The church must be built on Christ, not on any other person or principle. Christ will evaluate each minister’s contribution to the life of the church and the Day of Judgment (the Day) will reveal the sincerity of each person’s work. God will determine whether or not they have been faithful to Jesus’ instructions. Good work will be rewarded; unfaithful or inferior work will be discounted. The builder “will be saved. Yet so as through fire” means that unfaithful workers will be saved, but like people escaping from a burning building. All their possessions (accomplishments) will be lost.
3:15 “he shall suffer loss.” The Bible asserts that all the redeemed are free from God’s judgment of condemnation (John 5:24; Rom 8:1; Heb. 10:14-17). However, there is a future judgment for believers (1John 4:17) as to the degree of their faithfulness to God and the grace given to them during this life on earth (v. 10; 4:2-5; 2Cor 5:10). In that judgment there is the possibility that a believer, although receiving salvation, may experience great loss (Gkzēmioō, meaning “to suffer loss or damage”).
The careless believer is in danger of suffering loss or damage in the following ways:
1. A feeling of shame at Christ’s coming (2 Tim 2:15; 1 John 2:28).
2. Loss of his or her life’s work for God (vv. 12-15).
3. Loss of glory and honour before God (cf. Rom 2:7).
4. Loss of opportunity for service and authority in heaven (Mat 25:14-30).
5. A low position in heaven (Mat 5:19; 19:30).
6. Loss of rewards (cf. v. 14-15).
7. Repayment for the wrong done to others (Col 3:24-25).
These passages should impress upon us the necessity of complete dedication, including faithful, self-sacrificing service to our Lord (cf. Rom 12:1-2; Phil 2:12; 4:3; see article on The Judgment of Believers, below).
“Yet so as by fire” is probably an expression meaning “barely saved.” God will evaluate the quality of life, influence, teaching and work in the church of each person, and especially here, of each minister. If his work is judged unworthy, he will lose his reward, yet he himself may be saved. Note that this passage does not teach a doctrine of purgatory; it addresses a judgment of works, not the cleansing of a person from mortal sins.
The Judgment Of Believers: An Overview
“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,” (2Cor 5:10).The Bible teaches that believers will someday have to give an account at “the judgment seat of Christ.”
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