Scripture makes clear that Christians will not be judged with respect to our sin, for Christ paid for all of our sins, past, present and future. As a reminder, a few Scriptures make this plain: Entry into Heaven (i.e., salvation) is only obtained by faith in Jesus Christ, not by works, so that once a person has placed their faith in Jesus Christ, they are promised to receive eternal life. It's important to understand that even though believers face a judgment, that moment will not be a judgment of sin or a question of salvation. The Greek for “judgment seat” is bema, and appears seven times in Scripture. In ancient times judicial decisions were typically handed down from an official seated on a bema seat, a raised platform on which a judge or magistrate would sit as he pronounced a decision in some matter before him.įor example, in Matthew 27:19 and John 19:13, Pontius Pilate sits on a judgment seat while judging Christ. Also, in Acts 18:12 16-18, we find the Jews bringing Paul to the Roman proconsul Gallio while seated for judgment. In these passages, the judgment seat indicated an official acting in his role to judge the guilt or innocence of someone. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Romans 14:10-12 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For 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. Paul gives us detailed descriptions of the Judgment Seat moment in three different passages: 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. In the same way, Scripture teaches that God will judge believers' works after we die. The believer's judgment, called the Judgment Seat of Christ in 2Corinthians, is a judgment for the purpose of assigning eternal rewards based on our service to Christ. Similarly, athletes in competitive games (e.g., the Olympics), receive rewards based on how well they compete. We’re all accustomed to receiving rewards based on our efforts. Most employers reward their employees based on job performance. (This article is part of our series on eternal rewards.)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |