One day soon I will stand before the Lord Jesus at His judgment seat. How will my service be evaluated as to whether it was “good or bad” (II Corinthians 5:10). The answer to this question is sobering. All servants and stewards of the Lord Jesus Christ must give an account for their service and use of their gifts and resources. Knowing the primary basis for this evaluation causes deep personal assessment and powerful purifying influence in my heart. Sometimes meditating on this encounter is painful because I know how easily my heart gravitates toward self. But I am lead to good places of deep repentance as I cry out again, “O wretched man that I am.” The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). Yet I find that sometimes, as the old puritan put it: “I need to repent of my repentance.” Why? Because even in my repentance my heart might take pride in how repentant I am.
I join my puritan brothers and say,
“O God of grace, I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no loom to weave my own righteousness; I am always standing clothed in filthy garments, and by grace am always receiving change of raiment, for You always justify the ungodly; I am always going into the far country, and always returning home as a prodigal, always saying, Father, forgive me, and You are always bringing forth the best robe.”
When I think about the evaluation of my service, I am grateful that the one before whom I will stand is my advocate with the father, “Jesus Christ the righteous one” (I John 2:1-2). He is my “merciful and faithful high priest” (Hebrews 2:17) and “not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15). He “…is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25). I join the puritans and pray, “O God of Grace, You have imputed my sin to my substitute, and imputed His righteousness to my soul.” If Jesus has not been made sin for me and I had not been made righteous in him, where would my hope be placed? (II Corinthians 5:21).
A closer look:
Evaluation of service for God is based on the motives of the heart (I Cor. 4:5). Our motives in service have some relationship with the quality and enduring significance of our service (I Cor. 3:11-15; II Cor. 5:10). Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount offers the best explanation of this. There he warns about doing “works of righteousness” (like giving, praying and fasting) to be seen by man (Matthew 6:1-21). If being recognized by others is our motivation in service, in Jesus’ words, “you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). There will be no enduring fruit and reward for such service. Service for the Lord that endures (i.e. “gold, silver and costly stones” service—I Corinthians 3:12-13) is done “in secret.” Then, Jesus said, “…your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:4,6,18). Service that is described as “wood, hay or straw” is the kind that is done for the attention, atta-boys and praise from man. Jesus strongly warned against prostituting what is sacred to popularize yourself.
The apostle warned that each person’s “work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light” (I Corinthians 3:13). The word is clear: When the Lord comes, “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God” (I Corinthians 4:5).
This is a soul-searching consideration because motives are so slippery. I need regular “gut-checks” to be sure that affirmations and accolades from people do not control my service for Christ. It’s not that I shouldn’t care what people think and how my life affects them, but that I must not allow it to occupy a controlling spot in my heart. Like the apostle, I must ask, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
Some details about this event:
The evaluation of the believer will be a time of personal accountability when all our works will be presented to the Lord (Rom. 14:10-12; Heb. 13:17). It will result in reward or loss (I Cor. 3:11-15; cf. Phil. 3:5-8; Rev. 3:11; II Cor. 5:10) and possibly even shame (I Jn. 2:28). It will take place after the rapture of the Church and Jesus will preside as judge (II Tim. 4:7-8; Lk. 14:14 w/I Thess. 4:13-17; Rev. 19:8).
The New Testament refers to various crowns to be given at judgment: A crown of life (Ja. 1:12; Rev. 2:10); of rejoicing (I Thess. 2:19-20); of righteousness (II Tim. 4:8); of glory (I Pet. 5:1-4); the incorruptible crown (I Cor. 9:25-27). The specifically stated bases for reward include: loving Christ’s appearance (II Tim. 4:8); enduring trials (Ja. 1:12); suffering for Christ (Mt. 5:11-12); pastoral oversight (Heb. 13:17; I Pet. 5:4); treatment of other believers (Mt. 10:41; 25:34-40; Heb. 6:10); use of wealth (Mt. 6:20; I Tim. 6:17-19); fruits of evangelism (I Thess. 2:19-20); self-control in the race (I Cor. 9:25-27) and use of spiritual gifts (I Pet. 4:10; I Cor. 12:11).
Deeper reflection:
“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Philippians 1:20-23).
“So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 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” (II Corinthians 5:9-10).
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24).
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:1,38-39).
Additional study: Pictures of service in I Corinthians:
1. The farmer (3:6-9)
2. The builder (3:9-15)
3. The steward (4:1-5 cf. Rom. 14:10-12)
4. The athlete (9:24-27)
I pray that a closer look at this time of evaluation will challenge us to deeper levels of devotion to Christ.
Steve Cornell
Read more insightful articles by Pastor Steve Cornell at songtime.com or on his blog, thinkpoint.wordpress.com