The Scriptures are clear that we can never lose our salvation, but how does God deal with believers who commit sins and refuse to repent even after they have been saved? The answer to this question is rather complicated. Our God is wise, and He has many ways to deal with His people. First Corinthians 3:13-15 shows us one of the ways that God deals with His people after they have been saved. Verse 13 says, “The work of each will become manifest; for the day will declare it, because it is revealed by fire, and the fire itself will prove each one’s work, of what sort it is.” This verse tells us that when the Lord comes back, there will be a test to determine what sort of work we did after we were saved. Then verse 14 continues, “If anyone’s work which he has built upon the foundation remains, he will receive a reward.” This verse speaks of a reward, not of salvation. Receiving a reward is different from receiving salvation. Verse 15 follows, “If anyone’s work is consumed, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” This verse says that if our work is consumed, we will suffer loss. It does not say that we will perish. Suffering loss is different from perishing. This is proved by the phrase but he himself will be saved. We will suffer loss if our work is consumed, but we will still be saved. However, we should not say that all will be well, because although the verse says that we will be saved, it concludes with the phrase yet so as through fire.
We will never lose our salvation. Salvation is eternal, and the work of Christ on the cross, upon which our salvation is based, is eternal (Heb. 9:12). This matter is clear. However, after we are saved, we need to live according to the will of God and according to Christ. If we do this, we will receive a reward when the Lord returns. This reward is something in addition to salvation. However, if we do not live according to the will of God and according to Christ, the Lord will cause us to suffer loss when He returns. This suffering will be a form of punishment to us. Once we are saved, we are saved eternally. This matter is settled once and for all. However, in addition to the question of salvation, there is the question of reward or loss. This is the clear teaching of the Scriptures.
The Bible reveals that there are several different kinds of judgments of God. Revelation 20:11-15 says that there will be a final judgment at the great white throne. This judgment has nothing to do with Christians. There is, however, another judgment spoken of in the Bible that does pertain to believers—the judgment at the judgment seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:10). When Christ returns, He will set up His judgment seat, and all His disciples will be brought there to be judged. At this judgment seat only the saved ones will be judged. This judgment is not for eternal salvation or eternal destruction; rather, it is to determine who will receive a reward and who will suffer loss. If we have lived and worked according to the will of God, we will receive a reward. If we have not, we will suffer loss (Matt. 7:21-23; 25:1-30). This shows us the importance of how we live and work after we receive the Lord. We must be careful; otherwise, we will suffer loss.
The apostle Paul was one who lived with a view to the judgment seat of Christ and who endeavored to obtain the reward. In 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 he writes, “Everyone who contends exercises self-control in all things; they then, that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we, an incorruptible. I therefore run in this way, not as though without a clear aim; I box in this way, not as though beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest perhaps having preached to others, I myself may become disapproved.” Clearly Paul had been saved, but in these verses he tells us that he was still running. Why was he running? He was running to obtain a prize, a reward. Paul even said that he was afraid that he might become disapproved. Does this mean that there was a possibility that Paul could lose his salvation? Surely it does not. Some versions of the Bible translate the phrase become disapproved as “be cast away.” To be cast away does not mean to lose one’s salvation; it means to be cast away from the prize.
Paul continues his thought in 10:1-5, saying, “For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for they were strewn along in the wilderness.” All the children of Israel were saved by the passover and crossed through the Red Sea, but not all of them entered into Canaan. On the one hand, they all were saved, but on the other hand, not all of them received the prize, the reward. In light of this warning, the apostle Paul tells us that he was running the race and striving to obtain the prize.
At the time Paul wrote the book of Philippians, he was still pressing on. In Philippians 3:13-14 he declares, “Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward.” Even at this juncture he did not consider himself to have already attained. Thus, he continued to pursue, to run the race, and to press on. Not until the end of his life did Paul have the confidence to say that he had obtained the prize. Knowing that he would soon be martyred for the Lord’s sake, Paul told Timothy, “I am already being poured out, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day, and not only me but also all those who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6-8). Paul had been saved, but throughout the course of his Christian life he ran to obtain the prize, the crown. This crown is a reward and is something in addition to salvation. At the end of his life Paul knew that he had obtained the reward. Paul also told Timothy that this reward was not for himself alone but for all those who love the Lord’s appearing and coming.
At the moment we believe in the Lord, we receive salvation, and once we are saved, we can never lose our salvation. However, after we are saved, we must ask ourselves how we will run the race of the Christian life. The way we run this race will determine whether or not we will receive the crown as a prize. As we have seen, our running the race of the Christian life also includes the way we work. If we do not work properly, we will suffer loss when the Lord returns. We will be saved, yet so as through fire.
This understanding of the Scriptures solves the problem between the Calvinists and the Arminians. On the one hand, there is eternal security; on the other hand, there is the settlement of the Lord’s righteousness. The Calvinists and the Arminians have been fighting for generations regarding this matter. The Calvinists insist that salvation is eternal and is based upon predestination. They are correct, but they neglect the other side—the side of responsibility. The Arminians emphasize the side of responsibility, but they neglect the side of eternal security. The Scriptures, however, are balanced. Salvation is eternal; hence, we are eternally secure. However, after we are saved, we must be responsible to the Lord concerning how we run the race of the Christian life. Those who run successfully will receive a reward, a prize; those who do not will suffer loss and will be punished. This balanced view of the Scriptures reconciles the two sides.
We can illustrate the relationship between salvation and reward with the experience of a father and his children. It is not uncommon for a father to tell his children that if they do well in school, they will receive a reward, but if they do not do well in school, they will be punished. If one of his children works hard and does well, the father may reward this child, but if one of the children does not do well, the father may punish this child. Although the father may punish the child who does not do well, this does not mean that this child is no longer one of the father’s children. A son can never lose his sonship, but he can be punished. This punishment is a loss to him. We can apply this illustration to our status as children of God. All those who have believed in Christ are children of God (John 1:12-13), but there are regulations in God’s family. If we go along with these regulations, when Christ returns, He will reward us, saying, “Well done. Come and rejoice with Me” (cf. Matt. 25:23). If we do not go along with these regulations, when He returns, He will punish us (v. 30). He would never reject us and say to us, “From now on I will no longer take you as My child.” He loves us and has saved us, so He would never do this. He will, however, measure out some kind of punishment and cause us to suffer loss if we do not live according to His regulations. We must be clear that we have been saved eternally. However, we should not be altogether at peace, because we have some responsibility before our Father. This is the balanced revelation of the Bible concerning eternal salvation and God’s judgment of His children.