@Eric – I had initially read “in the body” as akin to “of the flesh”, that is, our sinful lives apart from Christ, but that could create some weird sort of Gnostic “physical work” vs “spiritual work” dichotomy. If you take the approach that this is a reward judgment, based on post-confessional works done “in Christ”, then that “2008 American evagelical view” makes more sense inasmuch as it’s referring to the corporate body.

I’ve certainly found sympathy with a corporate reading in many Pauline texts, e.g. election, and so I’m inclined to lean that way again. But I’ll try to take a closer look at the Greek and see if what’s under the covers, so to speak. Certainly it deserves another post!

The NIV renders 2nd Cor. 5:10 as “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” And I take that “body” reference to be “members of the Church” or “Christians”… but maybe that’s a 2008 American evangelical view?

http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/faq/bema.html has a completely different take on this whole “Bema seat” issue… and uses the King James: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

The NLT makes that even clearer: “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”

So, what “body” are we really talking about? And if it’s simply talking about the good or evil done while walking around on Earth… what alternative is there to “sinning while in a human body”? Do we take that as “merely” poetic? Do we spin off into some other sort of heresy (like, “Well, clearly there are pre-incarnate souls, because Paul has to clarify that this judgment is of actions done while folks had bodies”)? Something in-between?

I’m over-thinking this, aren’t I?

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”

The two are inextricably linked, ElShaddai. And I think you have put them in the right perspective, in that the one determines salvation and the other the reward.

John Wesley considered the man who did his good deeds but had no faith. He said the deeds were “but a shadow” of what they would have been had the man had faith. They are like an empty shell. The man who has faith, his deeds are full because of his faith.

What I noticed is that it concisely addresses the “do Christians sin?” question. We know we do, but various false doctrines and heresies and concerns have sprung up around that — losing one’s salvation, defining “deliberately keep on sinning”, etc.

So it was just refreshing to be reminded in a Biblically-sound way that “bad things” can indeed be done while IN the body without affecting salvation itself. (And, because this is the judgment of believers, one can’t weasel out and say, “in the body” simply means “an unbeliever had invaded the community for a time”.)

Does that make any sense?

Yes, our rewards are based on our good works (1 Cor 3:12-15).