Daily Radio Program with Charles Stanley - In Touch Ministries - The Final Exam - Part 1

Episode Date: February 20, 2026

The ultimate final exam will evaluate the quality of work we've done for the Lord.Donate: https://store.intouch.org/donate/generalSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the In-Touch podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, February 20th. Does the thought of standing before God in final judgment unsettle you even just a little? Today's message reminds believers that in Christ we have nothing to fear. You remember when you came to high school the last year and there was exams. And when you finished that exam, you said, oh, I'm not glad that's over with. Then you went to college and you had that last exam, you said, oh, thank God, this is over with. Then maybe you went to some further education and you finished that last exam. You said, this is it no more.

But there is one more. It's the final exam. It's the ultimate exam that no one escapes. No one can avoid. It's that ultimate exam that I want us to talk about in this moment. message, and I want you to turn, if you will, the First Corinthians chapter 3, beginning in that fifth verse, and I want to give you a little background of what's happening. The Apostle Paul planted the Corinthian Church on one of his missionary journeys. And he was there for about 18 months,

and he planted the church, and people were saved, and then, of course, others came through to speak, and one of those who came through to speak was Apollos, and Apollos was a rather good speaker. So some of the people there began to compare him with Paul. And it's interesting that the scripture says in the 18th chapter of Acts, while you're still holding in the first Corinthians there. Now, Jew named Apollos and Alexandria by birth, an eloquent man came to Ephesus, and he was mighty in the scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John. So he was very eloquent man. And as a result, some of the people in Corinth said, now look, you know, Paul planted this church, we understand that,

but Apollos is some kind of speaker. And so they had this little rift going between who is the best and so forth. And it's from that that the Apostle Paul deals with a very, very vital issue concerning our relationship to Jesus, our accountability to him, and this whole issue of receiving rewards. So I want you to begin with me, if you will, that in mind. In verse five, what then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollus watered, but God was causing the growth. So then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now, he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You God's field, God's building,

speaking of the church there. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder, I laid a foundation and another is building on it, but each man must be careful how he builds on it. But no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any man, a woman, of course, likewise, now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, or precious stones, or wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident. That is, it's going to be shown, declared, manifest, revealed. For the day will show it, because it is to be reveal with fire and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.

If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved yet so as through fire. What in the world does it mean to be to have our works burned up and to be saved so is by fire? We are talking about this final judgment, this final exam we're going to take. Well, first of all, I want you notice that it is the will of God, the plan of God, that his children be rewarded. That's part of his plan. And it's interesting where it all began, because if you go back to the 15th chapter of Genesis, and this is the Old Testament now, for some who are not familiar, after these things, the word of the Lord came to Abraham and a vision saying, do not fear Abraham, I'm a shield to you. Your reward shall be very great. Now, if you turn to the 19th Psalm, and the psalmist says here, speaking of what we would call the law of God, the Bible,

he says, the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise and simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandments of the Lord appear in lightening the eyes and on and on he goes. And so then he's, He says, moreover, by them, your servant is warned. In keeping them, there is great reward. That is, he didn't say it's just the reward. He says, great reward. And so, rewards are the will and purpose and plan of God for us. Then if you come to the New Testament and you come to the sermon on the Mount, for example, in the fifth chapter of Matthew, listen to what happens here, because he's telling us in this fifth chapter, one of the most familiar parts, blessed of those who so and so, then he comes down and he says,

verse 10 of this fifth chapter, blessed of those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great, for in the same way they persecute the prophets which were for you. What is this great reward? That is, if he says it's great, it must be awesome. Turn to the Obit One chapter to the sixth chapter and here's what you'll find you'll find you'll find jesus again talking about rewards and you're going to hear him say or see him saying here rewards full reward no reward and look if you will in the sixth chapter verse one he says beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them

otherwise you have no reward with your father who is in heaven so no reward so when you give to the poor do not sound the trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues in the streets so that they may be honored by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward in full. And he says, but when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that you, listen, your giving will be in secret and your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And what he's simply saying is this.

And he says this about praying. He says it about fasting and he says it about giving. That from God's perspective, our motive is very, very important. If we do anything to be seen and to get the approval of man, he says, you have your full reward. Don't expect to get any when you get to heaven because you just got it. So what you and I have to remember is this. We are not doing whatever we are doing as a Christian to receive the approval of man. We want to be obedient to God.

If you're doing it for the approval and the applause of others, that's all the rewards you're going to get. Then, of course, Paul talks about rewards, as we see here in this third chapter. and all the way to the last book of the Bible, the Bible is talking about rewards. And so it's God's plan. That is, God desires He has planned to reward us. That is, he plans that you and I would enjoy heaven not only because of its creation, but because God will reward us for our works here in this life. So it's very evident here now, and I want you to remember two or three things.

What is not rewarded for us salvation, that is salvation. is salvation is God's gift. We don't do anything to receive his salvation, his forgiveness of our sin, but to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior through his death at Calvary. So when I hear somebody say, and once in a while I hear somebody say something like this, well, I'm working hard and I'm laying up some good points in heaven. So when I get there, maybe he'll accept me. Totally erroneous. You can't do anything to get to heaven except except the shed blood of Jesus Christ as Calvary as full payment of your sins, place your trust in Him and receive in as your personal Savior. That's how you get to heaven. And that is what Paul is referring to when he talks

about foundation here in this third chapter. So every single person who's saved, you and I receive the gift of salvation, not of works less than any person should boast. Now that you and I have been saved of the grace of God, what happens? Now we are to build upon this foundation a life, and I, listen by our character, our conversation, our conduct, a life that is consistent with the foundation. The foundation is the person of Jesus Christ. That is, when Jesus Christ came into your life, as personal Savior, everything changed. When He forgave you, he forgave you for all the past. Does that mean that there are no consequences to the past?

No, I wouldn't say that. There are some consequences to some sins in our life. But forgiven, yes, absolutely, totally forgiven. So you began a brand new life. Jesus Christ now is your Savior, living on the inside of you, and now each day we live, we live as a result of his strength and his power and his wisdom. The tragedy is that many people who've received Jesus Christ have never been instructed. They don't know what is expected of them. They have no idea and no concept whatsoever of rewards and that there's going to be a final judgment.

They've just heard the idea that if you get saved and you go into heaven when you die and so, you know, just relax. You cannot just relax. And what I want you to see here is, watch this carefully, it is not the foundation that's going to be tested. That's Jesus. That's a subtle issue. It is all the things we have done and failed to do that will be tested in the judgment. So, first of all, it's very evident that he desires to reward us as a result of our works, and we'll talk about what they are in just a moment.

Now, there's the second part that I want you to notice here. And it's an important part that I want to emphasize in what he said in this third chapter of First Corinthians. Look here for a moment. Now we're talking about his plan to reward us individually. Listen to what he says. Verse six. Paul says, I planted, I started the church. Apollos came along and watered it.

He's disciplining him now. But God is the one who causes the grove. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the grove. Now, watch this. Now, he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. He says, each one will receive a reward according to his own deeds. And those deeds are all the things that make up our life. So it's very important what you do as a child of God, because God isn't going to say, let's say what you did.

Well, how did you compare? There's no comparison. When you and I stand before him, it's just you. and Jesus. You say, well, now, I'm going to show it to you. So, hold on. There's no escape this morning. You came. You're in for it. This is the Word of God, and I say that to make it a little easy on you because you're getting ready to get tough. You know why? Because the Christian life is serious business. And so many folks take it sort of nonchalant. Well, I've been saved and I've been baptized. So what else is there to do? Be faithful to God. True to God.

honest before God, faithful to him, trustworthy before him, diligent for him, because we are going to be judged for our actions, our deeds, things that we do, and things that we do not do. And he makes it very clear in this passage. So, first of all, we see that he desires to reward us, that's his plan, and that he desires to reward us individually. That is, not corporately, but individually. Now, the third thing I want us to notice is what he says, and that is, it's his plan, his plan to reward us according to what we build on this foundation. Now, remember that when you trust in Jesus Christ, your personal savior, personally and spiritually, that's your foundation. Because past is past, you've been saved.

Now, from the moment you were saved, you have the foundation of Jesus Christ. Now, if you drive around Atlanta a little bit and you see all of these high rises going up, whether they're businesses or whether it's condos or apartments, whatever it might be. I mean, they go up 30 floors, 40, whatever it might be. If you'll notice, if you've gotten close enough, that before they do that, they build this big hole in the ground. And it's full of steel and this and concrete and all the rest. You know what they're doing?

They're building something that'll hold up all that they're going to stack on top of it. A lot of people do not realize how important that that foundation. is and how important it is in eyes of God what you place on it. But that's what he's saying. He says, for example, he says, one plants, other waters, both working together. Be careful what you build and how you build on that foundation. Now, I can remember I had only been in seminary. Two weeks in the president spoke, and I remember one thing he said, Dr. Williams. But at chapel that morning, he's talking about new students and so forth. And yes, what he said. He said, don't forget this.

If you're going to build something, you have to have a firm foundation. He said, listen, if you're only going to build a chicken coop, you don't need much foundation. But if you're going to build something worthy that last, you need a firm foundation. The only thing I remember, he said. But I remember that while I was there, I was to build a foundation, Theologically and in my life and my relationship to God so that when I got out of seminary, I would have a theological foundation upon which to build and to grow in my life. The moment you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have the foundation.

The question is, what are you building on it? Are you building on that foundation the kind of character, conversation, conduct, works in your life that are consistent with the foundation? You wouldn't go out here and build a foundation that's 25 or 30 feet deep full of steel and concrete if you are only going to build a one-story bungalow on it. God is placed in your life and my life an eternal foundation. That foundation will never be tested, never be tried. It's God's eternal foundation, your life in my life.

What you and I are responsible for is kind of structure we are building on it. The foundation will stand for eternity, but what are you building on that? And if you'll notice now what he says, and this is the important part I want you to get here, listen to what he says. He says, now, no man can lay any other foundations laid which is Christ. Then he says in verse 12, now, if any man or woman builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each person's work will become ever. for the day will show it, it'll be revealed with fire, the fire itself will test the quality of each person's work.

If any man's work, which he's built upon it remains, he'll receive a reward. But if it's lost, it burns up, lose reward, but it won't lose his salvation. Now, here's the issue. What makes up gold, silver, and precious stones? What kind of life is that? Because you see, watch this. What he says is, you and I are building on this eternal. structure, something that fits one of those two categories. The gold, silver, and precious stones,

fire just purifies them. And that's who he is. He's the examiner, the purifier, and the reward. That's who Jesus is. Examines, purifies, and rewards. Thank you for listening to today's podcast titled The Final Exam. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.