Dear People who Keep Company with God,
The Bible tells us, “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10. Many mistakenly think the judgment seat of Christ refers to the “great white throne” judgment of Revelation 20:12 where lives are reviewed and eternal destinies are settled. The judgment seat of Christ is not to settle our destiny. For those who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior our destiny has been settled.
The judgment seat of Christ is a personal evaluation given to each individual by the Lord himself of what our lives have really been like on this earth. Paul tells us “we must all appear” or more literally “we all shall be unveiled” at the judgment seat of Christ. Paul was referring to our inner motives and purposes being revealed. “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.” 1 Corinthians 4:5. It is a time of disclosure of our heart’s motives and it is also a time of evaluation of not only what we have done, but why have we done it. It is the ultimate time of seeing the truth about ourselves and how we have lived our life on this earth.
I believe the judgment seat of Christ, has in a sense already begun for those who will allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in their lives. “But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.” 1 Corinthians 11:31.The Lord, by his Spirit, desires to point out the wrong attitudes, thoughts and motives of our heart in this life. If we will allow ourselves to face the truth now, we will not have to face it at the judgment seat of Christ because it will already have been settled here. King David said it so well, “You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.” Psalm 51:6. It cannot be over emphasized that this is a work of the Holy Spirit; we are never to go on the endless and fruitless inward journey of self evaluation.
The judgment seat of Christ will also be a time of encouragement, “each man’s praise will come to him from God.”. This is important to know; God blesses and rewards His people when they enter heaven. He does not condemn us. I have heard about the crowns we would receive upon our arrival in heaven. The truth is we already have those crowns in Christ. In the Bible crowns speak of gifts from God. The Bible mentions several crowns, such as the crown of glory, crown of life, crown of righteousness. We could never earn any of the crowns that God has freely given us in Christ.
So the question is what can I gain or lose at the judgment seat of Christ? Every Christian is given the opportunity of partnering with the Holy Spirit in building a Christian life, like a house, upon the foundation of Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). We are given the choice of building material to use in the building of this house. Hay, wood, and straw represent all our self efforts, whether on behalf of our own interests or our ministry. They also happen to not be fireproof or very stable. Gold, silver and precious stones, which do survive fire, are those permanent and enduring materials which God desires to build into us. They are the building materials of the Spirit realm. Everything we have done through self effort, regardless of how noble or beautiful, will be lost at that day. Life here counts.
Many Blessings, BW