The Sin Problem
Judgment, with Rewards!
1 Corinthians 3:10-17
For our last couple of studies on "The Sin Problem", I want us to think about judgment. To acknowledge that such a thing as sin exists is to admit there is a standard of righteousness. And if there is a standard of righteousness, and that standard has been violated, then the logical conclusion is there will be a punishment that is appropriate for that violation.
In fact, any fair and honorable system of societal law is based on that fact. If you exceed the speed limit, there is an appropriate penalty called a fine that is attached to that crime. If you're playing basketball and someone fouls you, then you get to, as Jerry Clower used to say, "Toe a line and shoot a free throw unmolested!"
If you take someone's life, they will charge you with one of a variety of crimes and the punishment is according to the severity of the crime. That makes sense and everything about us acknowledges the logic of that system. . . until we are the one that is guilty. Then we don't want justice; we want leniency or mercy or even forgiveness.
The same is true in regard to our sin. Taking all the personal bias out of it, we recognize and embrace the fact that there is a judgment and ensuing punishment that should come because we have sinned against God.
I believe it was Daniel Webster who said, "The most sobering thought he had ever had was that one day he would stand before God and give an account of his life.". That is, indeed, a very sobering thought!
I think it important that everyone be helped to understand , at least a little bit, of what to expect after their life on earth comes to an end. And while we may not know or understand all the details of all that will take place when we stand before God, it is fairly easy to determine what kind of judgment we should expect.
Remember, as we've already learned in this series, there are only two categories of people in the world. There are those who are dead in trespasses and sins and there are those that are alive in Christ.
Now in spiritual terms, everyone is born dead. And if we are never born again and made alive, then one day our physical life will come to an end and the Bible teaches us that the next conscious moment after death will be in hell.
It is described in Scripture as a place of eternal torment, misery and pain. And in this place called hell, all of those will be held until a time known as the Great White Throne Judgment. It is described in Revelation 20, and we are going to look at it in detail next week.
But suffice it to say that the conclusion of the Great White Throne Judgment results is all of those who rejected Christ being cast into a lake of fire for all eternity.
Now understand, their spot in the lake of fire is determined by their rejection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is a just and deserved judgment. In other words, the punishment fits the crime.
Now, as you would expect, there is a great contrast between the eternal destination of the dead and those who are alive in Christ. There are two distinct and different types of relationships to God, two distinct and different responses to Christ, two distinct and different eternities, and therefore, two distinct and different types of judgment.
So what should the Christian expect to happen after our life comes to an end and we stand before God? Well, we get a peek at that in
1 Corinthians 3:9-15
Now here we have a different kind of scene and experience from what we saw a moment ago. The Great White Throne is a rendering of the final verdict regarding the decision some made to reject God's offer of life, and it results in an immediate and just punishment that is appropriate to the crime.
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the way, there is no appeal to a higher court. There is no overturning of the verdict. There is no time to turn up new evidence. The Supreme Judge of the Universe examines the testimony against those who have rejected Christ, renders an immediate verdict and the condemned are cast into the Lake of Fire.
But for the Christian, there is a completely different kind of experiencing awaiting. It is not a judgment to determine whether or not we are saved.
It is not a judgment to weigh our good deeds against our bad and see if we're going to make it to heaven. It is not a judgment to determine the level of punishment we deserve. It is none of those things because all of those things were taken care of when God gave us life in Christ. If you are saved, then you are safe from that kind of judgment.
In fact, Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation (no judgment) to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." So if we do not experience a judgment for our sin, then what kind of judgment should we expect and how does it relate to the sin problem?
Our text says there is coming a day when every one of us, as children of God, will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and there all of our work, our labor for the Lord, our service will come under the very careful observation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I want to say to you that thought should take away any arrogance you might be developing because you won't be at the Great White Throne. To think that every prayer we've prayed, every song we've sung, every sermon we've preached, every penny we've given, every witness we've shared coming under the examining eye of Christ is, to quote Webster, a sobering thought.
And beyond that, we should also weigh in, not only what we've done, but what we haven't done and the attitude with which we've done it. And as far as the sin problem goes, while we aren't judged directly for our sin, I will remind you we still struggle with sin and our sin as Christians impacts our service.
So as Jesus evaluates our service, the residual of the sin problem shows its ugly face. All those times and ways in which we've allowed sin to rule and hold us captive instead of yielding ourselves as instruments of righteousness and presenting ourselves as living sacrifices will come to bear at this final evaluation.
All of the times we were selfish with our time or money, or we ignored the promptings of the Holy Spirit when He was directing us to ministry in some way, all of the sins we've committed and the things we should have done, but didn't, all of our stinking attitudes, all of that has a bearing on how we serve the Lord and it will all be evaluated.
It has a direct bearing on how we will be rewarded in the life to come. Paul tells us in this text that there is coming a time when all the works of all believers will be subject to a test by fire to determine whether they are worthy of reward.
That thought of eternal reward is what motivated Paul to do what he did in the way he did it. In fact, the verses leading into our text tell us Paul is thinking about that time when God will reward His own. Notice
verses 5-8
God is going to do the judging. God is going to do the rewarding. And God doesn’t need anybody to help him with that work. After all, as verse 13 says, “every man’s work will be made manifest.” Just wait, and it will all come out. So these verses are telling us about a judgment on believer’s works that results in rewards. Let’s look at what Paul writes about this judgment.
Paul uses the word picture of building a building to describe this evaluation of our works. In other words, all believers are building a building, and they’re building with different types of materials. And when the building completed, it will be evaluated by being set on fire.
Anything that is worthless will be destroyed, and thus not deserving of a reward and anything that survives the fire will be rewarded.
So let's unfold the analogy and discover what it teaches about the judgment seat of Christ by looking at the building terms Paul uses in the analogy.
The first one is
1. Master Builder
verse 10
Paul introduces us to himself as a master builder with a specialty. Paul was a foundation man. He was the guy who went around and started churches. In fact, he told the Romans, "There are some places I didn’t go because I didn’t want to build on somebody else’s foundation.”
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strictly wanted to go where Christ was not named. And there he would win people to Christ, teach basic doctrine, and establish the foundation on Christ. That was his job. And notice, he describes himself as a “wise master builder.” In other words, he was skillful. knew what he was doing. When he came in to lay a foundation, he knew exactly how to get the job done so that what was built on his foundation was solid.
And I want to remind us, the foundation of Christianity is laid, and they are well-laid. Christianity doesn’t need any new foundations. We don't need additional revelation. We don't new a new kind of material. We are building on the previous work of others.
And what Paul says here is very interesting. He says, "I have laid the foundation". That's past tense. It's done. But then he says, "Another builds on it" and that's in the present tense which means it's continually going on.
In other words, the laying of the foundation is a one-time historical event. It's done and will never be repeated. But the work of building on that foundation continues in every age with every generation until the return of the Lord.
That means every person from Paul forward is building on that foundation. That means every one of us has a ministry. Is that not true? Every one of us has a part in the building, and what we build is established on the foundation that has been laid, and we are to be careful how we build.
The second term in the analogy is
2. The Foundation
So what specifically is this foundation Paul has laid? Verses 10, 11 and 12 all mention the foundation, so we don't have to wonder because Paul tells us.
verse 11
The foundation is not a thing or a set of beliefs. It isn't tradition or ethics. Instead, it is a person. The foundation is Jesus Christ. I think we can safely expand that to mean that the foundation of the church is the person and work of Jesus Christ as presented in the Word of God.
What Paul used and preached and what the early church embraced was the doctrine of the Apostles. And Apostolic doctrine was all about Christ. The Old Testament was written to tell us about the coming of Christ. The Gospels are written to give us the history of the life of Christ.
The Epistles were written to give us commentary on that life, and to draw principles from that life. The book of Revelation is written to tell us that Christ is alive and reigning, and will return.
The whole Bible, both Old Testament and New Testament is Christ. It’s all Christ. They laid the apostles’ doctrine as the foundation, the doctrines concerning Jesus Christ. You cannot build on any other foundation than that. No new foundations.
Christianity doesn’t need a new foundation. The only foundation for a life and the only foundation for the church is Jesus Christ. If that foundation goes, then everything collapses. He is the only foundation upon which a man may build a fitting temple for God.
You may try to sidestep Jesus or ignore His life or substitute some other foundation. Some people reject Christ. They’re disobedient to Christ; they don’t respond to Christ. But Paul's declaration is there can be no other foundation other than Jesus Christ.
In fact, Jesus closed the Sermon on the Mount by saying that very thing. The person who builds their life on me will be like a builder that builds on a rock, and those that don't are building on sand. There is only one way to stand through the storms of life and that is to build upon the foundation of Jesus.
He is the only foundation. There can be no life, no church, no nation, no home, no family, no nothing built with a lasting value unless it is built on Jesus Christ. Other foundation can no man lay. Paul says, “I was the master builder; Jesus is the foundation.”
Third point. Once the foundation is laid, then we start building on it. So as Christians, what do we use to build? Let's think about
3. The Materials
verse 12
There are six specific building materials mentioned in this verse. That tells us that not all Christians and not all churches are built from the same materials.
There some who build with more durable elements than others. They may be built on the same foundation, but the materials are vastly different.
Now what that means is all of those who are building are Christians, but some of them build with eternal materials and make an eternal contribution and others are just along for the ride. And at the judgment seat of Christ, those materials that were used will be what is evaluated to determine any rewards that are appropriate.
Now this one verse explains a lot of things when it comes to the church. Why are some Christians so committed and others just barely involved? Why do some come to prayer meetings and get involved in outreach and others never show up?
Why do some make good moral decisions and others live such a sorry life? Simple! It is because some are building with gold, silver, and precious stones and others are using wood, hay, and stubble. And it really boils down to whether someone wants to be a saint of gold or a stubble saint.
Somewhere along the line many have forgotten that they are the temple of God. And through their life, they are building this temple of themselves as a dwelling place for God. This building is going to testify to God. It's all about His praise and His honor according to verses 16 and 17
So let’s just say you’re going to build this thing for God, and you have absolutely unlimited resources. There is no budget and no spending limits. I know that’s hard to imagine, but just try to imagine it. You do realize as a child of God you are unlimited in resources, right?
Remember, because of the indwelling Spirit of God there is power and resources available that you can't imagine! “Now to him Who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think according to the power that works in you.” You can do beyond your imagination.
So let’s say you can do anything you want. You can build anything you want to build.
You have gold and silver and granite ('precious stones" most likely indicates granite), and marble available. So if you want to, you can build a massive granite structure, embellish it with marble and overlay it with gold and silver if you want to.
But instead, you get some leftover yellow pine that somebody's torn out in a remodel, throw up a little hut, don't bother to use a level or square, then dab up the cracks with some mud and straw, and cover the roof with some dried up stalks.
And then, inspection day comes and God comes by to inspect His living quarters. Now gold, silver and precious stones were available, but you've chosen wood, hay and stubble. And you say, “Here you go, God! How do you like it?”
And God says, “Do you really think it is appropriate to put a mud hut on the foundation of Christ? Wood, hay an stubble all have their place, but as far as using them to build a temple, they are worthless."
Unfortunately, there are some people who the whole of their Christian life is described as worthless. They go to church, sit for a while and leave. They've done their building for the week, but they've only used wood, hay and stubble.
Now we need to keep in mind that evaluating building materials is God's business. Sometimes things that look like gold or silver may really be hay or stubble. You may teach a gold standard Sunday School lesson, but if you've just done it to put on a show or show people how smart you are or your attitude was wrong, it may be stubble.
Sometimes we are critical of someone's voice or how they're a little off-key, but what God hears is a sweet song of praise and it is evaluated as precious stones by Him!
That's why across the page in 1 Corinthians 4:5, Paul reminds us to not judge things too early. Just let the Lord do that when He comes because knows the deepest details and even the intentions of the heart.
That means God's going to judge our
- motives
Our motive reveals "why we did what we did"
And Paul says some of our motives are wood, hay, and stubble. Some of them are gold, silver, and precious stones.
When I do something totally and supremely for the glory of God, that's gold. That’s a motive. It’s going to make the hidden things of the heart known. God wants to know you’re motive. You may do a deed that looks gold; but if your motive was stubble, that disqualifies it.
Second, He's going to judge our
- management
verse 13
"What sort it is"
That means "what we did with what we had to do with. And by the way, aren't you glad he didn't say, "how much it is".
Listen: God's not comparing you to others and how much they do, but rather on what He's given you to do with. That means what you do matters to God. If it's keeping the nursery, do it for the glory of God. If it's teaching a Sunday School class, give it everything you've got.
There is no work in the church that is unimportant work. And depending on how it's done determines whether it is gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or stubble.
He's also going to judge our
- ministry
And that means He will evaluate how well we did what we did. Were we all in? Was serving God a priority for us. Did we present a holy, living sacrifice or did we crawl off the altar and substitute our will for the will of God? Just to put it in a very simple to understand way, listen to what we read in
2 Corinthians 5:10
I don't know that "bad" is the best translation for what that verse means. Listen to it from the HCSB:
"For we must all appear before the tribunal of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless."
We are building a building with our motives, our management and our ministry every day. So what kind of building are you building? Are your materials gold, silver and precious stones or wood, hay and stubble? It’s important to think about.
Next, let's think about
4. The Test
verse 13
Once the building’s up, there’s going to be inspection. That’s true with any building you build. There’s going to be an inspection. There’s coming a day when everybody’s work is going to be tested.
God turns the light on and gives a close up inspection of what we've done and how and why we've done and how well we've done it. And notice, everyone's work is going to be tested. Why? So God can determine and reveal what’s left.
So what difference does it make what's left? Well, what's left determines the reward we will receive for our service to God. There is no punishment, just reward or lack of reward.
And notice, Paul says, "The day will declare it." SO what day is that? It is the Day the Lord returns. One of the closing verses of the New Testament, Revelation 22:12 says, "Behold, I come quickly and My reward is with Me."
In all the New Testament, nothing is ever said about punishment for believers, only praise. We jsut read that in
1 Corinthians 4:5
So this examination and inspection is not about penalty, it is about reward. Someone says, "Well what about the reference to fire?"
He's just telling us that some things burn and others don't. It's just a part of the analogy he's using, It's not a reference to hell or eternal judgment. He's telling us that whatever is left after the test, God's going to reward and the rest of it will burn up because it is worthless.
The next term Paul uses in the building analogy is
5. The Workers
verses 14 to 17
It's very simple to follow. First of all, there are some who did constructive work. They built well. They built a good, strong, solid, enduring building. They had right motives, they properly managed what they were entrusted with and they worked hard. And when the fire was over, what they built was still there. They passed the test. And what does verse 14 say?
verse 14
So what kind of reward can that worker anticipate?
When the Bible talks about the rewards for a Christian, they are generally described as crowns.
There is an incorruptible crown mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9, for those who are faithful to Scripture.
There is the crown of righteousness, for those who are faithful until Jesus comes. It's described in 2 Timothy 4:8.
There is the crown of rejoicing, 1 Thessalonians 2:19 and 20, for those who win souls.
The crown of glory, 1 Peter 5:4, for those who are faithful pastors, and
The crown of life, James 1:12, for all who love Him sacrificially.
So certainly those crowns are included in the rewards. Beyond that, the Bible talks about things like ruling privileges in the Millennial Kingdom, and I don't know what else. I don’t know how it is that God’s going to reward us, but as unbelievable as it sounds, somehow He’s going to reward us if there’s anything left.
By the way, that’s why he says at the end of verse 10, “Let each one take heed how he builds". So that's the first group. After the fire reveals the truth, they are rewarded for what's left.
Then there is a second group of workers and while the first group was very productive, the second group is worthless.
verse 15
So when the fire starts, for some, it will be total loss. Everything goes up in smoke and the only thing left is their salvation. Everything else is gone. There was never a pure motive. Instead of being good stewards, they wasted the opportunities and gifts.
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were content to just coast along, live on the periphery and let others do the heavy lifting. And when the fire starts, it consumes everything. That means beyond salvation, there will be no rewards.
You mean, all those years and going to church and giving money and it was all stubble? Sorry about that! I guess you should have paid more attention to what was going on!
What a solemn warning these verses are to hook up close and serve the Lord with heart, soul, mind and strength! Now somebody might be tempted to say, "Doesn't make me any difference! I'm not looking for rewards!"
You might want to rethink that position because the Bible is full of warnings about losing your reward. John said in 2 John 8, “Look to yourselves that you lose not the things that you’ve wrought, but that you receive a full reward.” Don’t waste your time on wood, hay, and stubble. Find out your spiritual gift and use it.
“Hold fast. Don’t let anybody take your crown,” the Lord said to the church to the Philadelphia. Paul said to the Colossians in 2:18, “Don’t let anybody beguile you, bewitch you, and take away your reward.”
Paul feared that he would preach and be a castaway and forfeit his own reward. You can lose your reward if what you’ve done is worthless. Be careful about how you live, knowing what you do here will affect your reward there.
Quickly, let me touch on one final term and that is
6. The Fire
verse 13
So what is the fire that tests the materials? There are lots of ideas about that; let me give you mine. It's based on
Revelation 1:13-16
John saw Jesus clothed with a garment that reached down to the ground. A golden belt is tied around His chest. His head and hair are white as snow. ANd then verse 14 contains this comment about his eyes: They were as flames of fire.
What is the fire of judgment in 1 Corinthians 3:13?
I believe it to be nothing other than the very eyes of Jesus. One by one we will appear before the Lord and there His eternal gaze will peel everything away. What we did, why we did what we did, how well or poorly we did what we did with what He gave us to do.
Everything will be revealed. It will be revealed by fire. So how you going to look when the fire reveals what you really are? Anything going to be left when the fire is through with you?
If there is, it will be rewarded with crowns. So what's the big deal about the crowns? What will we do with crowns? Are we going to have a crown shelf in heaven, and anybody who comes over to our place, we can say, "Hey! Check my crowns. How many have you got?”
Listen to Revelation 4, verse 4, and I close with this:
Revelations 4:4
Here we find this group of elders in heaven, most likely representing the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles, and they are wearing crowns.
verse 10
If I read that right, that’s the redeemed of God from all the ages casting their crowns at the feet of Christ.
One of the reasons that we want to have a crown is to show the Lord we love Him and show Him faithful service. But another reason is that we may cast them at His feet in praise and adoration.
There's an old hymn that was written in 1887 that asks,
“Must I go, and empty-handed,”
Thus my dear Redeemer meet?
Not one day of service give Him,
Lay no trophy at His feet?
The second verse is especially poignant when you know the story back of its writing. The hymn was written by Charles Carroll Luther. He wrote the lyrics after hearing an evangelist named A.G. Upham relate the story of a young man who was about to die.
This young man had been a Christian for only one month. He was thankful to the Lord for giving him salvation during his final hour. But as death approached, he grieved over the fact that he would not have an opportunity to serve the Lord nor to share Him with others. He explained, “I am not afraid to die; Jesus saves me now. But must I go empty handed?”
Those words must have been in Luther's mind when he wrote the second verse:
Not at death I shrink or falter,
For my Savior saves me now;
But to meet Him empty-handed,
Thought of that now clouds my brow.
Oh, the years in sinning wasted,
Could I but recall them now,
I would give them to my Savior,
To His will I’d gladly bow.
Oh, ye saints, arouse, be earnest,
Up and work while yet ’tis day;
Ere the night of death o’ertake thee,
Strive for souls while still you may.
“Must I go, and empty-handed?”
Must I meet my Savior so?
Not one soul with which to greet Him,
Must I empty-handed go?
The answer is "No". You can go with as many eternal building materials as you like. It's up to you what you will build for the Lord.
Let’s pray.
