THE JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST

The Judgement Seat of Christ (Bema Seat)

 

Evaluations, some people love them, and others hate them. They usually reveal your commitment and efforts, either good or bad, towards your job, sport, health, marriage, and anything that is of value in your life. A positive evaluation will come with rewards, and or commendations. A negative evaluation can cause loss, a lack of rewards, and or regression toward your intended outcome.

Well guess what! Every believer will have an evaluation and be given rewards based on their performance.

This is called the Bema Seat or Judgment Seat of Christ.

 

God wants his people to know about biblical prophecies in order to incite them to holy living and ministry.

So, let’s look at the order of events;

1. The rapture which includes our glorification of our resurrection bodies,
2. Exaltation into the heavens with the Lord,
3. Examination before theBema Seat, the Judgement Seat of Christ.
4. Compensation or rewards.

 

Romans 14:10;
Romans 14:10 (NKJV) ¹⁰But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of ^£Christ. 

2 Corinthians 5:10 (NKJV) ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 

 

The Judgment Seat of Christ is not the Great White Throne Judgment:

Revelation 20:11-15 describes this judgment. The Great White Throne judgment will occur at the end of the millennium period, and this judgment is for the sinners who never accepted Christ as their personal savior.

           

The Judgment seat of Christ will happen after the Church is rapture during the tribulation period, this is for believers whose salvation has already been secured by faith in Jesus Christ.

However, because it is our duty to do the Lord’s will and to carry out His commission for our lives by working with Him to build the Church. We must give an account of how we used our;  

• Material goods.
• Spiritual possessions (God given gifts and talents).

 

By this appraisal, the Lord will evaluate everything that we did during our Christian lifetime and will determine what reward, or pay, we should receive. It is His desire that we receive a full reward.

 
2 John 1:8 (NKJV) ⁸Look to yourselves, that ^£we do not lose those things we worked for, but that ^£we may receive a full reward.

 

JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST:

The Bema seat also known as the “Judgment seat of Christ” is described in;

1 Corinthians 3:12 - 15 (NLT) ¹²Anyone who builds on that foundation (the foundation is Jesus) may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.  ¹³But on judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value (The Lord’s fiery gaze will examine and evaluate these works for the purpose of approving those that meet His standards. The Lord will evaluate all our actions, words, thoughts, emotions, attitudes, motivations and intentions).

.  ¹⁴If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.  ¹⁵But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. 

 

What is Gold, Silver and Precious stones?

 

Gold; Works done for the glory of God,

 

Silver; Works done with right motives, and allowing your influence to reflect God’s character,

Precious stones; Works dependent upon the power of the Holy Spirit.

This can be as simple as holding your peace in an argument, to using your gift for the edification of the Body of Christ.

Everyone’s activities throughout their Christian lifetime will be revealed to you for the purpose of;

• Review,
• Accounting,
• And evaluation.

And for the ones who are waiting to hear about what God is going to say to that person that stayed on your nerves, you can stop wondering. This will be a private review, carried on simultaneously with all who are being appraised.

 

Let’s look at some examples of things that He might evaluate:

 

• Whether we fulfilled our role in the Great Commission. Matthew 28:18-20:
  Matthew 28:18 - 20 (NKJV) ¹⁸And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Go ^£therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  ²⁰teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” ^£

 

Jesus Commands us to tell others about the Good News of the Gospel and make disciples for His Kingdom. We are to go-whether it’s next door, on our job, to our family and friends, or wherever the opportunity arises.  And we can do this because we have the comfort in the knowledge that Jesus is always with us through the Holy Spirit that live inside of all believers, empowering them to be bold in their stance for Christ.

• How victorious we were over sin. Romans 6:1-4;
  Romans 6:1 - 4 (NLT) ¹Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?  ²Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?  ³Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?  ⁴For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

 

If you think of our old, sinful life as dead and buried, we have a powerful motive to resist sin. We can consciously choose to treat the desires and temptations of the old nature as if they were dead. Then we can continue to enjoy our wonderful new life with Jesus.

 

• Whether we were successful in controlling our tongues. James 3:1-9

 

• Whether the fruit of the Spirit was manifested in our lives.

 

 

7. Love: were we committed to God’s Word no matter what your feeling were saying. Did we forgive someone who has wronged you or did you try to figure out a way to get even. Are you living out 1Corinthians 13:4-7.

 

1. Joy: Did I continue to sing melodies in my heart even though I lost my job, my home or even a loved one.

 

1. Peace: was I able to walk away when everyone on my job wanted to picket, fight and speak evil about the boss

 

Ephesians 6:5 - 8 (NLT) ⁵Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.  ⁶Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart.  ⁷Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.  ⁸Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.

 

Could I hold my peace and not say what I wanted to say, even though I know they are wrong.

 

1. Patience: was I able to wait on the Lord concerning a decision, or did I just go on my reasoning. Was I able to wait on the Lord concerning my troubled relationship, or did I take matters into my own hands to resolve the issue the way that was satisfying to the flesh.

 

1. Kindness: was I able to say edifying things to my brothers and sisters in Christ, or was I critical, and always judging.

 

1. Goodness: was I able to place my feeling on the back burner for the sake of the gospel and filter all my actions through the Word of God. Or was I quick to speak, quick to wrath and slow to hear.

 

1. Faithfulness: am I faithful to God’s word, my commitments that I have made to God and others. Or is my faithfulness based on how I am treated by others and even God.

 

1. Gentleness: am I perceived as someone who people like to be around, or do people go the other way when I come around.

 

1. Self-Control: Can I just not say it or is it going to fly out my month if the right buttons are pushed. Am I not going to do what I know is wrong or am I going to let my fleshly desires dictate my actions.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE TO OUR LIFE HERE ON EARTH:

Romans 12:1-21 (NLTSE)

A Living Sacrifice to God

[12:1] And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. [2] Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

[3] Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. [4] Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, [5] so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

[6] In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So, if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. [7] If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. [8] If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

[9] Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. [10] Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other. [11] Never be lazy but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. [12] Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying. [13] When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

[14] Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. [15] Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. [16] Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all!

[17] Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. [18] Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

[19] Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

"I will take revenge;

I will pay them back,"

says the LORD.

[20] Instead, "If your enemies are hungry, feed them.

If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap

burning coals of shame on their heads."

[21] Don't let evil conquer you but conquer evil by doing good.