The Judgment Seat Of Christ

Uplook – March 2021 — Grace & Truth Magazine

The Judgment Seat Of Christ

God is always right in whatever He says and does. In the New Testament, Romans speaks much of God’s righteousness, just as Isaiah does in the Old. The Bible shows that God is right when He condemns the unrepentant sinner and when He declares the repentant sinner to be just.

Paul showed the Greek philosophers and leaders on Mars’ Hill that the God who was to them “the unknown God” (Acts 17:23 NKJV) is the Creator God and Sustainer of the universe (vv.24,26). God is never linked to idolatry (vv.25,29). The apostle also explained that God leads the nations and controls the times and boundaries of the human race – past, present and future. This fact does not set aside man’s responsibility to obey. The natural man refuses to acknowledge that he is accountable to God. Repentance is needed, because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

God seeks to have a close relationship with all human beings (Acts 17:26-28). However, since Adam and Eve’s sin and rebellion (Gen. 3), a separation exists between God and man, which no human effort could ever bridge apart from the redemptive work of Christ. Our great Creator God commands all men and women to repent and to do it now, for He is not only the Redeemer, but also the ultimate Judge (Acts 17:30-31). The message is urgent, and a proper response cannot be postponed. This is the “now” of God’s grace (2 Cor. 6:2).

Why is God qualified to be the ultimate Judge? Psalm 139 provides at least part of the answer. The Creator Sustainer Redeemer (God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) is:

• Omnipresent: He is at the same time everywhere and always so.
• Omnipotent: He is all-powerful, almighty.
• Omniscient: He is all-knowing, knowing everything about everyone from beginning to end – even before things occur.

Is it our desire to be in tune with this wonderful God? It surely was David’s sincere wish and he prayed accordingly. It is interesting to note that this psalm describes the attributes of the LORD not as abstract thoughts but as active qualities by which He relates Himself to His people. It gives:

1. A description of God’s intimate knowledge of His servant (vv.1-6);
2. A summary of God’s presence with David (vv.7-12);
3. A description of God’s actions in David’s life, from the moment of his conception (vv.13-16);
4. A declaration that God’s thoughts toward David are innumerable (vv.17-18);
5. A prayer for the punishment of God’s enemies (vv.19-22);
6. A prayer that God may search and lead David (vv.23-24).

We know sin separates between God and man as well as people from one another. Sin distorts everything, as many Scriptures explain in detail. Yet, God is the God of restoration, who brings people back to Himself. On the basis of Christ’s finished work on the cross, a holy and righteous God was able to settle the matter of our sins – sinful acts – and to forgive the repentant sinner who confesses his sins (Rom. 1:18–5:11).

More than that, God also took care of the root of the problem – the sin nature, the cause of evil acts. Thus, God transferred all the believers of the period of grace, from Acts 2 until the rapture, from the family of the first Adam into the family of Christ (Rom. 5:12-21). We may note that believers from before the church period and those who will live after it belong to different families. God is the Father of “every family” (Eph. 3:15 ESV), and it should be understood in this way.

From the moment we became believers, Christ became our new Master. He helps us to walk in “newness of life” (Rom. 6:4), while it is up to us to yield all to Him by faith in Him and love for Him. When we thus fully surrender, it is because we have learned that we have no power to do God’s will and are cast on the help of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 7–8). Also, Romans 9–11 shows that God is righteous in His dealings with Israel – past, present and future – and that He will accomplish His promises to the fathers. Knowing this, we can rely on our God who shows us our responsibilities toward:

• Him (12:1-2).
• Ourselves as believers (v.3).
• Fellow believers (vv.4-16).
• Unbelievers (vv.17-21).
• Government (13:1-7).

Romans 12–16 encourages us to walk in newness of life so as to please the Lord Jesus, honoring God in all aspects. This is where the judgment seat comes in, not to discourage but to encourage us.

The Judgment Seat Of God
In Romans 14 the apostle began to elaborate on how God’s rights are to be maintained in our personal lives, our families and among God’s people. This was especially in view of differences of opinion as long as these do not concern fundamental matters (14:1–15:7). In this context, Paul introduced the kingdom of God in its present aspect (14:17) and the judgment seat1 of God (v.10) to show that every believer and unbeliever is accountable to Him (vv.11-12).

All professing Christians are in the kingdom of God, with the responsibilities that go along with this privilege. Therefore we had better respect His rules and honor Him, for it is a great advantage to be in God’s kingdom while living in the same world where God is dishonored. In the world to come, the millennium (Rev. 20:1-10), every knee will have to bow to Him (Phil. 2:10). Today we may do so willingly, because we love Him. The passage in Revelation 20 refers also to a different session of the judgment seat of Christ and of God.

Let us remind ourselves of what Abraham, the father of the believers, said when declaring God’s righteousness: “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25 NKJV). As we saw at the beginning, God is always right. Therefore justice will be shown in His coming judgment.

Our Attitude
As believers we have learned to bow to the Savior God who has put our judgment – the punishment we deserved – on His Son. He became our Substitute on the cross and satisfied all God’s holy and righteous demands. On this basis God saved us to have us for Himself (Rom. 8:32-39), that we might always serve Him in a position and relationship in which we are right with God (Phil. 3:3).

Our attitude toward each other is addressed: “Why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom. 14:10, others translations read “of God”). Each person will give an account of himself of what he is or is not doing for Him (consider 1 Cor. 3:10-15). “We must all appear2 before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).

The Judgment Seat Has Three Sessions
Scripture speaks, depending on who will appear and at what time, about three different sessions of judgment: in heaven, on earth and between heaven and earth. “We must” implies that God has determined this and it cannot be avoided or changed. “We all” means that none is exempted. Everyone will stand (Rom. 14:10), every knee will bow and every tongue confess Him (v.11). As the Creator, God has given to humans and angels – not animals – a special faculty to give an account (v.12).

Concerning the believers of the period of grace, standing before Him should be understood in the light of Revelation 19:6-9. “The Lord God Omnipotent reigns” (v.6), and all the redeemed will honor Him and rejoice because the marriage of the Lamb will have come, for “His wife has made herself ready” (v.7). Mary of Bethany represents a beautiful example of such preparation and devotion. With true love toward the Lord, she did “what she could” (Mk. 14:8; read Mt. 26:12; Jn. 12:2-3).

By the time of the marriage of the Lamb, the rapture (1 Th. 4:16-17) and the judgment seat in heaven will have taken place. During that session, the Lord will show His thoughts about everything in our lives, so we will have exactly the same thoughts He has about what we have done. Through this, the bride will be in tune with the Bridegroom. There will be no divergent thoughts to disturb our relationship with Him forever. For us today, this implies that anything in our thoughts or acts that differs from Christ’s thoughts must be judged and removed (see 1 Cor. 11:28), for God judged these matters when He punished Christ in our stead (2 Cor. 5:21). At the moment the bride is presented to Christ, Scripture says, “His wife has made herself ready” (Rev. 19:7). The challenge is not only to judge ourselves in the light of this coming session, but to be in tune with the Lord already now because we love Him.

The wedding guests (19:9) are those who have been called, having been invited as guests to the banquet. We should not confuse this calling with the fact that we have been called out of every tongue to belong to Christ. We belong to His Assembly (Greek: ecclesia), which literally means a company of called-out ones – called out of Judaism, paganism and all kinds of isms. At the rapture, the Old Testament believers will go up to heaven together with us (1 Th. 4:16). All the believers, from Adam and Eve up to that point are included in “the 24 elders,” who are mentioned 12 times in Revelation 4:4–19:4. When the bride of the Lamb is introduced (19:6-9), a distinction is made between the New Testament believers (the bride) and those of the Old Testament (the invited guests).

The Judgment Seat On Earth
Another session of the judgment seat will take place on earth. Sometime after the wedding of the Lamb in heaven, Christ will return to this earth, together with us and the Old Testament believers3 (vv.11-14). We will not remain on the earth but will appear in glory with Him to those who are on the earth (Col. 3:4; 2 Th. 1:10). “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory” (Mt. 25:31). All nations will be judged, and the criterion, or standard, will be how they have acted toward the brothers of the King, the Jews (vv.32-46). This session, after God’s dealings in judgments have taken place (Rev. 6–18), will probably be in Jerusalem, “the city of the great King” (Ps. 48:2).

By way of application, Matthew 25:32-40 indicates how we should behave toward Jewish people, and verses 41-46 tell us how to act toward people in need. However, we should not forget the prophetic context of these verses: a believer does not lose his salvation because he failed to care for those who are sick or in prison – even though he should have cared. The passage challenges us to look at the Jews correctly, for Christ and salvation came through the Jews (Jn. 4:22). Seeing things from God’s perspective we understand that Israel is His people (Gen. 12:1-3). Yet for the time being in His governmental dealings, they are called Lo-Ammi, meaning “not My people” (Hos. 1:9), until their full restoration (Rom. 11:25-36).

The Last Session Of The Judgment Seat
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who 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, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:11-15).

This last and very solemn session closes the history of man and introduces the eternal state, as described in Revelation 21:1-8.4 Notice that before Him who will sit on that throne, earth and heaven will flee away. This parallels John’s description: “the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Rev. 21:1) and Peter’s summary in 2 Peter 3:12-13. It also fits with the comments Paul made on Mars’ Hill, when he concluded his message by saying, “Now [God] commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). This statement not only shows the importance of Christ’s resurrection as a confirmation of God’s coming judgment, but also that God is going to judge through that Man, who will sit as Judge on the great white throne.

The people standing there are those who refused to repent: from Cain (Gen. 4) up to those who will take part in the last rebellion (Rev. 20:8-9). The opened books will show what they have thought, said and done. They will be convinced that God is just in condemning them. No man can say to God that His standards were too high, for the Judge is the Man who lived and died on this earth doing God’s will. God will point them to that Man, saying as it were, “Thus you should have lived.”5

Closing Note
Righteousness will dwell (2 Pet. 3:13) in the eternal state of the new heavens and the new earth (Rev. 21:1-8). God’s rule will no longer be enforced as it will have been during the millennial reign, for all will be in complete harmony with God, and He will be “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28). Today by the grace of God the eternal order is seen in the new creation to which we belong, “Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3:11), shown as a testimony to the old creation. This a great privilege and, at the same time, a great challenge.

ENDNOTES
1. The Greek word translated “judgment seat” means “step” (translated “foot” in Acts 7:5 NKJV). It was used as a unit of measure and as a raised platform on which the judge sat during judicial proceedings. From it, he pronounced his verdict. Usually, the word indicates the seat itself (Mt. 27:19; Jn. 19:13; Acts 12:21, 18:12,16,17, 25:6,10,17). The judgment seat of God (Rom. 14:10 ESV) is also of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10), and He will sit on it as Judge. Revelation 20:11 has a different word, “throne,” which functions as a judgment seat.
2. This verb “to appear,” used 7x7 or 49 times in the New Testament, implies that we shall be manifested. It does not say that we will be judged, because Christ bore our judgment during the three hours of darkness on the cross when He confessed our sins and was our Substitute.
3. In the course of the seven prophetic years (70th week, Dan. 9:27) many will be saved from among Israel and the Gentiles. Many of them will die as martyrs (Rev. 6:8-11, Rev. 8–16) and will be raised at the beginning of Christ’s reign to enjoy the heavenly side of the millennial reign (20:4). Those whom God will preserve on this earth (the 144,000 of Israel, plus the innumerable multitude of the nations, Rev. 7) will live to enter Christ’s reign on earth. A close connection will exist between heaven and earth (see Jn. 1:51), in which the heavenly Jerusalem will play a key-role (Rev. 21:9–22:5).
4. Revelation 21:9–22:5 provides additional information about the millennial reign and the heavenly Jerusalem, after which the book closes with various important comments.
5. We, the believers, understand that we needed to be born again to do God’s will and that we need the help of the Holy Spirit and of God’s Word, moment by moment, to live here for God. Christ’s perfect life by itself condemns all sinners, without exception. Those who will stand before the third session of the judgment seat are the unrepentant ones, who refused God’s thoughts and Christ’s work on the cross. They will be raised – spirit, soul and body – yet they are called “the dead” for they belong to the realm of “the second death,” or “the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:12-15). There, their worm will not die and the fire is not quenched (Mk. 9:44-48), together with “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 25:30) and forever in corruption, judgment and remorse.

By Alfred Bouter