There is an old saying, "Just one life, will soon be passed; and only what’s done for Christ will last."
This is our emphasis today, as we think together about the inevitability of life coming to an end. One day, every Christian here will find their life has come to an end. Also one day, every Christian here will stand before our Lord to give an accounting for the life we have lived here below. This is what Paul is emphasizing in our passage for today.
The Bible has quite a bit to say about the Day of Judgment for the Christian. For example, John tells us that some believers will stand before the Lord with their heads held high, while others will stand before Him with their heads hung low.
"Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming." - 1 John 2:28 (NASB)
How can we make sure we will stand before Christ on the day of judgment with our heads held high? By abiding in Him. By living in such a way as to allow Christ to be "at home in our hearts." By walking with Christ and learning from Him how to allow Him to live His life through us.
The Bible tells us that the degree of reward that every Christian will receive in eternity will be determined on that day when they stand before Christ.
"You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat." - Romans 14:10 (NIV)
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." - 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NKJV)
The Greek word for "judgment seat" is "bema," which, in secular usage, had four meanings:
1. It referred to one’s stride, or manner of walking.
2. It referred to a platform for a public official.
3. It referred to a "rewards platform" in sporting contests.
4. It referred to the place where litigants stood for trial.
One can easily see why the Holy Spirit selected this word for Paul to use in describing the day in which every believer will stand before their Lord to give an account concerning the life they lived (or did not live) for Him.
One thing is clear: the degree to which I live like Jesus will determine the degree to which I will one day be rewarded by our Lord. This is Paul’s emphasis in our passage for today. Every Christian will be judged according to the QUALITY of the life they have built on the foundation of Christ. Gold, silver, and costly stones refer to those aspects of my life that were Christ-like, while the wood, hay, and straw refer to those aspects of my life that are not Christ-like.
Every Christian who is seeking to live as a true disciple of Jesus Christ can look forward to being rewarded on that day. If I seek to live my life as a true disciple of Jesus, my reward will be three-fold:
1. At the end of my life, I will receive the reward of knowing my time was well spent-vs. 14-17
Paul says it’s possible to be genuinely saved and heaven bound, yet have nothing to show for the fact that they are a Christian. In other words, it is possible for a person to have a saved soul, but live a wasted life.
For the true disciple of Jesus, however, that will not be the story of their life. They will be able to know that their life was not wasted, but invested for both time and eternity.
Jesus taught that we are either contributing to the work of His kingdom, or we are hindering His work.
"This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you’re not on my side, you’re the enemy; if you’re not helping, you ‘re making things worse."
- Matthew 12:30 (The Message)
How sad it will be for some believers to come to the end of their lives only to look upon them and see that their testimony made things worse, not better for the kingdom of God. How sad it will be for them to realize, all too late, that their life was a complete waste, because they lived only for themselves, not the Savior.
Paul is using the imagery of building a temple in our passage in much the same way Peter uses it in 1 Peter 2:1-5:
"Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious~ Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter 2:1-5 (NIV)
Peter speaks of individual spiritual growth as the result of dependence on the Word of God, and then moves on to the corporate growth of the church as God places individual believers ("living stones") into the structure. This "spiritual house" is the dwelling place of God, and the temple from which spiritual worship is offered to the glory of God.
In 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NIV), Paul tells us, "don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself."
Each Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit. But collectively, we are also the "temple of the Holy Spirit." The point is this. If I live my life as a Christian only for myself instead of for my Savior, then I will find at the end of my life that my time lived here below was an absolute waste. I will find that not only did I insure that my personal life and testimony was destroyed as a result, but that I also contributed to the destruction of God’s work through His church.
2. Until the end of time, I will receive the reward of seeing that my life was well invested-v. 10
Paul speaks of the fact that since he had lived for his Savior rather than for himself, he was confident that others would benefit from the foundation he had laid as an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He fully expected generations to come to be benefited by the work God had performed through his life on earth.
Likewise, the Bible teaches that the saints above are aware of the work of God below, and are observing the progress of the present generation of believers.
"And when the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their witness. They called loudly to the Lord and said, ‘0 Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge the people who belong to this world for what they have done to us? When will you avenge our blood against these people?’ Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters--their fellow servants of Jesus--had been martyred."
- Revelation 6:9-11 (NLT)
Scholars refer to this as the "intermediate state." The status of the saints in heaven between the time of their death and the day of the resurrection.
The writer of Hebrews reminded his readers of this truth and presented it as a motivation to live our lives well for Christ.
"Do you see what this means--all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running--and never quit!" - Hebrews 12:1 (The Message)
Heaven only knows the impact our witness will have. We all know how the layman Edward Kimball gathered the nerve to witness and win the soul of a young shoe salesman named D.L. Moody to Christ. D.L. Moody went on to become one of the greatest evangelists in his world. But, do you know THE REST OF THE STORY? D.L. Moody went to England and worked a profound change in the ministry of F.B. Meyer. F.B. Meyer, with his new evangelistic fervor, influenced J. Wilbur Chapman. Chapman helped in the ministry of converted baseball player Billy Sunday, who had a profound impact upon Mordacai Ham. And Mordacai Ham, holding a revival in North Carolina, led BILLY GRAHAM to Christ. And the man who started it all was a layman, Edward Kimball, who took seriously Christ’s commission to be a witness in his world.
I believe that Edward Kimball is in heaven right now, enjoying the eternal reward of seeing that his life on earth had been well invested. May we live in such a way today, that we might enjoy this reward of discipleship to the fullest in heaven one day!
3. At the judgment, I will receive the reward of hearing my Lord say, "well done" - vs. 12-14
Paul was confident of receiving a reward when he stood before the Lord on the Day of Judgment.
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing." - 2 Timothy 4:7-8
While there is much speculation as to what form that crown will take that the rewarded believer will receive, certainly one thing upon which we can all agree is that the greatest reward of all will be to hear our Master say, "Well done."
As we mentioned before, some believers will stand before the Lord with their heads held high, while others will stand before Him with their heads hung low.
Into which category will you fall?
When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ
And He shows me His plan for me;
The plan of my life as it might have been
Had He had His way, and I see
How I blocked Him here and I checked Him there
And I would not yield my will,
Shall I see grief in my Savior’s eyes;
Grief though He loves me still?
Oh, He’d have me rich, and I stand there poor,
Stripped of all but His grace,
While my memory runs like a hunted thing
Down the paths I cannot retrace.
Then my desolate heart will well-nigh break
With tears that I cannot shed.
I’ll cover my face with my empty hands
And bow my uncrowned head.
No. Lord of the years that are left to me
I yield them to Your hand.
Take me, make me, mold me
To the pattern You have planned.
