At this point we need to consider the Lord’s chastisement. First Corinthians 11:32 says, “When we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” Here we see that chastisement differs from being lost. Although you may never be lost, do not think that there will be no problems. The Lord may chastise you.
All fundamental Christians agree that if we do not behave ourselves after being saved, the Lord will chastise us. But many hold the inaccurate concept that the Lord’s chastisement is only in this age, and that when the Lord comes back there will be no further chastisement. But this is not logical. Suppose a certain young brother has been seduced away from the church life, drifts back to the world, and lives in sin for the remainder of his life. Do you believe that when he meets the Lord everything will be all right? I cannot find a hint in the holy Word that this will be the case. There is not one verse which says that a Christian who lives in sin without repentance will have no problems at the time of the Lord’s coming back. There are many verses, however, which tell us that the living saints and the resurrected dead saints will be judged before the judgment seat of Christ for a reward, either bad or good. As the good reward will be a prize, so the bad reward will surely be a chastisement or punishment.
Second Corinthians 5:10 says, “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.” This judgment will not be the judgment at the white throne for salvation or perdition, but the judgment at the second coming of Christ before the millennium for prize or chastisement. Paul’s use of the word “we” in this verse proves that he was including himself in this matter. The “things done in his body” refer to what we are doing today. First Corinthians 4:5 tells us to “judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” Will you have praise of God at the Lord’s coming back or not? It depends upon what you do after you have been saved. At the time of His coming back, the Lord will set up His judgment seat, and all the raptured and resurrected saints will stand there to give an account to Him.
We find the same thing in Romans 14:10-12: “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then, each one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Recovery Version). We shall stand there and give an account of what we have done after we were saved. The Lord will ask us to tell Him what we have done that we may receive the reward we deserve, either good or bad. This is serious, and I feel sorry for the many Christians who have never heard about it. If we do not see this matter clearly, we shall be unable to understand the Sabbath rest and the five warnings in the book of Hebrews concerning the Lord’s dealing with the believers in the coming age.
The Gospel of Matthew also speaks about reward. Do not accept the dispensational concept that Matthew is not for us today. If the Gospel of Matthew is not for us, then the Jesus born as the Savior in Matthew 1 and presented as the rest in Matthew 11 is not for us either. How ridiculous it is to say this! In Matthew 16:18-19 we see that when the church is built, the kingdom will be ushered in. Matthew 18:15-17 refers to the local church life, telling us that if a brother does not listen to the church, he should be considered as a publican and a heathen. This means that he will be out of the church life. To be out of the church life is to forfeit the right to what is mentioned in Matthew 11:28-29. In Matthew 11:28 the Lord said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The “I” who gives us rest in Matthew 11 goes to the church in Matthew 16 and remains in the church in Matthew 18. If we would enjoy Him as our rest, we must follow Him to the church and stay with Him in the church. If we do not listen to the church, we shall be out of the church life and out of the rest. Matthew 12:8 says that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. In order to have rest we must be with Him. If we are outside of the church, we are without the Sabbath.
While Matthew 16:18-19 speaks of the church and the kingdom, Matthew 16:27 speaks of the reward. “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” This verse does not refer to unbelievers, for unbelievers are merely sinners and cannot be worthy of a good reward. This verse surely refers to the believers who will receive one of the two kinds of rewards: a prize as a good reward or punishment as a bad reward. Matthew 1 tells us that Jesus is the Savior and Emmanuel; Matthew 6 tells us to pray, “Thy kingdom come”; Matthew 11 tells us that we may come to the Lord for rest; Matthew 12 reveals that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath; Matthew 16 unveils that the church is built upon Christ and that the kingdom is ushered in through the built-up church; Matthew 18 tells us that we should be in the proper church life; and Matthew 16:27 warns us that the Lord will return to reward us.
Matthew 25 gives us a serious warning that when the Lord comes back He will punish some of His servants (vv. 24-30). Some say that the servants who are punished by the Lord are false Christians, but this is not logical. How could false Christians ever be the Lord’s servants? How could the Lord assign a work to a false servant? It is wrong to interpret the matter this way. Those who claim that these servants are false servants are forced to say this because they do not believe that the Lord will punish any of His servants after He comes back. They would argue, “How can any saved ones be punished by the Lord when He comes back? This means that the Lord’s redemption is not perfect.” Nevertheless, these same people teach that if Christians do not behave themselves in this life the Lord will punish them. We would turn their argument against them and ask, “Would not this chastisement also prove that the Lord’s redemption is not perfect?” The difference is a matter of time. Where is the verse telling us that the Lord will chastise His people only in this age and not in the coming age? There is no such verse. But there are many verses which tell us that when the Lord comes back He will chastise some of His servants (Luke 12:35-48, especially 46-47; 19:11-26). When the Lord comes back, He will punish His slothful servants.
To those who say that there will be no such punishment, I ask this question: If there will be no problem after the Lord comes back, why does He need to judge us at all? Why must we all stand before His judgment seat? Do you believe everyone who stands before the judgment seat will receive a prize, a good reward? What kind of reward would a slothful servant receive—a crown? Even if the Lord gave him a crown, he would be ashamed to accept it. If you lived in sin after being saved and the Lord offered you a crown at the judgment seat, would you receive it? How ridiculous it is to say that the Lord would give a crown to a Christian who spent his time gambling, taking drugs, and attending nightclubs. Perhaps the Lord will say to such a believer, “You are a slothful servant. You need chastisement.” Do not think that simply by being resurrected everything is solved. The strongest proof that not everything is solved by resurrection is the fact that after the resurrection all the unbelieving dead will still stand before the white throne to be judged concerning their eternal destiny.
According to the New Testament revelation, all real Christians who do not live according to the Lord’s will shall be disciplined, chastised, or punished. Whether this will happen to us in this age or in the next we do not know. Our wise Father is the only One who knows. Many fathers realize that it is not wise to deal with their children immediately following their wrongdoing. Only a wise father can decide the right time to discipline his children. Nevertheless, the principle is this: if a child is wrong, he needs to be disciplined. Hebrews 12 reveals that we are not only partakers of the Holy Spirit (6:4), but also of the divine discipline (12:8). Since we are the Father’s sons, He will surely discipline us. The time when He disciplines us is up to Him. But if we, the children of God, are wrong, He will surely discipline us. Do not be shortsighted and say, “Praise the Lord, during the last two years I have not suffered any discipline.” You may receive some discipline at the judgment seat of Christ when He comes back.