Strathalbyn Church of Christ

Christ our Foundation

Every architect and builder knows the importance of stable solid foundations. If the stability and strength of buildings depends largely on their foundations, so does the stability and strength of our lives and church community.

Today we are gathering again after several months of not being able to. We thank God for being able to get back together and for sustaining us through the last months. As we come together again as a church, and go on into the future, I think it may be appropriate that we think again about the foundation on which we are building our lives and church, and also how we are building.

The saints of old always thought of Jesus Christ as the only solid foundation on which to rest their souls and build their lives. The Apostle Paul, in writing to the church at Corinth says, “No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor 3:11.

What then does it mean for us to rest our souls and build our lives and church on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ? Three things in particular are included:

a) Rest on his work

b) Rely on his promises

c) Respond to his teachings. Let’s consider these three.

Rest on his work.

God has graciously and mercifully acted in and through Jesus Christ, and we are to rest on what he has done. What has Christ done? What is the work of Christ on which we are to rest?

The work of Christ is his cross or atoning death. In the letter to the Hebrews we read “When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” Hebrews 10:12. Again from Hebrews we read “When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3.

Let’s just notice those three words “he sat down”. “When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,” and “When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high”.

The priests in the Old Testament times before Christ came stood because their work was unfinished, it needed to be constantly repeated. But Christ sat down because his work was done, finished. On that cross he had cried out, “It is finished!”

And so forgiveness and purification for sins has been made by a finished sacrifice for sins.

What then does this finished work of Christ on the cross mean for our relationship with God?

It means we can come with boldness to God instead of timidity; it means we can come with confidence instead of fear.

Ofcourse none of us has any self-worthiness which qualifies us to draw near to God. But Jesus Christ and his perfect sacrifice for sin, is worthy.

And so it is through him alone that we may and are, to draw near.

And so we hear these exhortations and encouragements to us in the letter to the Hebrews: “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:16. And “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus….and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…” Heb. 10:19,22

God’s way of putting sinners right with himself is not on the basis of their own works, but of Christ’s self-sacrifice for our sins, when we put our trust in him. As Paul says in Romans, “While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son….” Rom 5:10. And “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God - not because of works, lest any man should boast,” writes Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (2:8,9)

And so, to build our lives and church on the foundation of Jesus Christ means firstly that we rest on the work of Christ -

that we trust in Christ alone for our being declared right by God; we rest, depend, entirely on the Saviour, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

John Paton studied theology and medicine at university and then later went as a missionary to the New Hebrides. The islanders were cannibals.

He was working on a translation of John’s gospel, and wondered how he could translate “believe in, or trust in, Jesus Christ.”

There was no word for “trust” in the islanders’ language. His native servant came in. ‘What am I doing?’ he asked. The man replied that he was sitting at his desk. Paton then raised both his feet off the floor and sat back on his chair. ‘What am I doing now?’ In reply the servant said he was ‘leaning his whole weight upon’ the chair. It was this expression Paton used throughout John’s gospel to translate “Believe in”.

To build our lives and church on the foundation of Jesus Christ means we are to lean our whole weight upon him, we are to rest in, on, his finished work on the cross.

A hymn puts it like this:

‘On Christ the solid rock I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

When darkness seems to veil his face,

I rest on his unchanging grace;

In every high and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.”

Rely on his promises.

Secondly, to build our lives and church on the foundation of Jesus Christ means to rely on his promises.

We are to rest on Christ’s work, and rely on Christ’s word.

Let’s take some of his words, some of his promises, from his sermon on the mount given to disciples in Matthew chapters 5 -7. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Mtt. 5:6. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” 5:7. “seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things - (necessities) - shall be yours as well.” Mtt 6:33.

And then in another place he says “whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Matt. 23:12

Let’s now take some of Jesus’ words from John’s gospel. “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:27,28

“I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:35.

“I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12.

And “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die." John 11:25,26.

In Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’, Christian and Companion Hopeful found themselves one day in ‘Doubting Castle’, as prisoners of cruel and pitiless Giant Despair. Days passed and there seemed no possibility of escape, until one night as they prayed, Christian made a discovery, ‘I have a key in my clothes called ‘Promise’, that will, I’m sure, open any lock in Doubting Castle’.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he teaches about the importance of putting on the armour of God. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Eph 6:10,11. Included in the armour is “the shield of faith."

He says, “above all taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one." Eph 6:16.

Faith in God, faith in the Lord Jesus, trusting his word, his promises.

Sometimes we might use a sign to convey and confirm a promise - ‘I will forgive all the past and be your friend’, someone says to his former enemy, and holds out his hand in token or sign of his reconciliation - or in today’s situation of Covid 19, he might hold out his elbow instead of his hand!

The bread and wine/grape juice, are the Lord Jesus’ appointed sign to convey and confirm the promise of God’s forgiveness based on Christ’s body and blood offered up on that cross for us.

And so, if we are to build our lives on Christ as our foundation we are to rest on his work, and rely on his promises.

Respond to His teachings

And thirdly, we are to respond to his teachings.

At the conclusion of his sermon on the mount to his disciples, Jesus (in Matthew 5-7) gives an illustration of two house builders who constructed their homes respectively on rock and sand. The difference between the two houses lay in their foundations. Jesus says “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wiseman who built his house upon the rock, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock”. Matt 7:24,25

The other man Jesus calls “foolish”, because although he too heard the words of Jesus, he did not do them, and his house crashed. “And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matt 7: 26,27

The difference between the two house builders is not between knowledge and ignorance, but between doing and not doing. The real question here is not whether we hear Christ’s words, “these words of mine” in this sermon on the mount, but whether we do what we hear, whether we act on his words.

He says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.' Matt 7:21.

This tells us that the difference between faith and intellectual assent is that intellectual assent simply says “Lord, Lord” but does not do his will. In other words, faith is to be practised and not merely professed. We show we believe in Jesus by acting on his word. Let’s hear some other words of Jesus, “If a man loves me he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come and make our home with him." John 14:23

James, in his letter to Christians, says “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."

And again he says, “But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer that forgets but a doer that acts, he shall be blessed in his doing." James 1:22-25

Now in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church we hear of the importance of how we build on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

He writes: “no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 3:11.

Jesus Christ is the only foundation for our Christian lives and church. We can’t start to be a Christian without Jesus. He is the one you and I built our faith on in the beginning; and every church must be based on Christ or it would not be a church!.

But Paul says here “Let each take care how he builds on it.” 1Cor3:10.

He mentions various things that could be used in building on Jesus - “gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble."

Obviously some of these are of better quality than others. Then he tells us - “each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done." 1Cor 3:12,13.

This tells us that what we build on Jesus, God holds us responsible for. Reading on.. “the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." 1 Cor 3:14,15.

This is telling us that it is important what we build up on Jesus.

He is the only foundation for a church, but it is important what is built up on him. May we build with good quality materials of gold, silver, precious stones, and not inferior quality of hay or stubble!

What then is good quality?

Amongst other things I believe it includes sound biblical teaching in a church rather than secular or worldly teaching, or a mixture of God’s word and man’s word.

It includes faith, hope and love;

it includes setting forth the gospel, so that people are won for Christ;

it includes our church, and lives, being shaped by God’s grace;

it includes prayer.

If we build well on the foundation of Christ, it will stand.

How important it is to build well!

A very short man wanted to drive a nail in his wall to hang a picture. He stood on a chair, but it was not high enough. His wife placed a box on the chair, but he was still short of his goal. So a stool was piled on top of the box. Balancing himself precariously, the do-it-yourself picture hanger began to tap timidly with his hammer. ‘Why don’t you hit it hard?’ asked the wife. ‘You’ll never drive the nail that way!’

Our hero looked down from his perch to reply ‘How can a man hit anything hard on a shaky foundation like this?'!

Friends, the foundation for our Christian lives and church is not

shaky, but utterly solid, reliable and secure. Christ holds us up; we don’t have to be timid about building on him!.

Brothers and sisters, we who have accepted Jesus Christ as our saviour find that our life has a sure foundation and a stability that we can continue to build on. “He who believes in Him will not be put to shame”, says Peter in his letter.

In other words you will not be disappointed in Jesus.

Let us pray