Building Materials

1 Peter 2:6
For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

Whatever is built, will be tested by fire. That which stands the testing by fire, will receive a great reward. This reward is eternal. However, the construction that does not last when put through the fire brings about great loss. The person will be saved but he will suffer a huge loss. 

This is what we were looking at the past week. Today we will focus on the building materials. There are six types of building materials:
Gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw.
We can put them into two groups.

Group 1:
Gold, silver, precious stones

Group 2:
Wood, hay, straw

If what is built has to last, we must build with that which is expensive and lasting. When king Solomon built the temple, he used group 1 materials. 

Group 1 materials are found under the earth and are not easily found whereas group 2 materials are all above the earth. We do not find gold, silver or precious stones along the way as we walk by. But they are hidden in the earth and their extraction and purification is a long and tedious process that requires much effort. What is hidden is not easily revealed.

Another major difference between the two categories of building materials is, when group 1 materials are put through the fire, they come out more refined but group 2 materials get completely burnt and consumed in the fire. 

This is about our life. About building the temple of God. 
The testing through fire has been misinterpreted and caused people to come up with various teachings which are far from the truth. One such misinterpretation is the teaching on purgatory. 

If we build with costly materials, when it is put through the fire, it comes out more refined whereas cheap materials become ash in the fire and get blown away in the wind. Building with wood hay, straw does not take long and we can build huge structures with those materials but it will burn in the fire. Only if we build with quality materials, will our spiritual life last. 

We can portray spirituality on the outside to show others, we can put up an act by praising God in front of people and displaying it through our actions on the outside. But do we have the true quality on the inside? Let us not be performance based. God does not see what is on the outside but what is on the inside. God sees our heart. We can act pious on the outside but privately, do we live a holy life, are we God fearing, do we have the love of God in us, are we building our lives on the true Word of God?

When talking about building with precious materials of gold, silver and precious stones, it means, in the Holy Spirit, with the Word of God as a foundation, we must build our lives. We must be able to discipline ourselves according to the Word of God. It is not man but God who will judge us. 

Hebrews 9:27
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment

Group 2 materials are work done in the flesh. As we feel, as we think right, using human understanding, human principles and philosophies. 

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The one who does God’s will, lasts forever but one who doesn’t do God’s will, has no standing. 
What must we do?
We must read and understand the Word of God. We must eat and chew the Word of God, we must spend time studying the Word. 

As Psalm 1 says, a person who meditates on God’s Word day and night is blessed. 

We should build our life and live according to the Word of God.

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