Bible Studies

There will be three different judgments in the future.

We must be very careful to distinguish between them. The only common factor is that on each occasion, the Lord Jesus will be the Judge (Jn 5.22-23).

The Judgment of the Nations (Mt 25.31-46).

This will take place on earth when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to this world. He will judge the survivors of the Great Tribulation from every nation, and some will enter His thousand-year Kingdom, the millennium, while others will be consigned to everlasting punishment.

The Judgment of the Wicked Dead (Rev 20.11-15).

At the end of time, those who have died unrepentant and unbelieving will be resurrected to stand at a Great White Throne. After judgment, they will be sent to the Lake of Fire for eternity.

The Judgment of Believers (2 Cor 5.10).

Unlike the other two judgment scenes, there is no thought of punishment connected with the Judgment Seat of Christ. See Romans 8.1. Being "in Christ Jesus" places us beyond the reach of sin's penalty: that was borne by our Substitute when He died on the cross.

The words judgment seat translate a Greek word bema. (I mention this because sometimes preachers use this word on the assumption that everyone knows what it means.) In the ancient world, the bema was not a throne, but rather a raised platform or dais from which people like Roman governors administered justice (Jn 19.13; Acts 25.6,10,17). The word was also used of the vantage point from which judges surveyed the Greek games. In two passages, the Bible uses the word to describe the occasion when the lives and service of believers will be assessed and when rewards will be given (2 Cor 5.10; Rom 14.10). Both contexts make clear that only believers will appear at the Judgment Seat: e.g. the Romans passage relates it to those who are "brothers" in the family of God.

WHEN WILL THE ASSESSMENT TAKE PLACE?

Read 1 Corinthians 4.1-5. Our lives will be judged when the Lord comes (v.5). So the Judgment Seat of Christ will take place in Heaven after the Rapture. We will be reviewed by the Lord Himself as the only one competent to do it. He alone knows about things done in secret and what has truly motivated our actions. Revelation 22.12 confirms that the day of reward will be after the Rapture.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE JUDGMENT SEAT?

1. 2 Corinthians 5.10. We shall be manifested (the meaning of the word "appear"). We will be seen as we really are without any camouflage (see Matthew 6.1-4, for example).
2. 1 Corinthians 3.10-15. Our work will be manifest, that is, the service we have rendered in connection with our local church. Fire will test all that has been done. Quality service (gold, silver and costly stones) will stand the test. Worthless service (wood, hay and stubble) will be consumed.
3. Romans 14.10-12. We will give account of ourselves to God (v.12). Here, the emphasis is on the fact that we are held accountable for ourselves and not for other believers. At Rome, some were being despised and others were being judged. They all had to learn that at the Judgment Seat they would be responsible for themselves and not for anyone else.

WHAT WILL BE THE OUTCOME OF THE JUDGMENT SEAT?

1. 1 Corinthians 3.14-15. Reward, or the loss of potential reward.
2. 1 Corinthians 4.5. Praise from God.
3. 2 Corinthians 5.10. Receiving back recompense in keeping with the "deeds done in the body". Note that this verse is in a section that stresses our mortality. Reward-earning service ends at death: the deeds that qualify for reward are done "in the body".
4. There is a hint of the Judgment Seat of Christ in the parable of the pounds. "He commanded these servants to be called…..that he might know how much every man had gained by trading" (Lk 19.15). There is a picture of the Judgment Seat in David's review of his mighty men (2 Sam 23.8-39). Be like Paul, and have a settled ambition to please God, keeping in mind that the day of review is fast approaching (2 Cor 5.9-10).

PASSAGES TO STUDY AND QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

1. At the Judgment of the Nations (Matthew 25), what animals are used to illustrate the "righteous" and those who are "cursed"?
2. At the judgment of the Great White Throne, which book contains the names of those who have been saved?
3. Read Revelation 22. How many times does the Lord say, "I come quickly"?
4. Read Romans 14.12, 1 Corinthians 3.13, 2 Corinthians 5.10. Note the words in the verses that show that every believer's life will be reviewed.
5. Romans 14.11 is a quotation from the Old Testament. Using your Bible margin or a concordance, find the reference. (It is not a word for word quotation.) Where else is it quoted in the New Testament?
6. In the lesson, mention has been made of personal accountability. In John 21, which disciple seemed more concerned about another man's service, asking, "And what shall this man do?".
7. It seems evident that crowns will be given as rewards at the Judgment Seat. Using the concordance find references to the crown of rejoicing, the crown of righteousness, the crown of life, and the crown of glory.
8. 1 Corinthians 3.9-15. The local church at Corinth is seen as God's building. Who laid the foundation? Who is the foundation? What "shall try every man's work"? Who will receive a reward? Who will suffer loss?
9. In the parable of the pounds, what was given as a reward to the two faithful servants?
10. As David reviewed his mighty men in 2 Samuel 23, he remembered that some of them had broken through the ranks of the Philistines to fetch water from the well at Bethlehem. How many?