The bema seat judgement

“If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.” 1 Corinthians 3:12-13
In a previous post, we looked at the foundation that our Christian life must be built upon: Jesus Christ Himself. Now, let’s look at Paul’s teaching on the building itself, since he says, “each one should be careful how he builds” (1 Cor. 3:10).
Paul lists six things that can be used in the building. Three are good, strong, and of high value: gold, silver, and costly stones. Three are weak and of lesser value: wood, hay, and straw. The first three are able to withstand fire, but the last three are not. This is important, because fire is the means by which our building will be proven. Whatever remains after the fire will be reflected in our reward (1 Cor. 3:14).
Fire is symbolic in Scripture of judgement. However, the judgement in view here is not the Great White Throne judgement (Rev. 20:11-15), which is for unbelievers. In fact, the judgement here is not even for determining if someone is saved or not (see 1 Cor. 3:14 – ‘he himself will be saved’). This is a judgement to determine rewards, like the podium at the end of the race. In Greek, it’s called the bema seat.
Elsewhere in Scripture we read that our works are judged not according to what they were, or how many people saw them, but according to our motives. This is what determines whether our building materials are gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay and straw. A day is coming when the sum total of our works will be tested, according to the motives behind them.
They say, you can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead. For salvation, the only thing that matters is that you are grounded in Jesus Christ as your foundation. For rewards, the only thing that matters is that the motives behind your good works are right and pleasing to God.