The Judgment Seat Of Christ (7)

Judge Who Crowns The Winners
Who Rejects The Losers

"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (one rejected or disqualified)." (I Cor. 9:24-27)

Who decides, once the race has ended, who is winner, and who is rejected? The judge! Therefore this text directly relates to one's appearing before the judgment seat of Christ.

Facts About The Race/Fight

1. The Christian is comparable to an athlete. In the two metaphors given by the apostle, we say that the Christian is a runner and a fighter (boxer or pugilist).

2. The race or the fight stands metaphorically for the Christian life lived. Therefore, as long as the Christian is alive in this world, he is running and fighting. The race and the fight are not over till the Christian has died.

3. It is after the race has been run and the fight has been fought that the athlete appears before the Bema for judgment and reward. (Remember "after death, the judgment")

4. Every saved person, every believer, is a victor. On the other hand, every loser is an unbeliever.

5. Winning the race or fight signifies final salvation. Losing signifies final condemnation. To affirm that any of the winners of the contest go to Hell is an error. Likewise, to affirm that any of the losers, or "rejects" ('castaways') go to Heaven is an error.

Based upon these facts, it is absurd for our Hardshell brothers to affirm that

1) the runners and the fighters receive their judgment and reward while they are still engaged in running and fighting.

2) the appearing before the Bema is continuous while the race or fight is still in progress.

3) the Bema judgment appears before the death of the believer, so that they believe in "after the Bema then death" rather than "after death then the judgment."

4) the judgment of victory has nothing to do with salvation and the loss of victory has nothing to do with loss of salvation.

There are those who shall "in no wise lose his reward." (Matt. 10: 42; Mark 9:41) The scriptures in numerous places equate the finally and eternally "saved" with those designated as "overcomers" or "victors." All true believers are overcomers. All hypocrites and liars, or fake believers, are not overcomers, but are losers. Further, the scriptures picture believers as active in their running and in their fighting, and running with purpose and determination. What do they overcome? They overcome their native depravity, the flesh and its moral corruption. They conquer all through the Lord Jesus and the power of his word and spirit. They overcome trial and temptation, and resist the evil world and "the accuser of the brethren." Though the devil walks about like a roaring lion to devour them, they are kept from being devoured.

Not Of Him Who Runs?

"So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." (Rom. 9:16 kjv)

Some argue that this one statement by the apostle makes it impossible to interpret I Cor. 9 as having to do with eternal salvation. If both passages are dealing with the same salvation, it is argued, then there is a clear contradiction. Paul says "it (salvation) is not of him who runs" and then says "run that you might obtain (salvation)." However, though there might be a seeming contradiction in the minds of many, there is no real contradiction. This will become apparent when the whole of scripture, or of what Paul wrote elsewhere on the matter, is consulted.

The text in Romans is dealing with being "chosen" to salvation, not with the means or conditions of salvation, or with salvation itself. Election is not salvation, contrary to what the Two Seed or Parkerite Hardshells have taught. Election was before the world began, and concerned "children not yet born," yet salvation was not before the world began. God's choice of sinners to salvation was not based upon anything done by those sinners. It is unconditional. It is the gracious act of God in sovereignty, as Paul emphasized in his citation of the oracle "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."

The "it" is God's choice or will to show favor and saving mercy. That choice "is not of him who wills and runs." The choice was not based upon human decision or indecision, nor upon human worth or merit. God chooses men to salvation not because of some natural or merited distinction that he discovers among men, but based merely upon his own sovereign choice. He shows mercy to one, but shows it not to another. No desert here. So, here we have the answer to the apostle's questions - "who makes you different from another?" And, "what do you have that you did not receive (from the Lord)?" And, "if you received it (from the Lord as his gift), then why do you boast as if it were not a gift?" (I Cor. 4:7)

Men are chosen to salvation, and if chosen to salvation, then chosen to faith, and chosen to repentance, and chosen to become an overcomer.

So, paraphrasing, Paul says - "election to salvation and divine favor is not based upon the will (choice) or running of a person, but the means to effect that salvation of the one chosen includes the work of the Spirit in effecting the salvation to which they have been chosen and predestined." Paul makes this clear in his epistle to the Thessalonians where he says "God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." (II Thess. 2:13) The choice is not what is "through" but rather it is "salvation" that is "through." Election is not "through belief." Salvation is "through belief."

Commented Dr. Gill:

"so run that ye may obtain. The apostle accommodates or applies the above account to the Christian's course of life, and exhorts to run in it in like manner as racers do in a race. The "stadium", or "race" plot in the which the believer runs, is this world, or this present life; he is only a runner now and here, for no sooner is the time of his departure come, but his course or race is finished."

That is what I believe. That is the position of our Baptist forefathers.

Gill continued:

"...so should believers be emulous to outdo each other, to go before one another, in faith and holiness; striving in the strength of Christ, who should do most service for him, and bring most glory to him: moreover, as they ran in the way that was marked out for them, not turning to the right hand or the left, so should believers run in the way of salvation, which is Christ; in the way of holiness, faith, and truth; in the way of holiness, faith, and truth; and in the path of duty and ordinances, which are all clearly pointed out unto them: once more, as they while running kept their eye upon the mark, so should believers, while running the race set before them, be continually looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of faith: to say no more, as they kept running till they came to the end of their race, so should the saints; there is no time for stopping or looking back; remember Lot's wife. The end of running is to obtain the prize, the incorruptible crown of eternal life; not that this is to be procured in a way of merit by running; for the best services of the saints have no merit in them, they are previously due to God, nor can they be profitable to him; and besides, are done by the assistance of his own grace and strength; nor is there any proportion between the best works of men, and this crown of glory, life, and righteousness; yea, salvation, or eternal life, is expressly denied to be of him that willeth, or of him that runneth, and is always represented as this crown is, to be a free gift: the meaning of the expression is, that believers are to run on in their Christian race, that they may, and when they are come to the end of it they shall, as he that came foremost in the race did, stretch forth their hand, lay hold on, and receive the crown which the righteous Judge will give them; and is the true import of the word made use of here, and the sense the same with ( 1 Timothy 6:12 ) . "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life", and denotes that the persevering saint shall enjoy the crown."

Again, I give my hearty amen to these comments. There is no contradiction in affirming that God's choice is "not of him who wills or runs" and saying "run that you may obtain." Gill, and other great Calvinists, did not see the contradiction that our Hardshell brothers see in affirming an unconditional election and a conditional salvation. They saw that the unconditional promises guaranteed all the conditional promises. This was affirmed by Sylvester Hassell himself.

In "The Heavenly Race" (see here) C.H. Spurgeon was preaching on Paul's words "So run, that ye may obtain." (1 Corinthians 9:24) He wrote (emphasis mine):

"We are continually insisting upon it from day to day, that salvation is not of works, but of grace. We lay this down as one of the very first doctrines of the gospel. "Not of works, lest any man should boast." "By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." But we find that it is equally necessary to preach the absolute necessity of a religious life for the attainment of heaven at last. Although we are sure that men are not saved for the sake of their works, yet are we equally sure that no man will be saved without them; and that he who leads an unholy life, who neglects the great salvation, can never inherit that crown of life which fadeth not away. In one sense, true religion is wholly the work of God; yet there are high and important senses in which we must ourselves "strive to enter in at the strait gate." We must run a race; we must wrestle even to agony; we must fight a battle, before we can inherit the crown of life. We have in our text the course of religion set down as a race; and inasmuch as there be many who enter upon a profession of religion with very false motives, the apostle warns us that although all run in a race, yet all do not obtain the prize: they run all, but only one is rewarded: and he gives us, therefore, the practical exhortation to run that we may obtain; for unless we are the winners we had better not have been runners at all; for he that is not a winner is a loser; he who makes a profession of religion, and does not at last obtain the crown of life, is a loser by his profession; for his profession was hypocrisy or else formality, and he had better not have made a profession, than fall therein.

What, then, is it, for which we ought to run in this race? Why heaven, eternal life, justification by faith, the pardon of sin, acceptance in the Beloved, and glory everlasting. If you run for anything else than salvation, should you will, what you have won is not worth the running for. Oh! I beseech every one of you, make sure work for eternity, never be contented with anything less than a living faith in a living Saviour; rest not until you are certain that the Holy Spirit is at work in your souls.

Thus have I noticed what it is we are to run for. And now the Apostle says, "So run that ye may obtain." I shall notice some people who never will obtain, and tell you the reason why, and in so doing, I shall be illustrating THE RULES OF THE RACE.

There are some people who certainly never will obtain the prize, because they are not even entered. Their names are not down for the race, and therefore it is quite clear that they will not run, or if they do run, they will run without having any warrant whatever for expecting to receive the prize. There are some such here this afternoon: who will tell you themselves, "We make no profession, sir—none whatever." It is quite as well, perhaps, that you do not; because if you did, you would be hypocrites, and it is better to make no profession at all than to be hypocrites. Still, recollect, your names are not down for the race, and therefore you cannot win...You cannot expect to win heaven unless your names are entered for the race.

Then there is another class whose names are down, but they never started right. A bad start is a sad thing. If in the ancient races of Greece or Rome a man who was about to run for the race had loitered, or if he had started before the time it would not matter how fast he ran, if he did not start in order. The flag must drop before the horse starts; otherwise, even if it reach the winning post first, it shall have no reward. There is something to be noted, then, in the starting of the race.

Let us remember, however, that there never was a true new birth without much spiritual suffering, that there never was a man who had a changed heart without his first having a miserable heart. We must pass through that black tunnel of conviction before we can come out upon the high embankment of holy joy; we must first go through the Slough of Despond before we can run along the walls of Salvation. There must be ploughing before there is sowing; there must be many a frost, and many a sharp shower before there is any reaping.

(Note: Obviously Spurgeon believed that conviction preceded birth, not vise versa)

But we often act like little children who pluck flowers from the shrubs and plant them in their gardens without roots; then they say how fair and how pretty their little garden is; but wait a little while, and their flowers are withered, because they have no roots. This is an the effect of not having a right start, not having the "root of the matter." What is the good of outward religion, the flower and the leaf of it, unless we have the "root of the matter" in us—unless we have been digged into by that sharp iron spade of conviction, and have been ploughed with the plough of the Spirit, and then have been sown with the sacred seed of the gospel, in the hope of bringing forth an abundant harvest? There must be a good start; look well to that, for there is no hope of running unless the start be right.

Again, there are some runners in the heavenly race who cannot win because they carry too much weight. A light weight, of course, has the advantage.

One of them, as he starts, lays aside every weight, he takes off his garment and away he runs. There goes the other poor fellow, he has a whole load of gold and silver upon his back. Then around his loins he has many distrustful doubts about what shall become of him in the future, what will be his prospects when he grows old, and a hundred other things. He does not know how to roll his burden upon the Lord. See how he flags, poor fellow, and how the other distances him, leaves him far behind, has gained the corner, and is coming to the winning post.

There is also another thing that will prevent man's running the race. We have known people who stopped on their way to kick their fellows. Such things sometimes occur in a race. The horse, instead of speeding onwards to the mark, is of an angry disposition, and sets about kicking those that are running beside him—there is not much probability of his coming in first.

You will not be judged for other men's sins, you will not be saved by their faith, you will not be condemned for their unbelief. Every man must stand in his own proper flesh and blood at the bar of God, to account for the works done in his own body, whether they have been good or whether they have been evil. These persons are not very likely to win the race, because they turn to kicking others.

He that would be saved, must hold on to the end: "He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." Stop and loiter in the race before you have come to the end thereof, and you have made one of the greatest mistakes that could possibly occur. On, on, on! while you live; still onward, onward, onward! for until you come to the grave, you have not come to your resting place until you arrive at the tomb, you have not come to the spot where you may cry "Halt!" Ever onward if ye would win. If you are content to lose, if you would lose your own soul, you may say, "Stop," if you please; but if you would be saved evermore, be on, on, till you have gained the prize.

Those who have been "entered" in the great roll of the Covenant before all eternity shall persevere, by the aid of the good Spirit. He that began the good work in them, shall carry it on even unto the end. But, alas! there are many who run on their own account and in their own strength; and they are like the snail, which as it creeps, leaves its life as a trail upon its own path. They melt away; their nature decayeth; they perish, and where are they? Not in the church, but lost to all hope. They are like the dog that returned to his vomit, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. "The last end of that man shall be worse than the first."

And now a more urgent consideration still. Recollect, your race is win or lose—death or life, hell or heaven, eternal misery or everlasting joy. What a stake that is for which you run. If I may so put it, you are running for your life; and if that does not make a man run nothing will. Put a man there on yonder hill, and put another after him with a drawn sword seeking his life, If there is any run in him you will soon see him run; there will be no need for us to shout out to him, "Run, man, run" for he is quite certain that his life is at hazard, and he speeds with all his might—speeds till the veins stand like whipcords on his brow, and a hot sweat runs from every pore of his body—and still flees onward. Now, he looks behind, and sees the avenger of blood speeding after him; he does not stop; he spurns the ground, and on he flees till he reaches the city of refuge, where he is safe.

Let this life be thy six days of ever-toiling faith. Obey thy Master's commandment; "labour therefore to enter into this rest," seeing that there are many who shall not enter in, because through their want of faith they shall not be able. If that urge not a man to speed forward, what can?

These are wonderful words of Spurgeon on this passage. The views expressed on it by Gill and Spurgeon represent the understanding of it by our forefathers.

Our Hardshell brothers err in assuming that whatever is necessary for salvation cannot be also what is commanded of sinners. But, this proposition is not scriptural. It is rather one they have invented and taken to the scriptures and one which they make the scriptures, "hook or crook," to square with.