Why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ…So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God (Rom. 14:10-12).
Rudyard Kipling wrote:
I keep six honest serving men,
They taught me all I knew;
Their names are What and Why and When,
And How and Where and Who.
I would like to address these six questions relative to the judgment seat of Christ.
WHAT?
The Bible tells us about many judgments. There is the judgment of the world, of angels, of the Jews, of living nations, and the judgment of the Great White Throne. Of course, the Judgment Seat of Christ is none of these. It is separate and distinct. It is a judgment for believers and for believers only. It is not a place, in the Roman concept, where the judge sat on a throne, listened to evidence for and against, and then found the defendant guilty or not guilty and handed out (if guilty) a punishment that he deemed appropriate. There is no question here that any of our sins will arise because they have already been dealt with.
Someone has written, “To see the Judgment Seat of Christ as a place where sin is rehashed and failures are broadcast is to swing a serious blow at the work of Christ.” And so at the Judgment Seat of Christ we think of it more in terms of the Greek concept at the athletic games, where awards were given to athletes who had run the race and who had run well. Now there were also losers on that occasion but the losers were not chastised, whipped, beaten, or killed. The winners, however, were given the prize. It is more this idea that we should keep in mind when we think of the Judgment Seat.
On one extreme, people fear it because they think that everything there will be made manifest and they will be hugely embarrassed. On the other hand, some people say that it’s a bit like a flower show where everybody wins a prize. But I suspect that the real truth is somewhere in between. It will be an award ceremony, but it will also be a place where there will be loss as we consider what might have been. The warning is a real one: “Let no man take thy crown.”
So what is the Judgment Seat of Christ? It is an occasion when our lives will be assessed and awards will be given for what we have done and for our motives in doing them.
WHY?
But why have such a judgment? One of the reasons is that our lives need to be reviewed. After this conference, the committee will review it to see what went wrong, what went right. What could have been better? And so the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ will review our lives. That is very important for us and I suspect it is very important for Him. So one reason is the necessity and helpfulness of having a review afterwards to see how we’ve done.
Why? It will be a place where rewards are given. We shall be recompensed. We shall receive back the things done in the body. It is a matter of responsibility, because the awards given will be the enabling power for us to reign with Christ in His millennial kingdom. In fact, they will also probably attach themselves to us throughout eternity. And so future responsibility will be decided at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
I suspect another reason is to encourage us to live rightly now, so that we’re not living aimlessly, because we know that in a future day there will be a review; there will be recompense; there will be responsibility. That gives us encouragement to live rightly for the Lord now.
WHEN?
When will it happen? Well, clearly it will happen after the resurrection. Luke 14:14 says, “Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” The resurrection takes place for saints who have died at the same time as the rapture of those who are still alive on earth. Therefore the Judgment Seat of Christ takes place after the rapture and the resurrection of believers. And it takes place before the Lord Jesus Christ returns yet again in power and in glory (some seven years after that prior event). And so in that undefined period of seven-plus years the review will take place.
HOW?
How will it be done? It is an individual assessment, that is, one on one. I suspect that when I am being reviewed at the Judgment Seat of Christ you will not all be sitting there watching me. And should the Judge say to me, “I think that the message that you gave in Cincinnati actually wasn’t very good,” you might be sitting in the audience, saying, “Amen. I told you that. I was aware of that.”
In fact when it is turn for my assessment, I don’t think that you’ll know anything about it. And when it is turn for your assessment, you might be relieved to know that others will probably know nothing about it, either. So it is an individual assessment. The passages stress that. They say, “Each one of us shall give an account.” “Each one’s work shall be made manifest.” “Each will receive praise of God.” So it is very much an individual thing.
But how will God find time to do this? He only has seven years plus. To review everyone at this conference and to give them five minutes each to talk about their lives would take over four days. And we’re a very small group in comparison to Christianity as a whole and all who love the Lord. How will He do it, if He’s going to see each one, one by one?
Well, how did He do it today? How many of us prayed today? Did we have to stand in line? Did we have to wait until somebody else was finished? No, we didn’t, because the ability of the Lord is such and the breadth of His ministry is such that He is able to review all at once; to hear the prayers of all at once. And each will feel that he is being dealt with as an individual.
WHERE?
Where will it happen? It will happen in heavenly realms, when we are with the Lord Himself. At that time there will be various clarification given. There will be given a clarification of the various ministries with which we have been involved. There will be a clarification of the mysteries that we were not able to understand. There will be clarification of the mistakes that we have made. And there will be clarification of the misunderstandings in which we were involved. And this happens in heaven, giving us heaven’s perspective on it all.
WHO?
Who will be there? First of all, the Lord will be there! In one of the passages that we read, it is referred to as the Judgment Seat of God. Now we know that the Lord Jesus Christ is God–that He is divine, and that the Father has committed all judgment to the Son. And so while it is the Lord, the Christ, the Risen One, who will sit upon the Throne of Judgment and assessment, nevertheless, it is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as God.
Also there will be all believers. “We must all appear.” There will be no way out of it. Each of us will be there. Of course, some believers may have already received their reward. You remember that in speaking about the Pharisees, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “They have their reward.” And the more that I tell people down here what I’ve done, what I’ve achieved–and incidentally, the more they think of me for having done it–when I get to heaven, the Lord might say to me, “Well, you’ve had your reward. You had the adulation of the crowd. You had the following that went wherever you went. You wanted it in time, and there’s nothing left for those deeds in the coffers of heaven for you.”
We need to be aware of that fact if we are seeking our reward down here, because there cannot be two rewards. There will only be one. If we have it down here, we shall not have it up there. And if we don’t have it down here, than we certainly shall have it up there. Yet on that day, every believer will be absolutely satisfied with his assessment and will be able to say, Amen to the reward that was given, whether great or little.
Now I want to deal with the four key chapters.
ROM. 14: JUDGING EACH OTHER
Here Paul indicates that in the assembly at Rome there were some who were strong and some who were weak. The strong believer felt passionately about the liberty into which he had been brought as a result of knowing Christ. He had no scruples (as many Jewish believers had) about eating any sort of meat set in front of him. He was prepared to drink anything that was set before him, and he did not feel that one day of the week was any more special than any other day. So he had this situation where he felt absolutely at liberty. He was, in that respect, his own judge, and after all, this is what Christ has done for us: He has made us free–free to choose what pleases Him. And so he felt strongly.
However in the same assembly there was another brother who felt that he couldn’t eat food if it had been offered to idols previously. He felt that there were some things that he couldn’t drink. And he felt that some days were more important than others. So how could these two get along? The strong brother who felt the honor and dignity of freedom despised the man who didn’t. And the weak brother judged the stronger brother.
Now, says Paul, these two brothers, albeit quite different, are both responsible directly to the Lord. They are not responsible for each other. The Lord is able to uphold both of them and will cause both of them to stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Have you noticed, says the apostle, that when the strong brother eats the meat, he gives God thanks for it? And have you noticed that when the weak brother refuses the meat, he gives God thanks for his ability to refuse it? Both, opposite ends of the pole, believe that they are pleasing God. How happy we are in such circumstances that the Lord is the Judge.
So we shouldn’t despise one another in the things in which we have liberty and we shouldn’t judge one another in these things either. As men and women, our position is to stand before the Judgment Seat. I must not, down here on earth, presume to sit in the Judgment Seat. If you wish to pass criticism of another brother or sister, it’s almost as if you’re walking up to the Lord and saying, “Excuse me, would You mind getting out of that seat? I would like to sit there, and I want to call Brother So-and-so or Sister So-and-so before me and tell them what I think about them.” I think the Lord would say, “Excuse me, but this is My job.”
Our position is not to sit in judgment but to stand to be judged. And if we have that in our minds, it will keep us from active criticism of the brethren.
At the judgment, I shall “give an account.” What sort of account shall I give? Presumably I’ll give an account of my life. How will I do that? Maybe the Lord will help me a bit. He might say to me, ” Well, I’d like to talk to you about the time that you had that problem when you were working with Brother So-and-so.”
And I might say, “Ah yes, well, what Brother So-and-so did was this–”
The Lord might respond, “I’m sorry, but we’re not talking about Brother So-and-so. We’re talking about you. He doesn’t even come into it. What he said, what he thought, what he did, the pressure he put you under–we don’t wish to discuss that. I’ll be discussing that with him. But what I need to discuss with you is your reaction to that. Whether it was good or bad.” Therefore I will give account of myself and not of what other people said and did.
So what lessons can I learn from this? Number one: Let us not judge one another. Let us not presume to sit in the seat of judgment. But judge this rather: do not put a stumbling block or occasion to fall in your brother’s way. A stumbling block is something that will keep him from what is right; an occasion to fall is something that will encourage him to do what is wrong.
Number two: Do not destroy by criticism the brother or sister for whom Christ died. You wouldn’t die for them, but He did. He takes rather unkindly toward criticism about someone He feels passionately enough to have died for. And you presume to criticize them? Let us therefore, says the text, follow the things that make for peace, because if you follow the things that make for difficulty, you are destroying not only your brother, you are also destroying the work of God.
The message of Romans is this: the Judgment Seat is a place where Christ sits; nobody else has a right to sit there then or now. Let us not judge one another; let us encourage one another and help one another because we shall all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.
1 COR. 3: RAISING a BUILDING
In 1 Corinthians 3:11, the message that comes to us, regarding building in the assembly and in service for God, is remembering that the foundation has already been laid. The apostle says, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” His death and His current ministry are the only foundation upon which anything can be built for the future. But each one of us in our service for God has the opportunity to build on the foundation. The foundation is totally secure; it will support a massive structure. We have the opportunity individually of building on that foundation.
Paul asks the Corinthians, how did some build? Apparently, upon this foundation some build with gold and silver and precious stones. Others, however, built with wood, hay, and stubble. Now, these things are quite different. For example, the gold, silver and precious stones are relatively heavy. The others are relatively light. The gold, silver and precious stones are compact; the others are bulky. The one is expensive; the other is cheap. One is lasting; the other is seasonable. One does not burn; the other burns easily. The result of building in gold, silver and precious stones is to receive a reward; and the result of building with wood, hay, and stubble is to suffer loss.
But, you say, how can I build with gold, silver and precious stones? What are these things? Well, gold in the Bible always speaks of the deity of Christ. Therefore your ministry and mine should be built upon things concerning Him and the intrinsic value of His Person.
The silver speaks of the redemptive work of Christ (see Ex. 30:13). I should be building in my ministry things concerning the redemption that Christ provided.
The precious stones speak of longevity and preservation and the value of the Lord’s people (see Mal. 3:17). These are the things that the people of God need today. They need to know about the Lord; they need to know what He has done; they need to know that they are safe; they need to know that their sins are forgiven once and for all, and will never be called into question again. The ministry of a man or a woman who builds this into the assembly has the stamp of approval from God Himself.
So, what have you been building into your assembly? What have you been building in your Christian life? Take heed how you build. Avoid wood, hay, and stubble by studying, by effort, by perseverance. Concentrate on gold, silver and precious stones–things that are valuable, lasting, and spiritual, because the day will come when whatever we have built will be tested by fire.
Wind often tests things and blows them away, but you can usually find them afterwards. Water sometimes tests things and sinks them, but sometimes you can salvage them afterwards. But when fire burns, it is on the one hand beautiful, and on the other hand awesome. It leaves nothing unless there are things that it cannot burn. What we have done for the Lord will one day be put to the flame.
And what will happen? It might be that we shall have the great privilege and joy of seeing what we built remain, and of hearing from the Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” It may be, however, that even though we evaluated our work highly, that we shall stand in that day and see it burnt to ashes.
I suppose, really, on mature reflection, that each of us will have some things that will survive the fire and each of us will have some things that will be burnt up. In view of that, I should be building in my ministry for the things that are fireproof. If you are evaluating your life and service, you need to discriminate between things that may seem worthwhile in time but may be worthless in heaven and the things that will last for eternity, being proven and purified through the fire of God.
1 COR. 4: RECEIVING PRAISE
We’re told at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 4 that we are ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. And it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. If you have somebody looking after your house while you’re away, you need to be able to trust them. If you can’t trust them, you shouldn’t have left it in their care. They may shine in other areas too, or they may be nothing else. But they do need to be faithful.
So you and I as stewards of the mysteries of God need to be faithful. Can the Lord trust you? Can He trust me? Because in that day at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the hidden things of darkness will be revealed. Now I suppose the way that word sounds in the English language is rather shattering.
We worry about that: the hidden things of darkness–and we think of the bad things that we’ve done. Well, that’s not the idea behind the phrase. If it is, it’s only fifty percent of the idea because the hidden things include the good things done that nobody else knows about. Of course we’re inclined when we do good things to make sure other people know about it, but then we have our reward down here. The things that we’ve done down here that nobody else knows about, or at least very few, those are also the hidden things that will be revealed on that day.
The counsels of the heart will be made manifest–what motivated me, the secret thought that prompted my action. Why did I do it? Was it for the Lord? For my own glory? Was it for someone else’s benefit? Or for me? These are the things that will be manifested.
So what are the lessons? First, don’t be diverted by the criticism of men unless it is constructive. As Paul wrote when he was under fire, “With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment” (1 Cor. 4:3). If you feel the Lord would have you do something, then do it. If you feel before the Lord that He would have you go somewhere, then go. You report to the Lord. He’s the only one between you, your service, and Himself. But don’t justify yourself. This is self-assessment, not self-approval.
The other lesson from this passage is to judge nothing before the time, before the Lord comes. You see, the race is not over yet. Some of you might still have a long race to run. You can’t jump to conclusions too soon. You can, but you shouldn’t. We are to assess ourselves and not others, remembering that the race isn’t over and that the real assessment will take place before the Lord.
2 COR. 5: FINDING ACCEPTANCE
As he comes to this passage, the apostle Paul is talking about being present with the Lord. He says that currently he is at home in the body and absent from the Lord. But he instructs us that we must make it our ambition to be accepted of Him. That is, whether down here or up there, my ambition should be to be well-pleasing to Him, to bring pleasure to His heart. That is what Christ did. God opened heaven and declared, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” And there is the opportunity today in the things that we are doing to please Him as well.
According to 2 Corinthians 5:10, we must all must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. We must. It is inevitable. You cannot have another prior engagement. And we will all be there. It is inclusive. And it is instructive because it will be an assessment of what we have done. It will be incisive because we shall understand clearly how the Lord feels about it all.
On that occasion, we shall receive (the idea of the word is, we shall “receive back”) the things done in the body, whether they be good or bad. That’s what you might call the boomerang effect. When I do something, it goes out among the believers or into the world and if it is good, it will come back to me at the Judgment Seat of Christ; if it is bad, it will come back at the Judgment Seat, too. So be careful what you say, be careful what you do, be careful where you go because these things will all come back to us yet again.
So the lesson to be learned in this passage: I need to be ambitious to please Him well. “Wherefore we labor [or are ambitious] that we might please Him well.” You just can’t drift through life and hope to please Him. He didn’t do that for you. You have to set this as a goal for your life. You have to walk by faith, not by sight. You need to be persuaded by the truth of these passages.
What now? In view of the Judgment Seat of Christ, what should I be doing? I should be living honestly in the sight of all men. I should be loving the people of God as well as the Lord. I should be leaving sin and criticism. And I should be looking for His coming again at the Rapture.
In that day old sins shall not be raised; but things will be uncovered, evaluated, clarified. That day will be a day of testing. It will be a day of triumph, for all shall receive praise of God. It might also be a day of tears–what might have been–what could have been–if only I’d been determined to live for the Lord. But it will also be a day of togetherness. You’ll be happy for me, and I’ll be happy for you.
I’ll say, “Yes, that was more than a fair and reasonable assessment of what I’ve done. Although what I received may be very small, that too is wholly undeserved and I’m happy with that. We’ll know what’s right, and the right thing always brings the response of pleasure in the hearts of God’s children.
And together through the triumphs, through the tears, through the fire, we shall be together–not only with one another, but together with the Lord.
There are many things that I can win on that day. I need not suffer loss if I give my life of which I have only one. “Only one life, ’twill soon be past; Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
We ought to be looking forward with encouragement. We know that our soul’s salvation can never be touched; that our sins have already be dealt with. Christ has died for them. How dare anyone raise them again in view of that? But the measure in which I live for Him now is the measure in which I will be able to bear responsibility for Him then, the measure in which I will know, enjoy, and glorify the One who died for me. “And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming” (1 Jn. 2:28).