Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

1 Corinthians 1:3-10-15

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

Paul speaks of himself as the master builder who has laid the foundation. In the entire church history, Paul was indeed a great apostle who laid a strong foundation of the church. Since that time, people started the construction work. The question is, how do we build? God clearly said, that judgment will begin at the house of God. Judgment, as mentioned here, does not refer to the judgment of life and death. Believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, are all saved. We will never fall into the lake of fire. However, we will still have to come before the judgment seat of God, to be judged for our work, to see if our work will withstand the test of fire. This is the reason we have to stand before God, to given an account of how we lived our lives.

Is the work that you and I are doing today built upon the foundation of the rock of Jesus Christ? As verse 12 says, if any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is. How can we distinguish between gold, silver and costly stones, from the wood, hay or straw? The most basic answer is whether or not what we are doing is within the will of God for you. We can do a lot of things, but Jesus himself said, "Apart from me, you can do nothing," Indeed, if you do not rely on Jesus Christ, you could still be preaching in the church, leading praise and worship, or helping with the administration of the church, but these will merely be the work of man. One day, when we come before God's judgment seat, these things that we do according to our human mind, no matter what the good intentions were, they will be like wood, hay or straw. Only when we come before God and seek His heart, and built the church according to His will, will this work endure the fire and last for eternity.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we thank you, because you are the God who tests us. May our ministry be like gold, silver and costly stones, so that when we stand before your judgment seat one day, we will hear you say, "Good and faithful servant!". This will be our greatest reward. Help us serve you loyally, so that your heart may be satisfied. We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!