No Other Foundation

No Other Foundation

I Cor.3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Is.43: 11 I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.



There is no other Savior. There is no other hope. There is no other Messiah. There is no other way. And to the church, there is no other foundation. Jesus Christ as the Chief Cornerstone, and upon Him must the church universal be built, and every local segment of that church universal must also be built upon the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no room for negotiation or compromise. Churches may discuss all kinds of doctrines, however when it comes to Jesus, Who he was, Who He is, and What role He is to have in the church for which He shed His blood, well there is no discussion at all.

God tells us through Isaiah’s lips that there is no Savior but Him. This is a verse that undermines the theology of cults like The Jehovah’s Witness and the Mormons. If there is anything for which to die, it is that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior and that He alone is the Rock upon which the church is built. When all of the Christian faith is distilled down to one primary doctrine, it is that.

But step away and look and listen to what churches and preachers are saying. Listen to the self help of Joel Osteen, and listen to the utilitarian faith of Rick Warren, and listen to the confused intellectualism of Rob Bell, and see if Jesus holds the prominent place in their preaching and teaching. And when I say prominent I do not mean a Jesus who lives to help man achieve earthly wealth and success. I do not mean a Jesus who can be found in other religions. I do not mean an American Jesus who created a utopian nation. I speak of the Lord Jesus Christ, Creator and Ruler of all that is. And He is the exclusive way to eternal life by a born again experience which comes by grace through faith. All other Jesus’ are imposters and human caricatures.

Listen to Paul’s admonition to “take heed how he buildeth upon”. Paul is warning those who build a church on anything else than Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, and coming again. Now I ask you, is just finding Jesus a seat at the doctrinal table enough to say your church, your life, is built and continues to live upon the foundation of Jesus Christ? The church by and large is now utilitarian in nature which means it serves as a human instrument of guidance and advice.

As you ride through the streets of your city, and when you see the church signs promoting a preaching series, how many of them are on Jesus? Jesus seems to be an unspoken talisman who is used to prove salvation but He is not what consumes the church. He is treated like a simple doctrine which is mostly for small children and new converts. Mature believers move on to more productive truths, more relevant truths, and truths that enhance earthly lives. So very sad.

And this is what has happened to the church. We have moved from being a faith dedicated to follow Jesus Christ to a faith dedicated to follow what benefits man. It is a clandestine form of humanism. And any spiritual power has been replaced by organization and activity. Following Jesus now means believing what the local church says, which by any standard, deviates very little from how the unbelieving people live. The written doctrine might be different, however the living expressions of that doctrine blend very nicely with a generally moral western lifestyle. Even conservative unbelievers feel very comfortable around us even while denying our Lord. Hmm...

While our former brothers and sisters were persecuted and fed to lions, and while some were tortured and hung from the gallows, and others even today are shunned and refused employment, we in the west are invited on talk shows and to pray at inauguration ceremonies. There is something very incongruous about these differing narratives. The world rejects one and embraces the other. One seems to reflect the experience of Jesus while the other seems to reflect the experience of Barabbas.

The sacred journey to follow Christ has given way to the pragmatism of the western culture. Self denial has given way to utilitarianism. What once was a collection of believers who were ready to sacrifice their very lives to follow Christ is now an ecclesiastical structure curiously designed with corporate and democratic principles. The entire western church construct has been decimated by the ways of the culture. Only people like the Amish seem to be remarkable. The rest of us fit neatly into a culture which practices hedonism with a small does of religion.

This foundation which is to be Jesus Christ is not limited to a written document of doctrinal persuasions. In fact, without corresponding lifestyles all our written doctrinal statements are worthless. How effortless it is to print out certain doctrinal allegiances while ignoring a host of others. Love and mercy and humility rarely find a seat in the theatre of statements of faith. They are treated like subordinates and residuals. I have never seen a sinner come to faith in Christ because the local church believed in eternal security or tithing or even the Trinity. But I have seen sinners born again because a follower of Jesus loved him and shared Jesus in word and deed.

But there are many churches who now have eschewed important truths about the deity of Christ and the exclusivity of His sacrifice. Their numbers increase almost daily. People are not interested in Christ’s face, they are interested in His hand. They do not desire to serve Him, but they desire Him to serve them.

Sacrifice is unknown to the western mindset. Self denial is usually attached to certain foods in order to achieve a more pleasurable and alluring body. And to say Jesus is Lord to the western church is a false mantra meant to appease our consciences, but instead it presents an embarrassing indictment based upon the paradox between the words of Scripture and the actions of professing believers.

And so we continue to be mired in the slough of compromise. And this is no stagnant compromise. It gains strength with every year. As the culture gains fallen strength, so the church responds in like kind. But regardless of all the new and innovative church expressions, no other foundation can be laid than that which was laid.

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

All other foundations are sinking sand.