These two judgments will take place after the RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH.
• Judgment Seat of Christ
• Great White throne Judgment
Every one of us one day will appear before the Lord in one of these judgments…EVERYONE!
Look at Romans 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Notice, the Bible says EVERY ONE OF US SHALL GIVE ACCOUNT OF HIMSELF TO GOD.
That means…
• The persons that are sitting besides you
• The person sitting behind you
• The person sitting before you
• That means everyone of us.
But notice also in this verse who we are not going to give account of ourselves too…
• Not to our neighbors
• Not to our friends
• Not to our preacher
• But to God!!!
What a sobering thought!
Knowing this let us take a closer look at these two judgments.
I. FIRST, THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
The Judgment Seat of Christ is where every Christians will appear before Christ at this judgment.
They will not be judged for sin, to determine where they will spend eternity.
If you make it to the Judgment Seat of Christ, you are already in heaven, because this takes place after the church has been raptured.
This is the Judgment where all Christians must stand before God and give account of the way they lived the Christian life.
Illus: You see, as God’s ministers preach God’s Word, there are Christians who will not heed the Word of God and do as the Word of God tells them they should do.
But at the Judgment Seat of Christ, they are going to WISH THEY HAD.
Look at 2 Cor. 5:10, we read, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
• But not only are we going to have to stand before the Lord and give account for the GOOD and the BAD,
• But also, our MOTIVES will be tested to see if we did what we did for the right reason.
You see, God is fair in His Judgment, and it would not be fair:
• For God to reward someone who DID GOOD but did it for the WRONG REASON!
• For God to reward some who DID GOOD but did it for the RIGHT REASON!
With the same reward!!!
Before we receive a reward in heaven our works and motives will be judge
Look at 1 Cor. 3:11-15, we read, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 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.”
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, all the GOOD DEEDS we have done are going to be tested by fire:
• And if they pass the test, we shall receive a reward.
• If not, our works will be burned.
However, notice, the Christian that has been saved by the marvelous grace of God will always be saved even if his/her works do not pass the test.
The Bible says in verse 15, “…But he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
You see, we are all there at the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST because of the GRACE OF GOD THAT SAVED US!!!
NOT OUR WORKS! Our good deeds for the right motive will be out eternal rewards, not our salvation.
At the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST CHRISTIANS WILL:
• Give account to God for the GOOD AND BAD things they did
• Give account to God for WHY they did the things they did
Also, at the Judgment Seat of Christ Christians are going to be rebuked by God harshly for the way they lived their Christian life.
In 2 Cor. 5:10, we read, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
(1) This is going to be the time when some Christians are going to see the damage they did with their loose tongues, and loose living.
(2) Some will see that their life was a stumbling block to their loved ones and friends, who will die and go to hell because of the way they lived the Christian life.
(3) This is going to be the time that some parents are going to see the damage they did to their children by not living a godly life before them.
(4) This is going to be the time when some Christians are going to give account for the lost souls they refused to witness to, and their blood is going to be on their hands.
(5) This is going to be the time when some Christians are going to have to give account to God Almighty for the un-confessed sins they never would repent over.
This is not going to be a very good time for some Christians in heaven.
God is not please with the way some folks live the Christian life and they are going to have to stand before God and give account for the way they lived the Christian.
Illus: As I observed the way some Christians live the Christian life, I often think I would not want to be in their shoes at the Judgement Seat of Christ!!!
While the tribulation period is taking place on earth, God is going to be taking care of this business of the Judgment Seat of Christ that deals with Christians in heaven.
But something else will happen in heaven while the tribulation period is taking place on earth -THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB WILL TAKE PLACE…
Marriage is always an exciting time.
The MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB is one of the most exciting times for the Bride of Christ (Church).
We read about it in Rev. 19:7-8, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
In these verses of scripture, the wife is the church---THE BRIDE OF CHRIST.
For a long time, the church (Bride of Christ) has been looking forward to this day.
Illus: Once a couple falls in love and a date is set for their wedding, the bride has a lot of things to do. And every day, as that time gets closer, she gets more excited.
But notice verse 7 says, “…And his wife hath made herself ready.”
HOW DO WE MAKE OURSELVES READY?
1) By joining a church? This is something a Christian should do but it will not save them.
2) By tithing weekly? This is something a Christian should do but it will not save them.
3) By doing good works? This is something a Christian should do but it will not save them.
4) By getting baptize. This is something a Christian should do but it will not save them.
The fact is you can do all these things and you still won’t be ready to meet the Lord Jesus.
The wife hath made herself ready by receiving the price that Christ paid for her sins. Once a lost person does this, they have done everything that needs to be done to make themselves READY!
This is going to be the wedding of weddings. In this wedding their will be no pre-nuptial agreements, because this wedding will last for eternity.
Let’s look at a few things in this wedding.
A. THE PROOF OF THE MARRIAGE
Look at 2 Cor. 11:2, we read, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”
Look at the word “chaste” this is the Greek word, “hagnos” which means CLEAN, PURE.
When we accepted the Lord Jesus, all of our sins….
• Past sins
• Present sins
• Future sins
… were put under the blood and remain there.
If this was not the case, there would not be one of us in heaven…NOT ONE!
Illus: For example, suppose one day you committed a sin as a Christian. That is, you did something you knew that you should not do as a Christian. But suppose the Lord came back that day, WOULD YOU GO TO HELL BECAUSE YOU COMMITTED THAT SIN?
NO, YOU WOULD NOT, because we are saved by grace, not by our works.
The fact is, when the rapture takes place, most Christians will have sin in their life.
But the precious blood that was shed for our sins was for PAST SINS, PRESENT SINS and FUTURE SINS.
We are the BRIDE OF CHRIST. And God says, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy…”
Illus: An older couple wanted to counsel with their pastor. Before the counseling session the pastor wondered what the problem with this older could be was having domestic problems. He was shocked when he discovered that the wife was jealous over him and did not like the way other women of their age were looking at him.
Now I mention that, because it is incomprehensible how the great God of heaven could love us so much that He is jealous over us, with a “Godly jealousy.”
Just as every husband and wife wants their mate to be faithful to them, God wants us to be faithful to Him.
Look at the word “espoused”, this means that we are the Bride of Christ, and one day we are going to be joined with Christ in a heavenly marriage.
We have looked at THE PROOF OF MARRIAGE but now let us look at…
B. THE PLACE OF MARRIAGE
The place of the marriage is in heaven.
What a beautiful scene this will be!
Many young couples choose to get married in our church because it is a beautiful place to get married.
Illus: When couples get married, they generally find a beautiful location to get married.
But never has there been a marriage like this marriage. It is going to take place in HEAVEN!
Every person who has been born-again will participate as the bride of Christ.
• The bridegroom, of course, will be the Lord Jesus Christ.
• The church will be the BRIDE of Christ.
In the marriage situation, THE BRIDE IS THE FOCUS OF ATTENTION.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was conducting a wedding and the groom showed up in the last few minutes before the wedding was to start.
He un-wrapped his tuxedo to put it on. To his surprise it was three times too big for him.
He turned to Dr. Belger and said what can I do? I cannot get married in these Bermuda shorts.
I told him to put on the tuxedo and he did, and it was so big it looked like he was wearing a clown suit.
I told him don’t worry; nobody is going to be looking at you…THE BRIDE IS GOING TO BE THE FOCUS OF ATTENTION!!!
But notice something else about bride of Christ-
The Bible says SHE HAS MADE HERSELF READY
Look at what the scripture says in verse 7, “… and his wife hath made herself ready.”
HOW DOES A PERSON MAKE HIM or HERSELF READY TO STAND BEFORE THE LORD?
The only way a person can make himself ready to stand before the Lord Jesus is by:
• Recognizing they are lost
• Recognizing they are doomed to a Christ-less eternity
• Recognizing that the only one who can save them is the Lord Jesus Christ
• Receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour
The Bride of Christ stands before the bridegroom ready, because of ONE REASON, the Lord Invited her to be His bride and she accepted the invitation!
She hath made herself ready!
Now some believe that the Marriage Supper of the Lamb will take place after the Judgment Seat of Christ for a reason.
Why?
Notice, the Bible says, “She hath made herself ready”. This is past tense; this is something she has already done.
We who have accepted the invitation to be the Bride of Christ, will stand at the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST, and the Bible says our works shall be judged, both GOOD and BAD.
Notice, it does not say we shall be judged for our sins, because we were Judged for our sins when we accepted Him as our Saviour.
HE WAS JUDGED for us so that we will not have to be judged!
The Judgment Seat of Christ is not a judgment that deals with sin, but with GOOD WORKS and BAD WORKS.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE BAD WORKS?
I personally believe (this is my opinion), that the BAD means that THE WRONGS in our life are going to be MADE RIGHT!
This is why some believe that the MARRIAGE FEAST will take place after THE JUDGING OF OUR WORKS!!!
For example, there are some folks who have said some awful things about other Christians, and they refused to make things right, but in heaven, at the Judgment Seat, WRONGS will be made RIGHT!
Notice, God does not call them sins, because when the Lord saved us, He died for:
• Our past sins
• Our present sins
• Our future sins
He died for every sin we ever committed. So, we at the Judgment Seat of Christ, will not be judged for sin.
But some WRONGS will be made RIGHT at the Judgment Seat of Christ!
But once those things that are classified as BAD have been dealt with, it can then be said, “… and his wife hath made herself ready.”
Notice something else---SHE HAS A WEDDING GOWN ON
What is the wedding dress she is clothed with?
The Bible tells us in verse 8, “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”
Look at the last part of this verse, “…FOR THE FINE LINEN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS.”
Now this is confusing to many people.
For example, those who believe in salvation by grace AND works are quick to point out that they believe the Bible in this scripture passage is teaching salvation by works WHEN IT TALKS ABOUT THE “RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS.”
Why?
Because they say the wedding dress is the “Righteousness of saints.”
This could not possibly be what the Bible is teaching. No one will ever stand before the Lord in THEIR OWN RIGHTEOUNESS!!!
Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.”
According to the Word of God, anyone that would try and appear before God in their own RIGHTEOUSNESS, would appear before Him in filthy rags.
We are not saved by our works.
Ephesians 2:8-9 states clearly how we are saved. We read, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.”
So what does this verse mean when it says, “…FOR THE FINE LINEN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS”?
The question we need to ask ourselves is, “WHERE DID SHE GET THE FINE LINEN?”
The Bible tells us.
Look at verse 8 again, “And to her was GRANTED that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: FOR THE FINE LINEN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS.”
Look at the word “granted” in this verse. This is the Greek word, “Didomi” (Pronounced as “Did'-o-mee”) which means BESTOW, BRING FORTH, DELIVER (UP), GIVE, GRANT, RECEIVE.
There are two kinds of righteousness involves us Christians.
Illus: When we got saved, the Lord imputed (gave) us His righteousness to us and we gave our sins to Him.
This is SAVING RIGHTEOUSNESS.
He took our filthy rags and we took His Righteousness.
Look at Romans 4:24-25, “But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, Who was delivered for our offences and was raised again for our justification.”
2. The second kind of righteousness comes once we are saved, and we do the RIGHT KIND OF DEEDS TO PLEASE HIM with the right motives.
The Bible says, “For the fine linen is the righteousness of Saints”.
The Greek word for righteousness is “dikaioo”, (Pronounced as, dik-ah-yo'-o) which means - INNOCENT--FREE, JUSTIFY, BE RIGHTEOUS.
When the Lord looks at His bride, He is not going to see her as a Bride that had been unfaithful to Him, but as a Bride that has never sinned before.
HOW CAN HE DO THIS?
Because He has forgiven her of her sins, cast them in the sea of forgetfulness never to be remembered, and now He sees her through His own righteousness.
As we stand before Christ, we will stand in HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
We have looked at THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST for Christians.
Thank you for your kind attention so far but let us briefly look secondly at…
II. THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT. (For sinners)
Look at Revelation 20:11-15, we read, Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
If you are a lost person you will appear before the Lord at THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT and He will judge you for your sins.
This judgment does not determine salvation. Everyone at the Great White Throne is an unbeliever who has rejected Christ in their life and now is doomed to the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Lost person are you aware that every day God has a diary and he writes down every evil thing you do…EVERYTHING!!!
And when you stand before the Lord at the Great White Throne Judgment the Bible tells us you will be judge for every evil thing you did.
• Every evil deed
• Every evil thought
• Every curse word
• Every lie
God is keeping record on you every day and when you stand before the Lord the Bible tells us HIS BOOK WILL BE OPEN AND YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE ACCOUNT TO God.
The fact that you are there means you are lost for eternity.
WHAT PUT YOU THERE at the GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT?
This may shock you…
• It was not your sins that put you there…
• It was not you lying that put you there…
• It was not you're drinking that you put you there…
• It was not adultery that put you there…
• It was not you're stealing that put you there…
What put you there at the GREAT WHITE THROUNE JUDGMENT WAS THE FACT THAT YOU WOULD NOT COME TO CHRIST FOR SALVATION.
HAD YOU DONE THAT YOU WOULD NOT BE THERE!!!
Look at John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. That is why every lost person will be there.
The invitation to receive Christ was given over and over and every time you IT WAS GIVEN YOU would not come to God for Him to give you eternal life.
The very fact that you are there means you are lost for eternity!!!
The reason for this judgment is to determine the degree of punishment you will receive.
Illus: For example, in our judicial system when a person murder someone and they go to trial they will receive a greater punishment than someone who stole a car.
Illus: There are people who have never heard the gospel that will die and go to hell. But people like Americans who have heard the gospel over and over will be held to a greater punishment.
If all degrees of punishment were the same this would not be a just punishment.
Our judicial system is a judgment of fairness and so is God in His judgment.
He has now severely judged the inhabitants of the earth.
WAS HE RIGHT TO DO WHAT HE DID?
He certainly was.
Look at Rev. 19:1-2, we read, “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.”
Once the Lord has Judged all the lost and they are cast into hell notice the people of heaven will be saying Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments.
People in heaven will not be angry with God that their loved ones and friends were cast into hell.
Why?
In our glorified bodies all human ties will be broken with the people in heaven and the people in hell.
And when the Lord judge them they will know He has judge them FAIRLY.
After all, He did not send them to hell they sent themselves. If they had accepted the price, He paid for their sins they would not be there.
Conclusion:
Illus: As we close, I would like to tell you a true story of a man who was going to be electrocuted for killing a man.
The Southern Baptist Evangelist E.J. Daniels tells us about this situation that took place in his ministry.
He was preaching at a church and after the service a man told him that he worked at the prison, and they were going to electrocute this fellow in a few days who had murdered a man. He asked him would he like to attend the electrocution it might help him in his ministry.
His first response was NO but as he thought about it, it might be helpful for him as a minister to attend so he told him he would go with him.
When they arrived, they were carried to a small room where only 12 or 15 could set and the room had a large glass window before them to witness the electrocution.
About a dozen of them were sitting there and no one was saying a thing due to the seriousness of the moment waiting for what they knew was fixing to take place.
Soon they could hear some noise down a long hallway. The noise got louder as they set there, and they could hear this man who was fixing to be executed screaming for someone to help him.
The scream got louder and louder as the man was being brought down the hall.
Soon a door was open, and this man was surrounded by guards, one on left and one on his right and one behind him pushing him.
As he saw the crowd waiting for the electrocution, he looked at them and pleaded for someone to help him as he is being pushed into the death chamber.
It took all three of the guards to place him in the chair. They put a strap around his waist to secure him to the chair, and then they put straps on his arms and legs and he is begging all the time for those who were watching for someone to help him.
Dr. Daniels said all those in attendance could not help to feel sorry for him. Some were even wiping tears from their eyes.
They finally got him strapped down where he could hardly move. Even his head was strapped down, but his eyes still cut toward the viewers begging for help.
And finally, they took a wet sponge and placed it on the top of his head and lowered this steel cap on the top of his head.
The guards left the room, and he was left alone waiting the signal for him to be electrocuted.
The signal was given and immediately when the voltage hit his body as much as he could he launched forward.
The signal was given the second time and he launched forward, and Dr. Daniels said he could not take any more and he stood up and said, “My God what a price you are paying for your sins!”
As bad as that situation is, it will be much worse when the ungodly stand before the Lord at the GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT and they are cast into hell FOREVER!
My GOD WHAT A PRICE THEY ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THEIR SINS.
We have looked at:
I. THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST FOR CHRISTIANS.
II. THE WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT FOR SINNERS.
