Paul’s references to eschatological loss and salvation “only as through fire” in 1 Corinthians 3:15 have puzzled many biblical scholars. The majority view understands the suffering of loss in this verse as a lesser degree of eschatological reward. The reference to salvation “but only as through fire” is thus interpreted as a kind of salvation “by the skin of one’s teeth.” The person is judged according to their works and is found lacking in some respect. They do not suffer eschatological judgment but receive a lesser reward. A minority view argues against a soteriological reading of 1 Corinthians 3:15. One significant exegetical problem with the minority view is Paul’s frequent use of σῴζω in reference to soteriological salvation. This paper builds on Matthew Pawlak’s research on sarcasm in Paul’s letters. I argue that Pawlak’s definition and several of his proposed contextual and linguistic signals of sarcasm are useful towards a sarcastic reading of 1 Corinthians 3:15. A sarcastic reading of the verse makes better sense of Paul’s argument and use of shaming rhetoric in the first section of the letter (1:4–4:21).