I Corinth 3:1-16           Why Do I need the Church Anyway?       June 19, 2005

      There was a minister who had a son who went into the ministry of the church.  He also had a son who when grown went into the ministry.  Finally, there was a great grand son who when he finished school was expectantly asked if he also would be ordained into the ministry.  He responded, “No.  I plan to work for a living.”  

     Those of us in ministry often hear jokes about only having to work one day a week.  Just what is the work of a pastor?  What is the work of the church?  What is our purpose?   This morning, we are continuing a series on the letter of First Corinthians.  We have looked at how we are to live as Christians in a pagan society and we’ve asked what we need to know to live as a Christian.  Today, I want to look at the work of the church in a pagan society and why we need the church to live as Christians.

     Back in the early 1970s, with the dawn of the Jesus people and contemporary worship, there were those who marched with signs which read—Yes to Jesus.  No to the church.  I still hear sermons today where the minister says that he is not interested in the church, only in Jesus.  But this is a false split.  The Bible teaches that the church is the body of Christ and that Christ is the head of the church.  There can be no separation, no head without a body.  We need the church if we are to live as Christians in today’s culture.  In this chapter, Paul paints for us three pictures of the church and the work of the church.  The church is a family with the goal of maturity.  The church is a field with the goal of reaping a harvest.  The church is a temple with the goal of eternal glory.

      First the church is a family and its work is to raise children to maturity.  When Charlie was very young, he drank milk.  He drank a lot of milk growing from 8 lbs to 16 lbs in three months.  He loved milk.  Look at vs 1-2.  Paul told the Corinthians that they loved their milk, that they were still spiritual babies.  There are Christians today who never want to grow up beyond the milk.  They will only listen to the sermon or the Sunday School lesson as long as it is easy.  But if the message gets challenging, folks drift away.   From up here, I can see it in people’s eyes.  When I begin to teach on more difficult matters, things they have not heard before, they leave me.  Start thinking about lunch or the big game that afternoon.  Then when I tell a good joke or story, serve up some milk, they will reengage with me again.  But Paul wanted to lead these Corinthians to the solid food, the deeper truths of Christ, to maturity.   The task of the church is to build up believers to maturity.  We are a family and our job is to raise children to adulthood.  And the only way to do that is to eat some meat and vegetables.  To grow in the deep truths of God’s Word.

      What happens when we grow up?  We are ready to go to work.  The second picture Paul paints is that the church is a farming field and the goal is to bring in the harvest.  Jesus said “Look, the fields are ready for harvest.  Pray for God to send the workers.”  Those who have grown up are ready to do the work of the church which is to harvest, to bring in the people of God.  Look at vs 6.  One of the big problems at Corinth was that the believers were arguing over which leaders and which ministry programs were the most important.  You know, whether the Scouts or the UMW had reserved the fellowship hall first.  But Paul reminded them that everyone has an important role in the work of God.  To plant seeds, to water, to pull weeds, and finally to harvest the crop.  Vs 8 says that all who work in the field have one purpose.  What is that purpose?  To bring in the harvest.   

       God’s purpose for the church, God’s purpose for our church, is to bring in the harvest.  To share in the leadership so that the good news of Christ goes forth so that men and women, boys and girls, know the way of Jesus Christ.  To grow mature believers and then get them working to grow more believers is our purpose in this community.  We really have no other.    And every program, every group, every meeting should ultimately ask the question—Is this work going to help bring in the harvest?  If it is not, then we need to let it go.  If it does not touch the lives of real people, then it is not part of the harvest.   The church is a farming field and the goal is to bring in the harvest.

      Finally, Paul tells us that we are the temple of God and we need to build that temple properly so that God dwells in us and we live in God for all eternity.  How does the church do that building work?   First, we build on the right foundation.  Look at vs 10-11.   Like with any building, Paul began with a foundation and that foundation is Jesus Christ.  There is no other foundation.  We must know this one Jesus Christ to build our lives on the right foundation.  Secondly, we must build with the right materials. Look at 12-13.  Paul talks about building with gold, silver, jewels or only wood, hay, sticks.  What is Paul saying here?  He is talking about the work, the actions, of our lives.  What are we doing with our lives?  Are we building our lives with things that are permanent, valuable, and beautiful?  Or is my life filled only with what is temporary, ordinary, cheap, ugly?    Paul says that on the Day, it will all be revealed.   What Day?  The OT and NT speak often of this Day, the Day of the Lord, the time of judgment when all I have done will be revealed.  And Paul says if what I have built is quality, then it will find its reward. 

      Protestant Christians have focused so strongly on salvation by faith  we miss the important Biblical teachings that our faith must result in changed lives and doing the will of God.  Jesus said in Matthew 6: 21, “Not everyone who says to me “Lord, Lord.” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father.”   James 2:17 says, “Faith, if not accompanied by action, is dead.”  I could quote another dozen passages.   John Wesley, the founder of Methodism summed it up simply, “No one is saved by good works.  But no one will be saved without good works.”  Your life must result in the works of God is you are to become the temple of God.

     We sing the song—Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true.  Is that your desire?  To be a  scalpel that God can hold in his hand to do surgery on a diseased world?  To be a clean cup that God can use to pour forth water to those who thirst?  To be a sanctuary where God will live.  For those who become a temple, God will live in them, they will live in God, and they will find their great reward on that Day of eternity.  Are you working to build that temple in your life?  Are you ready, are you living for that Day of which Paul speaks? 

     Why do we need the church?  What is the church all about anyway?  The church is a family raising children to maturity.  The church is a field providing workers for the harvest.  The church is a temple preparing people to live with God for eternity.  Amen.