THE FIRE WILL PURIFY

Our spiritual report cards in our Christian walk are the bon-fires of testing that the Holy Spirit uses in certain seasons of our life. 

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

"But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their 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 person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames."

The Christian's eternity - body, soul and spirit - is secured upon accepting Christ as Master and Savior. With this decision, Jesus becomes the Foundation of his or her life. Everything after this choice is susceptible to the fiery judgment of the Holy Spirit. 

Paul, in the passage above, speaks about "the Day" being when the worth of the deeds of Christians will be revealed. "Day" in the original Greek can translate to season, dispensation or specific 24 hour period or set time. Many biblical scholars I have read interpret "the Day" in this passage to be referring to The Bema or Judgment Seat of Christ. Paul states in his second letter to the same group of believers - "we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Cor. 5:9-10) This judgment is not of the believer's salvation but of deeds, good or bad, after accepting Christ. As I stated before, our Foundation in Christ is rock solid. 

However, there is another perception. As I mentioned in my opening remarks - the Holy Spirit will use "the Day" as fiery testing seasons in our lives. By testing I mean purification, much like a blacksmith removes the impurities from a weapon or metal-piece by using extreme heat/fire. 

Our response during those Holy Spirit bon-fires of life, during those times of purification should be to try and recognize this process. If we have our Godly antennae up and respond to life's pressure-cooker moments in a Christ-like manner then we are well on our way to building on Christ's Foundation with the likes of Gold, Silver and Costly Stones. These are materials back in Roman times that were found to adorn significant structures inside and out. Costly stones were the marble of that day and all these materials would survive a fire for the most part.

However, the flames of a fire would certainly consume wood, hay or straw. These materials were commonly found in the poorer, slave labor communities of Rome. The shacks were made of wood, their roofs made of hay and their floors and walls made of straw or miscellaneous stuff. One ember or spark from anything close by and a house or possible entire community could be eradicated. 

"By using this illustration, Paul was confronting us with the question:  How are you building your life? Are you building hastily and with perishable materials? Or are you taking your life seriously, building carefully with materials that will last throughout your life and are strong enough to impact not only this present generation, but also the generation to come?"

"The Foundation under our lives is Jesus, but what we build on top of that Foundation depends on our personal commitment and the level of excellence we demand of ourselves in every area of our lives. So I ask you:  Are you building something with your life that will be enduring--or are you building so hastily and poorly that everything you've built could go up suddenly in a puff of smoke?" 

(p.69, Sparkling Gems From the Greek 2, Renner)

We build on an Eternal Foundation. We should be building with Eternal Materials that have Eternal Dividends because either in a season of testing or during the Bema Seat - The Fire Will Purify.