Tag: Sanctification

Does God elect some to go to heaven and some to go to hell?

Some students of the Bible understand Romans 9 to teach that God sovereignly chooses some people to go to Heaven and some to go to Hell. However, this understanding ignores the argument of the book of Romans and the context of Romans 9.

The book of Romans is dealing with salvation from the present-day wrath of God which involves God giving the unrighteous over to the downward spiral of the degradation of sin (Rom. 1:16-32). Because God is holy and hates sin, we must first be delivered from His wrath toward sin through justification which is by faith alone in Christ’s death (Rom. 2:1-5:10a). We can then experience deliverance from God’s present-day wrath and the perversion of sin through faith in Christ’s life (Rom. 5:9-8:39).

The argument of Romans up to the end of chapter 8 is a direct challenge to the commonly held belief of first-century Jews that because they were God’s chosen people they would be saved from hell simply by being of Jewish descent and by keeping the Law (cf. Rom. 2:17-3:20). This assumption, says Paul, is absolutely false. The problem is that the Jews were confusing election to service with election to salvation (cf. examples of election to service: Jeremiah – Jeremiah 1:5; Paul – Gal. 1:15-16; John the Baptist – Luke 1:13-17; John 1:23; the disciples (John 15:16). They assumed that because God chose them as the means by which “all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen. 12:3), He also chose them, simply as Jews, for salvation. But now they hear Paul saying, “No! Jews do not have a unique path to heaven; on Judgment Day they will be treated like everyone else.” So now they are thinking, “That’s not fair! God has just been leading us on, giving us promises He never meant to keep. He is going back on His word! Where is the justice?”

So in Romans 9 Paul is defending God’s righteousness in His dealings with the Jews and the Gentiles. The Word of God has not failed (Rom. 9:6a). When God says that only those Jews will be saved who trust God’s promises, like their father Abraham did, He is not breaking His original promises to Israel. His choice of the nation as a whole was not a guarantee of any individual Jew’s salvation. God graciously and sovereignly chose Israel to be the nation from which “Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God” (Rom. 9:5). God’s choice of the nation of Israel to bring the Messiah-God into the world was not based upon their natural descent or works (Rom. 9:6-11), but upon His merciful and sovereign choice (Rom. 9:11b-16). And God certainly has the sovereign right to use any individual or group that He chooses for such a purpose, without any promise of personal salvation from Hell being attached.

An example of God choosing someone for service without providing individual salvation from Hell for him is Pharaoh (Rom. 9:17; cf. Judas whom Jesus chose to bear fruit in ministry even though Judas never believed in Jesus – John 6:64; 13:10-11; 15:16; 17:12). God both “had mercy” on Pharaoh by choosing him for an important role in birthing the nation of Israel, and He also “hardened” him in order to accomplish the same purpose (Rom. 9:18). An example of a nation being chosen for service and not salvation is Israel at this present time (Rom. 9:31-10:4). The nation of Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah which led God to show mercy to Gentiles by including them in the church. An elect person or nation is never guaranteed justification. In the Old Testament, God chose the nation of Babylon to discipline Israel (see Habakkuk). Likewise, He chose King Cyrus of Persia to help Israel and to subdue the nations (Cyrus is even called God’s “shepherd” and “anointed” in Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1). But neither of these sovereign choices proves anything regarding individual or corporate salvation from Hell.

If God chooses individuals and nations to service based upon His merciful and sovereign will, and not human behavior, “Why does He still find fault?” Paul’s listeners would ask him (Rom. 9:19). Paul responds by saying that people are not in a position to criticize their Judge because He is the standard by which we measure justice (Rom. 9:20-30).

God chose the nation of Israel to service and blessings for the purpose of sharing those blessings with others. But since they failed (Rom. 9:31-11:10), God saw fit to elect another group called the Church (composed largely of Gentiles) to accomplish this task (Rom. 11:11-25). Fortunately for Israel, because God is gracious He will again return to them and fulfill His promises and plans (Rom. 11:23-32). How unsearchable is God and His ways (Rom 11:33-36)!?

Conclusion: God’s election relates to His merciful and sovereign choice to choose individuals and/or nations for service (not salvation), especially as it relates to sharing His blessings with others, including the gospel. Just as the nation of Israel was chosen by God to bring the Messiah-God into the world (Rom. 9:5) and be a channel of blessing to all families/nations (Gen. 12:3), so believers (both Jews and Gentiles) in Christ today, are sovereignly chosen by God to be His mouthpieces of blessing to others (cf. Luke 6:13; John 15:16; Acts 1:2, 8; 9:15; 10:41; 15:7; 22:14-15; 26:16-18; James 2:5; I Pet. 2:9).

Overcoming sin through a relationship, not rules

“I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:25

In Romans 7 the apostle Paul talks about his struggle to grow spiritually when he placed himself under the Mosaic Law. After saying that we are now under grace and not the law (6:14-15), he begins by saying that “the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives” (7:1). Paul illustrates this truth by referring to “the law” which binds a wife to her husband until he “dies” (7:2a). But when he dies she is “released from the law of her husband” and is free to remarry (7:2b-3). Since believers died with Christ (cf. 6:2-10) they “have become dead to the law” so that they are no longer under any obligation to keep the Mosaic Law because they are now under grace which avails them to the power “of the Spirit” that enables believers to obey God (Rom. 7:4-6).

Paul’s own experience warns believers not to look to the Law to grow spiritually (Rom. 7:7-25). The result will be defeat. Paul describes his early Christian experience whereby he looked to the Law which only reveals sin without correcting the problem (Rom. 7:7-12). Verse 9 particularly shows that Paul was “alive” in fellowship with God “without the Law” (6:8, 11, 13), but as soon as he tried to include the Law in his Christian life, he “died”experientially when his sinful nature aroused sin to a greater degree which broke his fellowship with God. 

Paul shows that the Law is not to blame for our broken fellowship with God, but “sin” was to blame (7:13). The Law was like the bait that brought sin to the surface. Paul strengthenshis argument about the goodness of the Law by saying the Law “is spiritual,” but he is “carnal, sold under sin” because of his fallen nature which he still possessed (7:14). Sin is still appealing tothe believer especially if he places himself under the Law to grow in his Christian life. 

In Romans 7:15-25 Paul uses the present tense to describe his present struggle as a result of trying to use the Law to grow spiritually. This struggle is between the new “inward man” or born-again-self (Romans 7:22; cf. Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10; I John 3:9) and the “old” disposition or sinful flesh. For example, Paul writes, “For what I [the new] will to do, that I [the old] do not practice; but what I [the new] hate, that I [the old] do”(7:15b). Within every believer there are two competing dispositions – the flesh against the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-17) – which fight to gain control over the Christian. 

It is possible that Paul struggled for years to live the Christian life by trying to fulfill the Law inhis own strength. He explains that even a desire to do what the Law says results in evil that he had no intention of doing (Rom. 7:18-19). He summarizes, “Now if I [old disposition] do what I [new disposition] will not to do, it is no longer I [the person’s desire] who do it, but sin [sin principle dominant in the old nature] that dwells in me” (7:20).

Paul discovered from his experience of trying to grow spiritually under the Law that there is aspecific “law” deeply rooted in his being that exposed his sinful nature and the reason why he could not keep the Law’s commands (7:21). Paul explained his desire for God’s Law even if he cannot carry it out, “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man” (Rom. 7:22). The “inward man” is something within believers that can be “renewed” daily and “strengthened” by the Holy Spirit (cf. Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 4:16; Ephesians 3:16). Paul equates the “inward man” to “the law of the mind” (7:23a). Paul identifies another law which is “the law of sin” which had defeated or brought “into captivity” Paul’s inward man because at that time when Paul was under the Law his fallen nature was stronger (7:23b).

Having experienced this fruitless battle of trying to grow spiritually under the Law (7:14-23), Paul cried out, “O wretched man that I am!” (7:24a). He acknowledges that an inner desire to do good and obey the Law could not overcome his sinful flesh or disposition. He wants to know who can deliver him from this “body of death” or sin’s power that dwells in his physical body (7:24b; cf. 6:6). Paul concludes by introducing the discovery he made during this struggle early in his Christian life about how to experience victory over sin. He thanks “God” who “through Jesus Christ our Lord” supplied the means to “deliver” him (and all believers) from this struggle between his inward man (“with the mind I myself [new disposition] serve the law of God”) and “the flesh” (old disposition) (7:25). The solution is revealed in Romans 8 – walking in the Spirit.  

In summary, the key to gaining victory over sin in our Christian lives is to focus on our relationship with Jesus Christ, not rules. Rules tell us what is wrong, but they do not provide the power to grow. Only a relationship with the living Lord Jesus Christ can transform our lives. We must look to our Savior, not our sin, if we are going to become more like Him.

How do I overcome the power of sin in my Christian life?

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lust.” Romans 6:12

For a believer in Jesus Christ to overcome the power of sin in his Christian life, he must… 

1. “Know” that he is “united” with Christ in “His death” and “resurrection” (6:2-10).

2.  “Reckon” or count it to be true (6:11). 

3. Yield or “present” himself to Christ as “alive from the dead” for God’s possession and use (6:12-13). The issue in overcoming the power of sin in his life is surrender. He can either surrender to sin’s control or Christ’s control in his life. That is what it means to present himself. Notice that a believer now has a choice not to “let sin reign” or control him so that he “should obey it in its lust” (6:12). God does not promise to keep him from having lust or fleshly desires. But He does make provision for him so he does not have to let his fleshly desires be “the boss”in his life. He does not have to do what his fleshly desires are telling him to do. The believer is to present himself to God because “sin shall not have dominion over” him since he is “not under law [which arouses sin] but under grace [which gives him a new identity to overcome sin] (6:14). 

4. “Obey” Christ as his Lord (6:15-23). One reason Christians may not be seeing more victory over sin in their lives is because they have positioned Jesus as their Savior, but not as their Lord. This is why Paul writes, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness” (6:16). If we obey what sin tells us to do, we will experience “death” and “more lawlessness” in our Christian lives (6:16, 19). But if we obey what the Lord Jesus tells us to do we will experience “righteousness,” “holiness,” and “everlasting life” (6:16, 19, 22). 

Tony Evans illustrates what Paul is saying in Romans 6 when he refers to performing a wedding ceremony. Near the beginning of the ceremony, Tony asks, “Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” Usually it is the father who says, “I do.” When that happens, the father can sit down because Tony is done with him because the bridegroom steps up to take the place of the bride’s father. He and the bride now stand before the minister, they go through the service, and then Tony closes by saying to the couple, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Then the audience stands and receives the new Mr. and Mrs. ______________. 

The young lady has been changed because she is now under a new authority when her father presented her to be married to the bridegroom. She has entered into a new relationship. The first man is overruled by a newer man because the woman has transferred identities. 

Romans 6 tells us that we have transferred identities the moment we believed in Christ for salvation. So when the old man called the flesh starts to tell us what to do, we can respond, “I have a New Husband now. I have a new name. I am not going to listen to you.” We must yield ourselves to Christ every day. We can begin each day by saying, “Lord Jesus, I am married to You now. I am under Your authority, so please tell me what You want me to do and help me to do it.”   

How can I experience victory in my Christian life?

“For if by one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness wil reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17

As Paul transitions from his section about justification before God by faith alone in Christ alone (1:16-5:11) to his section on sanctification or growing in the Christian life (6:1-8:39), he contrasts two Adams (5:12-21). See the above chart for more contrasts. The First Adam brought sin and death into the world through his one act of disobedience in the Garden (5:12, 15, 17-19), whereas the Last Adam, Jesus Christ, brought justification and life (to all who believe in Him) through His one act of obedience on the Cross (5:18). Through the Last Adam, what once reigned over us – sin and death (5:12-14, 17a, 21a) – is now reigned over by grace in life through Jesus Christ (5:17b, 21b). 

Grace is much more than a doctrine or theology. Grace is a Person. Grace came to us through the Person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 17) and He now lives inside every believer (Galatians 2:20). When we believed in the Person of Jesus Christ, He gave us eternal life and His righteousness as a gift, and seated us next to Him at the right of God the Father in the heavenly places (John 3:16; Romans 5:17; Ephesians 2:5-6). He saved us from the penalty of sin so we can now reign over sin and death through His righteousness to eternal life which indwells us (Romans 5:21). 

We might compare this to the game of checkers. When playing checkers, if you make the right moves which get you to the other side of the board, you get crowned as a king. But if you don’t make the right moves, you will be removed from the board and experience defeat. What Romans 5:12-21 is telling us is if we make the right moves in our Christian lives, we will reign over what once reigned over us – sin and death! This is possible now because the One who conquered sin and death now lives in us. His righteousness has been given to us as a gift the moment we believed in Him. And as we understand and believe this, and act upon it, Christ will empower us to make the right moves so we will rule over sin and death and experience victory in our Christian lives! But if we don’t make the right moves in our Christian lives, we will experience defeat.

Someone may say, “Why do I still keep making the wrong moves in my Christian life?” One reason is because Satan has deceived you into thinking that sin and death still reigns over you. That nothing has changed in your life since you believed in Jesus for His gift of eternal life. But nothing could be farther from the truth! The truth is Jesus Christ now lives inside of you! The truth is Jesus Christ has already won the victory for you! He now wants you to live from victory, not for victory! 

In Romans 13:14 Paul writes, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provisions for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Every day, we have a choice to put on Jesus Christ Who fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law or to put on our old sinful self. When we put on the Lord Jesus Christ, we become more sensitive to sin. For example, when you put on a beautiful new white shirt, you become more sensitive about getting it dirty. You will tend to avoid dirty places and things because you want to preserve the whiteness of that new shirt. But if you put on blue jeans and an old worn out shirt, you are not so sensitive about getting them dirty. 

What God is telling us in the book of Romans is that if we will put on the Lord Jesus Christ every morning, we will become more sensitive to sin. Instead of letting sin and death reign over us, we will begin to reign over them as we put on the Lord Jesus Christ Whose grace empowers us to live victoriously for Him. Putting on the Lord Jesus is a mindset that God wants us to have (Romans 8:5-7). We can put on our old sinful self or we can put on the Lord Jesus Christ. One leads to sin and death and the other to life and victory. 

Overcoming the sin of homosexuality

The Bible is clear that homosexual relations are an “abomination” before God (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; cf. Romans 1:24-32; I Corinthians 6:9-10; I Timothy 1:10) and violate God’s design for marriage between one man and one woman for life (Genesis 2:24; Mark 10:6-9). How then can a person overcome the sin of homosexuality (or any sin)?

I believe the answer is found in the book of Romans. The key to understanding Romans is to look at the first use of the word “salvation” in 1:16-17: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” The words “saved” (sōzō) or “salvation” (sōtēria) refer to some type of “deliverance.” The context determines what one is delivered from. Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed [present tense] from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” The book of Romans is the good news (gospel) of Jesus Christ which provides the power for deliverance (salvation) from the present-day wrath (displeasure) of God which is expressed in sinners being given over to the downward spiral of their own sinfulness (1:18b-32). 

Notice that when people “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” and choose to worship creation instead of their Creator (1:20-25), God gives them over (1:24, 26, 28) to the consequences of their own sin (1:24, 26, 28). As people move farther away from God, they “dishonor their bodies among themselves” (1:24). As they continue to rebel against God, He gives them up “to vile passions,” which includes leaving “natural” heterosexual relations to pursue homosexual relations which are “against nature,” that is, they are contrary to how God made us (1:26-27; cf. Gen. 1:28; 2:24). The final stage of this downward spiral is God giving them over “to a debased mind” which accepts as normal what is immoral and irrational to a holy God (1:28-32). Clearly, the farther people move away from God, the more confused they become about their own sexual identity. This is an expression of the present-day wrath of God. God’s present-day wrath can rest upon Christians and non-Christians who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. 

How can a believer or unbeliever overcome this downward spiral of sin? This salvation from God’s present-day wrath is two-fold (“faith to faith,” 1:17):

1. If you are not a Christian, you need justification-salvation before God through faith alone in Christ alone who died for our sins and rose from the dead (Romans 1:20 – 5:9a). This is what delivers us from the penalty of sin and gets us to Heaven. God wants to bring those back who have been given over to their own sinfulness. God sees all people as unrighteous and in bondage to sin (1:20-3:20). God comes to people and gives them His righteousness on the basis of faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (3:21-5:9a). Twenty-six times Paul uses the words “believe” and “faith” as the only condition for justification (being declared righteous) before God in this section of Romans. Once a person believes in Christ alone to be declared righteous before a holy God, he or she can then experience…

2. Sanctification-salvation from God’s present-day wrath (degradation of sin) through Christ living in them by faith (Romans 5:9b-8:39). The next time the word “saved” is used in Romans is in 5:9-10: “Much more then, having now been justified [past tense] by His blood, we shall be saved [future tense] from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled [past tense] to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled [past tense], we shall be saved [future tense] by His life.” The salvation being spoken of here is in the future tense and takes place after we are justified and reconciled to God. We were reconciled to God through faith in Christ’s death (3:21-5:9a). We can be saved from God’s present-day wrath or the power of sin through faith in Christ’s life (5:9b – 8:39).  

In summary, whether you think homosexuality is caused by the environment or a genetic disposition, it does not matter. All people are born with a predisposition to sin, whether it is sexual immorality, lying, or a violent temper. The solution is still the same. Believe in Christ’s death for His gift of salvation from the penalty of sin (Romans 1:18-5:10a), so you can trust in Christ’s life to save you from the power of sin in your Christian life as you learn to yield daily to the Holy Spirit who now dwells inside of you (Romans 5:10b-8:39). 

Must I Hold Fast to the Gospel to be Saved from Hell?

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel … by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.” I Corinthians 15:1a, 2

I was reading in I Corinthians 15 today and was drawn to verses 1 and 2 which say, “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel … by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.” A cursory reading of that verse can lead one to conclude that being saved from hell is conditioned upon holding fast to the gospel message. But that understanding would be contrary to the many verses that say only believing in Jesus for eternal life or salvation is all that is necessary to be saved from hell (cf. John 3:15-16, 36; 5:24; 6:40, 47; 11:25-26; 20:31; Acts 16:31; Romans 4:5; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; I Timothy 1:16; I John 5:13; et al.). 

To resolve this apparent contradiction, it is important to understand the argument of the entire book of I Corinthians. This will help us to properly understand I Corinthians 15:2. All of the failings of the Corinthians – their divisiveness, pride, insensitivity to immorality, idolatry, taking each other to court (1:11; 3:1-3; 5:9-6:20; 11:21-32) – each expressed a tendency to pollute God’s truth with human wisdom. This tendency is again evidenced in I Corinthians 15 by some in the Corinthian fellowship who were doubting the future resurrection of believers from the dead (15:12). 

It is no mistake that Paul both begins and ends this epistle with arguments concerning the content of the gospel. In 1:18-25, he showed that their divisions were caused by a misunderstanding of the gospel. Human wisdom said that the message of Christ crucified was foolishness; Paul countered that while the gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing, it was God’s power for those being saved (1:18). At that point in his letter, he only focused on Christ’s crucifixion (1:17, 18, 23; 2:2). 

Now, he addresses the questions of some concerning the bodily resurrection of believers, again pointing to the gospel message, focusing here on the resurrection of Christ – to show the error of their thinking (15:1-19). Again, Paul points out that mixing human wisdom with the gospel message, does not result in clarity, but in confusion. In this case, it is the blessed future hope of resurrection that is sacrificed on the altar of human wisdom. The historical bodily resurrection of Christ was central to the gospel message the Corinthians believed. The Corinthians knew the gospel; in fact, they received it, and were standing firm in it (15:1). What Paul really wants to make known to them is that by denying the doctrine of the bodily resurrection of all believers, they are actually denying the resurrection of Christ, and thus the gospel! This had escaped their notice. 

To do this Paul must first remind them of “the gospel which I preached to you…by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain” (15:1b-2).  When Paul says “by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you” he was not doubting the salvation of his readers because they “received” the gospel message he preached as truth to them (15:1b). Several times he affirms his readers had faith in Christ ( 2:5; 3:5; 15:11, 14, 17; 16:13). Nor does he doubt that they “hold fast” to that gospel because they are “standing” in it (15:1c).

Neither is Paul seeking to raise doubts concerning the future assurance of his readers’ salvation because eternal life, once gained, can never be lost, or it is not “eternal” life (cf. John 3:16; 5:24; 6:35, 39-40, 47; 10:28-29). Even though they were plagued with divisions, envy, drunkenness, and immorality (1:11; 3:1-3; 5:9-6:20; 11:21, 30), Paul did not question their salvation from Hell. He refers to them as “the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus” (1:2). They “were washed…sanctified…justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (6:11). He called them “babes in Christ” (3:1) whose “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you” (6:19). In 15:2, Paul wants these born-again believers to “hold fast” to and not be moved away from the gospel which he preached to them. 

The good news (euangellion) of Jesus’ death and resurrection (15:3-4) is foundational to healthy Christian living. Christians cannot live a victorious life for Christ if they stop believing in any aspect of the good news, especially Jesus’ substitutionary death, His bodily resurrection, His soon return, and their own bodily resurrection and acquisition of glorified bodies. In 15:2, Paul says that the present salvation of the believers in Corinth was conditioned on their “holding fast” to his gospel. Note in 15:2 that Paul said they already “believed.” The reason he says “unless you believed in vain” is because their faith in Christ would be “empty” or worthless if there is no resurrection from the dead (15:14, 19). Unlike Ephesians 2:8-9 where Paul uses the perfect tense, “you have been saved,” in I Corinthians 15:2 he uses the present tense, “you are [being] saved.” 

The salvation in I Corinthians 15:2 is not new birth because new birth is not conditioned upon holding fast to the gospel. It is conditioned upon believing in Jesus Christ for eternal life (I Corinthians 1:21; 3:5; cf. John 3:15-16, 36; 5:24; 6:40; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9; I Timothy 1:16). In light of Paul’s use of the word “save” in I Corinthians 5:5, this salvation is being saved from further judgment by the Lord Jesus Christ at the Judgment Seat of Christ (I Corinthians 3:15; 4:5; 9:24-27). It has to do with being spiritually healthy at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Believers can only be spiritually healthy now if they hold fast to Paul’s gospel. They will only be spiritually healthy at the Judgment Seat of Christ if they were holding fast to the gospel when they died or were raptured by the Lord Jesus. 

The Lord Jesus never said that once a person comes to Him in faith that he is forever “approved” by Christ. Jesus said we are only His friends if we do what He commands us (John 15:14). In the Parable of the Minas (Luke 19:11-27), Jesus revealed that at the Judgment Seat, He will tell the believer who served Him wholeheartedly to the end of his life, “Well done, good servant,” and will give him authority over ten cities (Luke 19:16-17). But to the believer who was half-hearted in his service, yet persevered to the end, He will only say, “You also be over five cities” (Luke 19:19). To such a believer He doesn’t say, “Well done,” and He doesn’t call him “good servant.”  However, to the believer (this is a Christian because he is a “servant” with the same “master” as the other two servants) who does not persevere in his service for Christ to the end, to the one who buries what He gave him, He will say, “Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant” (Luke 19:22). This type of believer receives no cities to rule over and no commendation. He is rebuked by the Lord and called a wicked servant. But he is still a servant of his master. 

So Paul’s words in I Corinthians 15:2 should not surprise us. They are consistent with Jesus’ teachings. Only if a believer holds fast to the good news message can he be spiritually healthy at the Judgment Seat. Only a persevering believer will be found “holy… blameless, and above reproach” at the Judgment Seat of Christ (cf. Colossians 1:22-23, 28-29). No wonder Paul concludes I Corinthians 15 by saying, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (15:58). Jesus will reward the faithful believer who holds fast to the gospel.