1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (LSV)
11 for no one is able to lay another foundation except that which is laid, which is Jesus the Christ; 12 and if anyone builds on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 the work will become visible of each, for the day will declare [it], because it is revealed in fire, and the work of each, what kind it is, the fire will prove; 14 if the work of anyone remains that he built on [it], he will receive a wage; 15 if the work of any is burned up, he will suffer loss, but himself will be saved, but so as through fire.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (NKJV)
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (NLT)
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
Foundation
Jesus is the foundation, the message of salvation, the mission, the way to God the Father, the humble and contrite heart and life, the preaching, the life as an example, the expounding of writers of the New Testament. All this is our foundation and the information that we have to base out life and decisions on.
We may build on this foundation, build our understanding, found the thoughts and principles that could be precious, solid, acceptable to God, or vain, false, brittle, useless, a lie, self-serving, etc.
Fire
When trouble, hardship, testing, failure, persecution, sickness, loss, pressure will come, will our principles and understanding and theology survive and help us survive and thrive and be strong and help others and rely on God? Or will we fail and all our doctrine will crumble and we will become broken and disappointed in God?
Or will we survive physically, but will we lose faith in God? Will we lose trust in God? Will we blame Him and church and preachers and circumstances? Will our theology help us or fail us?
Wage or Reward
Or will we stand strong and respected and this will turn into another testimony of God’s faithfulness and goodness? And will the resulting change and attitude help us and those around us to become more established in the true and correct beliefs and understanding of God and the Bible?
And our reward and our wage may be a deeper trust and peace in God, and people asking for advice and learning from our lives, and our children honoring their parents, and God’s favor on our life, and us being a part of the work of the Apostles, which continues to this day. (the same word for reward is used here and in 1 Corinthians 3:8 (NKJV)
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.)
Real life example
Two guys, both married, both have children, both own a business, both go the same church, both share the same friends, both appear equally good and successful.
When war comes (like happened in Ukraine, or Israel, or Russia, or countless other examples),
when business slows down or fails altogether,
when an investment goes bust,
when someone ends up in a hospital,
when a child dies,
when…
One will help gather support for wounded and will drive into the danger zone and will use this time to preach the Gospel seeing opportunities, the other will run to another country questioning God why He allowed this in his life and blame everyone for ruining his perfect life.
One will seek God’s guidance and answers on what lessons can be learned from the failure, the other will get mad at God and may experience irreversible depression.
One will trust God and tell Him to show him what should be done in this time of loss or sickness, will seek God’s Word for guidance, for lessons learned, will search his soul and ask forgiveness, will make peace with others and reconciliation, will trust God that EVERYTHING is under control of the Father. The other will blame God for singling him out, will look at other well-to-do families and envy, will get irritated, will seek all and any way to get healed or repaired (like the woman sick for 12 years spent all she had or treatments that brought no result).
One will trust God that this is ok and God’s got it, will wash his face and continue living with the living like David after his child died, will get closer to God, will console his wife and other children. The other may lose faith, may become destructive and drink or gamble, may …
This is all my imagination based on limited experience, but you get the picture. There are a lot of bitter people, depressed people, unhappy people, unforgiving people, people with Christian roots who turn atheist. The fire didn’t make them stronger, but destroyed all they were building and now they don’t want to build again or build something that is not even on the True Foundation.
Why?
They both have the same access to the Foundation, who is Jesus Christ, and what Apostles taught.
One had true revelations for life application received by sweat and tears and a real relationship with God without hiding from the truth, taking the time in the secret place to get answers and guidance; not twisting the truth, nor selective theology.
The other accepted only the convenient, only what appealed to him, didn’t deal with tough questions, gave children (and himself) childish answers, didn’t face God in tough situation, sought and used worldly principles to build his life.
Both achieved the same result in APPEARANCE.
Construction material.
Gems? Gold? Silver? – all are created or purified by pressure and hardship, welcome tough tests. real-n-tough theology.
Wood? Hay? Straw? – all shy away from pressure and hardship, because they will break or disappear or crumble. feel-good theology.