All the verses in the Scripture reading are related to three things: the second coming of the Lord Jesus, the manifestation of the kingdom, and the matter of receiving a reward or suffering a loss. Many Christians like to talk about the second coming of the Lord Jesus and also about the coming of God's kingdom. Unfortunately, many times they talk about these things according to their concepts, not according to the pure Word in the Holy Scriptures. While they may speak something concerning the second coming and also something concerning the kingdom, they seldom speak something concerning the saints receiving a reward or suffering a loss. If, however, we come back to the pure Word, we will see that the above verses are the development of Matthew 16:27. In Matthew 16 there is a little seed: "For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each man according to his doings." From reading the pure Word in the Scriptures, we can see something of the Lord's revelation and also of His concept.
Matthew 16:27 does not say that, when the Son of Man comes in the glory of His Father, He will save everyone who believes in Him. Rather, it says He will reward each man according to his doings. It does not say according to his faith, but according to his doings. Justification is by faith, not by works. We are not saved by works, but by our faith (Eph. 2:8-9). Matthew 16:27 does not relate to the matter of salvation but to the matter of reward. I am afraid that many Christians do not have this word "reward" in their Christian dictionary. We must be strongly impressed that when the Lord Jesus comes back, He will reward every man according to his doings.
The reward is not a mansion in the sky. Again, we must consider the pure Word of the Bible. To the wise virgins the reward is the enjoyment of the marriage feast. To the faithful servants the reward is the joy of the Lord and the ruling and authority over the nations. Do you have the assurance that when the Lord Jesus comes, you will be rewarded? You may be so happy that the Lord Jesus is coming and that you are going to meet Him, but when you meet Him, will He reward you? I am fearful that when the Lord comes we will not be rewarded, but exposed. The reward will be based upon our doings. How we live, walk, function, and work for the Lord after we are saved is the ground for the Lord to reward us. This concept is sown as a seed in Matthew 16:27.
Let us now read 2 Corinthians 5:9-10. In these verses the seed which was sown in Matthew 16 blossoms. The best translation of these verses is: "Wherefore we are ambitious, that, whether present or absent, we may be well-pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." In order to be well-pleasing to the Lord, we must have an ambition to please the Lord. This is not an ambition to go to a heavenly mansion. No! These verses do not mention a heavenly mansion, but rather the judgment seat of Christ. It does not say that we will appear before the judgment seat to receive our salvation. Rather, it says we will receive something according to the things done in our body. If we have done something good, we will receive a reward. If we have done something bad, we will receive a kind of punishment.