Will our “good deeds” survive?
In our last lesson we considered the judgment seat of Christ and the positive rewards that will be on offer, rewards such as crowns, verbal approval and even positions in God’s kingdom.
But we also noted that there may well be negative consequences as well. This is a real judgment. But it is not a consideration of the salvation, the spiritual safety of the one who believes in Christ. Salvation is a free gift not a reward. The judgment seat of Christ is not some kind of purgatory, a place which is never mentioned in the Bible where a purifying of a person’s soul is supposed to take place.
Any idea of the testing being of the worker rather than his works denies the finished work of Christ. Jesus, on the cross said. “It is finished!” and what was finished? It was the work He was given to do on this earth. And what was that? It was, “to save His people from their sins”. It was to make them safe from the condemnation that the curse of sin brings and He fully achieved that. For those who believe there is no more purifying to be done.
No, this judgement is not about the worker but it will be a determination of the quality of the things we have done, or perhaps not done, for Christ.
Some of these things will be judged to have been good and will come under the heading of gold, silver and expensive building materials such as granite or marble.
But we cannot fail to note that some of our actions will be labelled as bad and be placed in a category called wood, hay and stubble. And this judgment will be a purging of any dross, junk, garbage, trash of our human actions and activities.
2 CORINTHIANS.
CHAPTER 5.
10. For all of us must appear before Christ, to be judged by him. We will each receive what we deserve, according to everything we have done, good or bad, in our bodily life.
The Greek word for deserve is “komizo” and carries the idea of a return in kind, a proper compensation. Good things will pass the test of judgment fire and be rewarded and bad things will fail the test and will be properly repaid with loss.
Note two things about wood, hay and stubble. The first is that they have little permanence. Even wood decays within a short time. And the second is that that they are easily destroyed. We have already had some insight into what Christ’s metaphorical fire will do to them.
Our spiritual building has a wonderful foundation. It is this foundation that is the strength of the building. It provides its security and permanence. And God will not permit the building of a shoddy, lazy, uncaring structure of works to be built on it. He will not allow a structure of sub-standard non-permanent materials, not befitting the magnificence of the foundation to remain. Such materials will be destroyed
But what does this word “bad” really mean? Is it referring to things of little significance and consequence or is it of far greater importance?
The word used is the Greek word “kakos” which in Scripture is sometimes translated as evil. It can refer to persons, qualities. emotions, passions and deeds.
Here are some examples of the use of the word “kakos”
MARK.
CHAPTER 7.
21. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
ROMANS.
CHAPTER 1.
30. say cruel things about others, and hate God. They are proud, conceited, and boastful, always thinking up new ways to do evil. These people don’t respect their parents.
In fact Scripture spends a lot of time telling us what is kakos, what is bad and we perhaps should not really be surprised when such things are destroyed before our very eyes in heaven.
In fact God may well confront us with these deeds even while we remain on earth.
1 PETER.
CHAPTER 3.
12. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
So what is kakos, what is meant by bad. Sometimes we use a slang, even vulgar term kak which is derived from this Greek word. It refers to human faeces, muck or garbage.
And in Biblical terms kakos indicates a lack in what should be possessed, bad in character, wrong morally by way of thinking, feeling or acting. It carries the sense of what is injurious or harmful or destructive. It describes what is useless, incapable and is used of thoughts, of speech, and of the actions of human beings.
Any of these could be described as kakos or bad
1. pride, self-conceit
Things might be done to obtain praise and glory from our fellow human beings and we have already seen that that does have a reward but it is not lasting. There may be elements of little vanities, self-seeking and selfishness. It may involve self–praise
Outward honour and dignity esteemed and applauded by men will be shown to have been merely corruptible materials and a labour in vain.
JAMES.
CHAPTER 4.
16. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
2. hypocrisy, including deceitfulness. Things that are done for secret motives with a hidden agenda.
Any ostentatious veneer will be removed and the truth will become clear in the test of Christ’s judgmental fire.
3, ambition (even within Christian ranks). Here we might include all things that are not done for the love of God.
It may well include a striving for success as measured by human standards. The measure of this success may be evaluated in terms of the accumulation of human assets or numbers in attendance or funds raised. These are examples of wealth on earth rather than treasure in heaven.
1 TIMOTHY.
CHAPTER 6.
10. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
4. discontent and impatience including petty anger
1 THESSALONIANS.
CHAPTER 5.
15. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all
ROMANS.
CHAPTER 14.
19. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
5. envy of the gifts and abilities of others.
We see an example of this in a man called Simon.
ACTS.
CHAPTER 8.
18. Simon saw that the Spirit was given to people when the apostles put their hands on them. So Simon offered the apostles money.
19. Simon said, “Give me this power so that when I put my hands on a person, he will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20. Peter said to Simon, “You and your money should both be destroyed! You thought you could buy God’s gift with money.
21. You cannot share with us in this work. Your heart is not right before God.
22. Change your heart! Turn away from this bad thing you have done. Pray to the Lord (God). Maybe he will forgive you for thinking this.
23. I see that you are full of bitter jealousy and ruled by sin.”
And this is what we are told.
JAMES.
CHAPTER 3.
16. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil
6. ignorance and weakness of judgment including a delight in one’s own notions. Education may give us a false notion of wisdom.
Wrong motives might be included here as well as the use of worldly resources to achieve goals which are human in origin.
This may well be one of the building materials most prevalent in what is destroyed by the fire.
Somehow we have come to the idea that God cannot build His church without our help and our genius. And so we are going to help the Lord build His church.
Here is what one person said.
“And so we’re going to help the Lord build His church. And we’re going to have fundraising campaigns, and we’re going to develop tremendous programs whereby we’re going to help the Lord build His church, because surely He wants to build His church, but He can’t do it without our genius and our helping Him.
And so we go to Madison Avenue and we study their techniques. We study how to write a psychologically enticing letter that will encourage the person to immediately sit down and respond to our appeal. “And I’ll trace my hand upon a napkin, and when you get it you put it on your forehead and pray. And if you send me one hundred dollars, you can get whatever you need.” That oughta be good for a hundred bucks from these poor simple little people who can’t think for themselves.”
This quote may seem a little farfetched but is it really far from the truth even for us? Where do we stand in relation to programs, gimmicks, slick advertising etc.? Do we think that all we have to do is this, this and this and the whole perceived problem will be fixed? Do we think we have the answers and human logic shows that our thinking and ideas are the solution?
This is what God says about such actions and thinking.
1 CORINTHIANS.
CHAPTER 3.
18. You should not fool yourself. If any of you think that you are wise by this world’s standards, you should become a fool, in order to be really wise.
19. For what this world considers to be wisdom is nonsense in God’s sight. As the scripture says, “God traps the wise in their cleverness”;
20.and another scripture says, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless.”
21. No one, then, should boast about what human beings can do. Actually everything belongs to you:
This is what God says.
ISAIAH.
CHAPTER 55.
8. “My thoughts,” says the LORD, “are not like yours, and my ways are different from yours.
9. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways and thoughts above yours.
And I would like to say a little about visions. So many Christians it would seem want to have a vision and add to that vision a mission statement and action plans and so on.
Often this verse in Proverbs is quoted.
PROVERBS.
CHAPTER 29.
18. Where there is no vision the people perish but he that keeps the law, happy is he.
Here is another translation
PROVERBS.
CHAPTER 29.
18. Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.
It would seem to me that the context of this verse is a knowledge of the will of God either verbally as once delivered by prophets or in written form in the Mosaic law and now expanded to what we would call the Scriptures. Where these are not clearly preached and expounded, where they are not well-known, the people lose restraint. In other words they digress from walking in the will of God.
The vision here spoken about means a verbal message from God, and in the Church age comes through the indwelling and the operation of the Holy Spirit.
JOHN.
CHAPTER 16.
12. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will announce to you things to come.
14. He will glorify Me, for He will take from what is Mine and He will announce it to you.
The law has been expanded to include the whole canon of Scripture and covers all the distinct and articulate instruction which God gives to His people in any of His ways of self-communication.
Where the word of God is not faithfully preached to the people and adequately read and practised by them; then those people will be led to do things that come under the heading of “kakos” because of their lack of knowledge and their deeds will not survive Christ’s judgment fire,
According to one commentator, “When pastors are wanting, all goes to ruin.”
We perhaps see an illustration of it in the Corinthian Church where the following is said.
1 CORINTHIANS.
CHAPTER 3.
1. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. As unto little ones in Christ.
2. I gave you milk to drink, not meat: for you were not able as yet. But neither indeed are you now able: for you are yet carnal.
3. For, whereas there is among you envying and contention, are you not carnal and walk you not according to man?
4. For while one saith: I indeed am of Paul: and another: I am of Apollo: are you not men? What then is Apollo and what is Paul?
But what many understand by a vision is that of a corporate vision where there is an examination of where the organisation is currently situated and with a 5 year plan for example, where the organisation would see itself situated at the end of the 5 years. So there is a mission statement, organisational goals established, an action plan and identification of blocking forces which may prevent the goals from being achieved.
But how dare we as humans think we can improve on what God has already laid down for His organisation, the Church.
His plan is set for the duration of the church age.
So, what is God’s mission statement?
2 PETER.
CHAPTER 3.
9.The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
HEBREWS.
CHAPTER 12.
1. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
EPHESIANS.
CHAPTER 4.
15. Instead, by speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, who is the head.
What is His action plan?
MATTHEW.
CHAPTER 28.
19. Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
20. and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.”
And here is the action plan being carried out.
ACTS.
CHAPTER 8.
4. The believers who were scattered went everywhere, preaching the message.
And what about blocking forces? The Bible tells us who they are.
Mockers
JUDE.
18. They told you that near the end of time, selfish and godless people would start making fun of God.
False teachers
2 PETER.
CHAPTER 2.
1. But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master, the One having bought them, and bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
2 TIMOTHY.
CHAPTER 3.
13. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
Satan
REVELATION.
CHAPTER 12.
10. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, “Now the salvation, the power, the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah have come. For the one who accuses our brothers, who accuses them day and night in the presence of our God, has been thrown out.
The only thing left for us to do is to cut God’s action plan into bite size pieces such as relation to mission, worship, giving, prayer, teaching and learning, and community involvement.
We are not a commercial corporation. We are God’s church and He has set it up and given us goals which meet His mission for the world. All our efforts will not improve on what He has already given us.
7. laziness, including a lack of seriousness, idle imaginings or the clinging to habit.
MATTHEW.
CHAPTER 9.
37. He said to his disciples, “A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers.
MATTHEW.
CHAPTER 12.
36. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
8. secret sins and impure thoughts and words
ROMANS.
CHAPTER 8.
6. To focus our minds on the human nature leads to death, but to focus our minds on the Spirit leads to life and peace.
Such secretive thoughts and actions will all be revealed
PSALMS.
PSALM 90.
8. You have set our iniquities before you, what we have concealed in the light of your presence.
JAMES,
CHAPTER 3.
8. But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
In all of our activities for God we should not grow complacent.
We say we love God and that is wonderful and this verse is true
1 CORINTHIANS.
CHAPTER 13.
6. Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil.
But these verses are also true
ROMANS.
CHAPTER 7.
19. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
And we need to heed the warnings God gives us in His word and He does give us warnings so we will be without excuse. Certainly God would not allow bad and shoddy things to continue without man’s will being involved and therefore any loss will be a person’s own fault.
This is what the Bible says.
1 CORINTHIANS.
CHAPTER 10.
5. But most of them did not please God. So they died, and their bodies were scattered all over the desert.
6. What happened to them is a warning to keep us from wanting to do the same evil things.
7. They worshiped idols, just as the Scriptures say, “The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to dance around.” So don’t worship idols.
8. Some of those people did shameful things, and in a single day about twenty-three thousand of them died. Don’t do shameful things as they did.
9. And don’t try to test Christ, as some of them did and were later bitten by poisonous snakes.
10. Don’t even grumble, as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel.
11. These things happened to them as a warning to us. All this was written in the Scriptures to teach us who live in these last days.
1 PETER.
CHAPTER 2.
1. Stop being hateful! Quit trying to fool people, and start being sincere. Don’t be jealous or say cruel things (katalalia = evil words) about others.
1 PETER.
CHAPTER 3:
11. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.
3 JOHN.
11. My dear friend, do not imitate what is bad, but imitate what is good. Whoever does good belongs to God; whoever does what is bad has not seen Go
ROMANS.
CHAPTER 13.
12. The night is almost over, and the day is near. So we should get rid of the things that belong to the dark and take up the weapons that belong to the light.
13. We should live decently, as people who live in the light of day. Wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, rivalry, and jealousy cannot be part of our lives.
14. Instead, live like the Lord Jesus Christ did, and forget about satisfying the desires of your sinful nature.
How should we respond?
EPHESIANS.
CHAPTER 4.
31. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
1 THESSALONIANS.
CHAPTER 5.
22. Abstain from all appearance of evil.
ROMANS.
CHAPTER 12.
21. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
JAMES.
CHAPTER 1.
13. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Instead of building on and on without reflection we need to evaluate our situation now, as there will be no chanced later to remedy our actions or make restitution. In fact we are told to take heed as to how we are building.
Many of us might well be in for a big surprise. We may have done many things that we thought were good but they are now revealed to be not so.
The fire will destroy these and there will be loss.
The word for loss is “zemioo” which means to damage. It is not punishment but is somewhat analogous to a person who has escaped a burning building and is only left with the clothes on his back so to speak
The loss will be in terms of all the time, the effort, the hopes, the cost, perhaps even one’s whole ministry and service all judged to be useless. The whole scenario will be the picture of a wasted life.
As the fire devours the shoddy materials the one whose works are being judged will stand there amazed and impoverished in the middle of the ruins of his building. His building will collapse in ashes. He will be witness to a complete lifetime of labour all perished. His labour will have been all in vain. What may have been esteemed by his fellow man disapproved by Jesus and a showy life all burnt up into dust and ashes. There will be no credit for such works. It will be as if he did nothing.
As far as rewards are concerned his crown may be far less resplendent than others. Instead of “Well done” of approval there may be a shake of the head expressing disapproval and disappointment. There may be a less important position apportioned in God’s kingdom.
So, the loss will be the forfeiture of special rewards. And rather than there being enjoyment of unusual degrees of glory there will only be misery, embarrassment and shame. This may be one of those times when Jesus will need to wipe away some tears.
The person will escape, but with little or nothing left. The experience will be similar to what Paul underwent in the shipwreck he experienced. All came safe to land but ship and cargo and profit were all lost.
ACTS.
CHAPTER 27.
22. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer. For there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but only of the ship.
But even worse would be to appear with nothing or very little to be tested. Yes quantity is important as well. How devastating to appear with very little in our whole lives done for love of God. Some builders never get very far with construction. Let us not be one of them.
In the light of this coming day of reckoning what should we do? We need to compare our works with God’s word and judge ourselves so that we are not judged by the Lord. Let us test all our works by this, “Will they stand the fire? Are they gold, silver and precious stones?”