Our pastor made an interesting proposition yesterday, one that I’ve been leaning toward for a while now, but was still rather intrigued to hear it voiced from the pulpit. As Christians in the Protestant tradition, we accept that salvation by faith alone is a fundamental tenet and set aside any notion that our works have a role in God’s saving grace. However, does that mean that our works are meaningless? Of course not. They are, so to speak, the proof in the pudding, the taste test of our faith. And we will be judged on them.
What?! Judged on works? Isn’t accepting Christ by faith enough for admittance into heaven and the joys of paradise? I’m going to suggest that the first part, admittance into “heaven”, or the New Heavens/Earth if you will, is based on faith, but that the joys and reward we find there are based on something different, namely our works done “in Christ”.
Our starting point is 1 Peter 1.17-19:
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
When we read about the Father’s judgment, we tend to jump to Revelation 20.11-15:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. [...] All whose names were not found written in the book of life were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the separation of the sheep and goats, the eternal division of those who accepted the message and authority of Jesus Christ from those who did not. Once the sheep have been set aside, I’m suggesting that there is an additional “judgment”, based on these passages from Paul:
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:18-19)
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive what is due them for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor 5.10)
Each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved-even though only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Cor 3.10b-15)
That is, once we have been admitted to heaven as sheep in the Father’s judgment, we then face Christ’s judgment for our eternal reward, e.g. the treasure stored up for us based on our conduct and actions “in the body”. This is what I believe John is referring to in Revelation 20:10, where he notes that “the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”
If admittance to heaven is based solely on our proclamation of faith, then nothing else we have done matters in the first judgment of the sheep and goats. Instead, works are only after we have been saved and admitted to heaven.
In a sense, there *is* a properity gospel, but it’s not the one preached by Osteen et al. It is, instead, one of eternal prosperity: work out the fact of your salvation with good deeds, in fear and trembling, and you not only improve the lot of those around you, but you build up the reward for yourself in the life to come. Those who enjoy riches now to their own pleasure may pass through the fire, but they will lose everything and will be the poorest people in Heaven, while those who forsake pleasure in the body for the work of the Kingdom will be rewarded and elevated to the highest status.
But those in Matthew 25 who don’t do good works are sent to hell. Can we say this judgment has nothing to do with salvation?
According to the Reformers, “We are justified by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone.”
Yes, our rewards are based on our good works (1 Cor 3:12-15).
Not to take this in a totally different direction, but what really struck me (and what I’d like to see discussed further somewhere) is the reference to “things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).
What I noticed is that it concisely addresses the “do Christians sin?” question. We know we do, but various false doctrines and heresies and concerns have sprung up around that — losing one’s salvation, defining “deliberately keep on sinning”, etc.
So it was just refreshing to be reminded in a Biblically-sound way that “bad things” can indeed be done while IN the body without affecting salvation itself. (And, because this is the judgment of believers, one can’t weasel out and say, “in the body” simply means “an unbeliever had invaded the community for a time”.)
Does that make any sense?
Makes sense to me, Eric. I agree that the separation of sin, i.e. “bad things done in the body”, from the security of salvation was the most helpful part of Pastor’s sermon. An extension of that point is that whatever someone has done prior to a confession of faith is completely irrelevant because that’s not what the white throne judgment is about. It’s only how we conduct ourselves “in Christ” that determines our reward in heaven.
James 2:18 (TNIV)
“But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”
The two are inextricably linked, ElShaddai. And I think you have put them in the right perspective, in that the one determines salvation and the other the reward.
John Wesley considered the man who did his good deeds but had no faith. He said the deeds were “but a shadow” of what they would have been had the man had faith. They are like an empty shell. The man who has faith, his deeds are full because of his faith.
In addition to taking this in a different direction… now I’m also dragging it out.
But I thought you’d find this interesting given your focus on various Bible translations.
The NIV renders 2nd Cor. 5:10 as “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” And I take that “body” reference to be “members of the Church” or “Christians”… but maybe that’s a 2008 American evangelical view?
http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/faq/bema.html has a completely different take on this whole “Bema seat” issue… and uses the King James: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
The NLT makes that even clearer: “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”
So, what “body” are we really talking about? And if it’s simply talking about the good or evil done while walking around on Earth… what alternative is there to “sinning while in a human body”? Do we take that as “merely” poetic? Do we spin off into some other sort of heresy (like, “Well, clearly there are pre-incarnate souls, because Paul has to clarify that this judgment is of actions done while folks had bodies”)? Something in-between?
I’m over-thinking this, aren’t I?
@Gary – I need to read more by Wesley. I scored pretty high as a “Wesleyian” on some theological survey a long time back, but never really followed up on it. I like his take on “empty deeds”.
@Eric – I had initially read “in the body” as akin to “of the flesh”, that is, our sinful lives apart from Christ, but that could create some weird sort of Gnostic “physical work” vs “spiritual work” dichotomy. If you take the approach that this is a reward judgment, based on post-confessional works done “in Christ”, then that “2008 American evagelical view” makes more sense inasmuch as it’s referring to the corporate body.
I’ve certainly found sympathy with a corporate reading in many Pauline texts, e.g. election, and so I’m inclined to lean that way again. But I’ll try to take a closer look at the Greek and see if what’s under the covers, so to speak. Certainly it deserves another post!