THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
Warsaw Christian Church, 1/9/05
Richard M. Bowman, Pastor
Texts: 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- 13 the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. 14 If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.
For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.
The foundational message of the Christian faith answers the question, “How can sinful, fallen human beings find peace with God?” The answer, of course, is found in the Gospel. Salvation is given as a free gift to all who put their faith in Jesus. In this congregation I believe we all understand the Gospel messag,e and are persons who do place their hope in Jesus Christ alone. Our text is addressed to Christians whose feet are firmly planted on the foundation, which is Jesus Christ. Paul reminds us that there is no other foundation upon which we can stand.
If Jesus Christ is the only foundation, the one who alone freely bestows divine pardon and eternal life to all who trust in Him, this very truth raises a critical question. Since salvation is a free gift, unrelated to any good works we do, why should I concern myself with serving God? Why should I strive to do good works since faith is all I need to enter heaven? The answer lies in our two texts and I find the answer to be kind of amazing.
Paul makes it very clear that all who are on the foundation - - - all who trust in Christ alone as Savior, will finally be redeemed. They will enter heaven and enjoy eternal life. This is true for those who worked hard to serve the Lord Jesus, and for those with nothing to commend them except their faith. Thus, we might expect to find hard working Christians like Martin Luther in heaven, as well as John Does who accomplished nothing for the Kingdom of God. We expect to find Paul in heaven, a man whose accomplishments for the Kingdom of God are enormous, as well as the thief on the cross who did nothing for the kingdom. All he had was bare faith, a faith which came to him at the very end of his life.
Our text teaches clearly that salvation is by faith alone, having nothing to do with our good works or lack thereof. We have probably all lost friends or relatives who gave little if any evidence of having done much in the way of service to God. This text gives us hope, that in spite of their lack of good works, perhaps there was a bare faith in Jesus which will take them to heaven.
Again, then what is the motivation to work hard in service to our Lord Jesus? One answer is that we serve God out of gratitude for the gift of eternal life. Our text provides a second answer. The good works that we do in the name of Jesus will earn eternal rewards. Salvation is free to all who trust the Savior, but heaven will not be a society where all are treated alike. Paul says some of those who are redeemed will learn that they have wasted their lives doing works having no eternal value. He uses a figure of speech to make this point. Some of the redeemed in heaven will find that that their life effort is made of wood and hay, fit only to be burned in fire. They had faith, but they lived for self, and they will enter heaven realizing that they wasted their lives on trivialities. If all we have to show at the end of life is our fine homes, our high priced cars, and all the other worldly signs of success, all of that will go up in smoke. It has no eternal value.
Granted, I would rather enter heaven unrewarded than not at all. The text holds out hope for every human being who has lived a wasted life. All who reach out to Jesus Christ with faith will be saved. They will receive none of the special rewards promised to the faithful. They have not laid up treasures in heaven, and for all eternity they will lack the rewards reserved for faithful service.
Salvation itself cannot be earned or merited by our good works. It can only be received as a free gift based on the merit of Jesus Christ. However, rewards do await those who built something of eternal value on the foundation of Jesus Christ. What will these rewards consist of? The Bible gives us little specific information about the nature of the rewards granted to the faithful. We can say a few things about rewards for faithful service.
1. One of the great rewards will be the approval of Christ Himself. To hear His “well done thou good and faithful servant” will be a priceless reward. I liken it to a basketball team. Once you have made the team the issue is not over. Then the question becomes, “who will start? Who will receive the most playing time?” Those who can contribute the most to the success of the team will play the most. You are a member of Christ’s team through faith. Then the issue becomes, “Who will contribute the most to His Kingdom?” Those who contribute will be rewarded. The church, like a basketball team, has its bench warmers who do not contribute much to the work of the kingdom of God. The good news is that all who trust in Christ, even the non-contributers, will be saved according to our text. Paul’s language is clear in verse 15: “If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.” If you want to enter heaven by the skin of your teeth, it can be done. All who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved, but wouldn’t you rather enter heaven hearing the approving words of the Savior, “Well done?”
2. A second part of our reward in heaven will be the presence of persons we have helped spiritually. I cannot imagine the joy one would feel to find someone in heaven who said, “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here.” When you encourage a fellow Christian, when you pray for another’s salvation or spiritual growth, when you feed the hungry and clothe the naked, when you practice forgiveness - - - these are the kind of good works that can help others in their spiritual life. These are the kind of works that will be rewarded, and to know that we have helped another in their spiritual journey will in itself be a great reward.
3. Jesus told a parable in Luke 19 that gives some insight into rewards. Without going into great detail, the essence of the parable is this. Some of Christ’s servants used what He gave them and were productive Christians. Others were somewhat productive. One was totally unproductive. Those who were the most productive received more authority (rewards) in heaven. They received greater responsibilities than those who were less productive. In the parable, the rewards are described as ruling over cities. Whatever that may mean, it is very clear that some in heaven will be greatly rewarded for faithfulness, while others will be rewarded less, and some will receive no reward at all. Yet, all will be redeemed because of their common faith in Jesus.
Whatever the rewards of heaven consist of, those who possess them will enjoy them for all eternity. Those who lack rewards will experience that lack for all eternity.
We need to spend a little time talking about how to earn rewards. What is the nature of a good work that will reap a reward on judgment day? Paul states that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive recompense for how we have lived our lives. The word “all” refers to all Christians, not all people. The judgment seat of Christ is not a judgment concerning salvation, but rather a judgment for the purpose of granting rewards. Let me suggest two criteria.
1. A good work that will earn a reward must be a work done in harmony with God’s will as revealed in Scripture. Martin Luther objected strongly to the “good works” done in some monastaries in his day. Many who lived in monastaries sought to please God by whipping themselves, or through some other kind of personal torture. Luther’s objection was that such “works” are not commanded in Scripture. We do not decide how to please God. He has told us what will please Him. As we practice the works commanded by our Savior, we are doing works which God will reward, but there is a caveat I must mention here.
2. When we carry out the commands of Scripture, we are to do so in the name of Jesus. We do what we do because of our love for Jesus. Our Lord expressed this truth when He said, “and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple--truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward" (Matthew 10:42). Just to meet the physical needs of another means nothing in the kingdom of God unless we are acting as disciple of Jesus. A rich man who gives millions of dollars to build a hospital has done a good work for the sick, but if the giving was done for personal recognition, there will be no heavenly reward. Yet, even giving a cup of cold water to a thirsty human being, if it is done as a disciple of Jesus, that work will be rewarded. When we do good to draw attention to ourselves, there is no heavenly reward. When we do good because of our love for Jesus, heaven takes notice. Thus, we are not only to do what Christ has commanded, we are to obey His commands because we love Him.
To do a good work in the wrong spirit robs us of our heavenly reward. Again, Jesus cautioned us in the Sermon on the Mount not to pray, or give offerings, or by implication, to do anything with the intention of drawing attention to ourselves. The only reward we receive when we act from a wrong spirit is whatever praise we receive from men. There will be no heavenly reward. And permit me to repeat that which has already been stated. If we do good works with the idea that our good works will merit us a place in heaven, we insult the Savior who died to purchase heaven for us as a free gift.
I don’t know much about the exact nature of heavenly rewards, but I know they will be given to those who obey Christ, doing good in His name and in the right spirit.
