According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than the that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ - 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 ESV
Christianity, by it's very name, is built upon Christ. It is not built upon a good idea or good advice or some healthy tips for having a nice life, but on Christ. Biblical Christianity is Good News. The prophets in the Old Testament, and the apostles in the New, lay the foundation of this Good News, or gospel, by communicating the timeless Word of God for mankind, which is now presented to us in the Scripture we have before us.
With the divine authority given to them, the apostles gave the early church (and give us today) the truths of the Christian faith. Paul, with the very capable hands that the Lord had gifted him with to shape the faith and practice of the church, exhorts his son, Timothy, in this way: Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you (2 Timothy 1:13,14 ESV).
Here, the apostle, with the authority given him by God, commands Timothy to not stray from the foundation that Paul has laid down. This command is not only for the generation of Christians directly after Paul and the apostles, but to ours today. We are not to stray from the teachings of Paul and of the rest of the Bible about the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, dictates our theology and our practice, not the other way around. By the grace of God, the skilled master builders before us have started the work and have given us everything we need to continue. May the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard this strong word that has been entrusted to us, that it may not be tarnished by our biases, nor be thrown to the side for some useless substitute.
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