THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
Please open your Bible to 2 Corinthians 5, for today’s message, “The Judgment Seat of Christ.” This message is so important that I tremble at the thought of not getting this right.
Of all the sermons I have preached, this sermon and this series on the Eternal Rewards is among the most important. If Christians truly knew the seriousness of the Judgment Seat of Christ, it would fill them with a holy fear to live a godly life. Many Christians are totally unprepared for the moment when they stand before Jesus Christ at His Judgment Seat. I believe the main reason why there is such a lack of holiness and zeal for the Lord is because most Christians do not understand the impact the judgment Seat of Christ will have on them in eternity. I assure you it is the most serious moment you will ever encounter, and it is imperative that you are prepared for that day. By God’s grace, it is my prayer this message will open your eyes to the importance of being prepared for the Judgment Seat of Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:9 We make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 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. 11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men... NIV
THE BEMA SEAT
In the very near future, every born-again believer will stand before Jesus Christ to give an account of the life we lived on this earth. Imagine that moment. Imagine standing before Jesus, the eternal King of the ages, at His Judgment Seat and not being prepared for it.
For those who are prepared, it will be a moment of great joy. But for those who are not prepared, it will be a moment of deep shame. It is absolutely imperative that you are prepared for that day, because the decision Jesus makes that day, will last forever.
That’s why now, right now, is the only time you have to prepare for eternity. I cannot stress enough how important this is.
THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
What the Judgment Seat of Christ about?
First, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:9, this moment is so important that your number one goal in life is not riches and fame, or the American dream, but to please Christ. He said, “we make it our goal to please him…”
Why? Because at the Judgment Seat, Jesus will determine if your life on earth was pleasing to Him, and in this series, I will show what that means. But for now, know that it is vital that you live to please God and not the world.
Second, Paul says we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. The word “all” refers to all believers and the word “must,” tells us it is a sure thing. It is not an option…
Every believer must appear before the Lord of heaven at His judgment seat. The Greek word for “appear” is phaneroo, which means to be “turned inside out.” That means He will personally evaluate, and examine every point of our lives including our motives, to determine our faithfulness to serve Him, follow Him and obey Him.
This judgment is not to condemn us. This judgment is an opportunity to reward those who were faithful and pleasing to God in their daily life regardless of the hardships and trials they encountered. God is keeping an accurate record of every action of your life, good or bad. And on this day, He will examine what we did and our motive for doing them.
For example, He knows every good you have done in His Name and for His glory. No matter how small the deed, He knows it, and He wants to reward you for it, even something as small as giving someone a cup of cold water.
At the Judgment Seat, He will search every crevice of your heart, not to condemn you, but to reward you. It is His sincere desire to find something in your life He can reward. I think the Lord will try to give everyone something, but there are those who will receive far more than others because of their faithful sacrifice in giving and serving to please God.
However, many Christians, including me, will be shocked and embarrassed, because we used our time on this earth for ourselves, and not for Christ. Remember, Jesus said; store your treasures (where?) in heaven and not on earth, which means we must have an eternal perspective. But sadly, many Christians are not living for eternity, and they will be greatly ashamed and embarrassed before Christ.
OUR ETERNAL JUDGE
The most beautiful truth about the Judgment Seat is that our judge is Jesus Christ, the one who loved us and died for us, and made it possible for us to have eternal life. He wants us to do well at His Judgment Seat, and it is His burning desire to give us great rewards.
However, it is vital that we understand the seriousness of this moment. When we stand before Jesus on that day, He will not be just the meek Lamb of God; He will be the All-Knowing, eternal King of kings. When we stand before Him, we will see Him as John saw Him.
In Revelation 1, John saw the indescribable glory and majesty of Jesus. John described Him as the eternal judge of heaven and earth, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end of all things. The splendor of His majesty was so dazzling that His head and hair were whiter than snow. His eyes glowed with a holy fire. The sound of His voice was greater than a thousand Nigeria Falls. The glory of His face was brighter than the sun, and out of His mouth is a two-edged sword that can divide the depths of our hearts. John was the beloved disciple of Jesus. He walked with Jesus and saw Him after His resurrection. And yet, when John encountered Jesus in His eternal glory, he fell at Jesus feet like a dead man.
My point is, if John, who knew Jesus, was overwhelmed by His glory, what will it be like for us? As the King of kings, who holds all authority in heaven and earth, He will examine our works and our motives. He will lay bare every secret thing under the scope of His holy light of judgment. Knowing He is the one who will search our hearts, and every detail of our lives should cause us to tremble in holy and godly fear. That’s why we must prepare for eternity. The grace of God for eternal life is free, but the rewards of heaven are not free. The rewards of heaven are earned by your faithful living and righteous works on this earth.
Jonathan Edwards once said, “I intend to do all I can to do well at the Judgment Seat of Christ.” That’s my goal; to do whatever it takes to do well at the Judgment Seat of Christ. I do not want to be ashamed when I stand before my Savior, Jesus Christ.
It may be that you are a Christian, and you are going to heaven, but you are currently living a life that is not pleasing to Jesus. If you continue that lifestyle, and do not repent, you will be ashamed at this most important moment of eternity. Now is the time to turn it around so that you can reap eternal rewards. That brings us to this next point…
THE REWARDS OF HEAVEN
Some Christians think rewards in heaven will have no special meaning, because everyone will receive the same rewards. But that is so not true.
The rewards you receive from Christ will be extremely important, because they represent your love for Christ while you served Him on this earth, and very importantly, the rewards you receive from Christ represent your heavenly privileges, and they are forever.
How you live for Christ now, is the very measurement He will use to determine if you are ready for the reward of heavenly responsibilities. Remember in one of His parables, Jesus said to those He rewarded, “Well done My good and faithful servant. You were faithful in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”
I cannot stress enough how important it is to hear Jesus say those words to you. Hearing those words is so important, it must become a priority in your life. The person you are today, will determine the rewards you will receive from Christ tomorrow in eternity. If you do not prepare now, you will not hear those words, and you will miss out on the most important moment of your life. Again, I tell you with all earnest, that your rewards in heaven are more important than you can ever imagine and now is the time to prepare.
There is a belief among Christians in America, who think they can live a fruitless Christian life and not be held accountable. Since God has forgiven all my sins, I am going to heaven and that’s all there is. However, there is far more to it than that.
Once you are forgiven, God expects you to live a holy and godly life. He expects you to love Him, follow Him and obey Him. For those who do, He promises great rewards. But for those who a live a fruitless life, you may be saved, but you will lose great rewards.
What happens at the Judgment Seat? How will Jesus test our works?
THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
The answer is found in… 1 Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. NIV
First, every person is building a life for eternity on one of two foundations. You are building
either for eternal life or eternal death. But only those who build on the foundation of Jesus
Christ and His word will receive eternal life and great rewards.
Second, all of us are building for eternity, and it is very important to use the right materials.
In verse 12, Paul gives us a list of building materials that are divided between those materials that can withstand a fire, such as gold, silver and precious stones, and those that will certainly burn in a fire, such as wood, hay, and straw. All of us are building with these materials. The big question is, which kind of materials are we using? Are we building with gold and silver, or are we building a life out of wood and straw?
The point is, the materials you use in building your life will mean the difference between a life of great rewards, or a life of little or no rewards. Now look at verse 13.
I Corinthians 3:13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day (Judgment Seat) will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.
When we stand before Jesus at His Judgment Seat, He will test the quality of our works with His holy fire, and what survives His fire, will be the basis of our rewards. For example…
Gold – Soft and can be molded, and represents a heart that loves and honors God.
Silver – Harder than gold – represents our faithfulness and commitment to God even in trials
Precious stones / Gems – Represent the light and character of God shining through you.
In a fire, these precious metals actually increase in their purity. At the Judgment Seat, Jesus will examine our merger works and by His grace, He will purify them so they will bring great glory to His Name and at the same time, honor us with rewards for faithfully serving Him.
Then there are those materials that cannot stand the test of God’s Holy Fire.
For example, wood is a very useful building material. Wood can also be made to look beautiful. But no matter how strong or beautiful wood is, it will still burn and turn to ashes under the Lord’s holy fire. Some Christians (like me) will think they have a gold brick, only to find their gold brick was actually a painted piece of wood that will burn to ashes. Beautiful wood represents those who serve Christ with the wrong motive. It’s all about them. They do good works, but they demand to be recognized and honored.
Hay or straw is virtually useless in building a house. Straw Christians are those who disobey God and His word. A straw Christian produces very little fruit to show for their life on earth. According to I Corinthians 3:14, those who build their lives with wood, hay and straw, will be saved, but their works will be burned up and the loss of rewards and position in heaven will be great. Precious gems like gold and silver, which are very small ins size, are worth far more than a whole mountain of wood and hay.
What kind of materials are you using to build your life? Are you building with precious gems
and gold, or are you building with wood and straw? The materials you use will ultimately determine your rewards in heaven.
PASTOR SHEPHERD
Many years ago, I heard the remarkable story about a pastor named Don Shepherd from California. In the late 1980’s Pastor Shepherd was in the hospital with double pneumonia. While he was there, he had an amazing vision that completely changed his life. As he lay in his bed, he felt himself slipping away from this life into heaven.
Immediately, he found himself in a long line of people. Standing beside him was a beautiful angel that he discovered had been assigned to him during his earthly life.
He noticed that everyone in line held a book and some people had several books. At the front of the line, he could see a beautiful glow of light that he knew came from the throne of God.
Suddenly the line moved and he found himself in the most beautiful place he had ever seen. He could see a huge number of people standing in front of the throne with their book or books lying in front of them that he somehow knew represented the works each person had performed while on earth.
Suddenly, Pastor Shepherd was filled with a godly fear because he realized he was at the judgment seat of Christ, and that he was not prepared for this moment.
Standing in front of him was a well-known evangelist with several large books that recorded his earthly deeds and ministry. And standing next to the evangelist was a small woman with only one book in her hand. Pastor Shepherd realized she was someone who was virtually unknown by the world’s standards, and that she was a faithful servant to God.
Suddenly, from the Christ’s throne, fire shot forth like liquid lighting striking the books that were in front of each person. As the fire struck the books, they immediately turned into either
beautiful gemstones or ashes. Pastor Shepherd remembered the words of I Corinthians 3 how the holy fire of God would test the quality of each person’s work.
Pastor Shepherd said he had never heard such noises of mixed emotions. Some people were laughing and rejoicing, while others were weeping and wailing. He saw the books of the evangelist were burned to ashes as the evangelist cried out in anguish, “All of this was in vain.” However, the woman’s little book turned into a pile of beautiful gemstones.
Then he said an amazing and fearful thing happened. Each person was brought before Christ at what appeared to be a golden altar. In His right hand, Jesus held a beautiful golden scepter.
The evangelist was once again before Christ with another set of books that recorded his personal life on earth. The whole host of heaven watched as Jesus lifted His scepter over the books of the evangelist. Immediately the revealing fire of Christ’s judgment came forth and consumed the books, and again, they turned into ashes as the evangelist life was completely revealed. The evangelist hung his head in great shame as Jesus somberly said, “Enter into
your rest.”
The came the small woman as she stood before Christ and humbly placed her little book on
the golden altar that consisted of her personal life on earth.
Once again Christ lifted his golden scepter and sent His revealing fire of judgment over her
single small book. The fire from the scepter of Christ consumed the book, but this time instead of turning into gemstones, it turned into pure gold.
Then with His own hands, the Lord molded a special crown of gold for the woman. He took the gemstones she had received for her good works and personally placed them in the crown with His own personal design and unique form. Then Christ placed the personal, handmade crown on the woman’s head, and with a big smile, He said, “Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joys of my kingdom.”
Suddenly, it was Pastor Shepherd turn. As he stood before Jesus, a great godly fear swept over him. But instead of judging him, Jesus and held up His hand, and said, “Go back, and prepare yourself for this day.” In the next instant, Pastor Shepherd was back in his hospital room, completely healed of his double pneumonia.
IN CLOSING…
When you stand before the Lord Jesus and He examines your life by fire, what will he find?
Will He find you faithful or unfaithful? Will He find you pleasing, or not pleasing? Will He find you prepared or unprepared?
Regardless of your position in life, whether you are a farmer, factory worker, a banker, schoolteacher, a truckdriver or a housewife, all of us are building for eternity, and all of us have an opportunity to be well rewarded by Christ based on our faithfulness, and our commitment to Him.
The book of Malachi says that God has a book of remembrance. It would be interesting to ask God, what did you put in your book today about my life? Every day is either a plus day or minus day, or a mixture of the two. Every day is either a day of gold, silver, and precious stones, or it’s a day of wood, hay, and straw or perhaps a mixture of the two.
Every single day, including today, you are making an eternal investment with your life that
will show up in eternity. I sincerely believe there will be people at the Judgment Seat the world has never heard of, who will rule and reign with Christ. There will be many who will receive great rewards, and there will also be many who will receive few rewards, if any.
Jesus said… Revelation 3:11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. NKJV
Don’t let anyone, or anything, keep you from receiving an eternal crown of great reward. Don’t lose heart. Don’t give up. Be faithful to Jesus Christ until He comes, and when He returns, He will reward you with crowns and great rewards. Glory to God!
One final point that I find refreshing and inspiring, is that Paul wrote these words to the church at Corinth, which was a church that was rotten with sin. The wonderful point is this; Paul was telling them that even though they were a very sinful church, with all kinds of sins, they could still repent, and get their life turned around, and still gain great eternal rewards.
If that describes you, now is the time to repent and to submit your life fully to Jesus Christ and be faithful to Him. Now is the time to prepare for the Judgment Seat of Christ.
