“The Judgment of the Believer/Saints”

K. Adrian Scott

August 6, 2023

Introduction.

Last week the Holy Spirit spoke to us from Revelation 20 regarding the Judgment of the Unbeliever -

Vs. 11 “Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.

12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then the books were opened, and another book was opened—the book of life. So, the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death – the lake of fire. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Please recall that this judgment is a judgment of those who did not come to faith in Christ Jesus, or those whose names were not found in the second book of life, also called the ‘Lambs Book of Life.’ John the Revelation author also tells us no one will escape this judgment. He explains in verse 13 that in addition to the living being judged, deceased unbelievers, whether they died at sea or were buried in a grave, they too will be resurrected to face Christ’s judgment.

Context.

Our text today is found in the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. In the first three chapters of this letter Paul heavily addresses the subject of sectarianism, which is the act of favoring one person or group over another. Some in the Corinthian Church were guilty of dividing the body of Christ by making the work of the ministry into a competition. Some Christians favored a dynamic preacher by the name of Apollos, while others loved the preaching of Paul the Apostle, and made it known. A third faction said they were of Peter or Cephas’ camp, and he was their favorite.

Paul knowing this, addressed this issue twice in chapters one and two, and reminded his fellow Christians that Christ is not divided(1.13), and in (3.6) he says that kingdom building is not a competition but a cooperative - “I planted. Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”

The Textual Story.

v. 9; “For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.”

Christians are in partnership with God. The Lord has drafted us into his field to labor for the sake of the Gospel. God has done for us what only God can do, and we are mandated to work on ourselves, that we may be the person God designed us to be and to fulfill God’s purpose in us. We are saved for service.

v. 1o; “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.”

Note, Paul did not say he was the foundation, but says he laid the foundation, which is Christ, of course. While Paul says he laid the foundation, ‘someone else is building upon it.’ This means everyone has their job to do in the kingdom.

V. 11; “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. “

Paul says, ‘let’s get it straight, there is only one foundation. In this verse the Apostle reminds believers that the foundation of our faith is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The role of the believer in Jesus is for us to not attempt to build another foundation, which is not possible since no one else qualifies, but rather to build upon the foundation of Christ.

V. 12; “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.”

There are several references to crowns or rewards for the believer in the New Testament including:

“Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win. 25 Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one” (1 Cor. 9.24-25).

“For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you” (1 Thessalonians 2.19)?

“Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved”(Philippians 4.1).

“And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5.4).

“Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown into prison so you may be tested, and you will experience suffering for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself” (Revelation 2.10, NET Bible).

Preaching Point.

Paul here talks about the building material that one might use to erect a structure on the sure foundation. The quality of the materials Paul has identified will be listed with those of superior quality - gold, silver, and precious stones, listed first, then in descending order he lists materials of inferior material - wood, hay, and straw.

Notice that the first three materials are imperishable, while the last three, which again are of far lessor quality than the first three, are all perishable. These materials represent the quality of the believer’s works; some works which are superior and represent that which is of lasting value and has made a positive impact and create a legacy of good. On the other hand, the other materials are of little or no value, they will not stand the test of time, are not worthy of the firm foundation it is built upon and will not endure the winds and rain and will blow away leaving nothing to show for their effort.

These (6) dissimilar materials represent the quality of spiritual works in the life of a believer.

The question is what materials are you building with? Are you a gold, silver, or precious stones builder signifying you are heavily invested in Christ’s kingdom? Have you and are you giving quality time and talent and resources to build up our foundation who is Christ Jesus? Or are you a wood, hay, and straw Christian? Are you the believer who constantly has excuses for why you cannot give of your time, your talent, or your resources for the sake of Christ’s kingdom, our foundation? Are you the kind of Christian who puts themselves first, then you give what is left of your time, your talent, and your money? Is Jesus first in your life, or is your wardrobe first? Or, is your home, furnishings, your hobbies, your entertainment, or your friends and family all more important to you than building up the faith? Where are you making your heaviest investment?

Jesus said, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14.33. Then in Matthew 14.29 Jesus says, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” The whole idea here laid out by Jesus is the concept of being selfless and putting Jesus first. This is of immense importance because Jesus is telling us our Lord, he will not accept being second to anyone or anything else in our lives.

V. 13; “each builder’s work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what kind of work each has done.”

The reference to ‘the day’ is a clear reference to ‘the Day of the Lord’ when all believers will stand before the Lord to have our works examined.

v. 13; “because it will be revealed by fire;”

The purpose of the fire is clear – to reveal the true nature and quality of one’s spiritual works.

v. 14; “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.”

So, verse 14 interprets verse 13. The testing and judgment of one’s spiritual works by fire will either destroy the wood, hay, and straw works of the believer, but if his or her works is of superior quality in intent, effort and results, or as has been said of gold, silver and precious stones, those works will withstand the test of fire, and that Christian worker will receive a reward.

V. 15; “If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

Speaking of the Christian whose works are of no lasting quality or value, they will be burned up, but he himself or she herself will be saved ‘but only as through fire.’

On the precipice of a future eternity with the Lord, an innumerable company of angels, and the host of the saints of God, those who have trusted God in faith from the beginning of humanity’s time on earth to the present, there will be no remembrance or reference to our poorly done works. Those works performed out of constraint rather than out of willful service, works performed begrudgingly or with a poor attitude, or to save face. So, there will be no looking back upon those embarrassing works, those works will be burned up so they will no longer be visible. So, the wood, hay and straw believer will suffer loss, the loss of her or his potential rewards, but they themselves will be saved as opposed to being lost.

Question: If every other Christian were just like you, what kind of a building would we be building on Christ, our foundation?

What type of structure are you building on this Christ foundation?

The Proposition.

The judgment of the non-believer is for the purpose of condemnation, whereas the judgment of the believer is for rewards.

The unbeliever is subjected to judgment purely based upon the justice of God, whereby they will receive precisely what they have earned, while the believer will be judged on what Christ merits toward us.

The unbeliever will be judged based upon what they did - according to what they did, while the believer is judged exclusively upon the basis of what Jesus did for us!

One judgment will result in punishment while the other judgment results in a reward.

Why isn’t the believer present at the Great White Throne Judgment? Because the believer’s judgment already has taken place. The believer’s judgment took place on the cross of Calvary when Jesus as our sin-bearer was judged for us, and bore the complete cost of sin on our behalf! In other words, Jesus was judged in the place of the believer at Calvary when he suffered a broken body, pierced side, a head crowned with thorns and beate until his sinless blood was spilled as the result. Jesus became in that moment what he was sent to do; to die for the sin of the world.

Jesus paid with the moral, physical, and spiritual currency what we could not afford because we as humanity were morally bankrupt and spiritually destitute. And Jesus took my place and your place when he suffered not for his sake, but for our sake, and endured an agony the truly guilty could not bear. My death and your death he died, a death that was not his to die. It should have been me and you.

Jesus’ death was so powerful and efficacious that the sun went down early that day. It was midnight at midday! The earth Jesus created turned dark, and the moon refused to show up on time!

The guilty and the profane stood near the cross and witnessed the innocent dying even for the guilty; he cried out to His Father even when he was laughed at as the sinless One was voluntarily dying for the sinful ones. Yes, Jesus suffered the indignities of being not only stripped of his clothes but in those moments, he was also robbed of his modesty and willingly allowed his dignity to be stolen! Why would the Most Highly favored One subject himself to be treated like the despised and rejected?

It was because of love! This is the great exchange, even as the song we had sung earlier this is “grace greater than our sin!”

The Close.

Close Sermon by quoting the song “Amazing Love” by Acapella Praise:

My Lord what love is this

That pays so dearly?

That I, the guilty one

May go free.

Amazing love, oh what sacrifice

The Son of God given for me

My debt He pays and my death He dies

That I might live

That I might live

And so they watched Him die

Despised, rejected.

But oh, the blood He shed

Flowed for me

Amazing love, oh what sacrifice

The Son of God given for me

My debt He pays and my death He dies

That I might live

That I might live

That I might live

That I might live

And now this love of Christ

Shall flow like rivers

Come wash your guilt away,

Live again

Amazing love, oh what sacrifice

The Son of God given for me

My debt He pays and my death He dies

That I might live

That I might live

That I might live!

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: John Schweers