1 Corinthians 3:11-13, New Living Translation

“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.”

The pursuit of education and knowledge seem to be something that society is obsessed with. There are more people with college level education, particularly in developed countries, than at any time in history. With the advent of the internet, anyone with access to it has the collective wisdom of mankind essentially at their fingertips. This, however, does not mean that what is written or recorded in the works of man is truth. In fact, the Bible very clearly tells us that the greatest wisdom of mankind is still but foolishness when compared to the wisdom of the Lord. As Christians, we have been given one of the greatest tools imaginable to help us to determine what is truth and what is false. That tool is the Word of God.

The Word of God, more specifically for the purposes of this teaching the Bible, provides us with the absolute foundation for wisdom and understanding. It is a mirror in which we can see if what we are reading and being exposed to reflects the truth of the Lord. Everything that we read and everything that we are exposed to should be judged against what is written in the Bible. If it does not align with what the Bible says, we should not accept it as truth. The Word of God should be the standard by which we judge everything that we encounter, and it should be the lens through which we judge everything we read, see, or are exposed to. Far too often, however, this process of discernment is not only broken, it is completely reversed.

I am sad to know that I have many friends who I care deeply about, who have, over time, allowed the writings and reasoning of man to change their view of scripture. They believe things that have been written by man that are contrary to the content of the Word of God. As a result, rather than going deeper in their relationship with the Lord, they are moving in the opposite direction. This is not immediately apparent when I meet them. We still talk about the Lord; however, I can see how their lives are becoming more and more indistinguishable to those who do not know the Lord and His Word. The Bible tells us that we are to be transformed daily by the renewing of our mind. Many people are being transformed daily, however, not by the Word of the Lord but by the wisdom of the world. They are conforming more and more to the pattern of this world because all that they read and all that they study is based upon the logic and wisdom of the world.

I ask you today, examine your foundation. Are you building upon the truth of God’s Word, or the logic and traditions of man? If you wish for your life to truly be transformed into the likeness of Christ, then you must return to the foundation of God’s Word and allow it to be the lens through which you discern the accuracy and validity of other things.