“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. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Cor. 3:10-15).
This is the most extensive teaching on the believer's judgment in the entire Bible, and since every believer will stand at this judgment one day each one should be keenly interested in this passage.
WHO WILL APPEAR BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST?
It is not for the unsaved but for believers (1 Cor. 3:11-12). It is for those that have built their lives and ministries upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
The judgment of the unsaved is described in Rev. 20:11-15. This is the Great White Throne judgment, which is for those whose names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life. These will be judged by their own works without the benefit of a Saviour and will therefore be condemned to eternal suffering in the Lake of Fire.
WHAT IS THE FIRE THAT WILL BE DISPLAYED AT THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST (1 COR. 3:13)?
We believe that this fire refers to the Scriptures:
First of all, Scripture is likened to fire (Jer. 23:29). Scripture also contains the mind of Christ by which we will be judged (1 Cor. 2:16). Further, Scripture is complete; therefore the believer needs nothing else and could not be judged by anything else (2 Tim. 3:16-17). And Scripture is said to be the judge (Ps. 96:13: Jn. 12:48).
The Bible will judge what we do in this world (1 Cor. 3:13 “every man's work”). It will judge what we say (Matt. 12:36 “every word”). It will judge how we spend our time (Matt. 12:36 “idle”). It will judge what we believe (2 Tim. 2:15).
Therefore, in order to prepare for the judgment seat of Christ we need to read the Bible in this present life; we need to study it, memorize it, hear it preached, and sit regularly and faithfully under its teaching.
We believe, further, that the fire refers to Christ Himself. See Rev. 2:18-19. It is not my pastor who will judge me or my church or my denomination or my parents or my spouse or my friends; it is Christ Himself who will judge the believer. This shows where our priorities should be. We must not live to please ourselves or other people but Christ. We must not put our confidence in anything other than Christ.
It is evident that this passage is not describing the Roman Catholic Church's heresy of purgatory.
The judgment described in 1 Cor. 3 is to try men's works not the men themselves (1 Cor. 3:13).
The judgment described in 1 Cor. 3 is not only for some believers who die with so-called “venial sins” on their record but for every single believer (1 Cor. 3:13).
The judgment described in 1 Cor. 3 is not for punishment, as purgatory is, but for reward or loss of reward (1 Cor. 3:14-15). There is no pain for the believer; there is only loss.
The judgment described in 1 Cor. 3 is in the future at the last day, but purgatory is alleged to be going on now.
As for Rome's doctrine of purgatory, the New Testament never hints that prayers can be said for or masses can be offered for the dead. It never hints that dead saints need our prayers or assistance.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST?
First, the judgment seat of Christ is not for salvation but for service (1 Cor. 3:8, 10, 13, 15). Salvation is a gift not a reward (Eph. 2:8-9). Fourteen times it is called a gift, and a gift is the very opposite of a reward. A gift is something that is purchased by someone else and is given to me freely. If I pay anything whatsoever for it or work for it in any sense, it is no longer a gift. Christ purchased the believer's eternal salvation by himself (Heb. 1:3) by His blood. There is nothing the believer can add to this. After I am saved by God's grace, I am to serve the Lord who saved me (Eph. 2:8-10), and the judgment seat of Christ will examine this service. It is like a son who works for his father in his father's farm or business. If the son is a slacker, he is still a son and is still loved by his father, but he will not be rewarded as he would have been had he been diligent and faithful and sincere in the father's service. 1 Cor. 3:15 is one of the clearest verses in the New Testament on the subject of eternal security. If the carnal believer who loses all at the judgment seat of Christ “shall be saved,” how could it be possible to lose one's salvation?
Second, the judgment seat of Christ is not for punishment but for rewards or loss of rewards. The believer's punishment fell upon Christ! The judgment seat of Christ is like an athlete completing for the Olympics. If he loses the race, he is not punished but he loses the crown that he could have earned, and all of his effort was expended for nothing.
WHAT WILL BE JUDGED AT THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST (1 COR. 3:12)?
This verse describes two kinds of Christian lives, and each will receive its own reward:
One kind of Christian life is likened to “gold, silver, and precious stones.”
This refers to that which is eternal, to that which has eternal value. For example, that eternal city, the New Jerusalem, is made of pure gold (Rev. 21:18). It also refers to that which is associated with God. For example, the ark and the mercy seat in the Tabernacle were made of gold and signified Deity (Ex. 25:10-11).
“Gold, silver, and precious stones” Christian living refers to things such as walking in fellowship with Christ day by day, walking in the Spirit and not the flesh, maintaining a fruitful prayer life, delighting in Christ's Word, loving Christ's church, being zealous in Christ's work, separating from the wicked things of the world and refusing to conform my life to its standards, separating from false teaching, being a godly husband or wife, raising children to serve the Lord, and winning souls to Christ. All of these things are gold, silver, and precious stones before the Lord and will be richly rewarded.
Another kind of Christian life is likened to “wood, hay, and stubble.”
This refers to that which is associated with man and this world, things that do not last and have no value before God. Note that structures made of wood or even hay can be very large and impressive in this world, but when they are tested by fire they go up in flames and nothing is left. Many ministries are made of wood and hay and are large and appear very impressive to men but when those ministries are tested at the judgment seat of Christ by the absolute standard of God's holy Word there will be great sorrow and loss.
“Wood, hay, and stubble” Christian living refers to things such as walking in carnality and indulging in sinful pleasures instead of walking in the Spirit, wasting time on vanities and forgetting that life is short and that only that which is done for Christ will last, talking about nothing, wasting an inordinate amount of time on such things as professional sports and video games and romance novels, spending money foolishly and not according to God's will, loving the world and patterning one's life after it, remaining infantile in one's Bible knowledge instead of growing strong in the Scripture and learning to rightly divide it, hoarding one's spiritual gifts instead of using them, neglecting the house of God, teaching things that are contrary to the Word of God, and neglecting one's responsibilities as a husband or wife or father or mother.
WHAT IS THE REWARD AT THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST?
Compare Matt. 25:21-23.
A CROWN. This is a position of authority and service under Christ (Rev. 2:26-27).
TREASURES (Mat. 6:19-21; 1 Tim. 6:19). We don't know exactly what these treasures will consist of, but the Lord Jesus has promised that treasures await those who serve Him in this world.
A WORD OF COMMENDATION. “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Mat. 25:21). Surely, the greatest reward for the believer is to receive the Lord's commendation. The loss of this will be like that which Peter experienced the night Jesus was taken to trial. After Peter had denied Jesus he had to endure the look of disappointment and grief on the face of his Saviour and it was this that broke his heart (Lk. 22:61-62).
WHY DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST?
It motivates the believer to be spiritual (1 Cor. 3:1-3). Paul taught on the judgment seat of Christ in the context of warning the brethren at Corinth about their carnality and challenging them to be godly.
It also motivates the believer to be busy and faithful (1 Cor. 3:9-10). When we recall that we must stand at the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for our lives, we are motivated to use our time wisely and fruitfully in His service.
WHAT ABOUT GRACE AT THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST?
“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and THEN SHALL EVERY MAN HAVE PRAISE OF GOD” (1 Cor. 4:5).
After the conclusion of the judgment described in this chapter, after the fire has been applied to the earthly lives and ministries of every believer, after some will have lost everything and will have been saved though as by fire, after every man doubtless will have lost much by way of the rewards he could have earned, every man will have praise of God! How can this be?
There will be praise because of the security of salvation (1 Pet. 1:4; 3:9; Ps. 34:22b). Though a disobedient saint will suffer loss, the fact remains that he will be saved and will eternally enjoy the sonship and inheritance which was purchased by Christ's atonement. It is only because of God's grace in Christ that the believer will stand before his Saviour rather than before the Great White Throne of Revelation 20. We are saved by grace (Eph. 2:8-9) and we serve by grace (1 Cor. 15:10).
There will be praise because of the greatness of God's mercy (Ps. 103:8-14; Jude 24). The Bible says that where sin abounded grace did much more abound (Rom. 5:20). God delights in mercy and blessing. Jesus said that even a cup of cold water given in the name of a disciple will be rewarded (Mat. 10:42). The believer will receive so much more and lose so much less than he deserves that he will rejoice greatly. David committed awful crimes of adultery and murder, yet in the New Testament this is not mentioned and he is upheld as a hero of the faith. Abraham lied and doubted God at one point (Gen. 17:17), and Sarah laughed and doubted God's promise (Gen. 18:12-15). Both sinned grievously in the matter of Hagar. But when we come to Hebrews 11 we see none of that. We only see their steadfastness in faith and their spiritual victories. There is no mention there of their temporary stumbling.
There will also be praise because of the effectiveness of God's discipline in the lives of His children (Heb. 12:5-10; John 15:1-16). In that day we will see how that God worked in our earthly lives to prune and chastise and shape us, and we will rejoice at what God did.
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Fundamental Baptist Information Service
P.O. Box 610368
Port Huron, MI 48061
866-295-4143
