Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, November 3,2013 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Accountable To God I Corinthians 3:9-15 (NKJV) Please turn with me in your Bibles to our scripture text in I Corinthians the third chapter. And let's read verses 10-15. 1 Corinthians 3:9-15 (NKJV) 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. but he himself 15 If anyone s work is burned, he will suffer loss; will be saved, yet so as through fire. P R A Y E R >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>
I N T R O D U C T I O N Accountability is a fact of life. All through life we are accountable to someone for our actions, our decisions, and our productivity. -When we were children we were accountable to our parents. -When we were in school, we were accountable to our teachers and our coaches. - For those of you who served in the military, you were accountable to your superior officer. - In the work place, you are accountable to your supervisor or boss. The Bible teaches us that when this life is over, you and I are going to have to give an account of our lives to God. -II CORINTHIANS 5:10 (NKJV) For we must all appear before the judgment seat the things he has done, of Christ, that each one may receive done in the body, according to what whether good or bad. -ROMANS 14:10-12 (NKJV) 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we
Christ. shall all stand before the judgment seat of 11 For it is written: As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. The Greek word for judgment seat is the word Bema. In biblical times, the Bema seat was associated with the ancient Olympic games. Each competitor in the Olympics appeared before the bema seat or judgment seat to receive his reward for his performance in the field of competition. When our race here on earth is completed, you and I will appear before the judgment seat or bema seat of Christ. There are two issues that will not be addressed at the Judgment Seat of bema seat of Christ. (A) One is SALVATION. No lost person will ever appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. According to Revelation 20:11-15 lost souls will appear before the Great White Throne Judgment of God. The only ones who will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ or the bema seat are those who are saved. (B) The other issue that will not be addressed at
the Judgment Seat of Christ is SIN. Although saved persons are not perfect and do sin, all our sins are covered by the blood of Christ and are removed as far as the east is from the west, never to be remembered again. Romans 8:1 (NKJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Well if our appearance at the Judgment Seat of Christ is NOT to determine our salvation or to punish us for sin,, then just what is it that will take place at The Judgment Seat of Christ? There are three things I would have you to consider: First, let's consider... I. There Will Be A REVIEW (vs. 9-11) 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1. When we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ we are
going to be accountable for the manner in which we lived our lives from the moment we accepted Jesus Christ until the day we died or the day the Lord returned to get us, whichever came first. 2. At that time there will be a REVIEW, a replay of our Christian journey from beginning to end. Does the thought of that scare you? It does me! 3. The Lord never intended for any of us to just sit back and do nothing with our lives once He saved us. Notice in verse 9, Paul says, We are God's fellow workers, His field, His building. All of those things speak of living a life that is FRUITFUL and PRODUCTIVE for the Lord's Kingdom. 4. The Lord is going to review how we used the responsibilities, and the privileges, and the opportunities He gave to us. EPHESIANS 2:10 (NKJV) says, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 5. In order to accomplish those good works He created us to do, God has blessed each of us with spiritual gifts and talents and abilities to be used in His
service. And we are going to be accountable to the LORD for our stewardship of those things He blessed us with. 6. Here is an important truth so listen carefully. When we stand before God, we will not so much give an account of what we did for God, but to what degree we surrendered our lives to Him so that He might work in us and through us to build His kingdom. But our accountability will NOT end there! After the REVIEW... II. There Will Be A REFINING (vs. 12,13) 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one s work, of what sort it is. ILLUSTRATION They are called refineries. Refineries are used in the production of STEEL, IRON, and OTHER PRECIOUS METALS, as well as is the production of OIL. In refineries the raw metal is passed through a series of tests where intense heat is applied to the metal. In time all the ore or worthless metal is burned off and all that remains is what is
pure and genuine. 1. We tend to think of our good deeds in terms of QUANTITY, while Christ looks at our good deeds in terms of QUALITY. 2. It is very possible for one to do a lot of good deeds in this life, and have very few of those deeds pass the LORD'S fire test. 3. You notice Paul mentions six items in verse 12, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw. 4. Actually these can be divided into two sections consisting of three items each. represent (A) GOLD, SILVER, AND PRECIOUS STONES our deeds that will pass the Lord's fire test. These are deeds that brought glory and honor to God; deeds we did out of obedience to God's commands; deeds we did out of love for God and for our fellow man; deeds done in complete humility. Deeds that advanced the Lord's kingdom here on earth. (B) (B) WOOD, HAY, AND STRAW are all flammable are all flammable materials. They represent our deeds that WILL NOT pass the Lord's fire test. Deeds we did for our own glory and honor; deeds we did to be seen by
men; deeds we tooted our own horn about; deeds we did begrudgingly, not out of love for the Lord. Deeds that caused disunity or strife in the Lord's Church; deeds that held the Church back; deeds that damaged our Christian witness; deeds that put a stumbling block in the path of others. 5. Listen carefully! Not every good deed is going to be rewarded! Good deeds that were done with wrong motives, bad motives, selfish motives, self-promoting motives, are going to be burned up like wood, hay and straw. So when we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ there will first be A REVIEW of all that we did from the time we accepted Christ until our earthly life ended. Then there will be A REFINING of our good works where anything done with impure or improper motives will be burned up. And then thirdly... III. There Will Be A REWARDING (vs.14,15)
14 If anyone s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 1. Anything we did in this life that survive's the Lord's refining fire of judgment will be REWARDED. 2. The New Testament teaches us that our rewards will come in the form of crowns. (A) There is the INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN awarded to those who are FAITHFUL to the Lord until death. (I Corinthians 9:25) (B) There is the CROWN OF LIFE awarded to those who endured and overcame TRIALS and TEMPTATIONS. (James 1:12) This crown is sometimes called, The martyr's crown. (Rev. 2:10 Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown o life. ) (C) There is the CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS that will be awarded to those who were looking for and longing for the RETURN of CHRIST.. (II Timothy 4:8) (D) There is the CROWN OF GLORY which will be awarded to the faithful PREACHERS of the GOSPEL who devoted their lives to feeding and leading God's flock. (I Peter 5:4) (E) And there is the CROWN OF REJOICING which will be awarded to the SOUL WINNER who brought
others into the kingdom. (I Thessalonians 2:19) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> C O N C L U S I O N As we close this morning, I want to impress upon you this very important truth, so please listen carefully. The things you do or don't do today, you will answer for someday for we will all one day have to give an account of our lives. You and I won't have to give an account of our life before Christ. That life was put to death. But we will have to give an account for the life we lived after we accepted Christ. Are you building with gold, silver and precious stones? Or are you building with wood, hay, and straw? Will your life count for something? Or will you have wasted the precious years of your life? Must I go, and empty handed, Thus my dear Redeemer meet? Not one day of service give Him, Lay no trophy at His feet? Must I go, and empty handed? Must I meet my Savior so? Not one soul with which to greet Him, Must I empty handed go? Not at death I shrink or falter, For my Savior saves me now; But to meet Him empty handed, Thought of that now clouds my brow. O the years in sinning wasted, Could I but recall them now, I would give them to my Savior, To His will I'd gladly bow. O ye saints, arouse, be earnest,
Up and work while yet 'tis day; Ere the night of death o'er take thee, Strived for souls while still you may.