THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST, BEMA SEAT OF CHRIST

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (I Corinthians 5:10)

One of the prominent doctrines of the New Testament is the Doctrine of Rewards and the Judgment Seat of Christ. It is a doctrine often ignored or, when taught, it is misrepresented because of the term “judgment” that is used in translating the Greek text.

According to the Bible, there is a day coming when Jesus Christ Himself will return from Heaven, and will raise those who have died in Him from the dead, and will change those believers who are living for Him. He will gather all these redeemed saints together and will take them back to His heavenly home, where they will abide forever with Him in a state of absolute joy and utter perfection. The Bible speaks of this event, called the “Blessed hope of the believer" in several places.

Many hold the opinion that as soon as the rapture takes place; the saints are going to go to Heaven where they will be issued a halo, a harp and a pair of wings. Then they will spend eternity with God. However, before we get to enjoy all that heaven has to offer, we will have to appear, one by one, before God to give an account of the deeds done in these earthly bodies.

The concept of the Bema Seat comes from the ancient Olympics, where a judge would sit on the Bema Seat at the finish line. The judge's purpose was to determine what position the runners came in-first, second, and so on-and then to give out the appropriate rewards. That is the imagery behind what is known as the Bema Seat.

The participants at this judgment are members of the New Testament church. These are people who have trusted Christ as Savior from the Day of Pentecost, until the coming of Christ for His church. It does not include the Old Testament believers. They will have a separate time of judgment and reward. 

This judgment does not determine salvation; that is evident because we are in heaven. We should not look at this judgment as God judging our sins, but rather as God rewarding us for our lives. We will all have to give an account of ourselves. It is very important to not confuse the Bema Seat with the Great White Throne judgment. The judgment seat of Christ is not a place and time when the Lord will mete out punishment for sins committed, it is a place where rewards will be given or lost depending on how one has used his or her life for the Lord. This event takes place after the Rapture of the church in heaven.

Romans 14:10-12 says, “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. . . . So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God” . II Corinthians tells us, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” In context, it is clear that both passages refer to Christians, not unbelievers. The judgment seat of Christ, therefore, involves believers giving an account of their lives to Christ.

At the judgment seat of Christ, believers are rewarded based on how faithfully they served Christ ( I Corinthians 9:4-27, II Timothy 2:5). The Bible speaks of believers receiving crowns for different things based on how faithfully they served Christ. The various crowns are described in II Timothy 2:5, II Timothy 4:8, James 1:12, I Peter 5:4, Revelation 2:10.

  

Since we are going to face Jesus in judgment, and since how well that goes depends entirely on how we behave here. It is important that we understand what it is, what will happen there and how we can prepare ourselves for that day when we will meet Jesus face to face.

WHO WILL PARTICPATE?

This will be a judgment for believers only! There will be no sinners here. They will face God at the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15).

A. IT WILL BE UNIVERSAL

Every believer whether great or small will appear before the throne of Christ and will give account to Him for the deeds done in this body. Some think it will just be the preachers and the Christian workers. However, we will all appear and gave an account before God (Rom. 14:12).

B. IT WILL BE UNAVOIDABLE

Many believers live their lives as if they think they will never have to answer for what they do. In truth, every believer is slated to appear at this judgment seat. There will be nowhere to hide and nowhere to run. When your name is called, you will stand before Jesus and you will face the deeds done here on earth.

C. IT WILL BE UNDENIABLE

There will be no defense allowed before this judgment seat. Every deed will be exposed and will be accounted for in front of all the saints of God. We must understand that God in Heaven keeps perfect records (Matt. 12:36). God sees it all, hears it all, and knows it all (Heb. 4:13, Prov. 15:3). Nothing can be hidden from Him or His judgment.

D. FOR MANY, IT WILL BE UNTHINKABLE

Those things that were done in secret and so carefully concealed and hidden away will be exposed in all their ugliness (Luke 12:3).

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE? The issues will not be:

1. Salvation:

This was taken care of at the moment of conversion.

2. Sin:

Sin was taken care of at Calvary. When Jesus died, He died for the sin of the world (II Cor. 5:21).

Those who appear here will not be judged for salvation or on the basis of their sins. Those who appear here are already saved. The Bible does, however, give us a little insight into who will participate here.

It may help us to understand a little about what the judgment seat actually was. In Paul’s day, in every city there was a place called the Bema, or judgment seat. It was from this raised platform, usually in the center of town that announcements were made, judgments rendered and commendations handed out. All public proclamations came from this bema seat. So, we mustn’t think that it was only a place for fear and trembling. It was also a place of reward and blessing. Christ’s judgment seat is no different!

A. THERE WILL BE REWARDS: The Bible speaks of crowns that will be given to those who earn them.

1. The Incorruptible Crown: Awarded for faithfulness to the Lord (I Cor. 9:25)

2. The Crown of Life: For those persons who endured and overcame temptation.

3. The Crown of Rejoicing: This is the soul winners crown (I Tes. 2:19).

4. The Crown of Righteousness: This will be given to those who anticipate and live in the light of His return (II Tim. 4:8).

5. The Crown of Glory: This will be given to the faithful ministers who give themselves to lead and feed the flock of God (I Peter 5:4).

We need to understand that every deed done in the name of Jesus will be blessed and rewarded. Men may not see the value of your service, but rest assured that Jesus takes perfect note and that He will reward you fairly for your sacrifice for Him. (Mark 9:41, Matt. 25:34-40).

God will apply the fire of His judgment to our works and those that were done for Him and for His glory alone will pass the test and we will be rewarded accordingly.

B. THERE WILL BE REBUKES

1. All the motives, methods, attitudes and activities will pass beneath the microscope of God’s just judgment and will be brought to light.

2. The process that God will use can be found in II Corinthians 3:10-15:

a. Gold, Silver, Precious Stones, these represent that which is valuable, permanent, beautiful and hard to come by. It requires sacrifice to acquire these things.

b. Wood, Hay and Stubble, these represent that which is temporary, ugly, cheap and easy to obtain. What a difference there is in the things that honor God and the things which honor men

c. There is going to be many who will come before Jesus expecting great rewards, but will instead receive great rebuke. They will witness everything as it perishes before their very eyes. It will not affect their salvation, but it will affect the rewards they will receive.

C. THERE WILL BE REAPING

Galatians 6:7-8 will be fully realized in the life of every believer on that day. You see, there are things that we think are hidden, and covered up, but God knows all about them and He will drag all those secret things into the open. Many believers have wronged others and never make it right, have taken things and never made restitution, lied and never set the record straight, etc. God knows about it all and will bring it to light at the Judgment Seat.

D. THERE WILL BE REVELATION

When we arrive there, all pretenses will be taken away! We will finally be seen for what we really are. Down here, we are able to pull the wool over people’s eyes. Many times people will have an image of us that is false and misleading to who we really are. However, when we stand before Jesus, we will be seen in all our ugliness. We will be exposed.

WHAT WE WILL BE JUDGED ON

Although the judgment seat of Christ is focused on rewards rather than punishment, we will regret having spent time on foolish priorities and worthless deeds. Our hearts will break when we realize we’ve squandered our lives away.

1. How we treat other believers: Hebrews 6:10, Matthew 10:41-42

2. How we exercise our authority over others: Hebrews 13:17, James 3:1

3. How we employ our God-given abilities: 1 Corinthians 12:4, 12, 2, II Timothy 1:6, 1 Peter 4:10

    Add to these Scriptures Jesus' teaching of the parables of the ten pounds (Luke 19: 11-26) and the talents (Matthew 25:14-29). Each believer has at least one talent (1 Corinthians 7:12, Ephesians 4:7, 1 Peter 4:10). There are 18 of these gifts (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4). It's up to each believer to find and discern their gifts.

4. How we use our money: II Corinthians 9:6-7, 1 Timothy 6:17-19

5. How we spend our time: Psalm 90:12, Ephesians 5:16, Colossians 4:5, 1 Peter 1:17

6. How much we suffer for Jesus: Matthew 5:11-12, Mark 10:29-30, Romans 8:18, II Corinthians 4:17, 1 Peter 4:12-13

7. How we run the particular race God has chosen for us: 1 Corinthians 9:24, Philippians 2:16, 3:13-14, Hebrews 12:1

8. How effectively we control the old nature: 1 Corinthians 9:25-27, II Timothy 2:15, 1 Corinthians 16:3, Philippians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 2:4

9. How many souls we witness to and win to Christ: Proverbs 11:30, Daniel 12:3, 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

10. How we react to temptation: James 1:2-3, Revelation 3:10

11. How much the doctrine of the rapture means to us: II Timothy 4:8

12. How faithful we are to the Word of God and the flock of God: Acts 20:26-28, II Timothy 4:1-2, 1 Peter 5:2-4

While we won't be condemned for our sins, our present lives do affect what will happen at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

1. Sin and indifference in this life rob us of our present desire for serving the Lord. That in turn means a loss of rewards, because we will not have used our time to His glory. That is why Paul exhorts us to "be careful how [we] walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of [our] time, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:15-16).

2. Sin and indifference result in a loss of power in our lives because sin grieves the Holy Spirit.

3. Sin and indifference cause us to pass up opportunities for service, which we would otherwise perform and be rewarded for.

The greatest consequence of unfaithfulness here on earth is that it disappoints Christ.  I John 2:28 says, "And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming." That is a sobering thought, we could be ashamed as we stand before the Lord. At the same time, it should encourage us with the prospect of receiving His rewards if we serve Him faithfully during our time here on earth.

As we move deeper into this subject, we discover that God also will investigate the motives behind one's works.