Today,
we will look at 1 Cor 3:15, a verse commonly used to defend righteous living [and
that includes good works] is NOT material when it comes to salvation.
1
Cor 3:15 (Amplified Bible):
“But if any person’s work is burned up [under the test], he will
suffer the loss [of it all, losing his reward], though he himself will be saved, but only as [one who has
passed] through fire.”
A
cursory glance of the above verse tends to suggest to us this: “There! It is
written right in there – he [who did a lousy job] will suffer loss but he will
be saved”. It appears to be works does
NOT matter [what you believe rightly, is what matters]”; and erroneous
teachings put it like that, to us.
However,
if we place another similar context verse, 1 Tim 4:16, also by the Apostle
Paul, next to it, we will find that there is something amiss if we just argue
that this 1 Cor 3:15’s “he himself will be saved, ….” was meant to say “he
himself would definitely be saved or God
MUST save him.”
What
does 1 Tim 4:16 read? This:
Look well to yourself [to your own personality] and to [your]
teaching; persevere in these things [hold to them], for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you. – 1 Tim 4:16
Amplified Bible.
[NIV
reads: Watch your life and
doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.]
Now,
who is the “you” there, in the 1 Tim 4:16?
Timothy;
the epistle (letter) was written to Timothy.
Who was Timothy? An
unbeliever? Non-believer? A
pre-believer?
None
of that. He was the disciple of the
Apostle Paul, whom the latter treated like his son. Timothy was NOT just a believer; he was a minister
of God, mentored by Paul, and commissioned by the church (1 Tim 4:14 – elders
laid hands on him).
Well,
some of Timothy’s audience could be non-believers, and so they would need to be
saved or could be saved (“save ….. those
who hear you”), but why was Timothy included in the verse (“save both YOURSELF and those who
hear you”)?
Inadvertent
mistake made by Paul in wording his sentence, or translation error?
No,
it could NOT be, many bible translations actually have the word, “both” in the
verse, making it unmistakable that Paul meant to include Timothy as one that
needed to be saved, too.
The
verse actually meant that it was possible that Timothy could end up eventually
NOT saved; or para-phrasing it in the negative, if Timothy did NOT watch his
life and doctrines closely and persevere in them [looking at the NIV
translation], including his teaching them, Timothy could end up NOT having
himself saved, and neither would those who heard him [be saved].
Was
there something wrong with Paul or what?!
How could Paul even talk about “saved or NOT saved”, in regard to
Timothy’s state?
Timothy
was like your pastor, already; and Paul could still talk about “he could end
up, not being saved, subsequently!”
If
you are having such questions, it is likely that what motivated you to think of
these [questions], is that you have internalised the teaching that “once you
are a believer, you are saved; no matter what happens, that God got you into
salvation [by grace], God got to get your butt to Heaven, regardless of what
you do or NOT do, or whatever!”
It
is only when you are like me, understanding that when we converted, we have
entered into salvation, and NOT we are saved consummated, you can understand
there is still a possibility that a believer can end up NOT making it to
eternal life in Heaven.
The
possibility is there, even though Scripture painted for us that God is
faithful. “God is faithful” does NOT
mean “God MUST get your butt and my butt, to Heaven, regardless”. Why is this so?
It
is so, that there is a possibility of you and I NOT making it, because you and
I still have what is called volition (free-will). When we convert, our volition is still NOT
taken away from us.
Sure,
God can, sovereignly, still to break your volition, but it is also His
prerogative NOT to do that! The general
way of God is that He leads (The Lord is the _____? Shepherd; Holy Spirit _____?
leads), NOT He forces you [as a matter of norm].
In
other words, there is no mistake in the 1 Tim 4:16 verse; Timothy had to watch
his life, his doctrines and his teachings, persevere in those things, otherwise
he could be risking his own salvation and those who hear him.
For
those who would hear him, they could be (i) those already converted (believers);
if Timothy could lose his salvation, they could, too; and (ii) those NOT yet
believers; they might NOT get into salvation and so, no eventual salvation, if
Timothy stumbled them badly enough.
So,
we have understood for 1 Tim 4:16, there is no mistake; rather Paul indicated
possibility of losing salvation. Now, we come back to this 1 Cor 3:15 verse, which
is the concern of this article.
I
repeat: 1 Cor 3:15 (Amplified Bible):
“But if any person’s work is burned up [under the test], he will
suffer the loss [of it all, losing his reward], though he himself will be saved, but only as [one who has
passed] through fire.”
The
contexts of both 1 Cor 3:15 and 1 Tim 4:16 are similar, and that was that Paul
was addressing how a minister of God was to carry himself and teach, and so,
build [increase the size] and build up [feed] the Church.
In
1 Timothy 4, Paul addressed that there were heretic and apostate teachings and
doctrines, and asked that Timothy watched it that he did NOT take to those
teachings, and he himself was to teach the right things. In Timothy’s context, Paul said of the
foundation being “….godliness has
value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to
come. This is a trustworthy saying
that deserves full acceptance.” – 1 Tim 4:8-9
[Who epitomized godliness? Yes, Jesus; Jesus, the foundation].
In
1 Cor 3, Paul was on the same theme of ministers of God as builders, building
on the foundation he had laid [Jesus, the foundation], and he, Paul, said, just
as he also did, for 1 Timothy 4, that there would be consequences, depending on
what ministers taught.
Why
do we consider 1 Cor 3:15 together with 1 Tim 4:16?
Because
Paul could expected to be consistent and NOT contradict himself when he was
writing on the same theme or in similar contexts.
Here,
in 1 Cor 3:15, Paul used the metaphor of physical construction to represent the
building of the Church, and so, too, of the individuals. Paul was saying if the
Church or the individuals were built up with NOT the right stuff (gold, silver
and precious gems, but wood, hay, etc), the resultant structure, the church and
the individuals [the ministers’ works] won’t hold up when God subjects them to
testing by fire.
Paul
said if the minister’s works (his building of the church or individuals) burned
up under test, the consequences would be (i) the minister would suffer the
loss, and (ii) “though he himself would
be saved, but only as [one who has passed] through fire”. I will address these 2 consequences in turn.
The minister would
suffer the loss. What is the “the loss”?
The
Amplified Bible puts it as the minister would lose his reward. What is this reward? Is it the reward in Heaven? Is it the reward on earth? Or is it, it can be either or, or both?
Scripture
does refer to reward being built up in Heaven from what we do, now, in our
earthly living; and so, for the minister, it is reasonable to say that he can
be building reward in Heaven from his work in building and building up the
church. So, if his works failed the
test, he could be losing the reward from the works.
Next,
I address the issue of whether or NOT there is a question of reward on earth being
lost. But NOT before we ask ourselves,
the question of whether or NOT, God does subject our works to test currently
[NOT waiting until the “last moment” like the point of death or the Judgment
Day].
My
discernment is that God, through His Holy Spirit, judges/discerns all the time;
it is what He does with what He has judged, that is wide open.
God
could pound you up, but maybe He wouldn’t; maybe He could give you more time,
or maybe he could let you lose some reward you are enjoying [when your works is
wanting].
My
understanding of our reward and treasure in Heaven, is that some of them is
“translatable” to that which we could use, in earthly living. It is NOT all is of Heaven use, and we are
pauper in our earthly living; or all of Heaven good, none of earthly good! God’s raising up platform for your ministry,
for example, is a reward God translated for you, in your earthly living. Favour with men, for example, is another
reward in Heaven, God translates it for you, in your earthly life.
With
this understanding, yes, it is possible that some reward of the minister, on
earth, would be lost. For example, we
have already seen, in various countries, big-named ministers of God of such,
and such a church, fell, because their works of building and building up the
church failed the test of fire. Such
ministers would suffer the loss – the loss of credibility, the loss of favour,
the loss of ministry platform, etc. In
summary, the loss, it can be either loss on earth or loss in what was built in
Heaven, or both, and the loss could manifest presently, NOT always have to be, at
the “last moment” or end of age.
Next,
let me address the centre piece of this article, the “though he himself would be saved, but only as [one who has
passed] through fire.”
Now,
some teachings tell us this: it simply means, regardless of works [and so, even
when there is no works, it matters NOT], a believer is saved [a fact,
consummated, God guaranteed; even God cannot change it]; or conversion = saved,
irrevocable, cannot be revoked by you or by God.
We
have already looked at 1 Tim 4:16, where Paul clearly referred to the
possibility of a minister of God, Timothy, be losing his salvation, if he was
NOT careful about his life, his doctrines and his teachings or his building
works; there is no reason to believe Paul would have a contrary perspective
when he wrote on the same theme, to the Corinthians.
Also,
now, let me ask the question, if that was the understanding of Paul, that the
minister [or believer-worker] could NEVER lose his salvation, why did he bother
to add “but only as through fire” or “but only as [one who has passed] through
fire”. In other words, Paul could have just
worded this verse, 1 Cor 3:15, as follows:
“But
if any person’s work is burned up [under the test], he will suffer the loss [of
it all, losing his reward], though he himself will be saved.”
Or
why talk about salvation when salvation is NOT at stake, which means Paul could
have worded it even shorter, as this:
“But
if any person’s work is burned up [under the test], he will suffer the loss [of
it all, losing his reward].”
So
why did Paul word the verse that way, talking about the minister would be saved
but only as [one who has passed] through fire?
There can only be 2
possibilities. One, “He wanted to stress
still, that the salvation of the minister was NOT affected in anyway at all”,
or two, “He was trying to say, the salvation of the minister could be at
stake”.
Was
he stressing the former; overly grace or hyper-grace teachings want us to
believe it so?!” But I tell it is NOT
consistent with what Paul next said, in the passage; and this is what Paul said
(the next 2 verses, v16-17):
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that
God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If
anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s
temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
Paul
was saying the builder or minister, he built the church or the individuals of
the church, and he built upon the foundation [Jesus, the foundation]. Once the [right] foundation is laid, the
individual is God’s temple; and collectively as the church, it too, is the
temple of God. So, what was built up, if
it gets burned up [under the test of fire], it is destroyed; God’s temple get
destroyed. Who destroyed it? The
minister/builder who did NOT build with the proper stuff [of gold, silver and
precious gems].
Paul
said, in verse 17, God will destroy that person [the person who destroys the
temple]! How could teachings still imply
Paul was saying “It is perfectly alright; works got burnt up, you are safe -
you remain saved”; purporting that Paul meant to emphasize salvation would
NEVER be at stake.
No,
rather, Paul was trying to say, the minister’s salvation was at risk! It was just that Paul did want to be
judgmental [some ministers were referred to, in his letter (in the same
chapter)] and so, did NOT put it down “so absolutely”; he still left room
for God to judge [elsewhere Paul did exhort that we do NOT judge another’s
ministry as it is only God who knew (and knows) what exactly He gave to His
servant to do, we don’t (However, we are to judge teachings we hear or
receive)], but he emphasised it by saying “though he himself would be saved, but only as [one who has
passed] through fire.” And so, what
this phrase was saying is that the person, minister in this case [or builder,
metaphorically speaking], his salvation was at risk; he could still be in
salvation, but NOT before he was
subjected to, and pass a rigorous test.
Why
did I say “he could still be in salvation”, instead of saying “he could still
be saved”?
One
could say that, provided you have the correct perspective. As in the case of the loss which we have
discussed above [that reward is being built up], for the case of salvation, it
is the same, it [salvation] is being progressed (Phil 1:6 – … He Who began a good work in you will continue until the
day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good
work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. [I add: most
assuredly, assured if you work with Him]); until the “last moment”, you are
in salvation; after the “last moment”, you are saved consummated [when
your name is still in the Book of Life].
Salvation is NOT a one-off event.
[Notice what God is doing as said in
Phil 1:6, and notice what the minister (like that of 1 Cor 3:15 or Timothy) was
doing. Yes, both, God and the minister
are building up the temple of God. To
build and build up the temple of God (the church or the individuals – the
congregation) is consistent with the will and desire of God. The only thing is that the minister has to
build up rightly or he would in fact be destroying the temple, started up.]
As
I have stated above, God judges all the time, and so, in our on-going life,
when God judges a particular episode of our life, and finds our works failed
(under fire test), and subjects us to test (rigorous test), and still “ok” us,
it is we are still in salvation. You
want to say “we are still saved”, it is alright, provided you know you are
referring to “you are in salvation”.
Paul’s
understanding of salvation is a hope (Romans 8:24-25), NOT you and I (as believers) already have it as a fact (as in it
can never be, that you don’t make it).
Paul said you don’t hope for something you already have it; salvation is a hope.
Romans
8:24-25 - 24 For in this hope we were saved. But
hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Paul
being consistent, in 1 Cor 13:13 also said that when we “strip everything else
away”, we are left with 3 things – faith, hope,
and love.
You
think about it, if it is fact, there is no faith to talk about, is there?! So, it is, when it is at the “last moment” [point
of death (?)/Judgment Day (?)], that the phrase could then be a finality question
of whether or NOT, the person is saved, finally - made it to eternal life in
Heaven [When I say, “If I die tonight, I will go to Heaven”, it is NOT my
statement of fact, but my statement of faith; by faith I believe I will make it
to Heaven; ultimately, it is God judges].
Possibly, “heavenly book recordings”
works this way: it is NOT at the end of age or the “last moment”, that the
works of a person is recorded, in some sort of books of works, but it is
on-going recording being done. At the “last moment”, it was an opening of the
books to see what is inside. That is the
picture that Scripture painted for us.
Now, what about the Lamb’s Book of Life?
When does your name get recorded?
When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Your name stays in there, unless it is
blotted out. Does Scripture mention the
blotting out of names in the Book of Life?
The answer is yes. Is it easily
your name be blotted out? No. When your
works point contrary to your faith, a red light may be flashed from the
recording of your works, and where necessary, you be put to a rigorous test
[test of fire] to see if you are indeed still in the faith [NOT according to
you, but according to God], if you pass, your name stays in; in the extreme
situation that you failed, you are out – blotted out! So, as with the works recording, it too, is
an on-going thing, that your name is or is NOT in the Book of Life; at the
“last moment”, it is again just a matter of flipping open the Book of Life to
see if your name is in it or NOT. In
other words, at Judgment, it is more of a ratification than a “court
proceeding”.
The revelation is
that it is NOT good works get you to eternal life in Heaven; but good works
testify your faith. When good works isn’t there, you will be subjected
to test, still, and it would be a rigorous one where you are “striped to the
core for checking” [“by fire”], and you have to pass that, to remain in the
Book of Life. From now to our last
reckoning [“last moment”], we are being judged all the time by God; it is just
that God so very often still pass you and I (assuming you are a believer) as
“still in salvation” [and so, we remain in the Book of Life]. Be thankful and grateful to God, and do NOT
profane His grace and mercy, lest in His prerogative, He lifts off His hand of
protection for you and I, and we are left to stray back to the path of
destruction, instead of being in salvation.
[An after-thought analogy is this: Good
tree bears good fruit; so if you get a bad fruit from a supposedly good tree;
you check the tree thoroughly. First,
the fruit is subject to test to see if it is indeed good [and so, to be
recorded in the “books [of works]”]; since the fruit failed the test, the tree
must be checked, for it was last assessed as good tree [and so, was recorded in
the Book of Life].]
I
hope this exposition has helped us to understand that we can put ourselves at
risk of losing our salvation, and that the Apostle Paul has said nothing about
“It is perfectly alright; works got burnt up, you are safe - you remain saved,
regardless”. Rather, he has warned us (such
as in 1 Tim 4:16 and 1 Cor 3:15) that our works would be tested, and if they
are found NOT testifying our faith or attesting to our faith, we will be
subjected to fundamental testing by God.
By the way, I believe the Spirit has
just pointed that there is another Paul’s verse on this, and consistent with
this – 2 Cor 13:5 (Amplified Bible) - Examine and
test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith
and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do
you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing
experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you are [counterfeits]
disapproved on trial and rejected? In
this instance, Paul was also on the issue of building up the church, the
Corinth church [The Corinth Church was founded by Paul; because Paul needed to
do his missionary work at other locations; necessarily other ministers built
upon his foundation; and the church was NOT built up as he had wanted, it
looked like many unacceptable things (sins) were being practised/done by
members; perhaps even condoned]; 2 Cor 12:19b – “We
have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we
do, dear friends, is for your strengthening.”
And in this instance, Paul was even
saying the hearers, the congregation of the Corinth church, they too, ought to
examine, test and evaluate themselves to see if they are still in the
faith. Now, if Paul had been having “once
saved [converted] always saved”, he wouldn’t be exhorting self-examination [of
this kind], would he?! If you looked at
the Amplified Bible version of 2 Cor 13:5 [given here], it has in it, “unless
you are disapproved on trial and rejected”; and to me, that included, you can
be out because you failed the test of fire by God [what we talked about,
earlier]. When you have been disapproved on trial and rejected, you are really
counterfeits [NOT really in salvation!].
I
want to end by saying that although the 2 scripture verses, 1 Tim 4:16 and 1
Cor 3:15, were directed to formal ministers or builders of the Church, it
applies to all believers [additionally, 2 Cor 13:5 pointed to that], as we are
all called to the Great Commission, and so, are builders of the Church. It is also my hope that this exposition will
provide you the backdrop to understand the Parable of Sheep and Goats given by
Jesus (Matt 25:31-46), and to discern correctly the overly skewed teachings of
grace prevalent in the world, today (dated this September, 2014).
Anthony Chia,
high.expressions
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