The Judgment of the Believer's Works
1 Corinthians 3:10-17
From verses 10-17, our study for this morning we're going to be able to see the fact that believers' works will be tested ultimately before God to see whether they are worthy of reward. Now this is a very important theme and a very important subject. Paul is saying here, there is coming a time when all the works of all believers, particularly those who preach and teach will be subject to a test by fire to determine whether they are worthy of reward. And this becomes very, very important to every believer in order that he may prepare for himself for that coming time.
One of the greatest motivating forces in the life of Paul was this very truth that Jesus was coming back and that when He came it would be a time of reward. Paul prepared himself for that. It wasn't that he was crass, it wasn't that he was indulgent or that he wanted for himself all kinds of glory and honor, it was that if he was going to be involved in anything, he was going to do it to the hilt. If he was going to run a race, as he said in 1 Corinthians Chapter 9, he was going to run it with one thing in mind and that was winning it.
Nobody ever honored somebody who quit. If he was going to fight a fight, he fought it to win it. That's just how it is in the Christian life. If you give anything less than total commitment to it, you have dishonored God. And so reward for the Christian life isn't so much a matter of me earning a crass benefit or of me being motivated by my own glory ultimately as it is of the fact that I want to honor the one who placed me here by giving my very best.
Paul was so motivated. Paul knew the truth that Jesus stated in Revelation 22, "Behold I come quickly and my reward is with me to give to every man according to what he has done." Paul knew that truth, not in those terms for it hadn't been written yet in those terms, but he knew it. In 2 Corinthians Chapter 5, he gives the three motives for his ministry. The first one is Christ's judgment is coming. He says in 9 and 10 of 2 Corinthians 5, "We labor that whether present or absent we may be accepted of Him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the things done in the body whether it be good or worthless."
He says, we labor in order to be rewarded. Christ's judgment is coming and He will evaluate our work and that motivates us. In Acts Chapter 1 when Jesus wanted to motivate the disciples to go out and preach, when He said, "you are my witnesses," the angels said, "this same Jesus who is taken up from you shall so come in like manner as you've seen Him go." That's motive. Jesus is coming and He's coming to reward those who've faithfully served Him. This motivated Paul. Second thing that motivated in 2 Corinthians 5 was Christ's love was compelling.
He said in verse 14, "The love of Christ constrains us." The third thing that motivated him was Christ's work was complete. He said, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creation." Three things motivated Paul. Jesus was coming to reward those who served faithfully. His love for Christ out of his heart motivated him, and the knowledge that when he preached the gospel, people were transformed motivated him. Those three things. But the first that he mentions, Jesus is coming. And he so wanted to be accepted of Christ. He so wanted Christ to say well done. He wanted to have maximized his potential, not so much that he might know tribute, but that Christ might know that he loved Him, that he cared about Him. That he was willing to give everything.
That was what really mattered to Paul. He reiterated the same desire in Romans 14, verse 10. "Why do you judge your brother? Or why do you said it not your brother?" What are you doing evaluating other people? What are you doing making spiritual conclusions about other people? "We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." The verse 12 says, "Everyone of us shall give account of himself to God." We don't need to sit in on judgment of other believers. God will take care of that and every believer will give an account of himself. What he's really saying to the Christians who were going to read the Roman letter is you let God determine who's doing what.
We all fall into the trap of being spiritual judges don't we? We all like to evaluate other people's spirituality. And very often we fall into the habit of either downing somebody or elevating somebody. Well, you know, I think it's just as bad to elevate somebody as it is to degrade them because you don't know really whether they deserve it. The world loves to give honor to people. They were doing this in Corinth weren't they? We're of Paul, he's superior. We're of Apollos, he's the greatest. We're of Cephus and as a result of this they were splitting the church. And Paul tells them here in this letter, it's a manifestation of worldliness and carnality. They're doing what the world does.
And it manifest that they are still fleshly. What he says in this Chapter, Chapter 3 is quit elevating men. You let God determine who is worthy of honor and He will. Verse 13 says, "For every man's work shall be made manifest. The day will declare it. It'll be revealed by fire and the fire shall test every man's work of what sort it is." You wait for that time before you make your judgment.
There's no excuse for having well this is the greatest and this is the greatest guy and here's the greatest man. Paul says, no, no, because you can't make that judgment. That's not a judgment you have a perspective on. You let God make it. There's no reason for your party spirit. There's no reason for your divisiveness. You're trying to make spiritual evaluations and you can't do it. Only God can do that and really honor men. And He will ultimately. Ultimately there will be a time for reward.
That introduces to us this passage. And what this passage is talking about is precisely that time when God will reward His own. Notice verse 5-8 of Chapter 3 and we'll lead into it. They were arguing about the fact that Paul was greater than Apollos and so forth. And they said who is Paul and what is Paul and what is Apollos? They're simply servants by whom you believed even as the Lord gave to every man. They're just tools, they're just instruments, just human beings. "I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase so that neither is he that plants anything, neither that he that waters, but God gives the increase. He that plants, He that waters are one, and every man shall receive His own reward according to His own labor."
God is going to do the judging. God is going to do the rewarding. God doesn't need you to say this guy's greater than this guy and create factions. You let God judge that. "Every man," verse 13, "every man's work will be made manifest." Now this is talking about a judgment on believers' works. There are many judgments in the scripture. The scripture talks about the judgment of sin. When did that occur? At the cross. There's no more judgment there. That's done. The scripture talks about the judgment of self in 1 Corinthians 11:31 it says, "If we would judge ourselves, we wouldn't wind up being disciplined by God." In other words, if we take care of our own lives God wouldn't have to discipline us, self-judgment.
The Bible talks about the judgment of Israel in Ezekiel 20. It talks about the judgment of the nations in Matthew 25. It talks about the judgment of Satan and demons in Jude 6. It talks about the judgment of the unsaved at the great white throne judgment. It talks about the judgment of the unsaved at the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20. And seventhly of all these judgments is the judgment of the believers' works. There's coming a day when we will be judged on the basis of what we have done.
Now we know who the judge is because John 5:22 says "The Father gave the Son all judgment." So Christ is the judge. That's why it's called the judgment seat of Christ. It's called that in Romans 14 and in 2 Corinthians Chapter 5. Now what is the purpose of this judgment? Simply this, every man's work will be manifested and tested. Or in the words of Romans 14:12, "Everyone of us shall give an account of himself to God." Now undoubtedly in your lifetime if you've been to various churches or heard various sermons or read books. You've heard a lot about what it's going to be like when Christians get to heaven. And there are a lot of people who want to tell us what kind of a judgment there's going to be.
The first one is the one I call the St. Peter at the gate bit. You're going to get up there and St. Peter's going to be there with a checklist and if you're goodies outweigh your badies, you're in. And that this is a judgment to see whether we get into heaven. Beloved there isn't any judgment future to see whether you get into heaven or not. Your faith in Jesus Christ already sealed that according to Philippians 3:20, you're already a citizen of heaven, right? St. Peter up there in heaven, I don't know what he's doing, but he's not hanging around the gate checking off people as they come in. Probably up at the throne glorifying God, but he's not hanging around the gate. That isn't in the scripture.
So it isn't a matter of qualifying you for heaven. You're already qualified for heaven by your faith in Christ. Now other people say what the believers' judgment's going to be is that they're going to be punished for the sins they committed after they were saved. If that's true folks, we'll spend all eternity having that take place. Best thing to do is to live your whole life ungodly, get saved the minute before you die and then you're all right, see. No, all of your sins are cared on the cross. He took all of them. 1 John 2:12 says that and Colossians 2 says it. All of our sin. In fact, they were all future when He died anyway. He just bundled them all up on the cross and bore them all. No, you'll never be condemned. There's "therefore no judgment to them who are in Christ," Romans 8:1 says. "Who shall lay any charge to God's elect."
There is nobody that can. We read it this morning. Nobody, God's already declared us righteous. There aren't any sins for which we have to pay. While others have said no, what happens if the believers' judgment is you have to be punished for the sins you didn't confess? That's a very popular view. The ones you forgot to confess or didn't confess willfully will have to be paid for and you'll have to get zapped. The Bible doesn't say that. That betrays a lack of understanding of confession. Confession has nothing to do with forgiveness. Forgiveness has already taken place. Confession is homologeo, to say the same thing. To agree with God you're a sinner and thank Him that He already forgave you.
Well, you say what is it? It is simply a place of rewards. There will be no condemnation. Turn over in your Bible one page to the 4th Chapter and the 5th verse. "Therefore judge nothing before the time." Don't run ahead of God and try to evaluate everything. You can't do that. You don't have the perspective. You don't know whether a man's ministry is all it ought to be or not. Only God knows that. You say, but it looks good on the outside. That isn't the criteria. "Judge nothing before the time until the Lord come who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, make manifest the council of the heart." There you can get the idea that maybe God is more concerned with motive than He is with actual deed, right?
Now watch, when Jesus comes He will do this. Now the end of verse 5, "then shall every man have," what, "praise of God." You see every believer will have praise. There won't be anybody condemned. There won't be anybody shipped back to hell from heaven. There will be no one who will have to be punished. Christ bore all punishment. There will only be praise, but there will be varying degrees of praise depending upon the work of your life, you see. When it says in 2 Corinthians 5, "We shall all appear before the judgment seat," it's the word bema in the Greek. It refers not to a tribunal or a court. It refers to the Olympic stadium which was outside Corinth.
And whether it was a garland or a Loral wreath or an oak left cluster or whatever was the award, the winners went up and ascended the bema and there were rewarded for the victories. Every believer will be at the bema, which means everybody's going to get an award or a reward, a prize. Everybody will have praise, some more than others. Some will be more highly honored than others because some will have lasting and eternal work. Others will have worthless effort, but all will be saved. That's this judgment.
All right, now back to Chapter 3, let's look at the judgment as it appears here. You don't need to fight and hassle about who's the greatest. You don't need to give men honor from other men. Let God be the judge of that ultimately. I just know it's going to be this way. When you get to the judgment seat there are going to be a lot of people surprised at what's left after the test. Some people are going to think they really made a great contribution and not going to have anything left. And some dear saints out of nowhere that nobody knew are going to have the greatest rewards of all. Only God knows that.
So Paul here shows that all believers are building a building. And they're building that building out of certain materials and there's coming a fiery test and the fire will be applied to their building and only what is left will be rewarded, but every believer's going to have something left. It might just be a little tiny piece. It'll be a little bit of praise, but everybody's going to get some. It doesn't have anything to do with condemnation. All right, let's watch his analogy. You notice that the last we studied, he used the analogy of agriculture, now he switches over and uses the analogy of a building. This is strictly contractor's language, and we've separated it in several points fitting that analogy. Number one is the master builder; the master builder. Verse 10, "According to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth on it. But let every man take heed how he buildeth upon it."
Now here Paul introduces us to himself as the master builder and a wise one at that. Paul was a foundation man. He was the guy who went around and started the churches. In fact, he wrote to the Romans, I didn't go certain places because I didn't want to build over somebody else's foundation. He strictly wanted to go where Christ was not named. And there he would win people to Christ. He would teach basic doctrine and he would establish the foundation on Christ. In Corinth when he came there, these folks to whom he's writing, he stayed 18 months. Ephesus he stayed three years. Thessalonica he stayed less than a month because the spirit of God did a faster work there.
But everywhere he went in all those varying places he laid the foundation. That was his job. Now he's not boasting and saying, of course, you realize that you can Cephus and Apollos. I'm the guy that matters, because I laid the foundation. No, no. He's not trying to push the party issue. I am the wise master builder and everybody else only adds to what I've done. No, no. Well, that would be to just perpetrate the problem wouldn't it? That would be just to add to the confusion that already existed over this issue. What he is saying at the first part of the verse is to disclaim any tribute according to the grace of God which I earned. Is that what it says? No, you couldn't earn grace. "According to the grace of God given to me as a wise master builder I laid the foundation." I did it only because God was gracious enough to commit that ministry to me. That's all. I don't claim anything.
In Romans 15 he said, "I will not speak of anything which Christ has not wrought." Earlier he said, "what is Paul," verse 5. "What is Apollos?" "I'm the one that planted," verse 6. Verse 7, "Neither is he that planteth anything." I am nothing. "If I have done anything it is because Christ has wrought it in me." In the 15th Chapter of the same letter, verse 10 says, "By the grace of God I am what I am." And grace means undeserved favor. "And his undeserved favor or grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all. Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." It was God in me. It was God operating.
In Ephesians 3:7-8, he says, "I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effectual working of His power." He says, I am less and the least of all saints, but to me is this grace given that I should preach. I'm nothing. I am nothing. I am less than nothing. He says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1, "I was a persecutor and a blasphemer and graciously God gave me a ministry and empowers me and He works in me in mightily," he says in Colossians 1:29 to accomplish his own plan. So he is not taking any credit. He is not saying I'm the greatest because I laid the foundation and everybody else only adds to what I've done. No.
He's saying by God's grace, I have laid the foundation. I arrived. I've preached Christ. You were saved. The church was begun. Eighteen months I gave you sound doctrine. I am a wise master builder by grace and grace alone. If it were not for God's grace, I'd still be a persecuting blasphemer. Now, notice the term wise master builder. The wise, saphos, means literally here skillful. He is skillful and he was. He knew what he was doing. When he came in to lay a foundation, he knew exactly how to do it. He had the right approach. He knew how to labor to get it done.
He had a definite pattern, a definite plan. You could study the book of Acts, can't you, and find exactly how he went about it. He went into a town. He approached the synagogue, tried to win the Jews to Christ, got a few Jewish converts, then he began to move into the Gentile community and win them to Christ. This was his plan, this was his approach. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was a master strategist. He was wise. When he built a building, his building was solid. His foundation was solid. The footings were deep and abiding.
Now notice the word master builder, that's one word in the Greek and when I say it will speak for itself in a way. It is the word architectron. And the Greek word architectron does not simply mean an architect. There is another Greek word, argosticas which means an architect or a plan drawer. The word architectron means somebody who draws the plan and builds the building. Both of those concepts are in the word. He is a combination architect and general contractor, not just a planner. Paul was not just a planner. He didn't say as a wise master builder, I have planned the foundation. What does he say?
I have laid it. Now mark this folks, this is important. There are no uninvolved strategists in the apostolic ban, none. In the New Testament, you don't find anybody manning the home office, nobody. There wasn't any. Everybody is out there doing it. Nobody is sitting up somewhere saying now you guys go do this. They were active. There weren't any architects who weren't also general contractors. The plans and the building were done by the apostles. They laid out the strategy and they carried it out. Paul didn't send five guys to Corinth and say now go get Corinth while I plan the strategy for, you know, the next town.
No, he planned it and he went. He knew that if anything was going to get done, he'd have to lead the troops, so he did. Now he says I then laid the foundation. I have laid it and another builds on it. In the case of Corinth, the next guy in was Apollos and Apollos built on what Paul had begun and Apollos was followed by others and all the believers really were a part of it, because he says at the end of verse 10, "let every man take heed how he builds upon it." Paul says, I started the work, I laid the apostolic foundation of the doctrines concerning Jesus Christ. Everybody else adds to that and take heed how you do it.
The foundations of Christianity beloved are laid. Do you know that? Christianity doesn't need knew foundations. They're laid. We are building on what has already been done. The word for building is in the present tense. Another continually builds on it. The word for laid the foundation is errest, one time historical past. That's done, that'll never be repeated. The foundation is laid. We are building on that foundation. Now just this note, some people would like to restrict this passage only to pastors or evangelists or teachers. And they would say it's only referring to us.
Well, in a primary sense, I would agree with that and I would say that primarily the passage is referring to those people who preach and teach Christ. They are the ones in the truest sense building up the structure of doctrine upon the foundation that has been laid. We are the ones who are continuing to teach the word of God upon the foundation that the apostles set down. I agree with that. But certainly, when you come to the last of verse 10, "let every man take heed how he build," and verse 13, "every man's work manifest." The end of verse 13, "every man's work tested what sort it is," you've got to broaden passed us and you've got to make it include every believer. Though all of us are not at the same degree building on that apostolic foundation, we are all building on it because every one of us has a ministry, is that not true?
Every one of us has a ministry based upon the foundation that has been laid and we are to be careful how we build. Secondly, we come from the master builder to the foundation, verse 11. "For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ." Now here we are introduced to the foundation itself. What is this foundation that Paul has laid? What is foundational to Christianity? What is it? Is it our ethics? Is it the fact that we're kind to people? We're nice? We're gentle? We're loving? We take care of the poor? What is the foundation of Christianity? Is it tradition? Is it historical church? What is it?
"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is," whom? "Jesus Christ." Christ is the foundation of Christianity. We can only build on a true doctrine of Christ. The foundation is Christ. In a sense, people, the foundation is the whole of the word of God. Apostolic doctrine was all about Christ. The gospels are written to give us the history of the life of Christ. The Epistles were written to give us commentary on that life and to draw principles from that life. The book of Revelation is written to tell us that Christ is yet alive and reigning and will return. The whole New Testament is Christ. Christ is life on earth in the gospel. Christ active in the church, the book of Acts. Christ's work commented on and explained, the Epistles. Christ coming again, the Revelation.
It's all Christ. They laid the apostles' doctrine as the foundation, the doctrines concerning Jesus Christ. You cannot build on any other foundation than that. No new foundations. Christianity doesn't need a new foundation. We can't have a Christianity with a human Jesus. The liberals are trying to build a Christian building without a foundation if they have a human Jesus. The Catholics are trying to build a building on tradition rather than on the doctrines of Christ. Some people are trying to build on top of a foundation of good works. Others on a foundation of ethical humanism. Some on the foundations of pseudoscience.
Some people are trying to build their lives on morality and ethics and good deeds and all of these things, but the only foundation for a life and the only foundation for corporate life which is the church is Jesus Christ. If that foundation goes, everything falls. And that's precisely what's happening in our world today. The church trying to build itself without the true foundation. And individuals trying to build a meaningful life on something other than Jesus Christ find it impossible. He is the only foundation upon which a man may build a fitting temple for God.
In Acts Chapter 4, you remember that Peter was taken into the Sanhedrin because they didn't like the message he preached about resurrection. Got the Sadducees all bent out of shape, and they had healed this lame man. They went into the temple and the guy was there begging you know alms for the poor, alms for the poor and Peter says well "silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, I give you. Get up and walk." Which is better than money any time. And the guy jumped up and leaped praising the Lord. Went through the temple yelling his head off and had a terrific time.
It was the only true worship going on in the place. Verse 10 tells us what happened. "They'd brought him before the council and Peter says to...," Peter never hesitated to say what he thought. "Be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead even by Him does this man stand before you well." Jesus Christ did this. Jesus of Nazareth raised by God from the dead. This is the stone which was said it not of you builders, but it's become the head of the corner. He said you tried to get rid of this, but it's the only foundation. You see? The only cornerstone. You tried to substitute Jewish ethics, the Old Testament, your traditions, your laws, your rules. You rejected the true foundation, but in spite of that it has become the head of the corner "for neither is there salvation in any other name for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby you must be saved." Well, that upset them because he was very bold. But he was simply telling them there's no other foundation.
You may try to set Jesus aside. He's the only foundation on which a life can be built, on which a faith can built, on which a nation can be built, a home, anything. 1 Peter 2:6 he quotes Isaiah 28:16 again. "Behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect and precious and he that believeth on Him shall not be confused. Unto you therefore who believe He is precious, but unto them who are disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed the same is made the head of the corner." Some people don't want Christ. They're disobedient to Christ. They don't respond to Christ. They try to set Him aside and get another foundation and He says there isn't any other. There isn't any other.
Matthew 16, Jesus said to the disciples, "Who do men think I am?" They said, "Well, some say you're Elijah. Some say you're Jeremiah. Some say you're one of the pro