Triumph or Tears At The Judgment Seat of Christ

Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, October 12, 2014 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister TOPIC: Rewards, Eternity Triumph or Tears At The Judgment Seat of Christ I Corinthians 3:9-15 NKJV Please turn with me to our scripture text in I Corinthians the third chapter. And let's read verses 9-15. I Corinthians 3:9-15 (NKJV) 9 For we are God s fellow workers; you are God s field, you are God s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. P R A Y E R

Introduction Daniel Webster once said... My greatest thought is my accountability to God. Every day, you and I go about our daily lives giving little or no thought at all to the truth that one day we will have to give an account to God for the way we lived our lives. The apostle Paul reminds us of this in II Corinthians 5:10, when he says, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Now, what is this judgment seat of Christ that Paul is talking about? The Judgment Seat of Christ is NOT the same as The Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15. That is the judgment of all the lost who will be eternally condemned for rejecting Christ. The Judgment Seat of Christ is exclusively for the Lord's Church, in other words for every one who accepted Jesus Christ from the Day of Pentecost until the Day the Lord comes to get His Church. The Judgment Seat of Christ is where each and every one of us will appear to receive our eternal reward. How will Christ determine our reward? By how we lived our lives here on earth. It is at The Judgment Seat of Christ that each and everyone of us will have to give an account of our lives. Whether that will be A Day of Triumph or A Day of Tears is up to you!

In our scripture text in I Corinthians chapter three, the apostle Paul provides us with some greater detail as to what will happen when you and I appear before The Judgment Seat of Christ. In this passage, Paul reminds us of the important role each of us plays in the building up of God's kingdom here on earth. Paul says in verse 9, For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. You notice Paul describes our role in two different terms, one is agricultural, You are God's field. The other is architectural, You are God's building. When Paul says, You are God's field he is reminding us that our heart is the soil that God works in and through to bring about spiritual fruit. If our heart is like the hardened soil...the rocky soil...or the thorny soil, our lives will bear little or no spiritual fruit at all. But if our heart is like the good soil our lives will bear much spiritual fruit. Does it really matter how much spiritual fruit I bear? Absolutely! It will matter a whole lot when you appear before The Judgment Seat of Christ to give an account for your life. And when Paul says, You are God's building he is reminding us that we are all part of the Lord's glorious Church, of which Jesus Christ Himself is the very foundation and Chief Cornerstone. And all of us are the living stones that have been added to the Church. As living stones you and I are partners with God in the building up and on-going construction of His Church. Our tools are the spiritual gifts He has equipped each of us with to strengthen, edify and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Does it matter whether or not I use my spiritual gifts? Does it matter whether or not I get involved in the work of the Church? Absolutely! It will matter a whole lot when you appear before The Judgment Seat of Christ and have to give an account for the way you used or didn't use the tools, the spiritual gifts God blessed you with. As we focus our attention now on VERSES 12-15, we learn three very important truths about what we can expect when we appear before The Judgment Seat of Christ. Truth #1: That Day We Will Realize QUALITY Matters More Than QUANTITY (vs. 12,13) 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one s work, of what sort it is. 1. You notice in VERSE 12, Paul mentions six building materials: gold...silver...precious stones...wood...hay...and straw. 2. At first glance, these appear to be six un-related materials. But actually these six building materials fall into two categories: The gold, silver and precious stones are one group; and the wood, hay and straw are the other group.

3. When you look closely at the two groups of building materials you can see the noticeable distinctions: THE GOLD, SILVER AND PRECIOUS STONES are COSTLY, while THE WOOD, HAY and STRAW are CHEAP. THE GOLD, SILVER AND PRECIOUS STONES are PERMANENT, while THE WOOD, HAY and STRAW are TEMPORARY. THE GOLD, SILVER AND PRECIOUS STONES are FIREPROOF, while THE WOOD, HAY and STRAW are very FLAMMABLE. 4. In the context of this passage, these materials represent the materials used to build the local Church. Paul tells us in vs. 11 that Jesus Christ is the FOUNDATION of the Church. That is true of the whole Church worldwide, but it is also true of the local Church. As the Founder and the Foundation of the Church, Christ is very concerned with the materials we use in building up the local Church. He doesn't want His local Church to be built with cheap materials like gimmicks and man-made programs and watered down preaching and teaching. He wants His Church to be built on the solid teachings and doctrines of the Bible by the power and direction of the Holy Spirit. 5. But these building materials also have application to our individual lives. The gold, silver and precious stones represent the quality works we do for the Lord. The works and deeds we did for God's glory and God's honor. The works and deeds we did selflessly and sacrificially for the good of others. The works and deeds we did out of love for God and love for our fellow man. These are the works and deeds that will pass the Lord's fire test.

The wood, hay and straw represents our worthless works and deeds. The things we did outside of God's will. The things we did for our own glory and honor. The things we did to be seen by others. The things we did with selfish motives. The things we did in a mean-spirited way rather than out of love. These are the works and deeds that will NOT survive the Lord's fire test. These are the things that will be burned up. 6. Brothers and sisters, how we treat others...how we use our God-given gifts and abilities...how we use our time...how we use our money...how much we suffer for the Lord... how we respond to temption...how much we love people...how faithful we are to God's word...how we use our tongue... ALL of these things and more will determine whether our deeds are of GREAT WORTH or WORTHLESS. 7. And on that day when we appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ we will discover that how much we did for the Lord won't matter nearly as much as the motives behind why we did them. We will realize QUALITY Matters More Than QUANTITY! Truth #2: That Day We Will Realize FAITHFULNESS Matters More Than FAME (v.14) 14 If anyone s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 1. I believe many Christians are under the false impression that those with more visible positions in the kingdom such as preachers and teachers and missionaries are going to receive far greater rewards than those who served in the shadows. And that is not necessarily true.

Illustration 1 Several years ago Diane Sawyer interviewed Billy Graham. And towards the end of the interview she asked him, How would you like to be remembered? Billy Graham answered, I would like to hear 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant, but I don't think I will. Was he just being overly humble and modest? No! Actually what he said was true from the standpoint that he isn't going to hear the Lord say Well done because he preached to millions upon millions of people or because multitudes of people came forward at his crusades. In the eyes of the LORD, the real issue is going to be Were you faithful with what I gave you? Do you remember what Jesus said to those first two servants in The Parable of The Talents? He said, Well done good and FAITHFUL servant; you have been FAITHFUL over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your LORD. (Matt.25:21 NKJV) You see, the Christian woman who faithfully looks after the physical needs of her aging parents or the Christian man who is a faithful example to his children or the Christian worker who faithfully demonstrates the love of Christ every day at work may actually receive a much greater reward than the preacher who preaches to thousands of people each week or the Christian author who wrote Christian books that made the New York Times Best Sellers list. (THE KING IS COMING by Erwin W. Lutzer, p. 48, Moody Publishers, Illustration Chicago, IL, Copyright 2012) Dr. Erwin Lutzer, has been the Senior Minister at the Moody Church in Chicago, Illinois since 1980. In his book, The King Is Coming, Dr. Lutzer tells about a man who drove him to the airport one day. The man, who was a devout Christian, suffered from a debilitating disease. On the way to the airport the man told Dr. Lutzer how his disease had affected his marriage and how his wife was constantly irritable and very critical and impossible to please. Dr. Lutzer said, Some of the personal stories he related to me about how his wife treated him made me wonder how the man kept his sanity.

When they arrived at the airport, Dr. Lutzer said, When I said goodbye, I said to the man half-jokingly, 'I don't expect to see you in heaven. The man was obviously surprised at what I said. But then I said, No, I really don't expect to see you there. I think you are going to be so close to the front of the line, and I'm going to be so far back that we will probably never meet. (THE KING IS COMING, by Erwin W. Lutzer, p.49 Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL Copyright 2012) 2. Oh brothers and sisters, be faithful in the small things... be faithful in the small things! For one day you and I will realize the APPLAUSE OF JESUS CHRIST for our faithfulness will mean more than all the praise and glory we ever received from man. Truth #3: That Day We Will Realize TRIUMPH Or TEARS (vs.14,15) 14 If anyone s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 1. It is extremely important to note that the loss of salvation is NOT what's at stake when we appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. What's at stake is the loss of our rewards. Paul makes this crystal clear in verse 15. One may lose his or her eternal rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ, but he or she won't lose their salvation. Salvation is NOT a reward! It can't be earned by any effort on our part. But our rewards are determined by our faithful obedience and service to the Lord.

2. Now you might think, well the loss of my rewards is no big deal, just as long as I still get to go to heaven. If you think that way, you'd better think again! Think of the shame and humiliation of standing before the One who gave His all to save your soul knowing that you gave so little back to Him in return. Think of the shame and humiliation of standing before Christ longing to hear Him say those words, Well done good and faithful servant, only to hear You wicked, lazy servant instead. Think of the shame and humiliation of seeing others leave the presence of the Lord triumphantly with their reward in hand; and there you stand empty-handed with tears running down your cheeks, with little or nothing to show for your time on earth. Do you think the loss of your rewards is no big deal? Think again! Think again! 3. Does this mean there's going to be a bunch of sad, broken-hearted people walking around heaven with a mopey look on their faces? No! The Lord promises to wipe away every tear. But not without first feeling the sting of the Lord's judgment for the unfruitfulness of their lives.

C O N C L U S I O N In India the story is told of a wealthy Prince. One day he was traveling in his beautiful, expensive chariot when a lowly beggar came and stood by the side of the road. The beggar had a bowl of rice, and he held it out hoping that the Prince would stop to give him something. To the beggar's surprise, the Prince stepped down from his chariot and said, Beggar, give me some of your rice. The beggar was angry. He thought to himself, Who is this man of such high nobility to be asking a lowly beggar like me for some rice? But very slowly, he reached into his bowl and took out one grain of rice and gave it to the wealthy Prince. The Prince wasn't satisfied. He said, Beggar, give me more of your rice. By now the beggar was infuriated! But he took out another grain of rice and gave it to the wealthy Prince. Again, a third time, the Prince said: Beggar, give me even more of your rice! By now the lowly beggar was furious! He took out one more grain of rice and gave it to the Prince. The Prince then got back into his chariot and rode off. In his anger, the lowly beggar looked into his bowl and noticed something glittering. It was a grain of GOLD the size of a grain of rice. He looked more closely and found two more GRAINS OF GOLD, one for each of the grains of rice he had given to the wealthy Prince. (THE KING IS COMING, by Erwin W. Lutzer, ppg. 50,51, Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL, Copyright 2012) Brothers and sisters, one day Jesus is going to exchange our rice for His gold! What will that Day hold in store for you? Will it be a Day of Triumph or a Day of Tears? Will it be a Day of Delight or A Day of Disappointment? On that day may we hear those most precious of all words from our Master, Well done, good and faithful servant!