Prophecies: The Judgement Seat of Christ

It is not unusual in corporate America for employers to engage their employees in an annual evaluation process called “an end of year performance review.” Government employees, corporate employees and even School teachers face these end of year reviews. On those occasions a manager sets down with an employee and with report in hand, they review the employee’s job performance for the past year.

Likewise and much more importantly someday every Christian must face God and give an account for their life. For some it will be a time of great joy and victory, for others it will be a time of embarrassment and shame. Think of it. How will you stand on that day? Will you approach his presence with confidence or will you stand before Him red-faced and embarrassed over a life of waste and neglect? In 1 John 2:28 we are warned, “And now, little children, abide in Him, that whenHe appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”

Since it has been a while since we have been able to continue our study of “Amazing Prophecies of the End Times” let me reacquaint you with what we have already covered. In the previous lesson we studied that we as Christians are presently waiting for that home-going of believer’s called the rapture, which designated in the words of Jesus to John in Revelation 4:1 to “come up here.” After the rapture when Jesus meets the believer’s in the air and calls them to be with Him in heaven, What’s next?

We believe that this judgment for believers will occur immediately after the rapture. While the tribulation is taking place on the earth, the church will be in heaven receiving rewards and enjoying the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

[In Heaven – Bema Seat Judgment & Marriage Supper of the Lamb]
Rapture	Second Coming
Church Age İ 3 ½ yrs	3 ½ yrs ß Millennium

Something that may never have occurred to you is that, believer’s who have died over the last two thousand years have not yet been judged for their faithfulness or lack there of, that will occur at the judgment seat of Christ. So then the judgment seat will occur in that period between the saints arrival in heaven at he rapture and the return with Christ at the end of the Tribulation period.

There are eight future judgments given in Scripture but I just want to look at the two that are for our study the most important ones. [These judgments include. The Tribulation Judgments (Rev 6-19), The Judgment of Israel [The Lamb & Talent Judgment] (Matt 24:51-25:30, Ezekiel 20:33-44),The Judgments of the Nations [Sheep & Goat Judgment] (Matt 25:31-46,Joel 3:11-16) – Gentiles, The Judgment of the Anti-Christ and False Prophet (Rev 19:20), The Judgment of Satan (Rom 16:20, Rev 20:10), The Judgment of the Fallen Angels ( 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6).]

By far the most important judgments concerning our study of end-times prophecy are the Judgment Seat (Bema) of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgment. These judgments are very different and it is essential that we understand how and why.

The Judgment Seat of Christ also called the “Bema Seat” judgment is spoken of in Romans 14:10 “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” This judgment is the one spoken of in Rev 22:12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”

The “Great White Throne” Judgment spoken of in (Rev 20:11-15) is the judgment of the Unsaved. “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. (12) And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. (13) The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. (14) Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (15) And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire”

The Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgment are the most important of these eight judgments. We need to recognize that the decision that we face is not whether we will be judged, but rather where this judgment will take place.

We will discuss the details of the Great White Throne Judgment in a later lesson, but for now we just need to establish that this judgment is for the unsaved. Only the unsaved will stand before God at this judgment to determine the degree of punishment in Hell.

Now let’s return to a consideration of the Judgment Seat of Christ, in order to understand what this judgment that believer’s face is all about we will ask and seek to answer three questions.

In 2 Corinthians 5:10 Paul’s warns believer’s that there is a judgment that all believer’s must face. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

The word that translated in this verse “judgment seat” is literally the Greek word “Bema Seat” was a familiar term to the people to whom Paul wrote this letter. “In the large Olympic arena, there was an elevated seat on which the judge of the contest sat. After the contests were over, the successful competitors would assemble before the bema to receive their rewards or crowns. The bema was not a judicial bench where someone was condemned; it was a reward seat. Likewise, the Judgment Seat of Christ is not a judicial bench… the Christian life is a race, and the divine umpire is watching every contestant. After the church has run her course, He will gather every member before the bema for the purpose of examining each and every one and giving the proper reward to each.” [Lehman Strauss. God’s Plan for the Future. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan) p. 111]

The fullest consideration of this judgment is found in Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth (1Cor 3:9-15). “For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. (10) According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. (11) For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (12) Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, (13) each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. (14) If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. (15) If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

Here we are told that everything we have in our lives and everything that we have done with our lives can be classified into two broad categories. There are those that are indestructible and therefore worthy (gold, silver and precious stones) and those that are destructible and therefore unworthy (wood, hay and stubble).

First, It is not to determine whether one goes to heaven. An individual’s eternal destiny is already determined in this life, based on whether or not he or she trusted Christ for salvation. Eternal life is a gift not a reward. (Eph. 2:8-10)

Secondly, It is not to punish believer’s for sins committed either before or after their salvation. The Bible is very clear that the believer’s sins are forgiven. The Psalmist says, (103:10-12) “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. (11) For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;(12) As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

(Isaiah 38:17) “Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.”

(Isaiah 44:22) ^“I have blotted out, … your transgressions, And …… your sins. "

(Hebrew 8:12) “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."

(1 John 1:7) “… and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

So then the primary purpose of the judg-ment seat is to assess and reward believers for the way that they have used their opportunities and discharged their responsibilities.

One of the great rewards given to a faithful Christian is the approval of Christ Himself. Nothing in this world will compare with the thrill of hearing the Lord say, “well done good and faithful servant, you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” (Matt 25:21)

A second part of our reward in heaven will be the presence of persons we have helped spiritually. When I think of that I think of the song “Thank You For Giving To The Lord” written by Ray Boltz. The song tells of a dream of arriving in Heaven and as he strolls over heaven he encounters individuals who just want to say thank you. The song says,

“One by one they came
Far as the eye could see
Each life somehow touched
By your generosity.

Little things that you had done
Sacrifices made.
Unnoticed on the earth
In heaven now proclaimed.

And I know up in heaven
You're not supposed to cry.
But I am almost sure
There were tears in your eyes.

As Jesus took your hand
And you stood before the Lord.
He said, "My child look around you.
Great is your reward."

Can you imagine the joy one would feel to find someone in heaven, who said, “If it weren’t for you I would not be here.”

Third, the reward the Christian will receive that is spoken of as a crown. At the Judgment seat of Christ all believer’s are summoned into His presence both the confident and the ashamed. The believer will at that time either receive a reward (1 Cor. 3:8) or forfeit that reward (1 Cor.3:15).

The awards or rewards conferred by the Lord from his “judgment seat” are symbolized by using the figure of a crown. The Bible speaks of five crowns that will be awarded the believer who has been faithful.

(James 1:2-3 Rev 2:10) is given to those who have given their lives for the sake of the gospel.

(1 Peter 5:2-4, 1 Tim 4:1-2) is given to faithful preachers and teachers of God’s word.

(2 Tim.4: 8) This crown is given to those who live with a constant expectation of the Lord’s soon return and thus live soberly and moral lives in this present world.

· The Victor’s Crown ( 1 Cor. 9:25-27) is apparently based on how effectively we control the impulses of this body.

I believe that “the” greatest joy of receiving the rewards will be to have something to lay at the feet of our Savior. In Rev 4:10-11 are told, “The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne saying, “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power, For you created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”

Don’t you want to hear the words of Jesus. “Well done good and faithful servant?”

Don’t you want to hear someone in heaven say, “If it were not for you I would not be here?”

Don’t you want to have something to lay at the feet of your Lord and Savior in worship?

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