly wisdom instead of spiritual wisdom.
28:26
And so Paul says, when you divide,
28:30
when you line up behind men and you make
28:34
your loyalties lower than Christ,
28:37
here's something else you need to keep in mind. You are negatively
28:42
affecting the temple of God. And why is that important?
28:45
By the way, Paul's going to use an image here, not an image because it's
28:48
not just an image, He's painting a picture for us,
28:52
a true picture. In chapter 6, he's going to talk about
28:56
the Holy Spirit being in the individual. It's one of
28:59
14 statements in the New Testament explicitly saying the Holy Spirit of
29:03
God is in the Christian, but he's speaking in the plural
29:06
here. He's saying, now, before you line up
29:10
behind me and you are divisive in your behaviors and you're quarreling
29:13
and you're causing disruption in the local church,
29:17
I want you to step back and look at the church as a temple.
29:21
Think about the sacrifice that was made. Think about the
29:25
work that goes on. Not only that,
29:28
but the Spirit of God is in that temple.
29:34
And when you wrangle and fight, you are
29:38
harming, you're doing damage to
29:42
the temple. And what happens when that happens?
29:46
What does Paul say? Him, say it again.
29:51
Him God will destroy. Paul's saying this
29:55
isn't little, this isn't trifling stuff here. This is important.
29:59
And so keep that in mind. All right. Any other
30:03
thoughts about that before we move into the next section? All right.
30:07
As you build, don't deceive yourselves. This is what Paul is saying in verse 18
30:11
through 23. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you among you thinks
30:15
himself to be wise in this age, he must become foolish so that
30:19
he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God.
30:22
Does that sound familiar? It's chapter 1. For it is written,
30:26
he is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness. And again, the Lord
30:30
knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless. So then let no
30:33
one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos
30:37
or Cephas or the world or life or death
30:41
or things present or things to come, all things belong to
30:44
you. And you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to
30:48
God. All right, so Paul is saying what he
30:52
said in chapter 1, that the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God.
30:56
He says that in verse 19. And he says that for a
31:00
particular reason in chapter 3. It's to drive home the point
31:04
that they should not boast in men, whether we're talking about Paul or Apollos
31:08
or Cephas or whoever the personalities are that are causing
31:11
the problems. But it's also to show that their glory and
31:14
their worth are tied to their being in Christ and their belonging to
31:18
him. We wrestle with so much pride,
31:23
our earthly accomplishments and the things that make us stand
31:26
out, but those are not the things that are going to get us into heaven.
31:30
It's not the stuff that's going to bring about unity.
31:33
Worldly wisdom is a dead-end street. If you think of it this way, the I
31:37
in Christ is small. Not big. And so that's me.
31:41
I'm little. I'm serving in
31:45
a role in the body of Christ along with everybody else. And Paul's
31:49
about to show them that the way that a steward and a servant acts,
31:53
how they behave, chapter 4 and verse 1. And so we want to be humble
31:57
in our service to Christ, and that's going to unify the body. That's how
32:01
Paul closes this idea of be careful how you build.
32:05
You're part of the process, and there's— it kind of
32:09
comes back to where— how he started the chapter. Don't rely on earthly wisdom.
32:13
Don't rely on your physical accomplishments
32:17
because God's the one who is causing the growth.
32:21
Christ is the foundation upon which we're building.
32:25
Any thoughts on chapter 3 or questions?
32:29
All right, let's move into chapter 4. All right, if we're going to avoid
32:33
or correct congregational division, we've got to consider our work.
32:36
That's what Paul says in chapter 4, verse 1 through 13.
32:39
Now, this chapter break is man-made here. Paul's not changing
32:43
the subject. I think what he's doing is he's drawing a conclusion based on what
32:47
he has just said in chapter 3. If anybody
32:50
uses the NIV, I think they actually do a good job here. They say,
32:54
it says, so then. If you have the ESV, it says,
32:58
this is how. The New American Standard and the New King James says,
33:02
let a man. But Paul is drawing a conclusion
33:06
based on what he's just told them. So here's the conclusion.
33:09
Since we belong to Christ, we need to look closer
33:13
at our responsibility to Christ. And here's what he shows us. That first
33:17
of all, we're to be faithful stewards of God's mysteries. This is verse 1 and
33:21
verse 2. This is how— here's what Paul says. This is how one should regard
33:25
us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, Moreover,
33:28
it is required of stewards that they be found
33:32
faithful. All right, so when you think about the teachers
33:36
and the influences in your spiritual life,
33:39
how should you look at them? How should you regard them
33:43
according to Paul?
33:47
All right, yeah, you are to regard them well. Now let's think about that
33:50
more specifically. Were these folks regarding their
33:54
Pauls, Cephas, and Apollos as well? Did they highly regard their
33:58
guy? They did. So what's Paul saying here
34:01
in chapter 4, verse 1 and 2? When we're talking about Paul and
34:05
Apollos, these evangelists who have caused so much growth in the body of
34:08
Christ, when you look at them, what should
34:13
you think of according to verse 1 and 2? What are they? They're servants
34:17
of God. They're also something else.
34:21
They're stewards of God. What's a steward?
34:25
That's a caretaker. It's a manager. So when you think
34:28
about those who have been building on the foundation of Jesus Christ, I want you
34:32
to see them as God's slaves, his bondservants,
34:36
the one who is out there doing the bidding of the master. Remember,
34:39
when we build on the foundation of Christ, we're saying he's the master, he's the
34:43
Lord, and if we can get somebody converted to that idea, then they're going to
34:46
take off. They're going to be obedient to Christ. They're going to do his will.
34:50
And they're also going to take seriously the charge that we collectively have.
34:56
I don't think it's confined to evangelism, but I do
35:00
think in context, that's what he's talking about here.
35:05
How can you be a steward of— in the
35:09
realm of evangelism? I'm not talking about Hiram and me, I'm talking about
35:12
all of us. How are you
35:16
a servant of Christ in this process and how are you a steward?
35:20
I'm not asking what have you done? I'm asking how does one fulfill those roles
35:25
as a member, a builder in the body of Christ?
35:30
Okay, it's certainly going to take in your example and the
35:33
way that you live and making sure that you are away from
35:37
the assemblies and away from the body, that when you're by yourself
35:40
Monday through Saturday, that you are Matthew 5:13-16ing.
35:44
It's your light and salt out there.
35:48
Okay. All right. So, so we're getting— we're going to get more and more
35:52
uncomfortable. That's uncomfortable to try to make sure I'm living like
35:56
I say I believe when I'm singing and I'm praying. It gets a little more
35:59
uncomfortable when I'm, I'm peeling my eyes and
36:03
it's the person that I can have influence in, in my, in my life and
36:05
not just seeing them but actively looking for
36:10
a way to reach them.
36:13
Okay, and that makes one both a servant and a steward. Anything else?
36:25
Okay, feeling the
36:33
weight. Did Paul feel the weight?
36:36
What does the Apostle Paul say to start the letter to the Romans?
36:40
Before we get to, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, what does he say?
36:44
I am a what? All right,
36:47
I am a bondservant. Yep, I'm after that. He says, I am to the Jews
36:51
and the Greeks, to the wise, to the barbarians, I'm a debtor.
36:56
All right, here's what I say when I look at that. If Paul was a
36:59
debtor, what am I? I mean,
37:03
here's Paul out there slaving away. And look, by the way, I'm not trying to
37:06
make you— I'm not— this isn't a guilt trip. I'm trying to help us make
37:10
1 Corinthians 4:1-2 live in our lives because Paul is talking
37:14
about he and Apollos and as examples to them saying,
37:18
here's what we are. We're not idols to be worshiped. We're not men to
37:21
line behind and say, this is my guy. I am a— we
37:25
are stewards and we are servants.
37:29
But if that's true of them and we're in the body of Christ, we're the
37:32
same thing. And what does that mean in our lives? Yes, sir.
37:35
I think it says stewards
37:39
of the mysteries of God. Good. That's an important point.
37:43
We have an obligation to try to learn
37:49
the scriptures and live it,
37:53
of course, and try to explain that to someone
37:57
else. That's exactly right. If you'll go back to chapter 2 and
38:01
verse 1, The mysteries of God are the testimonies of God.
38:04
If you go back to chapter 2 and verse 7, these, the mysteries
38:08
are the once, that once hidden message that other writers,
38:12
Romans 16:25, Ephesians 3:1 and following. What's the
38:16
mystery? What is the mystery the New Testament talks about?
38:21
The gospel is for all.
38:24
Now that doesn't sound like some big revelation to us, does it? Why is that?
38:27
Because we have the New Testament to tell us this. If you think about that
38:30
in the first century context, who did they think the gospel was for? For the
38:34
Jews for a while. And so you have the work that's being done to take
38:37
the gospel to the entire world. And so Paul's saying, this was
38:40
long held in the mind of God and now it's made known to you in
38:43
Ephesians chapter 3. It's this wonderful mystery that Christ came to die,
38:46
not just for a race or a particular nation, but for everybody. We're stewards
38:51
of that. So how do we become stewards of that? I'm going to— you're—
38:55
by the way, you are being stewards of that right now.
39:01
As you do this, and as you— and in fact,
39:03
even, even more, as you do this and then you, you do this and
39:08
you make those connections, and as you're drawing, you're writing, and you know,
39:11
you're saying, I want to know this better, not just so
39:14
I'll become more informed, but so I will sense
39:18
my responsibility, look for my opportunities, live as an example
39:22
so that I can go out there and and I can show somebody the
39:27
gospel.
39:30
Absolutely not. We've got to be consistent. All right,
39:33
let me move ahead just really quick here. We're to remember who's examining our
39:38
work. Paul says, now here's something that should comfort you. Don't worry about
39:41
what other people are saying and thinking about you.
39:44
Don't be concerned about the perpetual critic
39:48
and the armchair quarterback, but also don't go polishing your trophies and emphasizing
39:52
your accomplishments because in the end, who's the evaluator?
39:57
You'll stand before him. He's going to evaluate your work.
40:01
And in a sense,
40:04
given the doors that the Lord opened in
40:08
your life, were you always slamming those
40:12
or were you trying? Hey, look, man, maybe you just messed it up
40:16
really bad. Maybe you were awkward or maybe you just,
40:20
you know, that whole thing that we dread, The thing we dread in soul winning.
40:24
Hey, would you, would you like to study the Bible? No, go away. Well,
40:26
who are you? That's what we think. Don't you think every time that's
40:30
what's going to happen? At least sometimes we might think that way.
40:34
The Lord's not going to make us responsible for that. We're, we're builders who are
40:38
trying to build. Um, but the Lord's going to evaluate,
40:42
you know, what we did with the opportunities and how we responded. Huh?
40:47
Keep knocking. That's right. Look for doors to open and then do our very
40:50
best and be like Paul. As prolific
40:55
as he was in this regard, he is always wanting more boldness.
41:01
You know, I say this often.
41:05
I work alongside the boldest person that I've
41:09
ever met in soul winning, and I follow
41:13
his example all the time. I try to,
41:16
and it makes me say, man, I want to be bolder. Help me.
41:20
Help me not— help me get over myself because
41:24
there's souls in the balance. There are people who need to go to heaven,
41:28
and God's counting on me. But that's
41:32
something I'm doing in relationship with God because he's
41:36
the one who's going to evaluate the work that I'm doing, okay?
41:42
Let's just hit this really quick together. We need to follow good examples
41:46
of humility. So Paul's driving them back. Stop following worldly wisdom,
41:49
earthly wisdom. Pursue the example of
41:53
Christ, our example, as we've shown it to you. And that's what he's going to
41:56
lean on here. He says, these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself
42:01
and Apollos. This is why I think he's trying to soften the blow for them
42:04
and to save their feelings. He's not really talking about them.
42:07
He's talking about their little pockets of personalities that are causing problems.
42:12
For your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to
42:16
exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant
42:20
in behalf of one against the other. For who regards you as superior?
42:24
What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it,
42:28
why do you boast as if you did— had not received it? You're already filled,
42:31
you've already become rich, you've become kings without us. And indeed,
42:34
I wish that you had become kings so that we might also reign with you.
42:37
For I think God has exhibited us apostles last of
42:41
all, as men condemned to death, because We have become a spectacle to
42:45
this world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake,
42:48
but you're prudent in Christ. We are weak, but you're strong.
42:51
You are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour, we are
42:55
both hungry and thirsty, poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless. We toil,
42:59
we work with our own hands. We're reviled, we bless. We're persecuted, but we
43:03
endure. When we are slandered, we try to conciliate. We have become as the scum
43:07
of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now. Just take away
43:10
from this, that they were proud and haughty and they were lining up behind
43:14
me. And Paul says, here are your examples.
43:19
How are we seen? How are
43:23
those who've been involved in soul winning? Just go through the list there. We're dregs.
43:28
We're the scum of the earth. We've been rejected. We've been persecuted.
43:33
We're not— it's not this glamorous thing.
43:37
We're servants, we're humble. He's not saying we're humble,
43:40
but that's the picture that comes out of this. And so you need to
43:44
change the approach that you've been taking and be humble.
43:48
And if they're humble, by the way, what would be the result in the local
43:51
church at Corinth? They would be united. All right,
43:55
that's Paul's point. Let me just say this. I don't know, is it okay if
43:58
I go ahead and just finish chapter 4? Cultivate unity through instruction.
44:03
Look at verse 14 through 21. I do not
44:06
write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.
44:09
For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would have many
44:13
fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the gospel.
44:16
Therefore, I exhort you, be imitators of me.
44:20
For this reason, I have sent you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child
44:23
in the Lord. He'll remind you of my ways in Christ, and so forth.
44:28
Paul is saying here, you know what?
44:32
Hiram will help you know what it means next week when he teaches,
44:37
because worship's coming in a few minutes. Thanks very much for your attention. We'll pick
44:40
up in 4:14 next week.