By the way, are you born again, that is are you saved, and do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour? If not, then this message does NOT apply to you. You need to go to - "Are You Ready" at :-Click Here
On the other hand if you are saved, and know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, then read on. This blog is for you.
WHAT is this Judgment Seat for? It is for giving you rewards for all the things you have done, that are acceptable to Him, after you were saved.
There is a little poem about this, it goes -
Only one life
'twill soon be past
Only what's done
For Jesus will last.
WHERE is this Judgment Seat going to take place? It will be in Heaven after we are raptured there by our Precious Saviour. At that time we will have our glorified bodies, like unto His, according to Phillipians 3:21. Our thoughts will agree perfectly with His.
WHO then is the judge that will judge us? Will it be Gabrael, or Michael, one of the angels? No! No! It will be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. How do I know this? Because it tells us in the Bible in John 5:22, "The Father hath committed all judgment unto the son." Remember the deep, deep love that the Saviour has for you His Bride. His judgment will be in love, and righteousness.
WHY is there going to be this Judgment Seat? It is because the Lord wants to reward you for everything that you have done that He considers worth rewarding. He loves to shower you with blessings. Not only the blessings that everyone has already been given as we read in Ephesians 1:3 where it tells us that each child of God has been blessed with all spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ. These blessings are universal blessings, but God has some individual blessings for you, based on how you lived your life for Him. The individual blessings show us how God takes note of even the smallest detail of our lives. You will be rewarded for everything that is rewardable, nothing less, nothing more. The Lord Jesus is the perfect judge.
WHEN will this happen? We do not know. We do know that it will be after His coming for His Saints, the rapture. But we do not know when that will be. Matthew 25:13 tells us so. While we are experiencing the Judgment Seat of Christ in heaven, those who are left on earth will be going through "The Tribulation." This will last seven years. It will be a most severe time of judgment, in which God is going to pour out His wrath on a world that killed His Son. We the bride of Christ will be spared this judgment. It says in Revelation 3:10 "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep, thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth."
Now let us examine 2 Corinthians 5:10. It begins with "For we". Who are the "we" referred to here? It refers to every truly born again child of God, both those who have died in Christ, and those who are alive at the time of Christ's coming. So if you know the Lord Jesus as your personal Saviour, then it includes you.
What does it say about "we"? It says, "We must". This is not something in which you have an option. We all MUST, there are no excuses.
We must what? We must ALL. That means everyone. No one will be missing or absent.
We must all what? We must all APPEAR. That means to be present. How will you appear? You will appear in your glorified body.
Appear where? Before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Are we going to appear there in a large group? No I believe we will each appear before Christ individually. It will be a one on one evaluation. In Romans 14:12 It says, "So every one of us shall give account of himself to God." This verse tells us "every one" that is individual. Also it says "account of himself" that too is individual. It will be just you and your loving Saviour, face to face.
Since this is so, does it not make sense to do everything that we do everyday of that which will count for eternity. Of course it does, but it is not that easy. The reason being that just because we are saved, Satan does not leave us alone. He does not want us to live a Godly life, so he knows that if he can get us to be occupied with something that has no eternal value then he has succeeded. What are some of the things that have no eternal value? Well there is watching TV, that is a big one. Then there is doing computer games, and also going to the movies. All these things take up your time, but have no value at the judgment seat of Christ. You can probably think of lots of things that take up your time, but do not fulfil what the Lord wants you to do. What does the Bible say about this? Read Colossians 3:2 where it says, "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." That means - be sure your heart is attracted by heavenly things, not by the things of this earth. So Satan likes to try and attract us to the things of this earth to spoil our heavenly reward. That means there is a battle going on between Satan's tactics, and the loving lure of the Lord. How can I win this battle?
In the book of Romans we have a description of this battle going on. It is found in the 7th chapter. Verse 15 says, "For that which I do, I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. It is important to realize that when we were born into this world, we were born with a nature that cannot please God. It is called "The old Nature." However when we are saved we are given a "New Nature." It is actually the nature of God. This is because God has given us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us. So how do we win this battle? It is through allowing the Holy Spirit to live through us. Read through Romans 8 and see the difference. The person in this chapter has learned this lesson.
In I John 2:15 It says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Here the child of God is cautioned not to let their hearts affections get entwined with the things of this world. Why? Because the things of this world can cause your heart to grow cold toward your beloved Saviour. While you are engaged with the things of this world you are losing out on your rewards in glory. That is not prudent.
Now as you read this you might be thinking, on what basis will I receive my reward? I am going to give you five examples that I can think of.
1. LABOURING, Matt 20:1-16. This is the parable of the householder who hired labourers for his vineyard. At this point it is important to realize what this is all about. To get the context you need to read Matt 19:27 where Peter asks the Lord what reward he would get for forsaking all and following Him. Jesus sums it up in verse 30 where He says "Many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first." Then comes this parable to illustrate that point. There will probably be many surprises in the matter of rewards.
Notice that in the parable the householder contracted with the first group for one penny a day. Now the householder sent out labourers the third hour, and the sixth hour, and the ninth hour, and the eleventh hour. But to each of them he said, "Whatsoever is right I will give you." They went out in faith knowing he would do what was right. At the end of the day the householder instructed his steward to to pay the men. Starting with the last hired to the first they each got a penny. Now we might think this was unfair seeing the first group worked all day for the same amount as the last group. In verse 11 we find that the first group murmured, or complained about how much they got. But that is how much they bargained for. I understand that a penny was a good wage for a days work then. The money meant more to them than the fact that they had a job and were working for a goodman. They were greedy and unsatisfied. The master of the vineyard reminds them in verse 13 that they had agreed to work for a penny. In verse 15 the master says, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?"
What then is the lesson we learn from this parable? The first group bargained for a certain amount. They worked under the princlple of justice. And that is what they got. The succeding groups worked under the princlple of grace. The master would pay what was right. And he did. Notice they all got paid.
How do we translate this into the activity of the Judgment Seat of Christ? There will be those there who, like the first group were more interested in the money than pleasing the master. In other words working for a reward is their main object, rather than just working to please the master. They will be rewarded last. This is the perogative of the judge, even the Lord Jesus, who rewards righteously. And remember we will have our glorified bodies then, and think like Him. So ask yourself when you are seeking to do work for the Lord, am I doing this out of my heart love for Him, or am I doing this because I have calculated in my head that I will get a reward for it.
2. BUILDING, 1 Cor 3:10-23 This subject deals primarily with those who are teachers and edifiers in the assembly. The foundation is Jesus Christ stated in verse 11. Those who come along now and teach or instruct in the Word of God can do so with 2 effects. Their work can be that which is characterized by gold, silver, precious stone. Or it can be wood, hay, or stubble. How will it be determined at the judgment seat of Christ of what sort it is? Verse 13 tells us it will be revealed by fire. Fire of course would demolish wood, hay, or stubble. On the other hand it would not affect gold, silver, or precious stone. So what constitutes building with gold, silver, and precious stone? I believe it refers to those who teach the solid, uncompromised, word of God. That which constitutes building with wood, hay, and stubble would include those who teach the word of God in error. They have not rightly divided the word of truth. Thus they lead souls into a path of error.
This matter of teaching in the assembly is divided into 3 cases. First, is that which is good. Verse 14 says his work will abide, and he will receive a reward. The second case is found in verse 15. His work is worthless and will be burned, but he himself will be saved. Then there is the workman whose work is subversive. This would be like a minister of a church who is not saved and teaching that you can get to heaven by good works. He is corrupting God's temple. His work will be destroyed and also himself. This we get in verse 17.
Teaching God's people is a serious thing and we need to know that we have rightly divided the word of God, before we pass it on to those who are indwelt with the Holy Spirit.
3. MOTIVATION, Matthew 6:1-8 This passage speaks of Fasting, Giving, and Praying. Notice it says "when you do" not "if you do" This takes for granted that you will do these things. However the question is, "Why do you do these things?" If you have calculated in your head that these things will stand you in good stead at the judgment seat of Christ, then your motivation is wrong. It will do you no good. Whatever is done for the Lord must come from the heart not the head. Your actions and service must be from the love in your heart to glorify the Lord, to honour Him, and to bring blessing to others. The main point in this passage is "sincereity." Self must be left out. Do not seek public recognition in your giving and praying. It is sad to realize that with many Christians it is true what it says in Phil. 2:21 "All seek their own - not the things of Christ." It is so important and precious to live each day with the Lord and for the Lord because of your love to Him. In this way your motivation will be seen as worthy of reward at the judgment seat of Christ.
4. Talents, Matt 25:14-29. The main point in this parable is "Faithfulness" and "Devotedness". Notice each person was given according to his ability. Each person started out unequally, here we see the sovereignty and wisdom of the Giver,who varies His gifts according to the aptitude of the servant. In the end each got the same reward. This is becaue they all had equal devotedness. So you may feel you do not have much talent in spiritual things. What ever talent you do have use it faithfully and with love and devotion for the Lord.
5. Pounds, Luke 19:12-26. The main point in this parable is "Responsibility." Or perhaps Achievements for Christ. Notice each person was given the same amount. But each person used what was given to him differently. Some gained more than others. When they were rewarded each received an amount equal to the amount they had gained. Their responsible use of the money determined the amount of reward, because they had unequal devotness. When we are saved we are each given a life to live for the Lord, but what we do with that life is what will determine our reward. Remember every moment of our life is sacred. Are you frittering your life away on worldly pleasures, or are you using it responsibably so that it counts for eternity and His glory?
As you consider these things do you need to make some changes in your way of living? Remember eternity is a long time. It would be very sad to find out that you had spent so much time pleasing yourself, that you had very little reward. May the Lord give you to be able to see what is important in the light of eternity.
If you have any comments to make to me, you can get in touch with me at the following address - G. S. Burgess, P.O. Box 699, Alliston, ON. L9R 1V9 or
chiroburgess@gmail.com
