Scripture tells us that there are two judgments in the Bible. The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die and after death the judgment. But in fact there are two great judgments.
One is the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20: “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” (Revelation 20:11-12)
The very last verse of the chapter says, “And whosoever’s name was not written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).
That judgment is absolutely terrifying because those who are standing before God have something in common: they are unbelievers who do not have the protection of Jesus Christ from the wrath of God.
Judgment of the Redeemed
But there is another judgment called the Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ—or what we refer to as the Bema Seat. For Church Age followers of Christ, it will be a day of reckoning—something that should actually be very sobering to every believer.
The Bible says there are tears in heaven, and that God is going to wipe away all tears (Revelation 21:4). But why tears in Heaven? Some Christians say the reason is that they will be profoundly disappointed and in great anguish because their friends aren’t there. I can imagine a mother weeping because her son has not come into heaven and won’t be there. Possibly that’s the answer.
But I would like to suggest that the real reason is tears of regret over the way we lived, despite the wonderful opportunities that God has given to us, and the fact that some of what we’ve invested in all our lives will prove temporal and worthless.
The Apostle Paul addresses this moment of reckoning beginning in 1 Corinthians. Speaking of his own ministry, he acknowledged that he initiated it, then others built on it.
Then he says this (paraphrased): “Let each one take care of how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, or precious stones, or it could be wood, hay, and straw, each one’s work will become manifest, for the day will disclose it, because it is to be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what sort of work one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)
The imagery is this: even as Christians, our works will be tried before God, and He will reveal whether we have acquired gold, silver, and precious stones, or whether we’ve been building and living for wood, hay, and stubble. The imagery also conveys that when the burning takes place, if you’re a believer, you will be saved—but only as if you’ve barely escaped out of a house that’s burning and collapsing behind you. All the temporal, worthless works will be burned up and reduced to ash.
Saved, But as Through Fire
Many people might say, “Wow, that seems inconsistent with the Gospel. Because doesn’t the Gospel mean that we stand in the righteousness of Jesus Christ?” Yes, of course, that’s the Good News of the Gospel. We will be welcomed into Heaven as if we are Jesus.
But that does not mean that God does not judge those whom He has redeemed. For example, in Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira died when they were called out for lying. Because they are presented as members of the Church, I tend to think maybe they were believers. And I can imagine them arriving in Heaven saying, “Well, what was this all about? We thought Calvary covered it all.” Yes, of course, Calvary covers it all legally. But that’s why the New Testament says that God disciplines those who are His.
He doesn’t just say, “Well, I’m treating you as if now nothing matters because you have My righteousness.” No, we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account. Imagine how surprised many Christians will be when they stand before the Lord surrounded by ash, like people in Southern California some time ago—just a chimney and some of the walls made of brick but everything else burned and gone.
Storing Up Treasure in Heaven
People sometimes raise a second objection: that we shouldn’t serve God for rewards. To do so would be selfish. Let’s just serve Him because we love Him. All right, let’s take a deep breath. Of course, we should serve God because we love Him. But you know the way in which you love Him is to go for the reward. Let’s remember that Jesus made that point very clear. He motivated people by saying, “Your reward will be great.”
Some people have the misperception that if they can just get to Heaven, it won’t matter whether they have earned any other rewards. As one man told me, “I’m a Christian, but I’m not really living for Christ. As long as I can sit in the back row in Heaven, I’ll be happy.” My word to that misguided man was that he was actually satisfied with displeasing Christ. If he were pleasing Jesus, to use his own imagery, he wouldn’t be in the back row!
Paul returns to this same theme in 2 Corinthians. He is, of course, talking about believers, including himself: “So whether we are at home (with the Lord) or away, we make it our aim to please Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10).
So let’s unpack the seriousness of what awaits every believer on our final day of reckoning—the Bema Seat of Christ.
Four Characteristics of the Bema Seat Every
Christian can take comfort in four characteristics of the judgment seat of Jesus Christ when He will evaluate our lives in light of Eternity.
First – We are going to be judged fairly.
We know this will be true because Jesus Christ—the Anointed One who loves us and died for us— now sits as judge. He is going to be eminently fair. Not one single fact will be overlooked; everything will be taken into account, and nothing will be hidden.
Our rewards will be dependent not on what we did after our first birth, but what we did for Christ after our second birth. Just consider the Apostle Paul. He sought to kill Christians before his conversion. So, like him, no matter what your past was before your conversion, you are going to be judged by what you did and how you lived after your conversion. And Jesus, our Savior and our Brother, wants us to do well at the judgment seat, so we can depend on His fairness.
Second – We are going to be judged individually.
That is precisely what the text says. “Each one [will] be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done” (2 Corinthians 5:10). In Romans 14, Paul warns us not to judge one another, for “each one of us will give an account for himself to God” (Romans 14:12). There will be no one to stand beside us and make an excuse for us.
Right about now, some people might think, “Oh, I sure hope my friends aren’t going to see this. I hope that it’s going to be totally private.” I would simply say this: First, we’ll all be in the same boat. But secondly, I really believe that when we stand before Jesus, we will not care if the whole universe (including our spouse, our family, our friends, or people before whom we made ourselves look much better than we really are) is watching. The only thing that we will care about is Jesus’ judgment and whether we will hear, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Third – We’re going to be judged thoroughly, whether good or evil.
The evil deeds are covered by the blood of Christ and will be burned away as wood, hay, and stubble. The question will be whether there will be any gold, silver, or precious stones left over. Again, that’s why Scripture reveals that “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. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward” (1 Corinthians 3:13- 14). Some people will find that all of their supposed works are burned up, but that they are saved “yet so as through fire” (v. 15).
Fourth – The Bible describes some of the things that will survive the fire: treasures that will prove to be like gold, silver, and precious stones.
For example:
1. Joyful acceptance of injustice. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Your reward will be great. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).
2. Prioritizing Heavenly Treasures. Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust do corrupt, thieves break through and steal, the stock market falls precipitously, unexpectedly, but rather lay up treasures in heaven, where moth and rust cannot corrupt, thieves do not break through and steal (Matthew 6:19, paraphrased).
3. One of the greatest lies that has been perpetuated is that “you can’t take it with you.” Of course, you can take wealth with you, but you have to transmute it into a different substance so that it will meet you in heaven. To paraphrase Jesus, use your wealth wisely so that when you get to heaven, there will be people there to greet you in everlasting habitations (Luke 16:9). Transmutation – turning one substance into another.
4. Love the unlovable. Love your enemies. Do good to them. Do good to them and you will be rewarded (Matthew 5:44-46, paraphrased). You will be rewarded because your Heavenly Father also loves the unlovable and is kind to the just and the unjust. He sends rain to all of them. So if you want to be greatly rewarded, find somebody who’s unlovable and love them.
5. Eagerly anticipate the Lord’s return. Paul told Timothy that he had fought hard and kept the faith, but was nearing the end of his ministry and life’s journey. But he said, “There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).
So, do you love Jesus so much that you really long for His appearing? Or do you think the appearance of Jesus is going to interfere with your life?
Clearly, Scripture tells of many rewards that await followers of Christ—but only for the gold, silver, and precious stones that remain when the wood, hay, and stubble are burned away. Only that which is pleasing to God and done for the right motives will be rewarded.
George Whitefield was a great Colonial preacher here in America. He dictated that these words be emblazoned on his tombstone: “Here lies G.W. What sort of man he was the great day will discover.” Each of us will discover that the sort of man or woman we really are will be revealed at the great Bema Seat Judgment.
