I'll take your refusal to address my pointing to the context of 1 Cor 3 as a sure sign of your mistaken view. Have you not learned in many decades that context, context, context is foundational to proper exegesis?
Re the Bema seat, see the parable of the talents. The one who was unfruitful with the gracious talent offered him is cast into the outer darkness. So much for only receiving rewards.
That's funny.
"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the
fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss:
but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." -1 Cor. 3:13-15 (KJV)
Our works, what we have done since becoming a Christian, will be tried. If its done out love, or done for selfish reasons for example, they will be burnt up. But if they don't they will receive a reward. And if they do burn up, they shall still be saved.
That is what it says.
"
Every man's work shall be made manifest
The doctrine he preaches shall be sooner or later made manifest to himself, and to his hearers; who shall see the inconsistency, irregularity, and deformity of such a building; at first so well laid, then piled up with such excellent materials, and at last covered in with such trifling or incoherent stuff:
for the day shall declare it;
meaning not the day of judgment, though that is often called the day, or that day, and will be attended with fire, and in it all secrets shall be made manifest; but the apostle intends a discovery that will be made of doctrines in this world, before that time comes: wherefore this day rather designs a day of tribulation; as of persecution, which tries men's principles, whether they are solid or not; and of error and heresy, when men are put upon a re-examination of their doctrines, whereby persons and truths that are approved are made manifest; or of some great calamity, such as the destruction of Jerusalem, whereby many wrong notions the Jews yet retained were discovered: but it is best of all to understand this day of the Gospel day, and of the progress of Gospel light, especially in some particular periods of it; as in the primitive times, at the reformation from popery, and the more remarkable Gospel daylight, which will be in the latter times, when the impertinence and inconsistency of many things which now obtain in the ministry will be seen; see (
Ephesians 5:13 ) .
Because it shall be revealed by fire:
not that day, but the man's work, or doctrine:
and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is;
by the fire is meant, not the general conflagration of the world, when that, and all that is therein, will be burnt up; much less the fire of purgatory, the "papists" dream of, for the punishment of evil actions; for the apostle is not speaking of the actions of men, good or bad, but of the doctrines of ministers; rather the fire of tribulation and affliction, which, as it is for the trial of the grace of faith, so of the doctrine of faith, whereby it becomes much more precious than of gold that perisheth; or of some fiery dispensation of God's vengeance, as on Jerusalem: though the word of God, which is as fire, seems to be intended; which in some certain times so blazes forth, and will more especially in the latter day, that by the light of it, both ministers and churches will be able to see clearly the bright shining lustre of the gold, silver, and precious stones; and with so much heat, as to burn up the wood, hay, and stubble; when the difference between these things will be most easily discerned." John Gill Commentary, 1 Cor.3:13
"
If any man's work abide
That is, if any minister's doctrine will bear the test of daylight, to be looked into, and abide the fire of the word; as gold, silver, and precious stones will, or such doctrines as are comparable to them, which will shine the brighter for being tried by this fire:
which he hath built thereupon;
upon the foundation Christ, in entire consistence with, and proportion to it, and highly becoming it:
he shall receive a reward;
either from the churches of Christ here, who shall honour and respect him for his faithful labours in the ministry; or from Christ hereafter, who will say, well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." -Ibid, 1 Cor. 3:14
"
If any man's work shall be burnt
If any minister's doctrine he has preached shall be destroyed and disappear, shall be disapproved of, and rejected by the churches, not being able, to bear the light and heat of the fire of God's word:
he shall suffer loss;
of all his labour and pains he has been at, in collecting together such trifling, useless, and inconsistent things; and of all that glory and popular applause he might expect from men, on account of them, and which was the snare that drew him into such a way of preaching:
but he himself shall be saved;
with an everlasting salvation; not by his ministerial labours, much less by his wood, hay, and stubble, which will be all burnt up; but through his being, notwithstanding all the imperfections of his ministry, upon the foundation Christ:
yet so as by fire;
with much difficulty, and will be scarcely saved; see (
1 Peter 4:17 1 Peter 4:18 ) (
Zechariah 13:9 ) with great danger, loss, and shame; as a man that is burnt out of house and home, he escapes himself with his own life, but loses all about him: so the Syriac version reads it, (arwn Nmd Kya) , "as out of the fire": see (
Zechariah 3:2 ) (
Jude 1:23 ) . Or the sense is, that he shall be tried by the fire of the word, and convinced by the light of it of the errors, irregularities, and inconsistencies of his ministry; either in his time of life and health, or on a death bed; and shall have all his wood, hay, and stubble burnt up, for nothing of this kind shall he carry with him in his judgment to heaven; only the gold, silver, and precious stones; and will find that the latter doctrines, and not the former, will only support him in the views of death and eternity." -Ibid, 1 Cor. 3:15
"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." -2 Cor. 5:10 (KJV)
"The bema seat" is a reference back to the old Olympic games. The winner would apprear at the "bema seat" and there receive whatever the reward was.
"
The Meaning of the Judgment (Bema) Seat
Both
Romans 14:10 and
2 Corinthians 5:9 speak of the “judgment seat.” This is a translation of one Greek word, the word
bema. While
bema is used in the gospels and Acts of the raised platform where a Roman magistrate or ruler sat to make decisions and pass sentence (
Matt. 27:19;
John 19:13), its use in the epistles by Paul, because of his many allusions to the Greek athletic contests, is more in keeping with its original use among the Greeks.
This word was taken from Isthmian games where the contestants would compete for the prize under the careful scrutiny of judges who would make sure that every rule of the contest was obeyed (cf.
2 Tim. 2:5). The victor of a given event who participated according to the rules was led by the judge to the platform called the
Bema. There the laurel wreath was placed on his head as a symbol of victory (cf.
1 Cor. 9:24-25).
In all of these passages, “Paul was picturing the believer as a competitor in a spiritual contest. As the victorious Grecian athlete appeared before the
Bema to receive his perishable award, so the Christian will appear before Christ’s
Bema to receive his imperishable award. The judge at the
Bema bestowed rewards to the victors.
He did not whip the losers.”
2 We might add, neither did he sentence them to hard labor.
In other words, it is a reward seat and portrays a time of rewards or loss of rewards following examination, but it is not a time of punishment where believers are judged for their sins. Such would be inconsistent with the finished work of Christ on the Cross because He totally paid the penalty for our sins. Chafer and Walvoord have an excellent word on this view:
With reference to sin, Scripture teaches that the child of God under grace shall not come into judgment (
John 3:18; 5:24; 6:37;
Rom. 5:1; 8:1;
1 Cor. 11:32); in his standing before God, and on the ground that the penalty for all sin—past, present, and future (
Col. 2:13)—has been borne by Christ as the perfect Substitute, the believer is not only placed beyond condemnation, but being in Christ is accepted in the perfection of Christ (
1 Cor. 1:30;
Eph. 1:6;
Col. 2:10;
Heb. 10:14) and loved of God as Christ is loved (
John 17:23).
3
Again, Chafer writes concerning the
Bema, “It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the judgment is unrelated to the problem of sin, that it is more for the bestowing of rewards than the rejection of failure.”
4"
2 Hoyt, electronic media.
3 Lewis Sperry Chafer,
Major Bible Themes: 52 Vital Doctrines of the Scripture Simplified and Explained, rev. John F. Walvoord, editor, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1974, p. 282.
4 Lewis Sperry Chafer,
Systematic Theology, Vol. IV: Ecclesiology-Eschatology, Dallas Seminary Press, Dallas, TX, 1948, p. 406.
Source
As far as Mt. 25:30 is concerned:
"
And cast ye the unprofitable servant
All the servants of Christ are unprofitable with respect to God; for no man can be profitable to him, as he that is wise may be profitable to himself, or others; or in a way of merit, since when they have done the most and best, they have done but their duty: but this man was unprofitable with respect to himself, having not improved the gift and talent bestowed on him; and with respect to men, being of no use for the conversion of sinners, or the comfort of saints, or the edifying of the body of Christ; and brought no honour to his master, and was of no service for the spreading of his Gospel, and the enlargement of his kingdom and interest; and therefore, as one good for nothing, the ministering angels are bid to take him, and cast him
into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth:
he shall be turned out of doors into outer darkness, to be a companion of other unhappy creatures; who are also without, bewailing their miserable condition, and reflecting on their past conduct; whilst faithful, diligent, and laborious servants will be within, partaking of a rich entertainment, prepared by their Lord, accompanied with joy unspeakable, and full of glory: (
See Gill on Matthew 8:12)."
-Ibid, Mt. 25:30
There is reason for us to conclude that this servant given the talent, was saved to begin with.
In fact, did not Jesus say:
"So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say,
We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." -Lk. 17:10 (KJV)
"He is entrusting his wealth to three men who become stewards of his money. One receives five talents. Another receives two talents. A third steward receives one talent. Each is given a significant amount of money. These are stewards entrusted with the care of the money. The stewards must know the personality and character of their Lord. He expects them to know Him well enough to apply the spirit as well as the letter of His instructions. Those that do are richly rewarded. The others receive severe judgment. The amount given is based on each steward’s ability. The first two understand the spirit and letter of instructions and the character of their Lord. They both use the resources by "trading" to gain a profit. Each of them makes a 100 percent profit. Fear and mistrust of his Lord motivate the third steward. He buries the money in the earth and returns the original amount. The profitable stewards are praised, given increased responsibilities and invited to enter into the joy of their Lord. The untrusting steward is scolded, rejected, and punished.
The application of this parable must be understood within the context of the message of
Matthew 24-25. It is first a message to the people of Israel that will live in the last days before the Lord returns. The statement, in
Matthew 24:13, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved," is a key statement. This is the believing remnant that will receive the promise of the kingdom. In
Matthew 24:32-34, the Lord states, "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." These will be alive when He returns and will have understood and believed their Lord. The application to the people of Israel is graphic and relevant. Those that believe Him will be rewarded in His kingdom. The basis of the reward will be their stewardship of His resources entrusted to them. Those who fear and do not believe will be rejected and judged."
Source
There, does that sufficiently answer your questions?
God Bless
Till all are one.
