At the judgment seat of Christ some believers will suffer loss. This loss will not be of salvation but of reward. They will be saved, yet so as through fire. This fire is related to a certain dispensational punishment, not to eternal perdition.
First Corinthians 3:15 says, “If anyone’s work shall be consumed, he shall suffer loss, but he shall be saved, yet so as through fire.” The work of wood, grass, and stubble (v. 12) is fit only to be burned. This is the work which shall be consumed by the Lord’s judging fire at His return.
When Paul says, “He shall suffer loss,” he means loss of reward, not loss of salvation. To suffer loss here absolutely does not mean to perish. The salvation which we have received in Christ is not by our works (Titus 3:5) and is eternal, unchangeable in nature (Heb. 5:9; John 10:28-29). Hence, those believers whose Christian works will not be approved by the judging Lord and who will suffer the loss of reward will still be saved. God’s salvation to all believers as a free gift is for eternity, whereas the Lord’s reward to those whose Christian works are approved by Him is for the kingdom age. A reward is an incentive for their Christian works, and it is not given to all believers.
Although those believers whose Christian works will not be approved by the Lord at His coming back will be saved, they will be saved “so as through fire.” “Through fire” surely indicates punishment. However, it is altogether not the purgatory heretically taught by Catholicism in its superstitious quoting of this verse. Nevertheless, this word should be a solemn warning to us today concerning our Christian works.
Two other portions of the New Testament that speak of the believers’ suffering loss are Matthew 24:48-51 and 25:26-30. Matthew 24:48 and 49 speak of an evil slave who says in his heart, “My master is delaying his coming,” and who begins to “beat his fellow slaves, and eat and drink with the drunken.” Verses 50 and 51 say, “The master of that slave shall come on a day when he does not expect him, and in an hour which he does not know, and shall cut him asunder and appoint his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.” The problem with the evil slave is not that he does not know that the Lord is coming, but that he does not expect Him. He does not like to live the kind of life that is prepared for the Lord’s coming. Moreover, the evil slave beats his fellow slaves, that is, mistreats the fellow believers, and eats and drinks with the drunken, that is, keeps company with worldly people, who are drunk with worldly things. Therefore, when the Lord comes back, He will cut asunder the evil slave and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. To “cut him asunder” means to cut him off. This signifies a separation from the Lord in His coming glory. The Lord will not cut the evil slave in pieces; rather, He will cast him off from the glory in which He Himself will be. Once again, the issue is not salvation but whether a believer will receive a reward to enter into the kingdom or lose the reward, miss the enjoyment of the kingdom, and suffer punishment and discipline where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In Matthew 25:26-30 the one-talented one, who was not faithful in using his gift, is rebuked by the Lord and punished. Verse 30 says, “Cast out the useless slave into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.” Whoever is cast into outer darkness will be cut off from the Lord, from His presence, from His fellowship, and from the glorious sphere in which the Lord will be. This is not to perish eternally but to be chastened dispensationally during the coming age of the kingdom.
In the New Testament there is a clear and strong revelation concerning the believers’ future. The verses that we have covered in this message concerning the believers’ being judged at the judgment seat of Christ are very serious. As a result of studying these verses, we should care about our future, in particular how we shall meet the Lord and give an account to Him.
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