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Will We Be Judged?
1 Corinthians 3:10-15
/10* *According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it.
But let each man be careful how he builds upon it.
11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.
14 If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.
(NASB)/
There are many views concerning the Judgment Seat of Christ in regard to this passage of Scripture.
·        Are there differing levels of heaven?
·        Is there a distinction between the forgiveness we receive at the time of salvation and the degree of forgiveness we receive for sins committed after salvation?
·        Are Christians to be judged?
And the list goes on.
At the heart of this issue is the sufficiency of the atoning work of Christ and how that is appropriated to the Believer.
To adequately deal with this, these “peripheral” assumptions need to be addressed.
I will focus on a few of these and then return to the passage at hand and the questions surrounding the Judgment Seat of Christ and Rewards.
!
Are there Differing Levels of Heaven?
There is a view of heaven that asserts multi-levels, which are assumed to accommodate the differing placement of saints based upon their good works.
This view cannot be supported with Scripture for several reasons, many of which will be addressed later in this document.
Nevertheless, it is “propped-up” using a passage found in 2 Corinthians 12 where Paul describes a man (namely, himself) who was “caught up into the third heaven”.
The view suggests that Paul was in the highest place of paradise.
Of course, the assumption is then made that there must be a first and second paradise for those who are less deserving.
The misplaced “support” allows this false view of a multi-leveled heaven to fall on its face when this passage is met by the hermeneutical reader, and the culture and understanding of the original audience is considered.
John MacArthur, a respected pastor, author, and president of Master’s College in California, explains in his book, “The Glory of Heaven”:
/The King James Version of the Bible employs the word heaven 582 times in 550 different verses.
The Hebrew word usually translated “heaven,” //shamayim//, is a plural noun form that literally means “the heights.”
The Greek word translated “heaven” is //ouranos// (the same word that inspired the name of the planet Uranus).
It refers to that which is raised up or lofty.
Both //shamayim// and //ouranos// are used variously in Scripture to refer to three different places.
(This explains why in 2 Corinthians 12:2 Paul refers to being caught up into “the third heaven.”)/
/There is, first of all, the atmospheric heaven.
This is the sky, or the troposphere—the region of breathable atmosphere that blankets the earth.
For example, Genesis 7:11–12 says, “The windows of heaven were opened.
And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.”
There the word “heaven” refers to the blanket of atmosphere around the world, which is where the hydrological cycle occurs.
Psalm 147:8 says that God “covereth the heaven with clouds.”
That is the first heaven./
/The planetary heaven, the second “heaven,” is where the stars, the moon, and the planets are.
Scripture uses the very same word for heaven to describe this region.
For example, Genesis 1 says,/
/And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth./
/      —vv.
14–17/
/The third heaven, the one Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 12, is the heaven where God dwells with His holy angels and those saints who have died.
The other two heavens will pass away (2 Peter 3:10); this heaven is eternal./[1]
That final passage of Scripture Dr. MacArthur references (2 Peter 3:10) declares that, “the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!”
There is no one who claims that God will have any reason to destroy His habitation, heaven.
There is no need to destroy the place of perfection – paradise – there is no sin there!
Obviously, Scripture refers to other elements than Heaven as heaven.
Consequently, we can rest in the knowledge that there are not differing levels of heaven.
Which leads use to the next topic on our journey.
!
Is there a distinction between the forgiveness we receive at the time of salvation and the degree of forgiveness we receive for sins committed after salvation?
Once again, there exists a view that would support the position that at the time of conversion all sins in our past are completely forgiven.
So far, I am in complete agreement!
However, this view would further assert that those sins we commit after becoming a Christian are a different matter, subjecting us to the judgment of God.
Admittedly, this view has roots in the very biblical doctrine of fruit and rewards as they relate to the Christian (more on this later).
From here it moves quickly away from the foundation of biblical truth.
We are made to believe that, while sins committed before we came to Christ are completely washed away, those sins that we commit after salvation are stored for a time of future judgment.
We will not lose our salvation but we will face judgment and live as a “lesser” inhabitant of Paradise.
Because this targets the foundation of the Gospel itself, a cursory treatment of this is not satisfactory.
Heresy and cultism find their roots in an initially very marginal movement away from sound doctrine and eventually gives birth to the devastating counterfeits that have robbed so many of their lives – both physical and spiritual.
In light of this, several passages need to be explored to give a contextual view from the whole of Scripture.
!!! Testimony in the Gospel
First we must see forgiveness as explained from the lips of the Savior.
In Matthew 18:21 Peter asked Jesus an interesting question, “‘Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?
Up to seven times?’”
Even more interesting is the response he received in the next verse, “Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’”
God wants from us to be found exhibiting His character.
Many times that is very foreign from our own character.
Isaiah chapter one records God calling us to reason together with Him.
In God’s economy, reasoning may seem much less than reasonable to us; in fact, it may seem backwards.
Peter was trying to go to the next level.
He was saying, in essence, “I’m going to really stretch things.
Suppose I was willing to forgive up to seven times a sin that a brother commits against me – is that exhibiting the character of God?”
An interesting side note is that the number 7 represents completion in Hebrew thought.
Peter wanted to know the limit he had to endure before he could hang a brother out dry.  Jesus explained that Peter’s motivation corrupt.
We are not to look for, to anticipate, the last straw; we are to continually look for the opportunity to forgive.
Also, did you notice the absence of a phrase?
Peter did not ask how many times he should forgive one who confesses or asks to be forgiven.
His question was “How many times will my brother sin against me and I forgive him?”
Jesus response showed Peter that the character of God is forgiving and it is God’s desire to forgive ALL sin.
Another instance that shows the forgiving nature of Christ is found after His resurrection in Mark 16.
An angel, who is a messenger of God, appeared to Mary Magdalene, and Mary the /mother /of James, and Salom.
He offered words of reassurance concerning the Lord’s resurrection and then gave instructions for them to deliver to the disciples.
Those instructions recorded in verse 7 are: “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said to you.”
Of special interest here to me is the reason God used this angel to single Peter apart from the disciples.
Had Peter lost his standing as a disciple because of the sin of denying Christ, not once but three times?
Was God concerned that Peter was no longer among the number – not together with the 12 (11 in the absence of Judas)?
John 20 indicates that Peter was with the other disciples at the time of the resurrection; Thomas was the only disciple not present, and needed evidence of Christ’s resurrection for himself, but Peter was there.
Since God would certainly have known that it is reasonable to assume that this is not the reason he was singled out.
Perhaps Peter had lost his standing as a disciple.
We see clearly in the book of Acts that he is assuredly a disciple.
However, this is very close to the reason.
Peter had offered his most committed loyalty to the cause of Christ, as he understood it.
Remember his words in Matthew 26:35?
They were in response to Christ’s charge that he would deny Him three times before morning.
I am certain his words stung his own ears that resurrection morning.
“Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.”  (I wonder which was worse, denying Christ or questioning His word?)  Have you ever found yourself in Peter’s position?
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