Is the judgment of works about salvation or reward?
It concerns reward, not salvation. The judgment of works is for the one who already has salvation and now works for reward, not for a person working to earn salvation. Christ must be the foundation, received by faith in His finished work, before any building occurs.
Les teaches that the judgment of works is not about salvation. A person must first have faith in Christ's finished work and Christ as the foundation before being given the opportunity to add to His building. Then every man's work is made manifest, and the issue is reward for the one who has salvation and is now working for reward. Les illustrates this with gold, silver, and precious stones, which take hard work to find, versus wood, hay, and stubble, which are everywhere. He says most Christians build with wood, hay, and stubble because they are too lazy to go out and work for the hard-to-get materials. This is a graphic difference from what most of Christendom teaches.
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.
More Questions
Will any believer escape having his works judged by the Lord?
Every believer's work will be made manifest, and no believer will escape the fiery eyes of the Lord in the judgment of his works.
How will a believer's work be tested at the judgment?
Every believer's work will be tested by fire to reveal what sort it is.
What determines whether a believer's good works survive the fire?
Whether a believer's work survives the testing is primarily based on motive, that is, why we do the things we categorize as good works — whether to please the flesh, to please someone else, or strictly for God's honor and glory.