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Editorial. Koshy Zachariah JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST After the rapture, all genuine christian believers have to stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.Scripture asserts this in 1 Corinthians Chapter 3;13-15. The Day mentioned in verse 13, refers to the Judgment Seat of Christ, when all their service for the Lord will be reviewed. The process of review is likened to the action of fire. The fire will test each one’s work of what sort it is. The outcome is the reward. If anyone’s work which he has built, endures, he will receive a reward. The works are mentioned in verse 12. They could be gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. L W Rogers points out “Loss does not imply the forfeiture of something once possessed.” It should be clear from this verse that the Judgment Seat of Christ is not concerned with the subject of believers’ sins and their penalty. The penalty of a believer’s sins was borne by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, and that matter has been settled once for all. Thus the believer’s salvation is not at all in question at the Judgment Seat of Christ; rather it is a matter of his service. We should note that the Foundation is Jesus Christ. The service or work is on this Foundation. That is what we read in verse 12. If anyone builds on this Foundation… William MacDonald opines “Only one foundation is required for a building. Once it is laid, it never needs to be repeated. The Apostle Paul had laid the foundation of the Church in Corinth. That foundation was Jesus Christ, His Person and Work. Subsequent teachings in a local church may be of varying degrees of value. For instance, some teaching is of lasting worth and might be likened to gold, silver, or precious stones. On the other hand, teaching in the local church might be of passing value or of no value at all. Such teaching is likened to wood, hay and straw. This passage of the scripture is commonly used in a general way to refer to the lives of all Christian believers. It is true that we are the building, day by day and the results of our work will be manifested on the judgement day. However, a careful student of the Bible will want to note that the passage does not refer primarily all believers but rather to preachers and teachers.
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