There are books written on everything else. The other day I was at the Moody Bible Institute library thinking that surely there are lots of books written on the Judgment Seat of Christ. Now I find it interesting that something that motivated the Apostle Paul so often has received so little attention in evangelical circles and in our churches. There is no escape because no matter where you run, God will find you, and you will be there. “For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ.” And those who do not know Christ as Savior must appear at the Great White Throne Judgment. Notice what the text says, and if you like to underline in your Bibles, look at that little word must in chapter 5, verse 10. Are you acquainted with the word hooky? Do you understand what I mean? Sometimes our parents thought we went to school, and some of us didn’t go to school. But there is another similarity, and that is that attendance is compulsory. So one of the similarities is that both of them are based on works. Now salvation is not by works at all – “not by works lest any man should boast” – but our rewards are by works. And here in this judgment, the judgment for Christians, it is also based on the deeds done in the body, whether good or bad. The wicked in the Great White Throne Judgment are judged, I should say, based on the deeds that they have done, the Scripture says. For one thing, both of them are based on works. Now there are some similarities between these two judgments. That decision is made in this life, and it is already made based on where you appear, which of the judgments you are at, because while it is true that hell will not be the same for everyone, heaven will not be the same for everyone either because we shall all be judged by Christ. Neither of these judgments determines whether you go to heaven or hell. The Judgment Seat of Christ or the Bema is the place where all believers in Jesus Christ – those who have trusted Him as Savior – shall appear and before whom they shall be judged. That’s where the small and great stand before God and the books are opened because hell will not be the same for everyone. The fact that they are there means that they will be banished by God, but the question is how much punishment is commensurate with what they did with what they knew. And the reason for that judgment is to determine the degree of their eternal punishment. And they shall be judged on the basis of their works. The Great White Throne Judgment is the place where all unbelievers of all ages shall appear before God. Now don’t confuse the Judgment Seat of Christ, which is the topic of our message and messages, with the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20. Those of you who have been to Corinth know that you can actually go today to the Bema, where the Bible says the Apostle Paul came to when he visited Corinth.Īnd now Paul says that we shall all stand there. It’s the tribunal where cases were tried, and the place where the judge stood. The Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ is sometimes referred to as the Bema Seat because that word is the Greek word for judgment seat. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.” Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. Verse 10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Our ambition should be to be pleasing to Him. He’s been talking about dying and living, and saying that whether we die or whether we live, it doesn’t really matter. And in order to understand this passage of Scripture we must see it in context. Take your Bibles and turn to 2 Corinthians 5 where the Apostle Paul makes an astounding statement. And that is exactly what is going to happen. You can’t hire an attorney to represent you so that he can say it better. You can’t put your own twist on what really happened. You’re looking into His eyes and everything that you have ever done – your whole life – is present before you. Well just imagine being one-on-one with Jesus Christ.
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