Only What's Done for Christ Will Last

When you consider some of the ideals and goals that people -- even we as Christians -- have in life, and all the sacrifices that people make for the sake of those ideals and goals, it's amazing how many worthless things they spend their lives pursuing. 

Whether it be fame, fortune, popularity, sports, hobbies, or other worldly pleasures and selfish desires, they may glitter as gold, but they are like rocks merely painted gold. In his letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul taught about the importance of making our lives count for Jesus as we seek to build on Christ the one and only foundation. He wrote:

"But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." (1Co 3:10-15).

Some people incorrectly understand this passage to mean that the believer in Christ cannot possibly miss heaven for any reason, not even sin in their lives, for which they have not repented. They believe that at the end of the believer's life, all his sins will be burned up. Yet that is not what this passage is teaching. It's not about eternal security. Paul was not making reference to sin here. In other passages, he boldly preached against sins that will keep you from heaven, and he taught that true believers must avoid becoming corrupted Christians. He taught that it is possible for believers to drift away from the Lord to their own eternal destruction. Therefore, we know he was not contradicting himself here, but rather he was speaking about the worthiness of a man's works for the Lord as a believer. He was saying that all your works will be tested to see if they were genuinely worthy of the King, and only those that are so will survive the fire. 

The wood, hay, and stubble represent those works that are not done for Christ, or those done with wrong motives, selfish goals, or insincere hearts. The gold, silver, and precious stones are those works we do for Christ with pure hearts, sincere faith, and unfeigned love for the Master. These latter works are the ones done for the glory of God alone that will stand the fiery test and last for eternity, while the former ones will be completely burned up in the flames and be lost forever.

Let me share with you a defining moment in the life of an Englishman named C.T. Studd, who had been raised in a wealthy family and become a famous, star athlete, but later forsook all, gave his money to the poor, and became a missionary to China, then to India, and later to Africa. One evening a friend gave C.T. a tract written by an atheist, in which the atheist explained how he would live if he really believed that Christianity was true, as so many people in England claimed it was. It read in part: "I would labor in its cause alone. I would take thought for the morrow of eternity alone. I would esteem one soul gained for heaven worth a life of suffering…I would strive to look upon eternity alone, and on the immortal souls around me, soon to be everlastingly happy or everlastingly miserable." The atheist wrote that his life's text would be, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" That tract inspired C.T. and helped to radically change the course of his life.

C.T. gladly gave of his wealth and even forfeited his health for winning lost souls for Christ. Studd's life and service for Christ will always be a shining example to shake from lukewarmness and complacency every soul who names the name of Christ that seeks to live a life of selfish comfort and ease. He is the author of that famous poem called, "Only One Life, 'Twill Soon Be Past." Its recurring verse that most people remember states:

Only one life 'twill soon be past.

Only what's done for Christ will last.

That is essentially what the passage of Scripture is teaching us about in 1 Corinthians 3. It's about the fire of God one day, when our life is over, testing to see whether we have built with worthless materials or worthy ones. Since our rewards are based on our practice, the Lord can only reward us for those things that were truly done for Christ, and everything else will be burned to ashes. What will the fire of God reveal about my life and about yours on that day? Will anything last? We may be surprised to see what lasts and what doesn't. One could build a great mega church and become a famous pastor known worldwide, but that could all be consumed by the flames, while one could take a sandwich to a homeless person in love, doing it for Christ, and it would receive an eternal reward. You have only one life, and it will soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last. May the Lord shake us out of our lukewarmness and complacency, out of our selfishness and ease, and lead us on into a life that is wholly lived for Him.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB copyright the Lockman Foundation, used by permission. 
 
Author's note: You are invited to read For the Glory of God Alone, Whatever You Do, Do All Like This, Living a Life Worthy of the Lord, The Four Tallest Homes in Heaven, The Judgment Seat of Christ, Life is Short. Eternity is Not, The Fiery Sufferings of the Believer, The Afflictions of the Righteous, The Refiner's Fire, Living Sacrifices in Consuming Fire, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, Drifting Away, Avoid Becoming a Corrupted Christian, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, The Forgotten Sin of Worldliness, Give Me Children or I'll Die!, Here I Am, Send Me, and Rescue Souls! You may access the Main Directory for this Seeking the Lord blog for more articles like this, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Forgetting the Past

It's natural to think back on  the past and either take pleasure in it or regret it. I want to encourage you to forget the past, regardless of whether it is something good or bad. The Lord says,

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” (Is 43:18b-19a, NIV)

As Smith Wigglesworth once said, “God’s plan for you is to forget the past in every way, because the future is so amazingly wonderful."

The apostle Paul was an excellent example of someone who put this into practice. He had achieved a faultless level of legalistic righteousness, and had superior religious credentials. Yet he said, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ…” (Phil 3:7-8, NIV)

He could have carried those things over into his walk with Christ and boasted about them, but instead he considered them as garbage compared to knowing Christ. He considered them loss for the sake of Christ. He wasn't neutral at all about them, but radically threw out anything that could cause any pride. As Wigglesworth once said, “Whatever has happened in my life up to this moment is of no importance. What matters is what God is to me now.”

Paul put it this way: “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Php 3:13b-14, NIV). He practiced forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.

You cannot rely upon your past achievements for God or your past relationship with the Lord or how He has used you in the past. The important thing is how your relationship is with Him today.

God is doing a new thing. If you stay focused on the past, you will miss the new thing He is doing. It keeps getting better and better. He always saves the best for last, just as when He turned the water into wine. The master of the banquet said, "You have saved the best till now." (Joh 2:10b, NIV). The same is true in our lives that the Lord saves the best for last. No matter who you are, you can always say, "The best is yet to come," because if you are still on earth, heaven is yet future. The Lord has set before us the joy of being in His glorious presence for eternity. We know there is great joy set before us that lies just ahead. Indeed, the future is amazingly wonderful.

The apostle exhorted us to practice, “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2, NIV). Notice that even Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him.

Paul said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Rom 8:!8, NIV). There is no comparison between our sufferings and the glory to be revealed in us. In fact, in his epistle to the Corinthians, he took it a step further to say, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Cor 4:17, NIV). That means that our troubles are actually helping to bring about the glory we look forward to. It also means that if you had a balance used for weighing things and on the one side you put all your troubles, while on the other side you put the glory of God to be revealed in us one day, then no matter how many troubles you pile onto the scale and no matter how big they are, they will never come close to tipping the scales. Nothing could ever outweigh the glory to be revealed. It far outweighs anything we could ever experience here on earth, whether good or bad. If we keep that in mind, it will help us put our trials into proper perspective, as well as our greatest joys and achievements. Nothing compares with the promised eternal inheritance we have in Christ.

One thing we must not forget are the sins we have committed, which we have not yet repented of or asked God to forgive us for. We must repent of these and seek forgiveness from God, as well as anyone we have offended, and make restitution as necessary. Once we have taken care of these things, then we should forget about them. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1Jn 1:9). Once you have taken your trash to the dump, leave it there. Don't go digging it up again and again.

Another thing in the past we must never forget are the Lord's mighty deeds and the wonders He has performed. These we must remember and ponder -- deeds such as His work of atonement on the cross, his death, burial, and resurrection, and the mighty acts of power He has displayed throughout history. We should remember what He did for Israel as a nation, such as His parting of the Red Sea, bringing them out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. We should remember what He has done for people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Elijah, Daniel, Shadrach, Mischach, and Abednego. We should remember what He did on the day of Pentecost, and what He did for the apostles like Peter and John in the first century. We should remember what He has done for the saints down through the ages like Martin Luther, John Huss, William Carey,  John Wesley, Adoniram Judson, Ida Scudder, Mary Slessor, Smith Wigglesworth, and Hudson Taylor. We should remember what he has done during the Welsh revival, the Asuza Street revival, the Great Awakening, and the Second Great Awakening. We should remember His might deeds that He has done for us and those we love. We should not forget that we have been cleansed of our past sins (2 Pet 1:9). Let us forget the past, but always remember the Lord's great and marvelous deeds.

Attribution notice: Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like For the Glory of God Alone, The Light and the Glory, Whatever You Do, Do All Like This, Pleasing the Lord, Success in God's Eyes, Having a Servant's Heart, Holy Living in a Perverted World, The Difference Between a Disciple and a Believer, Seeing Jesus, Loving Him, Character and Glory, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, One Thing, Our Senior Pastor, Ask for the Ancient Paths, Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God, Living a Life Worthy of the Lord, Aim for Perfection, and The Wardrobe of the Saints. I highly recommend reading Only the Holy -- Three Shocking Testimonies and Holy Fire Baptism. You may find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.