According to the Bible, every human
being will stand before Jesus Christ to receive judgment!
THERE ARE TWO DISTINCT JUDGMENTS
1. Every Born
Again Believer
will stand before Jesus Christ at the Judgment
Seat Of Christ.
2.
Every Non-Believer
(those who have rejected God’s Free Gift Of Salvation)
will stand before Jesus Christ at the Great
White Throne Judgment.
Revelation
20:15 (NIV) says
“Anyone
whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into
the lake of fire.”
In
this post, we will discuss the Judgment
Seat Of Christ.
The
Great
White Throne Judgment
only applies to Non-Believers
and will be discussed in a later post. You don’t want to be
included in that judgment!
THE
JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
At
the Judgment
Seat Of Christ, there
will be
an exhaustive evaluation of how we lived our life.
Every Born
Again Believer will be rewarded for
their services. What we do now will determine our rewards or loss of
rewards at the Judgment Seat Of Christ.
“Not
guilty, let him go free!”
What would those words mean to you if you were on death row?
Before
we received Christ as our Savior, we were on death row – justly
condemned to death for repeatedly breaking God’s holy law. But,
after we received Christ, God declared us not guilty and has offered
us freedom from sin and power to do his will.
Romans
8:1 (NIV) says
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus.”
The
Judgment
Seat Of Christ
will be a
time of reward, not punishment.
Romans
14:10-12 (NIV) says
“You,
then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat
them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment
seat. It is written:
‘As
surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow
before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’
So
then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.”
When
we stand before the Judgment
Seat Of Christ, God
won’t be considering what our neighbor has or hasn’t done. He
will only be considering what we have or haven’t done.
THE
GREAT COMMISSION
What
Are You Doing For The Kingdom Of God?
Matthew
28:18-20 (NIV) says
“Then
Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of
the age.’”
In
the above Scriptures, every born again believer is commanded by Jesus
to spread the good news of the Gospel. Have you shared the Gospel
with your family, friends, neighbors, associates, etc.? Have you led
anyone to the Lord? Or, are you just saved, going to church, taking
up space in a pew or chair and waiting for your eternal rewards?
What you do with your life now will determine the rewards or loss of
rewards that you receive at the Judgment
Seat Of Christ.
THINK
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING:
1
Corinthians 3:13-15 (NIV) says
“their
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 person’s work. If what has been built survives,
the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder
will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one
escaping through the flames.”
1
Corinthians 4:5 (NIV) says
“Therefore
judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes.
He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the
motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise
from God.”
Christ
will evaluate our contribution to the Kingdom of God and the Day
(Judgment
Seat Of Christ)
will reveal the sincerity of our work. God will determine whether or
not we have been faithful to Jesus’ instructions
Good
work will be be rewarded; unfaithful or inferior work will be
discounted. If we are unfaithful or our work has been inferior, we
will still be saved but, like people escaping from a burning
building, all our rewards will be lost.
1
Corinthians 15:58 (NIV) says
“Therefore,
my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you
know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
2
Corinthians 5:10 (TLB) says
“For
we must all stand before Christ to be judged and have our lives laid
bare before him. Each of us will receive whatever he deserves for the
good or bad things he has done in his earthly body.”
1
John 2:28 (NIV) says
“And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears
we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.”
Our
present lives will affect what will happen at the Judgment
Seat of Christ.
The
greatest consequence of unfaithfulness here on earth is that it
disappoints Christ.
That
is a sobering thought - we could be ashamed as we stand before the
Lord and see our lives laid bare. At the same time, it should
encourage us with the prospect of receiving His lavish rewards if we
serve Him faithfully during our time here on earth.
Like
the Apostle Paul, when your day of departure comes, will you be able
to say the following”
2
Timothy 4:6-8 (NIV) says “the
time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for
me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all
who have longed for his appearing.”
End
Of Post