If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames.
Parallel translations
- WEB If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.
- KJV If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
- NKJV If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
- NASB If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire.
- NLT But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
If one's work is burned up, the builder suffers loss yet is still saved, though only as one escaping through flames. Believers may lose reward for poor work but not their salvation.
Overview
Paul clarifies that a builder whose work fails the test loses the reward, suffering real loss, yet 'he himself will be saved.' This shows that salvation rests on the foundation, Christ, not on the quality of one's works. Many faithful Christians read this as distinguishing the security of salvation from the assessment of service; some apply it more broadly, but Paul's clear point is that the saved person escapes 'as through fire.'
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 2 Jn 1:8Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.
- 1 Cor 3:12–13If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,
- Jude 1:23save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.
- Rev 3:18I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
- 1 Pet 4:18And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
- Zech 3:2And the LORD said to Satan: “The LORD rebukes you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you! Is not this man a firebrand snatched from the fire?”
- Ps 66:12You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us into abundance.
- Amos 4:11“Some of you I overthrew as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
- Acts 27:21After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete. Then you would have averted this disaster and loss.
- Acts 27:44The rest were to follow on planks and various parts of the ship. In this way everyone was brought safely to land.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 3:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.