2 Corinthians 5:10
“For we must all appear before the judgement seat
of Christ
that each one may receive what is due to him
for the things done while in the body whether
good or bad.”
There are various judgments recorded in the
Bible.
There is the judgement of believer’s
sin in
the cross of Christ. When Jesus Christ died that
painful, hideous death in His body on the cross
He was taking the judgement of a Holy God for all
the sins that we have ever committed.
The Bible says that Jesus “became sin for
us”. He
bore the judgement, the penalty, the punishment
for all of our sin. He took our judgement on the
cross. So now we will not be judged for our sin –
Jesus Christ has taken the judgement for us.
Then, too, there is the believer’s
self-judgement. The Bible says if we would
judge ourselves we would not be judged. So we
have to constantly evaluate our lives.
When the Holy Spirit teaches us that we have
sinned we need to confess that sin immediately,
to keep short accounts with God. The Bible says
if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned we
deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We
are sinners living in a fallen world and we must
constantly confess our sins and keep right with
God. As we sin we lose spiritual power in our
lives unless that sin is confessed and forgiven.
SUBTLE
SINS
As well as the obvious sins that we, as
Christians, can commit there are also the subtle
sins.
Criticism
There
are sins like criticism
when we are
critical of other believers, perhaps against the
preacher or pastor or spiritual leadership within
the church or of other fellow believers. We need
to be very careful of any criticism that can
creep into our lives.
Gossip
Another sin we can commit is
the sin of gossip
when we talk about
others. It is so easy to be “hung by the tongue”.
The tongue, more that anything else, is the thing
that destroys fellowship and breaks churches
apart today.
I heard of a woman once who lived in the country
of Wales. She had been critical and had gossiped
about her local pastor. When he came to visit her
she felt guilty and decided to confess to him.
(He knew all the time that she had been doing
this.)
She said, “Pastor is there anything
that I can possibly do to make up for the things
that I have said about you?”
He said,
“Of course I
forgive you. Would you do one little thing for
me? I notice that you are plucking a goose there
in preparation for dinner.
Would you gather
the feathers that you are plucking, take them up
to the bluff above our little town and throw them
into the wind”. She thought it was a strange
request but, in order to keep face, she decided
to do this. So, after throwing the feathers to
the wind, she came back and told the pastor what
she had done. He said, “Oh just one other little
thing – would you mind going and picking up all
the feathers again!”
That is just what happens with
our words. When we talk about another believer in
Christ we may be forgiven but the words have been
thrown to the breeze and are very hard to capture
again. We have to constantly watch what we say
about others.
Hurts
Then,
too, there are hurts
which creep into
our lives and if we don’t get these hurts
remedied in our hearts they will stop us from
being victorious Christians. I know of those in
the Christian church who haven’t gone on in
spiritual power for years because someone has
said something against them and it has caused
hurt and bitterness and has stopped them from
being powerful for God. I have often said, “don’t
nurse your hurts, curse your hurts or rehearse
your hurts. We must reverse our hurts because
hurts can make us bitter or better.”
Paul says in Ephesians 4:32
“Forgive as the Lord has
forgiven you.”
Unforgiving
Spirit
Then
there is an unforgiving
spirit which is so similar. You have
been hurt, someone has said something against you
and you have never forgiven that person. Perhaps
two men have had a quarrel within a church and,
while the men may forgive each other, the wives
don’t forgive the man who hurt their husband.
Many pastors’ wives carry an unforgiving spirit
because of the way their husbands have been
treated. Perhaps someone has said something
against your child and you have never forgiven
that person. We will never know revival and
spiritual power in our hearts while there is
unresolved hurt and unforgiveness in our lives.
Worry
Another subtle sin is the sin
of worry. We try to care for things
ourselves rather than to allow God to be God in
our lives and to care for us and to care for all
of our concerns and our worries.
Judgement
Another subtle sin is
the judgement of
others.
We are so quick to judge others today. The words
to Apostle Peter were [John 21:22],
“Peter, don’t
worry about him, You follow me.”
And that is a word
to us today as well. We tend to worry about
others, talk about others when we need to be
concerned about our own spiritual welfare with
God. So there needs to be a time of confession.
The old Methodists had the penitent rail. The
Salvation Army has the mercy table. I know it is
old fashioned but we need to constantly come to
God to ask for forgiveness as we regularly repent
of our sins. Then we need to ask the Holy Spirit
to fill us so that we might be used of God.
FOUR
ATTITUDES WE CAN HAVE TOWARDS THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. We
can grieve
Him when we have
sin in our lives.
2. We can resist
Him and stop His
work within our lives.
The Holy Spirit is like electricity. We know that
metals conduct electricity readily. The electrons
within the metals line up easily and so, whether
it be steel or copper or silver, they conduct the
electricity easily. Yet the electricity finds it
hard to go through a substance like wood. Why is
that? Because the electrons within the wood
refuse to line up easily and the electricity
cannot be conducted through it. That is exactly
the way it is with us and the Hold Spirit. We can
resist the Holy Spirit, we can stop the Holy
Spirit working through our lives.
3. We can quench
the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit wants to be like fire within our
lives but we can quench Him, stop Him working in
our hearts and lives.
4. We need to be filled
with the Holy
Spirit.
The Bible says, “Do not get drunk on wine
which leads to debauchery. Instead be filled with
the Spirit” [Ephesians 5:18].
Then Paul goes on to show us the evidences that
we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
First, we will be joyful.
Ephesians 5:19 says
that there is going to be singing and joy in our
hearts.
Second, Ephesians 5:20 says we will have a
thankful
spirit. We are
going to be satisfied. One of the biggest sins of
the western world is an unthankful spirit. There
are millions who would give anything right now to
trade places with you and what you have in life.
Third, Ephesians 5:21-33 says we will have
a submissive
spirit.
So we are going to be singing, we will be
satisfied and we will be submissive. We do not
use the Holy Spirit but the Holy Spirit wants to
use us in great power as He floods and works
through us.
So there is the believer’s self-judgement. We
need to judge ourselves, to examine our hearts
because, later on we do not want to be examined
before God.
In Matthew 25 it speaks about the
judgement of the
nations.
God, in a coming day, will judge all those
nations that have rejected Him and lived their
own way. Any surface check of ancient or modern
history bears out the message that any nation
that turns its back on God, God will step in and
judge that nation. We need to be constantly
crying out to God for our nations today.
There is the judgement of the Great White
Throne which we read about in the Book
of Revelation, 20:11-15.
This would have to be one of the most awesome
passages in the Bible, where all of those who
have rejected Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord
will be judged and eternally separated from God
for the whole of eternity. What a sad place that
will be.
WHAT THEN IS
THE JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST?
The
theory of general judgement of saints and sinners
has no foundation in the Bible. The Spirit of God
is careful to make a clear distinction between
the “bema”, which is the Judgement Seat [Romans
14:10] and the “thronos”, which is the Great
White Throne [Revelation 20:11].
The Judgement Seat was a raised platform from
which the umpires watched the Grecian games and
later determined and rewarded the successful
contestants. Paul speaks of the coming Judgement
Seat of Christ as the place where believers are
going to appear for the appraisal of their lives
and work accomplished while down here on earth.
Who is going to be at the Judgement Seat of
Christ? Well notice what the Apostle Paul
says, “For we must all
appear.” So all true believers in Jesus
Christ are going to appear at the Judgement Seat
of Christ. All Christians are subjected to three
kinds of judgement.
1. Christians
are judged as sinners.
In
John 5:24 it says,
“I tell you the truth,
whoever hears my word and believes him who sent
me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he
has crossed over from death to
life.”
Notice
that judgement is past. The believer’s sins have
been judged and punished already in the person of
Jesus Christ when He died on the cross.
Paul says in Romans 8:1,
“There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”
The devil may try to condemn
us, other people may try to condemn us and even
our own consciences may seek to condemn us. But
in Jesus Christ we have been freed and acquitted
from all sins and are accepted before a Holy God.
2. Christians
are judged as sons.
Hebrews 12:6 says,
“…because the Lord
disciplines those He loves and he punishes
everyone he accepts as a son.”
This judgement should take
place here and now. This is a judgement of
discipline. God loves us and wants the best for
our lives. Parents who truly love their children
what to discipline them in order to care for
them. A loving God wants the best for us in our
lives, too, so God may have to judge us and
discipline us in order to allow us to be drawn
closer to Himself.
I heard the story once of the shepherd who had a
little lamb which was constantly wandering away
from the flock. The shepherd knew the danger of
what would happen to the little lamb with all the
prowling wolves and predators which were nearby.
So he took the little lamb and broke one of its
legs. Then he had to carry that lamb everyday
until the leg was mended and, in doing so, that
lamb never left the shepherd’s side again.
Sometimes God may discipline us in order to keep
us close to Himself.
3. Christians
are judged as servants.
This
is a future judgement. What then is the purpose
of this judgement?
In Romans 14:12 it says,
“Everyone of us shall give
account of himself to
God.”
The purposes of the Judgement
Seat of Christ are to review believers and then
to reward believers. Our true motives are vital
and important.
“Therefore judge nothing
before the appointed time; wait till the Lord
comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in
darkness and will expose the motives of men’s
hearts. At that time each will receive his praise
from God.” [1 Cor. 4:5]
The Bible says that Jesus knew their thoughts and
God right now knows the very thoughts that go
through the tissues of our minds and He weighs
our motives.
The Psalmist cried out to God,
“Search me, Oh God, and
know my heart; test me and know my anxious
thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me
and lead me in the way everlasting.”
[Psalm
139:23-24]
The
Bible also makes it very clear that believers
will also be reviewed in relation, not only to
their motives, but to their conduct.
“For we must all appear
before the Judgement Seat of Christ, that each
one may receive what is due him for the things
done while in the body, whether good of
bad.” [2 Cor. 5:10]
There are some Christians who imagine that they
can live as they wish after they are converted.
But nothing could be further from the truth. God
will never condemn sin in the sinner and condone
it in the saint. So Christians will be reviewed
at the Judgement Seat of Christ in relation to
their motives, their conduct and then also for
their service.
1 Cor. 3:13 says,
“…his 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 mans
work.”
What is done through the body
can be good or bad. So all service is to be
reviewed in terms of whether it is good or bad.
Service
Let us first of all look at the good service.
1 Cor. 3:12-13 –
“If any man builds on this
foundation using gold, silver; costly stones,
wood, hay or straw, his 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 man’s
work.”
Here we see the holy fire of
God tried to every person’s life to see exactly
how their lives will match up. The service which
wins the Saviour’s approval and gain the
servant’s reward is described gold, silver and
precious stones.
Gold
The gold speaks of spiritual service.
Gold is the symbol for the nature of God.
Spiritual service can only be accomplished in the
power of the Holy Spirit. That is why it is so
vital that we know the fullness and the anointing
of the Holy Spirit in everything we say and do.
Silver
The silver
speaks of
sacrificial service. In the Bible silver is
always typical of Christ’s atonement and
redemption. [Exodus 30:11-16] Just as our Lord’s
death on the cross was sacrificial so our lives
must be sacrificial if we are to serve God
day-by-day.
Precious
Stones
The precious stones
speak of steadfast
service. They are called “costly stones” like
that of marble and granite which we use for the
great buildings, such as the magnificent temple
of Diana at Ephesus, which was considered
absolutely fireproof and indestructible.
I will never forget the time when I visited the
Isle of Patmos in the Mediterranean. My mind went
back to the vision of the glorified Christ that
the Apostle John received on that island. He
described the Master’s eyes as
“a
flame of fire”. [Revelation 1:4]
So the Lord Jesus Christ looks with eyes of fire
at our good service and then also at our bad
service.
What is the
wood, hay and stubble of bad service?
These,
of course, are perishable materials and have
their own symbolic meaning.
Wood
The wood speaks of careless service. Why
use gold, silver or precious stones, says a
slothful servant, when wood will do instead? Wood
may look well for a while but it quickly wears
out.
Hay
Hay speaks of worthless service. It
may appear showy and bulky but it costs nothing
in terms of sacrifice.
Stubble
Stubble
speaks of useless
service.
Job speaks of the wicked as –
“stubble before the wind
and as chaff that the storm carries
away.”
[Job
21:18]
It is a sad thing that some in heaven will only
be there by the skin of their teeth. Notice what
Paul says in 1 Cor. 3:15-
“If it is burned up he will
suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only
as one escaping through the
flames.”
In the 3rd chapter of 1 Corinthians Paul
teaches us that there are going to be rewards for
the believer. Notice verse 8 –
“The man who plants and the
man who waters have one purpose and each will be
rewarded according to his own
labour.”
The New Testament makes it
abundantly clear that there will be gaining, or
losing, of rewards. The Christian should be
longing for that day when Jesus will say,
“Well done good and
faithful servant, Enter into the joy of your
Lord.”
[Matt.
25:21]
The rewards are spoken of in the Word of God as
crowns.
There are six of them that are mentioned:
1. There is
the golden crown – Rev. 4:4
“Surrounding the throne
were twenty four other thrones and seated on them
were twenty four elders. There were dressed in
white and had crowns of gold of their heads.”
This is the believer’s crown
and is the only one that need not be earned. By
simply placing our faith and trust in Jesus
Christ, in a coming day we will receive the
golden crown.
2. There is
the incorruptible crown – 1 Cor 9:2, 5 - 27
“Everyone who competes in
the games goes into strict training. They do it
to get a crown that will not last; but we do it
to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore
I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do
not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat
me body and make it my slave so that after I have
preached to others, I myself will not be
disqualified for the prize.”
This is the victor’s crown
which will be awarded to those who have been
faithful to the principles of the gospel. This is
for those who have lived a life of victory, not
succumbing to the temptations of this world. The
Bible clearly teaches that we can live in victory
and power day by day.
“Thanks be unto God who
gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ.” [1 Cor. 15:57]
“I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me.” [Phil. 4:13]
Paul further told the
Corinthians in 2 Cor. 2:14,
“…thanks be to God who
always leads us in triumphant procession in
Christ”.
Notice he says “who
always…”.
We can either be defeated or victorious. We do
not fight for victory but from victory.
I guess most of us would have viewed that great
scene from the film “Ben Hur”. As Ben Hur is
coming into Rome with his new benefactor Caesar
is waiting for them. Crowds welcome them, the
trumpets are blasting, they are coming forward in
triumphant procession. The spoils of war are
before them with the slaves whom they have
captured. Flowers are being thrown on them as
they wend their way through the streets. They are
coming forward in triumph and God wants us to
live in victory like that until, ultimately, we
reach Him one day. He is able to keep us from
falling.
3. There is
the crown of rightousness – 2 Tim. 4:8
“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.”
It is one thing to believe in
the coming of Christ but another to live in the
light of that event and so to love His appearing.
We cannot love the world and love the appearing
of Christ at one and the same time. We must live
in the constant expectation that Christ could
come at any moment and we ought to look for our
Saviour’s appearing.
4. There is
the crown of rejoicing – 1 Thess 2:19 - 20
“For what is our hope, our
joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the
presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it
not you? Indeed you are our glory and joy.”
This is the soul winner’s crown
and will be awarded to all those who have given
themselves to the task of personal and public
evangelism. What a challenge to those who have
never yet won a soul to Jesus Christ. We may not
all be evangelists but we all can be involved in
the work of evangelism.
5. There is
the crown of glory – 1 Peter 5:1 - 4
“To the elders among you, I
appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Chris’s
sufferings and one who also will share in the
glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock
that is under your care, serving as overseers –
not because you must, but because you are
willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for
money, but eager to serve; not lording it over
those entrusted to you, but being examples to the
flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you
will receive the crown of glory that will never
fade away.”
This is the sufferer’s crown and will be awarded
to all those who have endured persecution,
testing and even death for the Master’s sake.
There has never been greater suffering in the
church than in the age in which we now live.
There are martyrs for the cause of Christ
everyday in the world, people who are giving
their life’s blood, suffering intense persecution
for their faith and their trust in Jesus Christ.
I will never forget visiting Russia and talking
with those who have suffered for their faith for
many years, for years being locked in prisons yet
holding tenaciously to their testimony and their
faith in Jesus Christ. It moved me to tears. The
Saviour says in the Book if Revelation 3:11,
“I
am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that
no one will take your
crown.”
One day every true believer in Jesus Christ will
stand at the Judgement Seat of Christ. How
important it is to live this life in the light of
that coming event. Let us seek to live in such a
way that, when we stand before the Master, we
will hear those great words from His lips,
“Well done good and
faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your
Lord.”
[Matt.
25:23]
The challenge of this great subject, the
Judgement Seat of Christ, should send us to our
knees in repentance, confession and dedication in
order that our lives may be lived only and wholly
for His glory. Only then shall we have the
boldness and not be ashamed at His coming or of
the Judgement Seat of Christ.