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By: Michael Tao
" ...Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." -- 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
From above, we understand that some Christians are not serving God; when it is time to face the judgement from Christ, their buildings will be burned down during this test of fire, However, they can still be saved, rebellious Christians do not end up in hell. Let us continue.
Same chapter vv16-17 says," Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
So God will destroy the physical part of a person, which is his body or physical life. This is not teaching that one will lose his salvation, otherwise it contradicts vv. 10-15.
Another evidence is in 1 Corinthians 5:4-5, which teaches that God will allow Satan to destroy one's "flesh" - "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."
This sin of fornication with step mother was so great that Paul said "it is not so much as named among the Gentiles". How could one in such a sin not lose his salvation, if loss of salvation is indeed a biblical teaching? However, Paul said "to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus".
Through the destruction of Satan, one can either repent and return to God, or may die prematurely, but in either one of these two situations - "the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus". Christians will not lose their salvation to hell.
The Bible does not teach God will destroy the spirit of his children who are in rebellion - God chastens them.
