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Will Your Work Withstand the Fire?The Watchtower—1998 | November 1
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If we teach poorly, there may be sad consequences. Paul warned: “If anyone’s work that he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward; if anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved; yet, if so, it will be as through fire.”c—1 Corinthians 3:14, 15.
14. (a) How might Christian disciple makers “suffer loss,” yet how might they attain to salvation as through fire? (b) How can we minimize the risk of suffering loss?
14 Sobering words indeed! It can be very painful to work hard to help someone become a disciple, only to see the individual succumb to temptation or persecution and eventually leave the way of the truth. Paul acknowledges as much when he says that we suffer loss in such cases. The experience may be so painful that our salvation is described as being “as through fire”—like a man who lost everything in a fire and was himself just barely rescued. For our part, how can we minimize the risk of loss? Build with durable materials! If we teach our students so as to reach their hearts, moving them to value such precious Christian qualities as wisdom, discernment, fear of Jehovah, and genuine faith, then we are building with durable, fire-resistant materials. (Psalm 19:9, 10; Proverbs 3:13-15; 1 Peter 1:6, 7) Those who acquire these qualities will continue to do God’s will; theirs is the sure hope of remaining alive forever. (1 John 2:17)
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Will Your Work Withstand the Fire?The Watchtower—1998 | November 1
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c Paul was putting into doubt the salvation of, not the builder, but the builder’s “work.” The New English Bible renders this verse: “If a man’s building stands, he will be rewarded; if it burns, he will have to bear the loss; and yet he will escape with his life, as one might from a fire.”
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Will Your Work Withstand the Fire?The Watchtower—1998 | November 1
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Who Is Responsible?
18. When a disciple rejects healthful teaching, why may it not necessarily be the fault of the ones endeavoring to teach and train him?
18 This discussion raises an important question. If someone whom we endeavor to help falls away from the truth, does that mean that we failed as teachers—that we must have built with inferior materials? Not necessarily. Paul’s words certainly remind us that it is a great responsibility to share in building disciples. We want to do everything in our power to build well. But God’s Word is not telling us to shoulder the whole responsibility and become burdened with guilt when those whom we seek to help turn away from the truth. There are other factors that come into play besides our own role as builders. For example, notice what Paul says regarding even the teacher who has done a poor job in this building work: “He will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved.” (1 Corinthians 3:15) If this individual may eventually gain salvation—whereas the Christian personality he endeavored to build in his student is pictured as being “burned up” in a fiery test—what must we conclude? Surely, that Jehovah holds the student primarily responsible for his own decisions as to whether he will follow a faithful course or not.
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