If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.” If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. You see this clearly in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 when Paul paints a scenario of the judgment seat of Christ, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. Don’t get me wrong, every believer will be equally loved in heaven (Matthew 11:11) but not every believer will be equally rewarded. In 2 Corinthians 5:10 Paul writes, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” This is where we get rewarded for serving Christ. It was the stand where each winner of each race would stand before after the race and be rewarded.īema smacks of reward. It’s the stand where olympic judges evaluated who won the race in the Greek olympics. The word “ bema” is what Paul uses to describe the judgment seat each believer must stand before someday. This conclusion is not only clear contextually, but with the actual Greek words used to describe each judgment. Here’s the bottom line difference: the judgment seat of Christ is a rewarding stand for the believer while the great white throne judgment is a criminal court of law where sentences of everlasting destruction are passed out. Each of these judgement days are intense and awe-inspiring, but they each serve a different and dynamic purpose.
And there’s a judgment day for unbelievers that Christians have nicknamed “the great white throne judgment” based on Revelation 20:11-15. There’s a judgment day for the believers that the apostle Paul nicknamed “the judgment seat of Christ” in 2 Corinthians 5:10. That’s right, according to the Bible there are two of them.
There will be no reward for them, only eternal condemnation and punishment.Now that the fake judgment day, May 21st, has come and gone without a ripple (or a rapture for that matter) let’s talk a bit about the real Judgment Days. All their thoughts, words and actions will be judged against God’s perfect standard and found wanting. No amount of good works and the keeping of God’s laws can be sufficient to atone for sin. Revelation 20:12 says that unbelievers will be “judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Those who have rejected Christ as Lord and Savior will be judged based on their works alone, and because the Bible tells us that “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Galatians 2:16), they will be condemned. Everyone at the Great White Throne is an unbeliever who has rejected Christ in life and is therefore already doomed to the lake of fire. This judgment does not determine salvation, either. The second judgment is that of unbelievers who will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12 ). The fire of God’s judgment will completely burn up the “wood, hay and stubble” of the words we spoke and things we did which had no eternal value. We will have to give an account for our actions, whether they were truly indicative of our position in Christ. 13), and believers will be rewarded based on those good works-how faithfully we served Christ (1 Corinthians 9:4-27), how well we obeyed the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), how victorious we were over sin (Romans 6:1-4), how well we controlled our tongues (James 3:1-9), etc. The gold, silver, and precious stones in the lives of believers will survive God’s refining fire (v. The Judgment Seat of Christ will reveal this. Or what we build on the foundation may be the “wood, hay and stubble” of worthless, frivolous, shallow activity with no spiritual value. That which we build upon the foundation can be the “gold, silver, and precious stones” of good works in Christ’s name, obedience and fruitfulness-dedicated spiritual service to glorify God and build the church.
Our position in Christ is the “foundation” spoken of in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. This judgment does not determine salvation, which is by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9), but rather is the time when believers must give an account of their lives in service to Christ. Every believer will give an account of himself, and the Lord will judge the decisions he made-including those concerning issues of conscience. Believers are judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10-12).
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