THE CHRISTIAN - THE JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST – PART 1 OF 3
[A]. THE INTRODUCTION
In the first half of this study on Judgement we studied The Great White Throne, a frightening and difficult study to do. We come this time to a whole new picture in judgement as we centre our thoughts in heaven. Now we have glory, and the face of the Lord Jesus Christ does not cause heaven and earth to flee away in fear. We have the glorious One who said, “Come unto Me all you who labour and are weighed down.” We stand before the Redeemer of our souls. He is looking at us. How do we feel? His love is clear to see.
Such a range of emotions COULD BE there. We don’t know, but would you permit me to mention a few of them. Love would be the outstanding one. Gratitude would be high on the list, for He has ransomed us from sin’s domain and brought us in freedom to His side. Awe will be present because the majesty of heaven would be beyond the human mindscape. Even for faithful Christians I think trepidation might be present also.
I have kept the final emotion until last. It is shame. Will we be ashamed before Christ for our lack of love, gratitude, awe, service and the selfishness we often had when working for the Lord? Will we know that we had many, many years to be faithful in service but were spasmodic and even poor in that commitment. YES, I know I am speculating because we don’t know how the Judgement Seat of Christ operates.
I believe Paul hints at the possibility of shame at the Judgement Seat in this verse in the wider sense – {{1 John 2:28 “Now, little children, abide in Him so that when He appears, we may have confidence AND NOT SHRINK AWAY FROM HIM IN SHAME AT HIS COMING.”}}
I may or may not mention this later on, but unlike the great white throne, I am not inclined to think that this will be a mass judgement where everyone is present like at the Great White Throne, but souls are dealt with individually. I am reasoning that the Judgement Seat of Christ will be for each, when each enters heaven. Of course it will be different at the Rapture when hundreds of millions enter heaven all at once.
One last thing in this Judgement for believers. Most scholars and Christians believe that children who have not reached their age of accountability or a conscious position of rejecting Christ, will be in heaven. I do not believe that these or the infants that die will be judged at this Judgement Seat for rewards for obvious reasons.
Let me remind you again that some of that is reasoned speculation as I try to work through the great event in heaven. This is not for controversy as some love to be controversial and reject a reasoned position. Let us proceed with the breakdown of all this.
[B]. WHAT WAITS FOR CHRISTIANS IN JUDGEMENT?
Christians face a judgment but an entirely different one from the unsaved. We shall look at this passage – {{Hebrews 9:26–28 “. . . but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (27) Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and AFTER THIS COMES JUDGEMENT, (28) so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”}}.
Man is appointed to death and then to judgment. However even though verse 27 can be understood as being a universal truth, I believe this Hebrews passage is applying more to Christians. They are the ones who have availed themselves of His sacrifice putting away sin, and waiting for that grand appearance (the Rapture) with eagerness. There is something wrong with a Christian who is not waiting eagerly for the Lord. One Christian said to me, “Christ might not come back for hundreds of years. They have been saying that for a long time.” That is not the right attitude.
The judgment for Christians is that which is known as The Judgment Seat of Christ (sometimes referred to as the “Bema”). The judgment seat will have NOTHING TO DO WITH DEATH OR PENALTY. Its purpose is not for condemnation but for REWARDS. These verses shed some light on this matter –
(1). {{John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, AND DOES NOT COME INTO JUDGMENT, but has passed out of death into life.”}}. There are only two sides of the fence – one side is death and judgement, and the other is life and reward.
In passage (1), we are told the righteous will never come into judgement - for those who believe and have eternal life - so Christians will never be judged. However this word “judgement” in verse 24 must be understood as that eternal judgment of condemnation and not the Judgment Seat for Christians, which has nothing to do with life or death because they are already the living ones with eternal life. It is a whole new purpose that is presented to us.
(2). {{Romans 4:8 “Blessed is the man whose sin THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”}}
The Romans verse in passage (2), tells us our sin will not be taken into account but this can only mean the sin of separation, that is, the sins that have separated us from God. Once we become Christians, that sin that meant eternal separation and death, will no longer be taken into account because we are blessed with eternal life. BUT there is the matter of sins as a Christian I will do later. That, however, has nothing to do with the sin that is the subject of Romans 4:8.
(3). {{Romans 14:10 “But you, why do you judge your brother, or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? FOR WE SHALL ALL STAND BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF GOD.”}}
Passage (3) is a serious one. It concerns the partial Christian (the opposite of impartial) who takes judgment into his or her own hands and condemns a brother in the Lord (because of pride or personal status negating the practical instructions of Romans 12). It is not for us to judge another man’s servant for we are all to appear before the judgment seat ourselves, before the proper Judge, our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.
I believe this verse clearly says, “Don’t judge because you are going to be judged anyway.” Let us at all times encourage and edify our fellow Christians because our numbers are small and the days are tough so don’t start snapping the strands of our Christian rope one by one with judgement and REJECTION, and do damage to the cause of our Lord. Those who are elders or organisers or reviewers in Christian service, be aware in humility.
There is a very interesting expression here that indicates yet again the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says “THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF GOD” but we know this event for Christians, to be “the judgment seat of Christ” {{2 Corinthians 5:10 “for we must all appear before THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST . . .”}}, but Jesus is God, perfect God and perfect man. In case one might wonder if we should ever judge or discern, I say “Yes”, BUT not our fellow believers to condemnation. We must judge error and false teaching of the wolves. We need discernment, and discernment comes with wisdom, and wisdom is enhanced by the word of God, and the word of God is to no avail if it is not read or studied, and any correction must be done in gentleness.
(4). {{2 Corinthians 5:10 “. . . for we must all appear before THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST, that each one may be RECOMPENSED for HIS DEEDS in the body, ACCORDING TO WHAT HE HAS DONE, whether good or bad.” ((The AV translates as “the things done in his body” and the NASB as “deeds”.))
Passage (4) is a serious verse. We are going to spend a bit of time on it. None of us likes having to give an account, or having what we do scrutinized, and we get nervous and anxious, at least I do. I sometimes think, and know, that I am misunderstood. The verse is very clear that we all will undergo this, but we are the redeemed of the Lord, so is this meant to be a stressful time?
I can not see it as that, but you hear speakers and hymns speak of being ashamed when we stand before our Lord, and all that, so how do/will we feel? How profitable a servant have we been? Has our desire always been to serve the Lord in love and to promote His cause? The verse speaks of recompense and makes it clear that it relates to good and bad. I know 1 John 2:28 talks about shrinking back in shame at His coming. Although I don’t see it playing out at the Bema, it very well might. All I can say is be an active and faithful soldier of Christ so that does not happen.
Are we going to be recompensed before Christ’s presence and judged for the bad? This is a very difficult area and I am not sure I totally have the mind of the Lord here. What is the bad (what is useless, of no profit)? Is it the wrong things done, the wrong things we do, and wrong attitudes we have as Christians, the wrong motives, the times of sin we entered into (unrepentant, for confession brings forgiveness)? Is it a worthless list of service for the Lord done in self-pride or carelessness, or to be recognized by others for their acclaim? Is it the hurt done to believers we have caused? Is there going to be penalty, and if so what sort of penalty? These may all be valid questions and I don’t know if they can be answered properly but we will look into this.
(5). {{Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls AS THOSE WHO WILL GIVE AN ACCOUNT. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”}}
Passage (5) is yet again a serious one for those in Christian leadership and ministry. They too will have to give an account to God of their stewardship. The one in ministry is required to give account to the Lord also of those in his charge and the hope is that it can be a joyful account. This is the one I find scary.
[C]. GOD HAS APPOINTED US TO JOY, NOT SORROW
The presence of the Lord will be a position of joy forever. Would God cause it for us, that in eternity in heaven, then on earth, and then in the New Jerusalem, we will carry around with us disappointment, a sense of failure, regret eating us away, remorse, guilt? I find it very hard to reconcile that with the verses we have later in Revelation – {{Revelation 21:4 “and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”}}
Along with with the idea in Peter – {{1 Peter 1:8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, YOU GREATLY REJOICE WITH JOY INEXPRESSIBLE AND FULL OF GLORY.”}}. Joy is such an outcome of salvation that I can’t see sorrow controlling an unprofitable child of God after the judgment seat of Christ. Honestly, I am not able to give any concrete ideas on this, just how I feel about it. It will be sad that a Christian would stand before the judgement seat of Christ and his Christian life just count for little, but I don’t think that one will be a sad heap of misery for eternity because he let the Lord down here on earth.
I hope to address this later but I think the purpose of the Judgement Seat is to reward and not to find fault to condemn an unprofitable life. In all of this one thing is very clear! While it is still day, let us be sold out for the Lord in service, in support of workers, in our biblical studies, in promoting the work of Christ!
